The Mystery, Crime, and Thriller Group discussion

Sprained my foot so was laid up all weekend binge watching "Only Murders In the Building" because I really love Steve Martin and Martin Short. Selena Gomez was very good and the supporting characters (in the building) were really some "characters" with their individual foibles!

Barbara wrote: "Judy wrote: "I liked the 1st season of Lincoln Lawyer, but cannot get excited over this 2nd season. Too much "awe shucks I'm so good in the sack" looks from Haller."

Uh oh. I don't think I'll like..."

We finished it, enjoyed it, and It's really not that bad (re Haller). The storyline is good, although not as good as season one (imo).

Linda wrote: "Once upon a time, I too had access to cable. There was a great channel called MHZ that all mystery buffs should know about. I watched Wallander in Swedish (the Krister Henriksson series is best), a..."

MHz is actually available without cable, if you're still interested in watching it. And, as I have said for years now, Bruno Cremer is the best Maigret ever.

Nancy wrote: "Barbara wrote: "Judy wrote: "I liked the 1st season of Lincoln Lawyer, but cannot get excited over this 2nd season....."

I've watched both seasons of Lincoln Lawyer now and I like the series pretty well. I like Mickey Haller and his staff.

I do think there are too many courtroom scenes; it feels like padding.

I finished the excellent series, Peacemaker, with John Cena. It ended where they could do more with it, or it’s the end. Considering they’re rebooting the DC universe, I’m pretty sure there won’t be another season. The actor, Freddie Stroma, who played H.G. Wells on the very short lived tv series remake of Time After Time had the funniest part as Vigilante, Peacemaker’s “BFF”, and sort of sidekick, who’s even crazier than him. It was interesting to see Stroma’s range in a very different role.

I also finished the first season of The Magnificent Seven tv series from the late 90’s. There were only 2 seasons. Very good as far as tv series adaptations of films go. Or in this case, a tv series based on a film/film series, based on a film (Seven Samurai).

I watched The French Dispatch and See How They Run. I enjoyed them both. The French Dispatch was in a puzzle I was doing this morning so I thought - why not. And I had seen part of See How They Run and was interested in seeing the beginning. Both were pretty enjoyable.

I finished the first season of Lost. I didn’t see it when it was first on.

Thomas wrote: "I am also watching Deadloch, on Amazon Prime. It is a police procedural set in Tasmania, Australia. The 2 women detectives are on the way to solving the mystery of a serial killer, when an obnoxiou..."

I enjoyed this one, too. The plot isn't all that original, but if you extract a plot out of Broadchurch or The Sinner, mix freely with characters that are rather like an Aussie version of the American show Northern Exposure (with some language and some [not erotic] nudity), and introduce to the mix an unerring sense of when to undercut the kinds of scenes that have become traditional in police procedurals, you have a series I hope continues.

I started watching 'Bodies' on Netflix. In four different time periods, ranging from the 1800s to the mid-2300s, a mysterious body shows up in Whitechapel. A detective in each period investigates.

Good so far. Eerie and interesting. I hope it doesn't go downhill. 🙂

I started streaming the 80’s miniseries, Smiley’s People. By streaming, I mean just YouTube, although my tv has a YouTube app on it, so I watch that and a lot of other things on it.

Excellent so far. I liked the book, as well as previous book, The Honourable Schoolboy, better than Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, and so far the same can be said of the mini series, although Tinker, Tailor… was still much better than the Oldman film. Both are very well made, and film like quality, a rarity for 70’s and 80’s bbc series. Also, both are very well cast, and are mostly as I pictured them. One actor who surprised me was Dudley Sutton as an ultra serious Russian character. I haven’t seen much with him, but I mainly remember him as more smiling or cheery characters.

Watched the Peacock original series, The Traitors. I was looking for mindless snow day entertainment. My friend (who staying with me because her apartment has no water because of the storm) and I were rather skeptical of this upon starting it....well, we BINGED the whole thing (10 episodes) since Friday.


Normally, this would not be my thing, especially since I don't know many of the reality tv people who are participating. It's surprisingly REALLY good, especially from the psychological aspect. I think you'd be surprised, if you don't take it seriously, how enjoyable this would be.

I'm not necessary a Michael Connelly fan, but I've enjoyed the Lincoln Lawyer--especially the hottie who plays the lead.

Watched American Nightmare on Netflix the other day. 3 episodes. Cops confused real crime with book/movie Gone Girl. I had neither seen nor read GG so I had no confusion. It was a sad situation. But well done.

