Veronica Clare
Veronica Clare | |
---|---|
Crime drama | |
Created by | Jeffrey Bloom |
Starring |
|
Composer | Gil Mellé |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 9 |
Production | |
Executive producers |
|
Producers |
|
Production locations | Los Angeles, California |
Cinematography | Edward J. Pei |
Editor | Maureen O'Connell |
Running time | 60 minutes |
Production companies | Hearst Entertainment, Inc. |
Original release | |
Network | Lifetime |
Release | July 23 September 17, 1991 | –
Veronica Clare is an American
Lifetime developed Veronica Clare as one of its first
After nine of its commissioned 13 episodes aired, Lifetime placed Veronica Clare on hiatus and later canceled it. The series was not released on
Premise
Story and characters
The title character of Veronica Clare (Laura Robinson) is a private investigator and partial owner of an Art Deco restaurant and jazz club in Chinatown, Los Angeles. Clare often investigates cases that help women while using her club as a place to meet potential clients and suspects.[1] She is the show's narrator, and at the end of each episode, she writes about her cases to a former lover in letters signed "Love, Veronica".[2][3] However, she does not mail any of these letters,[3] and the name and gender of her lover are never explicitly stated.[4][a] Throughout the series, Clare is portrayed as mysterious,[2][6] although there were plans to explore more of her past in future episodes had the show continued beyond its first season.[7] In the pilot episode, a flashback provides some information on her backstory,[6] and she is referenced as a detective's daughter.[8]
Clare only accepts cases that interest her and refuses any payment for her work.
Robinson characterized Clare as a loner,[15] and Dawidziak noted that she had few close friends.[12] Clare lives alone in a hotel suite, a living situation that media studies scholar Eithne Johnson called "impersonal" and "anti-domestic".[16] Despite this, the Missoulian's Jon Burlingame noted that the show often surrounds her with "offbeat settings and people".[17] She co-owns her club with Duke Rado (Robert Beltran), who is the show's male lead character.[1][11] Green argued the series presents Rado only as Clare's business partner, and not as her love interest or as a "source of wisdom and authorization for her".[11] Clare's best friend is Kelsey Horne (Christina Pickles), a former spy who owns a store selling rare books.[18] Nikki Swarcek (Tony Plana), a Polish expatriate and a lieutenant for the Los Angeles Police Department, is attracted to Clare.[19] Other supporting characters include Sergeant Tweed (Robert Ruth), bartender Rocco (Robert Sutton), and valet Jimmy (Wayne Chou).[20] Series creator Jeffrey Bloom emphasized Veronica Clare was not focused on its ensemble cast, explaining "they're in for 10 percent of the time [while] Veronica is there 100 percent".[21]
Style and comparisons
Veronica Clare borrows elements from film noir, including "first-person narration, smoke-filled rooms, period cars and skin-tight dresses".[1] Clare is shown driving a vintage white Mercedes coupe.[3][16] Episodes also include camera angles similar to those used in noir films.[1][17] Bonnie Baker, writing for The Arizona Republic, described the series as resembling "a '40s movie that's been colorized by Ted Turner".[2] While episodes draw inspiration from detective fiction published in the 1940s, Dawidziak viewed its stories as having a more "90s sensibility".[12]
Journalists considered Veronica Clare to be similar to
The series frequently uses jazz, which was composed by Gil Mellé, as part of its ambience. Some of these instances are diegetic as Clare's club features jazz music, which is sometimes played with "unusual combos" of instruments such as a combination of piano, bass guitar, and accordion.[1] The show's background music often features covers of George Gershwin and Cole Porter's music, such as a jazz version of the 1926 song "Someone to Watch Over Me",[2][26] and the theme music has a "bluesy sax, piano and bass".[3]
Critics compared Clare to Veronica Lake[1][12] and Veronica Clare to a 1940s noir starring Lauren Bacall as the private investigator instead of Humphrey Bogart.[27] Television historians Tim Brooks and Earle F. Marsh believed this "Lauren Bacall look" was evoked by Clare's hairstyle and mysterious persona.[7] While promoting Veronica Clare, Robinson referred to her character as a combination of Bogart's strength and intelligence as well as Bacall's looks and wit.[6] She also viewed Clare as an adult version of Nancy Drew, but doubted that the show's producers shared her opinion.[8] Journalists have associated the character with other fictional detectives, such as Mike Hammer, Nick Charles, Philip Marlowe, and Sam Spade.[2][28] Paul Henniger, writing for the Los Angeles Times, compared Clare's "rapid-talking, short, staccato outbursts" to Jack Webb and supporting characters to those in the television show Peter Gunn.[28]
Production
Background
Television network
In 1991,
Lifetime developed Veronica Clare, as well as The Hidden Room and Confessions of Crime, for a female audience.
