Watching the Detectives: Inside the Guilty Landscapes of Inspector Morse, Baantjer and Wallander

■ Visiting the settings of popular media products has become a growing niche within the tourist market. This article provides a content-based explanation for the popularity of one specific example: the TV detective tour. Three popular television series from different linguistic regions of Europe wer...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:European journal of communication (London) 2009-06, Vol.24 (2), p.165-181
Main Author: Reijnders, Stijn
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Crime
Cross examination
Detectives
Fiction
Fictional Characters
Guilt
Media
Place
Popular Culture
Popularity
Space
Television
Television programs
Tourism
Tourist attractions
Citations: Items that this one cites
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Summary:■ Visiting the settings of popular media products has become a growing niche within the tourist market. This article provides a content-based explanation for the popularity of one specific example: the TV detective tour. Three popular television series from different linguistic regions of Europe were analysed, each of which has led to substantial tourist numbers: Inspector Morse (Oxford) , Wallander (Ystad) and Baantjer (Amsterdam). The results show that the tourist attraction of the TV detective programme is due in part to its topophilic character. First, couleur locale is extremely important to the narrative setting of the detective programmes; the narratives elaborate on existing tourist gazes. Second, the narrative development is characterized by a process of investigation and tracking. By taking the tour, viewers can walk in the detective's footsteps and relive the storylines. Finally, the TV detective genre promises the viewer/tourist an acquaintance with the thrilling, `guilty' landscapes of the TV detective. ■
ISSN:0267-3231
1460-3705
DOI:10.1177/0267323108101830