I'm waiting for season 2 of Tulsa King to come out. Call me crazy but the first season of that show was insanely entertaining. Who knew Sly Stallone had it in him to be a mob guy? He totally kills the role! No pun intended.

I need to finish watching Justified: Primeval on Hulu. I loved the original series and this one is definitely reminiscent of it. The villain like most Raylan goes up against thinks he's smart but in reality is a dumb idiot.

Also, if you're into giallo(Italian horror), there's quite a few Dario Argento Horror/Crime whodunnit's on Tubi to watch such as Tenebrae, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, Inferno, Opera, and Trauma, just to name a few.

I started the series ESCAPE TO THE CHATEAU. I'm watching it on Peacock, but I think it is available on other formats. I'm on episode 3 of the first season. It has nine seasons.

It follows an English couple, who pack up all their belongings and their two kids, and move to France! Where they have bought a completely abandoned castle, empty for at least a half century, with the idea of refurbishing the whole thing and make it a destination wedding spot.

(I was disappointed to hear that the show was cancelled because the female half of the couple was apparently a brute to the film crew, but every story has two sides, and I haven't heard the couple's side, yet.)

Laura wrote: "I started the series ESCAPE TO THE CHATEAU. I'm watching it on Peacock, but I think it is available on other formats. I'm on episode 3 of the first season. It has nine seasons.

It follows an Engli..."

Sorry to hear a series you like has been cancelled. You may enjoy https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/...#

Also, the movie/book Under The Tuscan Sun is charming.

Justin wrote: "Also, if you're into giallo(Italian horror), there's quite a few Dario Argento Horror/Crime whodunnit's on Tubi to watch such as Tenebrae, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, Inferno, Opera, and Tra..."

I'm a huge giallo fan, so thanks.

Nancy wrote: "Justin wrote: "Also, if you're into giallo(Italian horror), there's quite a few Dario Argento Horror/Crime whodunnit's on Tubi to watch such as Tenebrae, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, Inferno,..."

You're welcome! I still have a few from Dario Argento to watch before I find others to watch.

I started streaming a few old shows recently.

Five Fingers (1959-1960). A short lived tv show, more inspired than actually based on the earlier film Five Fingers (1952). It concerns an American agent in Europe, masquerading as a talent agent for cover, and his adventures. It features 2 stars who would later appear in the Bond films. David Hedison (1927-2019. Bond films: Live and Let Die and Licence to Kill. Also, the title role in The Fly (1958) as well as Jodie Foster’s real life father in law.) stars as agent Victor Sebastian. Luciana Paluzzi, actually my favorite Bond girl in the series (Thunderball), stars as his girlfriend and singer he represents as a talent agent. Paul Burke (The Thomas Crown Affair) also appears in most episodes as Robertson, a fellow agent who assists him.

At Last the 1948 Show (1967) the precursor to Monty Python’s Flying Circus, starring John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Tim Brooke-Taylor, Marty Feldman, and Aimi MacDonald. Good, although clearly on a much tighter budget than even Monty Python’s Flying Circus. Most of the skits so far seem to partly use the same set by redressing it, and involve Cleese as various, but similar characters, at a desk. Cleese was never my favorite Monty Python member, and he’s not my favorite here either. Here, Marty Feldman seems to be the funniest one.

Department S (1969-1970) Probably the single coolest, most bad*** show I’ve seen, and I’m only a couple episodes into it. It stars Peter Wyngarde as novelist Jason King, Joel Fabiani as agent Stewart Sullivan, Rosemary Nicols as Annabelle Hurst, and Dennis Alaba Peters as Sir Curtis Seretse. Both Wyngarde himself, as well as his character, King, are well known in British culture, inspiring both Marvel comics (“Jason Wyngarde”), and JK Rowling (the spell, Wyngardium Leviosa). King, Sullivan, and Hurst are the team. They’re interpol, and Sullivan is actually an American. King and Hurst are primarily the brains, whereas Sullivan is primarily the muscle, although all three do both. I was most surprised that the leader of the group is a British black man, Sir Curtis. This almost seems ahead of the time, and probably wouldn’t have happened on American tv.

I finished a couple tv shows recently:

Smiley’s People, which I mentioned before. Excellent second series with Alec Guinness as Smiley, or as I see it, more a second season or second part. They’re pretty much one series with different titles. One biggish/not big (depending on how you look at it) casting change - Michael Byrne replaced Michael Jayston as Peter Guillam. For a casting change though, it’s practically seamless. Both are/were excellent actors (RIP Michael Jayston 1935-2024). I also liked this story, and especially The Honorable Schoolboy (never filmed), much more than (the more popular) Tinker, Tailor… as well as the better cast in this one.

