NBC Television Series?

It's great news that the 87th Precinct has been optioned for a TV series. Tucci and Buscemi have the right pedigree to create an authentic and exciting version of the series. I hope it comes off and we get to see it in the UK.

I'm hoping that this does work out and a TV series that does the series justice is produced - like Steven I think the pedigree sounds good, so fingers crossed! As for seeing it in the UK - well, theres always ways and means, ways and means...

Hi, if you visit the site http://www.ioffer.com/ and type in 87th precinct in the search bar at the top, you can get the 1962 series on dvd, not all 30 eps, but 26 eps, I live in the UK and it cost me £21.70 with postage from America, which is the cheapest I have found. I will let you know what the quality is like when it arrives, probably in the next week or two. The one I got has the title 87th Precinct starring Robert Lansing, as these ones come in a proper dvd case with artwork. the other one comes in white dvd envelopes. Will let the forum know what the quality is like.....

I asked Mr.McBain about the 1961-1962 TV series ten years ago, when I was writing "Ed McBain Companion" for Japanese readers.He kindly looked into his old notebooks and told me that ten episodes on TV were based on his novels, and eighteen episodes were written by other script writers, and one episode titled "Line of Duty" with Bert Kling as
the protagonist was his own original script, total twenty-nine episodes.
Among the ten episodes based on his novels, the script he himself wrote was only one, "Killer's Wedge".
Mr.McBain said twenty-nine in total, but there seems to be thirty episodes, beacause "Killer's Chioice" was split into two parts, one part titled "New Man in the Precinct" about the death of a detective named Frank (instead ofRoger Haviland) and Cotton Hawes's transfer to the 87th, and other part about the murder of a pretty drugstore manager.

I wanna....I'm gonna restart an old topic about the characters we visualize when reading or thinking Ed McBain's 87.

For me it's without any doubt:

Robert Lansing for Steve Carella.
Norman Fell for Meyer Meyer.
Orson Welles - as in 'Touch of Evil- for Ollie Weeks.
Joe Pesci for Danny the Gimp.
Ving Rhames for Arthur Brown.
Walter Goggins - as in 'The Shield' for Andy Parker.
Hale Barry for Sharyn Cooke.
Erika Eleniak for Eileen Burke, also for Gert Walliser.   
Victor Buono for Fats Donner.
Ron Harper for Bert Kling.
Gregory Walcott - although he played Roger Havilland in the series - for Cotton Hawes.
And a combination of Theresa Wright and Mary Tyler Moore for Teddy Carella.

Still searching for goodlooking others for the rest of the crew and partners.
HELP... .

Editing on 2/24/2011:
I just found out - Thanks to Mr. Akira - that Sterling Hayden was Evan's favourite lookalike for The Deaf Man, way back in the early seventies: I can't think of anyone better.
And that's the way I figure him now, hearing aid in his right ear and all.....
M.h.o.

J.P.

Edited by jean pierre engels - 24 Feb 2011 at 6:47am