{"id":16693,"date":"2017-09-27T13:39:34","date_gmt":"2017-09-27T17:39:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=16693"},"modified":"2017-09-28T15:22:14","modified_gmt":"2017-09-28T19:22:14","slug":"comrade-detectives-joe-kraemer-and-the-art-of-the-satire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=16693","title":{"rendered":"Comrade Detective’s Joe Kraemer and the Art of the Satire"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Just posted is a review of Amazon\u2019s original series Comrade Detective<\/a><\/strong>, a subtle yet brilliant gem that\u2019s designed to be a \u2018lost\u2019 Romanian propaganda series from 1983 which has been \u2018restored\u2019 and dubbed into English so audiences can relish a vintage Soviet, anti-American riff on the detective genre.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m also supplementing the series review (which runs a more than perfect 6 episode run) with a podcast interview featuring Joe Kraemer, a composer whose work I\u2019ve enjoyed going way back to The\u00a0Way of the Gun<\/strong> (2000).<\/p>\n

That was one of the early DVDs to feature an isolated score-composer commentary track, and Kraemer\u2019s scored almost every genre and format around, culminating in two action favourites, Jack Reacher<\/strong> (2012), and Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation<\/a><\/strong> (2015), the latter featuring one of the best action scores in recent years.<\/p>\n

\"\"His music for Comrade Detective\u00a0<\/strong>is clever, serious, and lightly satirical, and in our conversation we talk about scoring a fake Soviet era propaganda series, audio commentaries, vinyl, and composing music for King Cohen: The Wild World of Filmmaker Larry Cohen<\/strong> (2017), Steve Mitchell\u2019s documentary on cult indie producer-director-writer Larry Cohen, co-produced by Matt Verboys and Michael V. Gerhard, founders of venerable La-La Land Records.<\/p>\n

Comrade Detective\u00a0<\/strong>will strike a special chord among fans of Soviet propaganda, satire, and absurdism, but us Canadians will react maybe a bit more warmly, since we have a history of riffing American shows during the 1980s.<\/p>\n

If the names of series like Sweating Bullets<\/strong> \/ aka Tropical Heat<\/strong> (1992-1993), Night Heat<\/strong> (1985-1989), and Street Justice<\/strong> (1991-1993) elicit a unique fusion of groans, face-palms, and warm & fuzzy feelings, well, you\u2019re of that age to have experienced the magic of Canadian Content (CanCon) genre productions successfully sold around the world that were replayed endlessly on local stations to satisfy CanCon broadcast requirements.<\/p>\n

Americans may have seen these iconic shows \u2013 CBS Late Night featured several local productions, starting with Night Heat<\/strong> \u2013 but they wouldn\u2019t have understood why I might be the only loon who correlates Amazon’s faux Soviet propaganda series with our cheeky knock-offs.<\/p>\n

Listen to the podcast (see links at end) for some explanation and edification (or outright blather).<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll have a series of new reviews shortly \u2013 upcoming sets of covered titles include movies about mummies, Los Angeles vice squad tales, and more \u2013 plus teaser material tied to Video Store Day, which happens Saturday October 21.<\/p>\n

As for some context to where I’m coming from with my oddball theory, here’s a selection of CanCon series intros to give you a flavour of our local fromage, and the evil lyrics that won’t leave your head.<\/p>\n

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