Murders, she solved
QUESTION Which TV detective has solved the most murders?
THE U.S. crime drama Murder, She Wrote starred Angela Lansbury as mystery writer and amateur sleuth Jessica Fletcher solving murders in the fictional Cabot Cove, a small town in Maine.
The series aired for 12 seasons with 264 episodes from 1984 to 1996 on CBS in the U.S. During that time, Fletcher solved a whopping 274 murders.
It has been pointed out that Cabot Cove had a population of 3,500, making it one of the most dangerous place on Earth.
The second most successful TV detective is DCI Tom Barnaby, originally played by John Nettles, in Midsomer Murders. He retired in series 12, episode five, after solving 200 murders.
Assuming the fictional county of Midsomer is the size of Oxfordshire, the murder rate would be 32 per million, similar to that of Brazil.
Jonathan Evans, Steeton, W. Yorks.
QUESTION When were backing tracks allowed at Eurovision?
IN THE Sixties, the Eurovision Song Contest had live orchestras with full brass and rhythm sections often fronted by flamboyant conductors.
In 1972, Britain’s The New Seekers requested a pre-recorded guitar track instead of having to play live with the orchestra. This was refused on the basis it would be unfair towards other competitors. They came second with Beg, Steal Or Borrow behind Vicky Leandros of Luxembourg with Apres Toi.
However, the organisers decided to move with the times and the following year, pre-recorded elements were allowed, provided that the instruments were mimed on stage by background musicians.
The first singer to make use of this rule change was Cliff Richard. His song Power To All Our Friends was performed in 1973 in front of a small live band. The full orchestra in the background was asked to mime. Some faked it better than others — the drummer barely moved an inch during the performance. Luxembourg’s
Anne-Marie David won with 129 points for Tu Te Reconnaitras. Cliff came a close third with 123 points.
Abba’s performance of Waterloo in 1974 relied on a pre-recorded backing track to which only minor live orchestra elements were added.
From 1997, Eurovision acts were able to use a pre-recorded tape with all the music to a song. The following year Israel’s Dana International won without an orchestra or conductor.
In 2004, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) banned live music. Andrew Lloyd Webber was unhappy that he had to pretend to play the piano for his song It’s My Time when backing Jade Ewen in 2009.
That year, Slovenian string quartet Quartissimo also complained it was absurd they had to mime to their song Love Symphony, yet the edict remains.
Katherine Sullivan, Swansea.
QUESTION Why does the U.S./ Canada border cut through Tsawwassen Peninsula, leaving Point Roberts as part of the U.S. rather than going around it?
IN 1818, following a war between the newly founded U.S. and Britain, a border between Canada and the U.S. was agreed along the 49th parallel.
This is why it runs in a straight line for most of its length, from Lake of the Woods in the east to the Rocky Mountains in the west.
Following a dispute with the U.S. over the shared territory of Oregon (now comprising Oregon, Washington State and British Colombia) in 1846, the U.S. and Britain agreed to extend the border at the western end to the Strait of Georgia, which gives access to the Pacific Ocean.
To route the border around the Tsawwassen Peninsula, the most westerly point of the mainland on the 49th parallel, would have been to make it deviate off the agreed line, so it was decided the peninsula should be cut off from Canada at its southern end.
It is possible no one surveyed the line the border would take, so did not know they were isolating just the tip.
The peninsula was home to the Coast Salish Native Americans, who had lived there for more than 4,000 years. They weren’t consulted on where the border went.
Once the border crossed the coast it was routed around the British-occupied islands of the Strait of Georgia to ensure Vancouver Island remained in Canada. San Juan and Orcas islands became part of the United States.
Britain would not have been comfortable with a foreign power controlling the sea lane into its most western port in Canada, so the waterway was shared.
The eastern end of the border, between Lake of the Woods and New Brunswick/ Maine, was negotiated to ensure Canadian and U.S. inland cities maintained their access to the sea through the Great Lakes and the St Lawrence River.
There are still four disputed areas: two on the border with Alaska; one on the border with Washington State; and one between Maine and New Brunswick.
There is also a dispute over the legal status of the Northwest Passage, which Canada claims as its territorial waters, but which the U.S. holds to be international waters.
Bob Dillon, Edinburgh.
QUESTION Has the title of any film or TV show been changed after a test screening?
FURTHER to the earlier answers, the title of the film version of Alan Bennett’s play The Madness Of George III was famously changed to The Madness Of King George.
Allegedly, this was because the producers were concerned that American audiences would assume the movie to be a sequel. Director Nicholas Hytner later claimed they simply wanted to stress it was about a monarch.
Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone was changed to Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone because the book title was deemed to be too cerebral for American film-goers.
Iona Hart, Thornaby-on-Tees, N. Yorks.