Abstract
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A viewing of the grim but popular BBC police procedural, Wallander (BBC1, 2008-),
prompts a reflection on Richard Dyer's original formulation of entertainment as utopia
in 1977. It is noted that the concept of entertainment has received relatively little
attention within the fields of media and cultural studies since that time and that the
history of the television crime drama provides an interesting case study with which to
re-examine popular television as a particular form entertainment. The example of the
early British police procedural, Fabian of the Yard (BBC 1954-1956) is discussed in
order to reveal the complexity of the genre and its various pleasures which have ranged
from documenting real crime, the pursuit of knowledge and truth to cultural tourism.
Finally it is argued that pleasure in the 'form' of the TV crime drama and a familiarity
with its series characters may well be a key factor in its assessing its success as a form
of entertainment.