Lawrence W. Gray

Cop Shown Heaven Lawrence W. Gray

A character in a popular cop show, Dan Symmonds, is written out of the series and finds himself lingering in Cop Show Heaven. Here he must try to discover some depth to his personality in order to inspire a writer to re-invent him. But of course, that's just propaganda because nobody really wants depth, they just want what sells, or if not that, they just want that which sells what they want to sell! Here we are in a world aware of its own fictional nature, questioning the reasons for its own existence. In this parody of parodies, any resemblance that Cop Show Heaven bears to Hong Kong and its film-making community is purely coincidental and whoever the readership assumes any of the characters to resemble is much mistaken. All is fiction. All is fantasy. Nothing is predicted. No thesis is proffered. No solution is offered. And it all ends as Hollywood would have it end, with a beginning. Shakespeare might hold up a mirror to the times, but Gray holds up a mirror to the mirror. Cop Show Heaven came into existence because Heaven rented part of Hell to allow dead directors the pleasure of making movies. However, the Devil wants it back and is not allowing Heaven to renew the lease. Cop Show Heaven was inspired by Gray's experiences writing episodes of a big budget British TV show set in Hong Kong in 1989 and the increasing nervousness of Hong Kong's population about the 1997 handover to China's sovereignty."Here is Hong Kong's handover from Britain to China as it has never been seen before-in an absurd, allegorical fantasy that will have anyone familiar with the place laughing from beginning to end. Nothing is spared-the British, the communists, the gangsters, kung fu, traditional Chinese medicine, religion in all its forms-the send-ups are endless. Hong Kong itself is a bit of hell rented by heaven to allow deceased directors to continue making films. ... Hong Kong as heaven! Now you've seen it all. Weird? Yes, but this is a great piece of writing and great fun to read. It's a tour de force. I don't know what this dude Gray is smoking, but where can I get some?" - Bill Purves