Charlie’s Angels

In Facets of Ayn Rand, Mary Ann Sures tells us that Ayn Rand enjoyed Charlie’s Angels.

She enjoyed it for its Romanticism —the adventures of three intelligent, courageous, spirited heroines. She favored Farrah Fawcett. At the time, she thought that Fawcett was a possible candidate for Dagny, if Atlas were made into a movie.

Charlie’s Angels was an hour-long action show that aired from 1976 to 1981. It featured three crime-fighting women who received their orders from an unseen man via speaker-phone. Episodes from the first three seasons can be viewed for free online at Hulu.com, or purchased at Amazon.

Agatha Christie

During the Q&A period following her lecture on Egalitarianism and Inflation, Ayn Rand was asked to name an intellectual woman that she admired. She had this to say about Agatha Christie:

[She] is a woman with the most prestigious, magnificent talent for what I regard as the most important aspect of literature — plot imaginations… She’s over eighty, she’s written eighty novels in her life and all of them, the least interesting, are better than what most other mystery writers write. [She] is the only woman that I can read with the greatest of pleasure… I really admire her and the ability to write ingenious plots is certainly a profoundly intellectual ability.

Two of Agatha Christie’s novels, The Mysterious Affair at Styles and The Secret Adversary can be obtained for free online at Project Gutenberg, and The Secret Adversary has been scanned by Google Book Search. Her books can be bought online at Amazon, or from my favorite used bookseller, Thriftbooks.com.

Kojak

Mary Ann Sures explains why Ayn Rand enjoyed Kojak in Facets of Ayn Rand:

Kojak, the detective played by Tel­ly Savalas, who was color­ful in personal style, and thought­ful and direct in manner. Charles recommended Kojak to her.

Kojak was an hour-long crime drama that aired on CBS from 1973 to 1978. It starred Telly Savalas as Detective Kojak, a man fond of lollipops (ironically, as a substitute for cigarettes) and saying “who loves ya, baby?” at some (usually awkward) point during the show. Season one can be viewed online at Hulu or purchased at Amazon.

Dragnet

In The Facets of Ayn Rand, Mary Ann Sures reveals Ayn Rand’s interest in Dragnet. She says:

[Ayn Rand] enjoyed Dragnet for its detective, Joe Friday, played by Jack Webb. She liked his no-nonsense attitude toward crime-solv­ing, expressed by his line, “Just give me the facts, m’am.”

Dragnet was a half-hour crime drama that aired from 1967-1970. It is well known for its distinctive four-note opening theme and its realism. The first two seasons can be watched online at Hulu, and Veoh. Amazon also has seasons for sale.

Peikoff also favorably mentions the series in his book, Objectivism: the Philosophy of Ayn Rand.