City Confidential

Paul Winfield can make any small town or city fascinating. He could sell ice to Eskimos or anything else. The language and description of towns like Skidmore, Missouri, Fairbanks, Alaska, Seattle, Boston, Hunt Country, Virginia, Philadelphia, St. Augustine, Florida, and Salem, Massachusetts can entice people to visit these places and buy the books about the famous crimes that have occurred there. He is a wonderful narrator of this show. He makes everything so trivial and mundane about these towns to be exotic and captivating. Winfield died and they replaced him with a narrator just as wonderful as Paul was in the role. Still it makes you wonder about your own hometown, what makes it special, unique and it's character to the other ones depicted on City Confidential. My favorite episode was Salem known for more than the witches. If you listen to his voice, it's like listening to poetry sometimes. He points out the irony and how a town will recover from it's crimes.

This series is informative and imaginative; Paul Winfield was excellent as the initial narrator. The stories span communities all across the U.S. exploring the ..."It would never happen here"...mechanism of denial that people use to insulate themselves.

Some of the series which are particularly interesting are shown in Lopez Island, Washington; horse country of Northern Illinois (the Helen Brach/Brach candy murder) and several other affluent communities.

This series taps into the American conscience; like Stephen King, the underlying unrest that may exist in some of the most beautiful and "perfect" neighborhoods. 9/10.

I was concerned that "City Confidential" would suffer after the untimely death of Paul Winfield, its magnificent narrator. Having seen all but one of the new season's episodes, though, I can safely say that Keith David has stepped in and carried on Winfield's standard of excellence. Much credit, of course, must go to the writers, but as a fan I'd come to consider Winfield's voice the "star" of the show. While I may still miss Winfield as an actor, I no longer have any fears that one of my favorite A&E programs will decline in quality with his passing. Keith David's mellow voice, precise diction and expressive delivery set just the right tone. Kudos to whoever recognized him as the right match of talent to task.

Who can forget the deeply resonant voice with a slightly cynical twang narrating "City Confidential"? That narration seemed in integral part of this outstanding series of intriguing case histories.

On the 7th of this month (March, 2004) Paul Winfield died. It's hard to imagine "City Confidential" without him. Although he was never seen, his narration became the series on-going "star," tightly wedded to the well written scrips.

On this month's occasion it seems fitting to pay tribute to the memory of this Emmy-award-winning actor, who so enriched our lives with his rich body of work, from the sixties through this year.

In a period in which many black actors digressed into the "blaxsploitation" genre, Winfield remained completely dignified in his career choices, and steadfastly dedicated to his craft. (His work in "Sounder" and "Roots" are indelibly imprinted in our minds.)

While "Confidential" moves on to another narrator, the Winfield years will remain a lasting, rich legacy in the recollections of many series viewers.

Winfield's oily narration is fantastic, and compelling enough on its own to make the show a must-see. Every simple fact he relates seems to be bringing him great pleasure, both sinister and, ahem, lascivious. He can say "Amityville, New York" and it will sound de-li-cious, like he's really a old guy at the bar blessed with a great voice, reminiscing about some tawdry encounter he had as a youth. Good stuff!