Concept and casting
Jeffrey Bloom developed Veronica Clare after imagining Lauren Bacall as a private investigator in Los Angeles; he referenced Bacall's roles in the films To Have and Have Not (1944), The Big Sleep (1946), Dark Passage (1947), and Key Largo (1948) as inspiration for Clare. A fan of noir, Bloom had previously worked in the genre by writing the screenplay for the 1978 film adaptation of Raymond Chandler's 1939 novel The Big Sleep. During this time period, he first considered a story about a female detective and wrote the script for the pilot episode in 1986. In a 1991 interview with The Philadelphia Inquirer, Bloom said he had difficulty pitching the series to networks, and attributed this to their resistance to air dramas with a young female lead.[21] Lifetime picked up Veronica Clare in 1991 for 13 episodes.[35]
Over 500 actresses auditioned for the role of Veronica Clare.
Production and filming
Veronica Clare was produced by Hearst Entertainment, Inc.
Various Los Angeles locations are featured as
Each episode cost $700,000, which was cheaper than shows aired on
Episodes
No. | Title [46][b] | Written by [45] | Original air date [46] | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Veronica's Aunt" | Jeffrey Bloom | July 23, 1991 | |
Veronica helps her aunt when she is threatened by her recently deceased husband's mob employers. | ||||
2 | "Reed" | Jeffrey Bloom | July 30, 1991 | |
Veronica works on a mystery that involves one of Duke's close friends. | ||||
3 | "Anonymous" | Jeffrey Bloom | August 6, 1991 | |
After an amnesiac Romanian woman is found severely beaten, Veronica tries to help her remember her past and locate her attacker. | ||||
4 | "The Boxing Story" | Jeffrey Bloom and Frank Megna | August 13, 1991 | |
A female boxing manager hires Veronica to determine why her most popular boxer chose to abandon her career. | ||||
5 | "Phoebe" | Jeffrey Bloom | August 20, 1991 | |
Veronica helps a woman locate her missing husband. | ||||
6 | "Slow Violence" | Nancy Bond | August 27, 1991 | |
A club singer pushes Veronica into babysitting her child and then suddenly disappears. | ||||
7 | "Mr. Duvall" | Jane Atkins | September 3, 1991 | |
Veronica is tasked with finding the missing wife of a wealthy man. | ||||
8 | "Love, Amanda" | Nina Shengold | September 10, 1991 | |
Veronica tries to discover what is behind a young girl's murder by piecing together clues from her diary. | ||||
9 | "Pilot" | Jeffrey Bloom | September 17, 1991 | |
Veronica is assigned to find a man's brooch, which is believed to have been stolen by his son. |
Broadcast history
Veronica Clare aired on Tuesdays at 10:00 pm EST, and reruns were broadcast on Saturdays at the same time.[48] The series was shown after The Hidden Room and Confessions of Crime as a two-hour programming block, promoted as "Lifetime Original Night" and "Mystery Loves Company".[49] On September 24, 1991, Lifetime put Veronica Clare on hiatus.[50] Although 11 episodes were filmed, only nine were aired.[50][51] Publicist C. Alex Wagner attributed this decision to production issues, and explained: "We're stopping production to rewrite and retool. We are committed to the series."[41][50] Wagner added that Lifetime still had an interest in airing a show about a female private investigator.[41]
Despite this statement, Lifetime canceled the series. According to Derrick Bang, the cancelation occurred because of "weak scripts, inadequate publicity and too much competition from
The series was not released on
Reception
Critical reception
