Charlie Chan Message Board

On a prior thread, this Canadian TV show was mentioned.   I happened to see a DVD set for sale on eBay, and I bought it.  There are only 13 episodes, and I have seen the first four episodes.

The story centers on Arkady Balagan, a Russian chess champion.  He resides in a luxury suite at a large upscale hotel called The Huxley, located in a large unnamed city (according to imdb.com, the series is produced in Vancouver, Canada).  He never leaves the hotel, after developing agoraphobia when his fiancee Rosemary was assassinated in front of the hotel.  He spends his days walking barefoot around the hotel, insulting everyone, and he makes money by playing chess matches with people.  He is apparently wealthy, but his money is tied up in foreign banks, and the hotel manager dislikes the large balance due on his hotel bill.

Balagan solves crimes as a hobby.  Since he doesn't leave the hotel, he is assisted by four other people: Danni (a beautiful barmaid at the hotel), Hugo (head of hotel security and a former detective), Alcina (a hotel chambermaid), and Sam (a college-age guy who is an aspiring chess master).  These four people do the leg-work and gather the clues for Balagan, who then solves the crime.  This set-up, of course, is similar to Nero Wolfe stories.

A side story woven into the main storyline concerns the death of Balagan's fiancee Rosemary.  Balagan thinks she was mistakenly killed by Russian agents, and that Balagan himself was the actual target.  Rosemary's sister Pippa, and her detective friend Jason are investigating the death of Rosemary, and they are featured in some of the episodes.

This is an interesting TV series, and I have enjoyed the four episodes that I have seen.  The characters are interesting, and the mysteries are well-written, considering that it is a one-hour TV show and not a full-length movie.  Mystery fans will enjoy this series.  I'm interested to hear opinions from anyone else who has seen this show.

Have not been here for a while but glad to see the Judge still active with posts....we also watch Shakespeare and Hathaway and agree Patrick Walshe McBride is a hoot in any episode appearance. The first few episodes we watched from early in the series were enjoyable but the ones we are watching now from Season 2 have been uniformly excellent: quite humorous and well plotted...the series seems to get better as it proceeds. We get it up in Canada along with almost every other British mystery series ever made on either BritBox or Acorn TV. Have been watching older series I have not seen in years or never seen before such as The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes, Father Brown with Kenneth More, Inspector Lynley Mysteries, etc. Plenty to keep us entertained in these trying times!

The radio call signs are based on a format common in the Army back then.  Fifty years ago or so, I was a platoon leader in a support company at a US Army branch school.  Our company had call signs that identified the company (the words) and position (commander, XO, etc.).  Our call sign was something like Urgent Riders so our CO was Urgent Riders 6.  As platoon leader of the 4th platoon, I was Urgent Riders 46 (Four-Six).  Later as Operations Officer for the company, I was Urgent Riders 3.  While not sure of the exact words for the support company call signs, I do know that when I assumed command of the Headquarters, Headquarters Company (HHC), I was Nifty Elbows 6.  Hey, might be a good screen name on message boards. 

So Pork Chop 711 and Chop Suey 108 are loosely in the format common in the Army probably going back into the 1940s and 1950s. 

This is a stretch, but, the only similarity between Charlie Chan and S&H is that both Frank and Charlie are a tad overweight. That said, I've really grown to love this British series, and the characters and actors, especially Patrick Walshe McBride, who seems to have Keye Luke's ability to steal whatever scene he's in. Has anyone else seen these? ...Ed Kasprowicz

Hi OldMovieFan... You've found your way to my favorite message board of all time. It's home to the nicest people you'll ever meet on the internet, and has been like that for well over 20 years. When Kurt first started the board, Chan movies were relatively hard to come by. But, with the spread of the world wide web, more and more of us found this site and met here every day for years to discuss and promote our favorite fictional and film detective. We demonstrated that there was still a demand for these great old films, and the 6 original novels that they were based on. Eventually, the movies reappeared on television, and the books saw a few reprintings. Best of all, the surviving films were re-released with special additions like original trailers, interviews, still, and promotional bits, making them available for viewing whenever one got the urge. Sadly, four of the original Fox movies starring Warner Oland, did not survive a fire at the studio vaults. Just as sadly, many of the original board members and contributors, have joined the cast and crew members in what we all hope is a better place. That said, let me be the first to welcome you to our group. Together, we make a formidable team who can probably answer almost any question you might have on the subject of Charlie Chan. We're also not to shabby on other mystery and detective films and stories, as well as horror movies, serials, and early sci-fi. So, ask question, state your opinions, or describe any Chan memorabilia that you might own. You're amongst kindred spirits, and friends  ...Ed Kasprowicz