I Love a Mystery - Mystery TV Shows (1 Viewer)

[Matt Hough]

I have the Father Dowling Mysteries, too. (Did I review the sets? Can't remember.) They're fine. That bumbling priest got on my nerves after a while.

Did you realize that Tom Bosley only appeared in nineteen episodes of Murder, She Wrote over his four seasons on the show? It seemed to me he was on every week, but that's the trick our memories can play on us.

 

[Matt Hough]

I just checked: I did review The Father Dowling Mysteries here.

 

[Mysto]

I just checked: I did review The Father Dowling Mysteries here.

Excellent and I think fair review Matt. As I remember, I enjoyed watching them but I have never re-visited which is telling. They are not Father Brown.
Any other links to mystery reviews?????

 

[Matt Hough]

I've reviewed a bunch of mystery-related CBS fare including multiple seasons of NCIS (and its numerous offspring) , Elementary, The Mentalist, Criminal Minds. Also multiple series of Poirot, Marple, Sherlock, and, of course, Murder She Wrote.

 

[Mysto]

I've reviewed a bunch of mystery-related CBS fare including multiple seasons of NCIS (and its numerous offspring) , Elementary, The Mentalist, Criminal Minds. Also multiple series of Poirot, Marple, Sherlock, and, of course, Murder She Wrote.

I'd love to see links to the other reviews Matt. My little blurbs are only tidbits and we'd love to get other takes on the shows.

You referenced your review to Murder She Wrote earlier but the link "here" didn't work for me. You might start with that one.

We've already discussed Sherlock so it would be especially fun to see your take on that as well.

Cheers

 

[Matt Hough]

I didn't review every season of Murder, She Wrote. Here's a review for season 9.

 

[Matt Hough]

And here's season three of Sherlock.

 

[Matt Hough]

Canada has given us a spiffy, cracking period mystery show: The Murdoch Mysteries. Highly recommended especially the early seasons.

 

[Mysto]

Canada has given us a spiffy, cracking period mystery show: The Murdoch Mysteries. Highly recommended especially the early seasons.

I agree on both the show and the early seasons. A couple of seasons back I remember they started with about 6 story arcs running at the same time and didn't resolve any of them. We gave up. A show that we watched regularly and we just gave up. But the early seasons were favs of both myself and my wife.

 

[Mysto]

Poirot – 1989-2013

Time to talk about Agatha Christie’s most famous character. This show is a top favorite of mine and also my wife’s. The little Belgian Detective with OCD and an amazing grasp of the human condition while still being so out of touch personally is just fun to watch. The mysteries are first rate (they are Christie) but a few were modified to work for TV. David Suchet “became” Poirot and managed to complete the canon with 70 episodes.

Some have complained that Suchet’s Poirot was a bit “nicer” than in the books. I suppose that is true but all of the charactistics are there and I think they did what was necessary to try to make a show that was workable on TV and still pretty faithful to the books. Suchet went to great lengths to keep the character true to the books, even arguing with director early on about mannerisms.

The series is really in two parts. The episodes for the first 8 seasons revolved around Poirot’s office and had the support of Captain Hastings (Hugh Fraser) Chief Inspector Japp (Philip Jackson) and his secretary Miss Lemon (Pauline Moran).

These seasons also had a strong art deco vibe. Here is Poirots office building.

As with so much of Christie, they travel. Not only London, but across the countryside and beyond. This Poirot also went down the Nile and rode the Orient Express with a much smaller budget than the movies and still maintained style.

Starting in Season 9 the tone became darker, comedy was downplayed and he had new companions, a mystery writer Ariadne Oliver (Zoe Wanamaker) and his butler George (David Yelland). In the final Season Hastings, Japp, and Miss Lemon returned.

Here’s Ariadne Oliver. Most agree that she was a parody on the Grand Lady herself.

My wife prefers the earlier lighter seasons, I have a good friend that only enjoys the latter, and for me… I love them all. I’m an Agatha fanboy and the Poirot’s are among my very favorites of her work. While some of her stories can seem to drag at times, I never get that feeling with Poirot. They move along briskly and end all too quickly.

If you’ve never seen a Poirot, where have you been? There are episodes on youtube for a try out. They are currently streaming on BritBox and both DVD’s and beautiful Blu Rays are available.



At the end of the series they made a wonderful documentary where David Suchet talks about how he prepared and played Poirot. A must see for Poirot fans.

