It’s a red letter day at Travalanche, for tonight marks the season premiere of season three of Investigation Discovery’s Lt. Joe Kenda: Homicide Hunter.
It may shock and alarm you to know that we are fans of such things, but what are you going to do to for pure relaxation when your work is the study of all forms of SHOW BUSINESS? Our answer tends to be true crime and paranormal reality shows — no “thinky thinky” or “judgy judgy” involved. But Homicide Hunter is too good not to sing its praises, so here we are — back to work.
Around our house Kenda is a rock star. An impossibly sedate man, sightly shlumpy, he relates the high points of his career as a homicide detective in the small-to-medium sized city of Colorado Springs. And wouldn’t you know, they have a surprising amount of murder in that town! But of course Kenda spent a few decades on the job; I’m sure every single day wasn’t the adventure it seems on the show.
At any rate, I love how the show is directed. They take this very distinctive tack of shooting Kenda in extreme close up, as if you’re sitting across from him on a very intimate date, and in his low-key manner he weaves his amazing tales, which of course completely contrast with his implacable attitude. After all, these are stories of horror and murder. Kenda comes across as a decent man, appalled at the cold-heartedness of some of the people he’s had to deal with, and it’s made him just a touch cynical and jaded — not enough to corrupt him, just enough to give him a bit of droll gallows humor, of just the sort you’d want the cop from central casting to have. Something about his manner reminds me of the assistant principal, the one who’s in charge of discipline. He makes the bad guys look not just bad, but invariably foolish. They are people who’ve done the worst thing a human being can do. And, well, who DOES something like that? For the most part, they ain’t rocket scientists. His job is to scoop ’em up, and throw ’em in the tank.
The Duchess and I are not the only ones in his fan club. Others love to parrot his catchphrases, such as the ever popular “Well…my, my, my” (delivered to the perps in his stories with a single eyebrow raised). For maximum hilarity, he is played in the flashbacks by a man 30 years his junior who looks nothing like him — par for the course in true crime re-enactments.
So I guess you know where we’ll be tuned tonight. Here’s more info about the show: http://investigation.discovery.com/tv-shows/homicide-hunter-joe-kenda
And here’s the last word from Kenda:
(Travalanche) 
Homicide Hunter is by far my favorite crime investigation show. (And I’ve seen a lot of crime shows). Detective Joe Kenda is not only a serious detective but also a great narrator. I must also commened the actor and sherrif, Carl who potrays Mr. kenda. Excellent potrayal! I repeat, excellent!
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You have very good taste!
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Kenda, you are sooooo getting off on this shit!
How many murders happen in Colorado Springs?
You are a pompous, arrogant, fat, old, ugly man.
And that’s the truth! WELL, MY! MY! MY!
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Haha, yeah I gotta admit they’re scraping the bottom of the barrel to keep the show going at this stage. The last time I watched, the “murder” consisted of 3 teenagers playing with a gun and it accidentally went off. My original post dated from the second season or so. I like him a lot as a host; they should cook up a new show for him instead of wringing Colorado Springs dry for smaller and smaller anecdotes.
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I’m sorry you have no idea how much stalking is going on in this world.
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Hi, ma’am, this isn’t Mr. Kenda’s web site — I’m just a critic who reviewed his show. The way to reach him would be through the Investigation Discovery tv network. But it really sounds like your local police authorities are the best people for you to contact regarding your problem. Good luck, and I wish you much health, safety and justice.
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Mr Kenda, I have been stalked my enitire life. by various people. this is something that I need to let be known. My first husband. then thirty years of peace. after my marrieage ended. because I look younger then I am, everyone I seem to date ends up stalking me. I date once and I see them driving around near me when they live 20 miles away. I see one after one date outside my apt. I dated one once who was doing meals on wheels. he ended up txting me constantly. I changed my phone number maney times. The last at least ten years I have been stalked in different ways through watching texting and phone calls at least 5 times. that doesn’t include my first husband. he’s dead and in pa. I left two states as my priority has always been my safety. I am 66 years old and deathly afraid of dating anymore because I’ve been stalked so much.
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I wish I was 30 years his junior. Lol. Appreciate the support though. FYI, his wife and family think I resemble a younger version. I was also a Deputy Sheriff for 17 years in NY. Great article.
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NO WAY! How cool to hear from you! My girlfriend and I are the hugest fans, and its delightful to hear you were also in law enforcement. Keep up the good work, sir! And thanks for reaching out. This is totally going to make the Duchess’s day.
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Well my my.
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Is there an actual ‘fan club’ one can join?😜
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