Critics praised Jeffrey Bloom's script for "Veronica's Aunt".[57] Jay Sharbutt, while writing for the Associated Press, liked that Bloom put "a lot of verbal playfulness" in the episode. Sharbutt appreciated the show's lack of violence, and felt Bloom distinguished Clare from "today's hordes of wild-eyed geeks fresh from the University of Uzi".[3] In the Los Angeles Times, Howard Rosenberg commended Bloom's script as having a "subtlety and a charming playfulness", but felt the show's quality rapidly deteriorated with its subsequent episodes. Rosenberg panned the second episode "Reed" for its plot holes and unintentional comedy, comparing its campy tone to the 1991 film The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear.[9] While reviewing "Veronica's Aunt", Mark Dawidziak appreciated how Bloom balanced the episode's plot with its 1940s noir aesthetic, but believed it was "at times too deliberate and plodding to sustain the pace". Despite this criticism, Dawidziak felt the series had potential and wrote: "It would be a crime if [Bloom] doesn't chase down the obvious remaining clues to success."[12]
Veronica Clare received criticism for its storylines, which reviewers described as unoriginal and unlikely.
Reviewers were critical of the show's look and tone, including comments on Clare's role as a detective and the application of film noir elements to a more contemporary story.[59] Scholar Susan White thought the attempt to emulate a 1940s setting was not successfully translated to 1990s Los Angeles.[60] People's David Hiltbrand considered the show's characterization of Clare as a female Sam Spade to be "murky and contrived".[61] Mike Hughes and a writer for The Times Herald found Veronica Clare to be too reserved; when discussing the programming block, they instead recommended The Hidden Room for viewers who wanted a more emotional experience.[24][25]
Laura Robinson's acting was the subject of criticism.[62] A Variety reviewer and Hiltbrand did not believe she brought enough believability to the role.[38][61] As part of a negative review of the series, Helmbreck described Robinson as "an actress better suited to car commercials where sultry blondes only stroke gearshifts or hood ornaments and make animal sounds for their paycheck".[26] Although he enjoyed the show's concept and writing, Sharbutt felt it was undercut by Robison's flat performance of her lines. Despite this, he hoped she would improve over time, and wrote "all the star has to do is live up to the promise of the show's premise".[3] While promoting Veronica Clare to critics, Robinson apologized for one of the early episodes and explained: "We're just getting the kinks out now on later episodes and starting to roll." She said that she had a tendency to talk fast and was consciously working on it during filming.[28] In more positive reviews, Dawidziak and Bonnie Baker praised Robinson as ideally cast for the role.[2][12]
Gender analysis
Following the show's premiere, journalists associated Veronica Clare with a rising interest in stories about female detectives.
Veronica Clare and its title character have been the subject of academic analysis on gender.
Notes
References
Footnotes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Bang 2020, p. 168.
- ^ a b c d e f Baker 1991, p. 5.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Sharbutt 1991, p. 6A.
- ^ Belcher 1991, p. 6; Green 1998, p. 164; Johnson 1994, p. 62
- ^ White 1994, p. 81.
- ^ a b c d e f g Belcher 1991, p. 6.
- ^ a b c Brooks & Marsh 2009, p. 1467.
- ^ a b c d Buck 1991, p. D6.
- ^ a b c Rosenberg 1991.
- ^ Green 1998, p. 164; Mills 1991, p. 7; Rhein 1991, p. 3; Sharbutt 1991, p. 6A
- ^ a b c d Green 1998, p. 164.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Dawidziak 1991, p. 3.
- ^ Mills 1991, p. 7; Rhein 1991, p. 3; Terrace 2008, pp. 1139–1140
- ^ a b c d Rhein 1991, p. 3.
- ^ a b c d e Mills 1991, p. 6.
- ^ a b c Johnson 1994, p. 60.
