New show: 'Women's Murder Club' takes Patterson books to screen
Posted: Wednesday, August 01, 2007 11:25 AM by Gael Fashingbauer Cooper
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TV
It's my experience that those who read James Patterson books really, really love James Patterson books. When I read crime books, I tend more towards Jonathan Kellerman myself, but Patterson's fans are legion. And his works are no strangers to the screen, whether big or small: "Kiss the Girls" and "Along Came a Spider" have become films, while various other books have been turned into TV movies. Now, though, an entire ABC series "Women's Murder Club," is based on Patterson's books.
Angie Harmon plays Lindsay Boxer, a police lieutenant and the show's center. She enlists her friends -- a medical examiner, newspaper reporter, and assistant D.A. -- to pool their talents to solve murders. Their friendship and relationships fill in the non-procedural elements of the show.
I haven't read the "WMC" books, so I can't speak to how similar the show will make the characters, but from the press tour panel, it sounds like there are a good deal of differences. This may be annoying to faithful readers, but if the differences make the show better, most viewers will neither care nor notice. The pilot was pretty bland for me, a typical cop show, but I have enough faith in Patterson to hope that the show finds itself quickly.
GAEL'S GRADE: B.
Tidbits from the press tour panel:
• By the book: Patterson appeared at press tour via satellite hookup, and said that he's been reviewing all of the scripts "so far," and thinks they're "great." And while the characters may be familiar, don't expect to see the same plots you've read. Producer Sarah Fain said "We decided not to take stories from the books for the show because 70 million people have read them. So we wanted to be able to kind of surprise people."
• I am woman, hear me roar: Patterson also explained that he has a strong familial background drawing him towards creating powerful female characters. "I think what's really cool here, typically, this would have been called the "boys' club," and it's the opposite," he said. "It's a women's club. And that's very, very different. I grew up in a house full of women, my mother, grandmother, three sisters, two female cats, and Aunt Bela."
• The Simpsons!: Weirdly, Joe Simpson, dad of Jessica and Ashlee, is an executive producer of the show, mystifying many critics. He says he is a "long-time James (Patterson) fan" who partnered with the author to help bring the books to TV. Asked if his daughters would appear on the show, he first said "It's not in the plan," but then allowed "I would never say never because, you know, because the girls like to be where things are successful."
