Panhandle behaviour

The story behind the phrase

Where did "Panhandle behaviour" come from?

In the earliest episode in the transcripts that uses it, episode 52, James introduces a case in central West Virginia. He says it is not in the panhandle, but that there is "so much pan handle behavior here". The wording already sounds settled, so it probably started a little earlier.

It is James's label for reckless, trashy or plain daft behaviour, which he pins on the odd narrow strips of land that stick out of American states. In episode 63 he is delighted at how far the joke has gone and says the show has "besmirched every panhandle in the nation".

How is "Panhandle behaviour" used now?

James tags any bit of small-town nonsense with it, whether or not the town is anywhere near a panhandle. Episode 120 calls a Utah town "sub pan handle" behaviour and a "running board", and in episode 611 a town at the tip of Tennessee is "the pan handle all day long". In episode 84 it appears on a T-shirt, and in episode 100 James calls Crime in Sports "two hours of panhandle behavior".