 

[Matt Hough]

Yes, once the shows were ported to Blu-ray, I got to review almost all them and was in heaven. I lean toward the hour-long shows of the early seasons. They were pretty faithful to the short stories and novels. Later seasons veered away from the novels a bit and changed some endings (Appointment with Death, for example, which I found horrifying).

Suchet said in an interview that Orient Express was the gold standard and the one he most looked forward to making, but I have to say the result, after the masterpiece of the 1974 Sidney Lumet version, was more than a tad underwhelming.

 

[Mysto]

A Private Affair - 2022

A Private Affair, a Prime Video mystery. This Spanish mini-series has eight, fifty minute episodes.

Marina Quiroga (Aura Garrido) is a young upper class lady who’s brother is the police commissioner. Her dad had taught her in the ways of policing and deduction and she feels it really should be her. But this is 1940 Galicia Spain. Women are supposed to stay home and care for the children. A serial killer terrorizes the area and Marina along with her faithful butler Hector (Jean Reno) defy the authorities and set out to solve the mystery.

The show is sumptuously filmed with the lovely scenery and architecture of the Spanish country side and has a lot of wonderful costumes and vintage automobiles.

The story moves along like a Saturday afternoon serial.

My wife enjoyed this one more than I. She found the young lady engaging, I sometimes found her annoying. Even with all her detective “training” she seems to stumble through the clues. The episodes did move along briskly. This was shot in Spanish and dubbed in English so sometimes the dialog was a bit goofy. Some reviewers on IMDB have suggested to set the language to Spanish (the original) and then turn on sub-titles. My wife dislikes subs so I didn’t try it.

 

[Rustifer]

Jonathan Creek -1997-2016

Ah, Marv...you beat me to this show that I was planning on commenting as it's also one of my favorites.
Much against public opinion, I did not have a problem when Caroline Quentin was replaced by Julia Sawahla in the series. I thought she gave it a bit more of a rounded look (wink wink, nudge nudge)...

 

[Mysto]

Ah, Marv...you beat me to this show that I was planning on commenting as it's also one of my favorites.
Much against public opinion, I did not have a problem when Caroline Quentin was replaced by Julia Sawahla in the series. I thought she gave it a bit more of a rounded look (wink wink, nudge nudge)...

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Russ - Glad to see you here again. I'm hoping my little posts don't discourage others from posting their thoughts and comments. Love to hear your (and anyone elses) views of Jonathan - one of my favorite shows.

I thought Julia was pleasant to look at but for me the chemistry never came. I still enjoy the later episodes but more as just mysteries. There are those that liked Julia better and people that preferred Tara in the Avengers - just not me.

For me everything mystery is game and we can discuss what-ever when-ever. I hope people will get in here and bring up what they are watching currently including individual episodes. Love 'em - hate 'em. Kinda like you guys did on that mystery show thread 77 SS. (Do we consider 77SS a mystery show?)

 

[Mysto]

Perry Mason – 1957-1966 Series
1985-1995 Made for TV Movies

Starting in the late 50’s Perry Mason came into our homes each week. It was simple. Someone was unjustly accused of a crime and Perry would not only defend them but solve who dunnit usually during the process of the pre-trial.

Perry Mason – Raymond Burr
Della Street – Barbara Hale
Paul Drake – William Hopper
Hamilton Burger – William Talman
Lieutenant Arthur Tragg – Ray Collins

What a great show. Over 60 years old, in square screen, black and white, mono sound, and yet it still is playing on multiple channels. It is indeed a tribute to the strong material and performances in the show.

271 Episodes and the shortest season was Season 3 with only 26 episodes. For comparison, Death in Paradise has a season of 8 shows.

There were also 30 Made for TV Movies starting in 1985.

Raymond Burr had to lose 60 pounds to get the role (he lost 100) that was originally given to Efrem Zimbalist Jr. Luckily Burr got the role – he was brilliant and if Efrem had got it we might not have had him in 77 Sunset Strip (unthinkable).

Erle Stanley Gardner was very unhappy with the film and radio adaptations of his Perry Mason lawyer character (I was too, the movies are a joke) but was finally convinced to try TV by Gail Patrick Jackson. Gardner was given a lot of creative control and was allowed to review all the scripts before getting the go-ahead. The rest, as they say, is history.

All mystery shows are a dance. They have to show you all the suspects and then try to keep you from coming up with the right one before the finale. Perry Mason was pretty good at it but there was a buzz going that who ever was on the stand at a certain time in the show was the guilty one. Does it work? You’ll have to solve that mystery yourself.

Raymond Burr Interview

 

[Matt Hough]

Was a fan of the show as a kid and that has continued to this day. I was fortunate enough to review many of the season boxes and all of the TV-movies (which are lesser in quality and often seem padded).