Bernard Hepton, Beryl Reid, Anthony Bate, Sian Phillips, and Patrick Stewart return in their previous roles, with Hepton not just giving a much better performance, but an overall amazing performance. He pretty much stole every scene he was in. Reid gives an incredibly sad and touching performance in her scene with Guinness. I’m not sure if she was actually as sick or frail in real life, as she wasn’t too old here or in Tinker, Tailor… and did live another 15 years. Classic film actors such as Curd (Curt) Jurgens (in his final television OR film role), Michael Lonsdale, Mario Adorf, Barry Foster (another scene stealer, as sleazy Saul Enderby, the new head of “The Circus”), Michael Gough, Ingrid Pitt, Eileen Atkins, and Vladek Sheybal also appear. Soon to be modern legend, Alan Rickman, also appears briefly, but noticably and memorably, as a man working the front desk of a hotel.

It’s actually much faster paced than I expected it to be, considering the size of the book, and that it’s a 6 part series.

Blade: The Series. Decent, but not great series, based on the Marvel Comics character. Acting - again, decent, or at least passable. Like the early Marvel comics live action tv series, The Incredible Hulk (as well as most earlier Marvel and DC comics live action adaptations), the villains, and I’m guessing most of the overall characters, were created just for the show, and were not taken from the comics. The plot line of the show was continuous throughout the series, which is both a strength and weakness. The strength - the writers didn’t have to come up with potentially weaker characters and storylines. The weakness - again, not great characters or plot. Also, very cringeworthy violent scenes, mainly against female characters, which unfortunately has gotten even worse with all kinds of later television series.

Thankfully, this was the last live action series before Marvel Studios was formed, and the rights for many Marvel characters reverted back to Marvel Comics/Studios.

Just finished viewing the excellent Netflix series Baby Reindeer and will finish the equally strong Ripley series in next few days. Tempted to rewatch all the Mike Flanagan stuff but will likely plump for True Detective on Now TV.

Steve wrote: "Just finished viewing the excellent Netflix series Baby Reindeer and will finish the equally strong Ripley series in next few days. Tempted to rewatch all the Mike Flanagan stuff but will likely pl..."

I've been wondering about Baby Reindeer. Glad to hear it's good.🙂

Watched an interesting documentary called Outspoken: Pride in the Tundra.

It's about the history of the first nations people and both Inuit and non-inuit LGBT2Q+ people in Nunavat, and what happens when a small group in the remote Arctic community decide to hold a LGBT2Q+ pride celebration.

Available on YouTube and some other streaming resources

Laura wrote: "Watched an interesting documentary called Outspoken: Pride in the Tundra.

It's about the history of the first nations people and both Inuit and non-inuit LGBT2Q+ people in Nunavat, and what happen..."

This does look interesting.

I am watching season 2 of Your Honor on Netflix. It is gritty and sometimes violent, but I like it. I previously watched season 1.

Thomas wrote: "I am watching season 2 of Your Honor on Netflix. It is gritty and sometimes violent, but I like it. I previously watched season 1."

Good show.

I watched Mystery Road on Amazon Prime and recommend it. An Indigenous Australian detective in the outback is called to the scene of a murdered indigenous teenage girl. He gets no help in the investigation from his supervisor. There are racist drug dealers and pimps taking advantage of underage indigenous girls leading to a dramatic climax.
Also I watched Focus on Europe on PBS, which had a story about a rural Spanish priest in charge of 40 parishes!! It was in Zamora, a rural part of Spain with a dramatic population loss.

I finallly finished watching the 60’s show, The Champions. Great show, although I’ve since been watching the spy shows 5 Fingers, and Department S which I actually like more. Department S is made by the same people who did The Champions, and it’s a bit more perfected. Supposedly, at one point, Ben Stiller wanted to remake The Champions as a film, with him in the Stuart Damon role of Craig Stirling.

I finished the first season of Last of Us. Very good, but difficult to watch. Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey are 2 of the great actors of our time. There’s going to be a second season next year.

Slow Horses - need I say anything more!

Good books, excellent series!

Patricia wrote: "Good books, excellent series!" 👍

Netflix recommendations: Lonely Planet, with Laura Dern
Nobody Wants this, 10 episodes, romance between a rabbi and a gentile. There are some belly laughs!!