Narrator: NEXT TIME ON THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF CORMORAN STRIKE!
[Setting: Interior: Cormoran Strike’s office]
Robin: Cormoran, my secret… the reason I dropped out of university and only did temp work like some common working class criminal Luddite with only 24 GCSEs, 18 A Levels, a Duke of Edinburgh (with honours), a George cross for bravery and a GNVQ in Hospitality to my name is…
Strike: – You’re ginger? I mean I thought it was a bit of a piss take when your parents called their red haired daughter that to be honest. And what if you got sun burn on your chest? Let alone that time on the stairs when I grabbed your –
Robin: – No! Shut up! It’s because…
Strike: – Because you’re an underdeveloped two dimensional cliche written by an author who knew she would have a multi-book deal in order to flesh out your characterisation. Thus s/he only did a very basic introduction to us in the first book as if s/he has all the time in the world to do so later on?
Robin: … No and that’s a little too meta-narrative for me and my delicate, yet vastly superior to yours, feminine intellect which can only conceive of marriage and dresses (and getting qualified as a detective to take work away from you). It’s because…
Strike: – Wait, what was that last bit you muttered under your breath?
Robin: Oh, nothing… anyway my secret is…
[Suddenly a large hairy man leans in through the window knocking the wall down in the process due to his semi-gigantic physique]
Strike: … you’re a wizard Robby? Oh, wait, wrong series… and I wouldn’t know anything about that hidden wizarding world anyway… even if this office is located on Charing Cross Road, the same street as the Leaky Cauldron and, as a Muggle, I should be completely unaware of its existence… though, as a detective, I notice blatantly ‘wizardy looking’ people going in and out of that place constantly. Well at least you’re not from the village of On Pagford. There’s a bunch of wankers on the Parish council there…
Robin: No, it’s because…
[Suddenly another large bearded man, with a boy on his back, walks in]
Hodor: Hodor? Hodor, hodor.
Bran: Hi, I’m here for the meeting of literary characters with bird themed names.
Cormoran: No sorry mate, that’s later tonight across the street. (And anyway my name’s Cormoran not Cormorant. Irish giant not a bird...) You and beardy will have to go sit in the park and stare at the tree that kind of looks like it’s got a bleeding face for a while. Or the pub. I know a really tolerant pub nearby. But hold the door for the other big beardy bloke to leave first as he’s got something crawling out his pockets.
Hagrid: It’s a dragon’s egg…
Bran: A Targeryen!?
Hagrid: No, I’m a septuagenarian actually. Back’s been giving me right trouble recently…
[exit both large bearded men. One slowly dragging a torn off door behind him]
Robin: No! My secret is…
Narrator: NEXT TIME ON THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF CORMORAN STRIKE!
I’ve seen a lot of misleading ‘next time’ teasers in recent years. I suppose that’s their purpose in a way but it can be very annoying when it’s a fake out such as the teaser includes something that gets cut away from before the ‘reveal’ moment or it’s the final moment of the next episode so in fact acts as a teaser not for the next episode but the one after that.
Rambling At The Bridge Head 