- ^ a b c Burlingame 1991, p. C2.
- ^ Brennan 1991; Buck 1991, p. D6; Burlingame 1991, p. C2
- ^ Brennan 1991; Brooks & Marsh 2009, p. 1467; Buck 1991, p. D6; Burlingame 1991, p. C2
- ^ Brooks & Marsh 2009, p. 1467; Johnson 1994, p. 60; Terrace 2008, pp. 1139–1140
- ^ a b Mills 1991, p. 7.
- ^ Dawidziak 1991, p. 3; Helmbreck 1991, p. D1; Mills 1991, p. 6
- ^ Burlingame 1991, p. C2; Dawidziak 1991, p. 3; White 1991, p. D3
- ^ a b c d Hughes 1991, p. 2D.
- ^ a b c The Times Herald 1991, p. 8B.
- ^ a b c d Helmbreck 1991, p. D1.
- ^ Belcher 1991, p. 6; Buck 1991, p. D6; Dawidziak 1991, p. 3
- ^ a b c d e Henniger 1991, p. 3.
- ^ a b c Lotz 2004, p. 26.
- ^ Newman & Witsell 2016, p. 10.
- ^ Mann 1991, p. B10.
- ^ a b Meehan & Byars 2000, p. 37.
- ^ a b Zurawik 1991.
- ^ Dines & Humez 2003, p. 620.
- ^ Endrst 1991.
- ^ Cecchini 2017.
- ^ a b c Library of Congress 1991a; Library of Congress 1991b; Library of Congress 1992a; Library of Congress 1992b
- ^ a b c d e f g Tone 1991.
- ^ Bawden 1991, p. S94.
- ^ a b Moca 1991, p. 4.
- ^ a b c Johnson 1994, p. 63.
- ^ Associated Press 1992.
- ^ a b Goldberg 1991, p. 26.
- ^ a b Goldberg 1991, pp. 24–25.
- ^ a b Writers Guild of America West.
- ^ a b c Thrilling Detective.
- ^ Chillicothe Gazette 1991, p. 3B; The Daily News Journal 1991, p. 7; Palladium-Item 1991, p. B6
- ^ Brennan 1991.
- ^ Brennan 1991; Johnson 1994, p. 46; Meehan & Byars 2000, p. 97
- ^ a b c Logan 1991, p. 20.
- ^ a b c Meehan & Byars 2000, p. 97.
- ^ McKerrow 1991, p. C6.
- ^ Johnson 1994, p. 64.
- ^ Moshavi 1991, p. 27.
- ^ TVShowsOnDVD.com.
- ^ TV Guide.
- ^ Dawidziak 1991, p. 3; Rosenberg 1991; Sharbutt 1991, p. 6A
- ^ Helmbreck 1991, p. D1; Henniger 1991, p. 3; Tone 1991
- ^ Hiltbrand 1991; Hughes 1991, p. 2D; The Times Herald 1991, p. 8B; White 1991
- ^ White 1991.
- ^ a b c Hiltbrand 1991.
- ^ Helmbreck 1991, p. D1; Hiltbrand 1991; Sharbutt 1991, p. 6A; Tone 1991
- ^ a b Pate 1991.
- ^ Johnson 1994, p. 66.
- ^ Mizejewski 2004, p. 208.
- ^ de Villiers 2016.
- ^ Green 1998, p. 241.
- ^ Green 1998, pp. 164–165.
- ^ Mizejewski 2004, p. 199.
- ^ White 1994, p. 92.
- ^ Johnson 1994, p. 54.
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- Goldberg, Lee (1991). "Hour Long Series Dead or Just Resting". Writers Guild of America West. 4 (10). International Affiliation of Writers Guilds: 24–28.
- Green, Philip (1998). Cracks in the Pedestal: Ideology and Gender in Hollywood. ISBN 978-1-558-49120-5.
- Helmbreck, Valerie (July 23, 1991). "No originality detectable in Veronica Clare". Television. The News Journal. p. D1. Archived from the original on April 17, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
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External links
- Veronica Clare at IMDb