You can learn a lot about cripples just by watching television.
For instance, even I, who thought he knew everything there is to know about
cripples, never knew there are so many cripples who go around solving crimes.
I’ve never met any such cripples, but apparently there are a bunch of them out
there because there has been a bunch of television shows about cripples who go
around solving crimes. And the people who write and produce television shows
would never make stuff like that up.
There’s a new show this season about a guy in a wheelchair who goes
around solving crimes. And before that there was a show about a deaf woman who
goes around solving crimes. And before that there was a show about a guy with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder who goes around solving crimes. And long before
any of those shows there was another show about a guy in a wheelchair who goes
around solving crimes, from which the current show about the guy in a wheelchair
who goes around solving crimes is derived.
And premiering soon on TBS (Total Bull Shit) is the newest
riff on the cripple-crime-solver genre. The protagonist has Usher Syndrome, which means he is not only in a
wheelchair but he is also deaf and blind! But none of this stops him from pursuing
his passion of going around solving crimes. And like all those other cripple
shows, I’m sure it must be a totally true story based on a real live person.
The title of the show is Maloney, which is the name of the
lead character, a caustic and brooding but brilliant detective. And his
crippledness is what makes him such a great detective. Because, like all people
who are deaf and blind, he may not be able to see and hear but he is acutely
sensitive to auras. Put Maloney in a
room with a suspect and he will soon know if the suspect is guilty just by
absorbing their aura. Maloney’s signature catch phrase is, “Auras never lie.”
And also, like all people who are deaf and blind, Maloney’s
three functioning senses are greatly heightened. For instance, Maloney’s taste
buds are so sharp that he can literally taste DNA. In the pilot episode,
Maloney licks a gun found at the scene of a homicide. Then he licks a
suspect and declares that the DNA matches perfectly.
Maloney’s constant companion is Maria, his sassy Puerto
Rican nurse/assistant. Like all real live Puerto Rican women, she’s a judo
expert, which comes in handy since she also serves as Maloney’s de facto
bodyguard. Her judo skills are on full display in episode 4, when the vicious
killer from the pilot episode escapes from prison and vows revenge on Maloney
for sending him up the river. The psychopath hunts Maloney down and gleefully
says, “Now it’s your turn to take a lickin’, Maloney!” Just then Maria returns from her dojo in a
nick of time and subdues the maniac with a scoop throw.
Anyway, I’m happy that all my cripple comrades who go around
solving crimes are finally getting the recognition they deserve. And I’m happy
for all the sassy Puerto Rican women who are judo experts, too.