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'No. 1 Ladies' Is Different Kind Of Detective Tale

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By WALT BELCHER wbelcher

@tampatrib.com

Published: March 27, 2009

HBO viewers not familiar with the good-natured "No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" novels might be puzzled by the TV version.

The languid pace, the gentle humor and the quaint characters seem out of place on the network known for provocative dramas such as "True Blood," "Big Love," "Deadwood" and "The Sopranos."

Based on the best-selling novel series by Scottish author Alexander McCall Smith, this new series follows the intuitive crime-solving efforts of a doggedly patient African woman named Precious Ramotswe.

Jill Scott, an R&B singer and actress from Philadelphia, brings the hefty Precious to life. Anika Noni Rose plays her spunky, eccentric secretary Grace.

The opening episode at 8 p.m. Sunday finds Precious selling the 180 cows that she inherits from her father and heading to Botswana to set up a detective agency to help people.

Most of her cases do not involve violence. A wife wants to know if her husband is cheating. Another client suspects the man claiming to be her father is not who he appears to be. A third case involves a missing boy.

Precious unravels mysteries big and small over tea. She conquers by outsmarting her adversaries (most are men). It is little wonder that McCall's novels are popular with women.

These are not the hard-boiled gumshoes found in traditional detective yarns. For some that will be a good thing. For others, "No. 1 Ladies" might be all sweetness and no heat.

GOOD HAIR DAY: A St. Petersburg woman who says she has had a lot of bad hair days appears on "Live with Regis and Kelly" today to get a makeover from stylist Oscar Blandi.

Rebecca Aragon, 51, an electrician's apprentice, is one of five women selected for their "bad hair" from hundreds who submitted photos. The episode will air at 9 a.m. on WTVT, Channel 13.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: "NBC Nightly News" may run a "Making a Difference" segment tonight on a Tampa native who is helping the children of Montana soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

A report on David Bell, 35, a 1992 Plant High School graduate who co-founded Grateful Nation Montana, was postponed from Thursday's newscast.

Bell, an insurance executive who graduated from the University of Montana, says Grateful Nation does more than just provide money for tuition to the University of Montana.

"Our goal is to help these children succeed in college," he said in a telephone interview. "We get the university involved in tutoring long before they are ready to enroll.

"Montana has lost more soldiers per capita than any other state in Iraq and Afghanistan," he says. "These soldiers have paid the ultimate price and the spouse left behind becomes a single parent who has to deal with the financial and socioeconomic issues of raising a child alone."

He says that not only does the military family face a financial hardship, the children often grow up unprepared for college, socially and academically.

Bell is the son of Nancy Bell, a Tampa writer and psychologist, and the stepson of Ron Rotella, executive director of the Westshore Alliance.

FROM THE BLOG: Some think that the geeks of the world have united to give Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Wozniak a pity vote to keep him on "Dancing With the Stars."

The Woz, hobbled by a foot injury and hamstring, survived the cut this week. Was it a backlash against the judges who ripped his performance Monday? He and partner Karina Smirnoff had a miserable score but it was wooden actress Denise Richards who went home. Read more on TBO.com at Keyword: Walt TV.

TUNE IN TONIGHT

"Dollhouse," 9 p.m., Fox

Echo becomes a college student this week and goes undercover to stop the outbreak of a deadly virus.

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