One of the TV greats, in my opinion. Its longevity proves its classic status.

 

[Jeff Flugel]

Miss Marple (BBC version)
From 1984 to 1992, Joan Hickson put the definitive stamp on Agatha Christie's spinster sleuth, in a series of twelve wonderful BBC adaptations of the Miss Marple novels, all featuring beautiful location filming, terrific casting and witty scripts which “open up” the books well, making a few cosmetic changes from the novels here and there but otherwise staying completely true to their tricky plots and overall spirit. The Miss Marple stories are slightly "cozier" than the Poirots, but Christie's intricate plotting and deft handling of assorted character types remain.

For those unaware, Miss Marple is a bird-like elderly lady who looks like a harmless and innocent old village gossip - which she is, to a certain extent - but who has, as Chief Inspector Slack (played here to deadpan effect by David Horovitch) states, "the mind of a meat cleaver" and who is "a nice-looking, gray-haired cobra sliding about." Miss Marple uses her extensive knowledge of human nature and psychology, gleaned from years of observing the patterns of behavior and the various peccadillos of the residents of her village, St. Mary Mead, to solve assorted murders. She’s an amateur detective, naturally, but such is the power of her criminological brain that she is ultimately consulted by the various police inspectors on the case (in the aforementioned Slack's case, begrudgingly). And as an amateur, she can often inveigle herself into the middle of an investigation without arousing suspicion, being viewed by all and sundry as merely a harmless old busybody.

Impecably produced, written and performed, this is top notch Golden Age Detective stuff all the way…and I’ve grown to absolutely love the little lilting ditty that is the “Miss Marple” theme in the BBC series. Whenever it crops up in the incidental music of one of these adaptations, you know Hickson’s “silver-haired cobra” is on the scene, prowling for clues.

There have been Marples before and since, including Margaret Rutherford, Helen Hayes and Angela Lansbury - but as far as I’m concerned, none can hold a candle to Ms. Hickson, with her pitch perfect combination of dithery old bitty act and steely-eyed, implacable machine of justice. (Hickson was Dame Agatha’s own preferred choice for the role, though she didn’t portray the character until well after Christie’s death.) To many fans, Joan Hickson is the definitive Miss Marple, just as Jeremy Brett is the definitive Sherlock Holmes and David Suchet the definitive Poirot. Hickson has an extraordinary stillness about her. Coupled with her piercing, unblinking blue-eyed gaze and sharp, unsentimental intelligence ("a mind like a bacon slicer"), she is the very embodiment of the seemingly nice old lady who sits, observes all and puts two and two together with a ruthless logic. No other actress has come anywhere close to nailing the character as well as Hickson, IHO.

After the BBC version concluded, rival channel ITV took up the mantle, to decidedly mixed effect. While still boasting sumptuous production values, the ITV Marple series is seriously flawed both in the casting of Miss Marple and the producers’ mistaken belief that they can better Queen of Crime Christie’s often fiendishly clever mystery plots. Geraldine McEwan (ITV’s first choice as Marple) was far too twee and twinkly, and her successor Julie Mackenzie too sweet and bland. The series played fast and loose with Christie’s plots to detrimental effect, as well as crowbarring Miss Marple into adaptations of novels in which she had never appeared in the first place. This later series remains watchable as slick popcorn fodder, but is a big step down from the BBC version.

As always, one’s mileage may vary. But for me, while the various other film and television adaptations have their merits, only the BBC Joan Hickson version gets every ingredient right. If at all possible, get your hands on the beautifully remastered Blu-Ray sets (all three of which Matt H. has reviewed here for the HTF).

 

[Mysto]

The Joy of Friends.
When I started this thread there was no one posting but myself and then Matt helped out. So I gave a shout out to my long time forum buddies and friends Russ and Jeff. Both of them came through for me with great reviews. Russ - a champion of the cozy mystery (I hope he does more) and then I knew that the Hickson Marples were a favorite of Jeff's and I asked and he came through as well. (Boy did he ever - I gotta up my game) And I always enjoy his thoughts as well.
Thanks guys - I'll watch movies and TV with you two anytime.

 

[Mysto]

Miss Marple (BBC version)
From 1984 to 1992, Joan Hickson put the definitive stamp on Agatha Christie's spinster sleuth, in a series of twelve wonderful BBC adaptations of the Miss Marple novels, all featuring beautiful location filming, terrific casting and witty scripts which “open up” the books well, making a few cosmetic changes from the novels here and there but otherwise staying completely true to their tricky plots and overall spirit. The Miss Marple stories are slightly "cozier" than the Poirots, but Christie's intricate plotting and deft handling of assorted character types remain.

For those unaware, Miss Marple is a bird-like elderly lady who looks like a harmless and innocent old village gossip - which she is, to a certain extent - but who has, as Chief Inspector Slack (played here to deadpan effect by David Horovitch) states, "the mind of a meat cleaver" and who is "a nice-looking, gray-haired cobra sliding about." Miss Marple uses her extensive knowledge of human nature and psychology, gleaned from years of observing the patterns of behavior and the various peccadillos of the residents of her village, St. Mary Mead, to solve assorted murders. She’s an amateur detective, naturally, but such is the power of her criminological brain that she is ultimately consulted by the various police inspectors on the case (in the aforementioned Slack's case, begrudgingly). And as an amateur, she can often inveigle herself into the middle of an investigation without arousing suspicion, being viewed by all and sundry as merely a harmless old busybody.

Impecably produced, written and performed, this is top notch Golden Age Detective stuff all the way…and I’ve grown to absolutely love the little lilting ditty that is the “Miss Marple” theme in the BBC series. Whenever it crops up in the incidental music of one of these adaptations, you know Hickson’s “silver-haired cobra” is on the scene, prowling for clues.

There have been Marples before and since, including Margaret Rutherford, Helen Hayes and Angela Lansbury - but as far as I’m concerned, none can hold a candle to Ms. Hickson, with her pitch perfect combination of dithery old bitty act and steely-eyed, implacable machine of justice. (Hickson was Dame Agatha’s own preferred choice for the role, though she didn’t portray the character until well after Christie’s death.) To many fans, Joan Hickson is the definitive Miss Marple, just as Jeremy Brett is the definitive Sherlock Holmes and David Suchet the definitive Poirot. Hickson has an extraordinary stillness about her. Coupled with her piercing, unblinking blue-eyed gaze and sharp, unsentimental intelligence ("a mind like a bacon slicer"), she is the very embodiment of the seemingly nice old lady who sits, observes all and puts two and two together with a ruthless logic. No other actress has come anywhere close to nailing the character as well as Hickson, IHO.

View attachment 174763

After the BBC version concluded, rival channel ITV took up the mantle, to decidedly mixed effect. While still boasting sumptuous production values, the ITV Marple series is seriously flawed both in the casting of Miss Marple and the producers’ mistaken belief that they can better Queen of Crime Christie’s often fiendishly clever mystery plots. Geraldine McEwan (ITV’s first choice as Marple) was far too twee and twinkly, and her successor Julie Mackenzie too sweet and bland. The series played fast and loose with Christie’s plots to detrimental effect, as well as crowbarring Miss Marple into adaptations of novels in which she had never appeared in the first place. This later series remains watchable as slick popcorn fodder, but is a big step down from the BBC version.

As always, one’s mileage may vary. But for me, while the various other film and television adaptations have their merits, only the BBC Joan Hickson version gets every ingredient right. If at all possible, get your hands on the beautifully remastered Blu-Ray sets (all three of which Matt H. has reviewed here for the HTF).

View attachment 174764

I agree Jeff - except as you know I am a big fan of the Rutherford movies but... It's like the modern Sherlock stuff. I don't really look at Margaret as Miss Marple but just a really fun mystery movie using the Christie framework.

I already mentioned Lansbury in "The Mirror Cracked". I really like her work but it is interesting how wrong she was for Marple and how right for Murder She Wrote.

Cheers

 

[Rustifer]

Murdoch Mysteries

I agree on both the show and the early seasons. A couple of seasons back I remember they started with about 6 story arcs running at the same time and didn't resolve any of them. We gave up. A show that we watched regularly and we just gave up. But the early seasons were favs of both myself and my wife.

I, too, blow hot and cold on this series. I never thought the writing was sharp, and the sets seem to indicate a certain amount of budget restrictions. Also, there's a bit too much effort to promote famous figures' disconsonant visits to Toronto, e.g. Thomas Edison, Mark Twain, Teddy Roosevelt, etc. as if to suspend belief in historic accuracy. I do, however, enjoy Jonny Harris and Thomas "Bloody Hell!" Craig's comically-tuned characters.

All that being said, both wifey and I settle in to watch each new season as the show seems to be Canada's attempt at the English "cozy mystery" genre (for which we're suckers, as Marv points out)--and fortunately Yannick Bisson and cast don't seem to take the scripts too seriously. So we don't either.