More Mysteries on Screen

As a follow up to earlier conversations about mysteries on screen, Brook and Sarah discuss what they’re watching and what they’re looking forward to.

Discussed

The Lincoln Lawyer (2022-present) Netflix

The Lincoln Lawyer (2005) Michael Connelly

The Lincoln Lawyer (2011) Lionsgate

Bones (2005-2017) Fox Television

Sister Boniface (2022-present) BBC

Father Brown (2013-present) BBC

Only Murders in the Building (2021-present) Hulu

The Afterparty (2022-present) Apple TV

The Sinner (2017-2021) USA Network

Shelter (2023) Amazon Prime Video

Shelter (2011) Harlan Coben

Murderville (2022) Netflix

A Haunting in Venice (2023) 20th Century Studios

Hallowe’en Party (1969) Agatha Christie

The Fall of the House of Usher (2023) Netflix

Midnight Mass (2021) Netflix

The Haunting of Hill House (2018) Netflix

For more information

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Music: Signs To Nowhere by Shane Ivers – www.silvermansound.com

Transcript

This transcript is generated by a computer and there may be some mis-spellings and strange punctuation. We try to catch these before posting, but some things slip through.

Sarah	Welcome to Clued in Mystery. I’m Sarah.
Brook	And I’m Brook and we both love mystery.
Sarah	Hi Brook.
Brook	Hi Sarah. How have you been?
Sarah	I’ve been really well. How about you?
Brook	Yeah, I’m good too and I’ve been watching some pretty great mystery TV shows. What about you?
Sarah	Earlier this year, I know you’ll remember that we did an episode about some of our favorite mysteries on screen. And we also did a couple of episodes about screen adaptations but just like books, there’s always new shows to watch. So why don’t we talk a little bit about what we’ve been watching.
Brook	Sounds great.
Sarah	So I will get started by talking about The Lincoln Lawyer which is a series on Netflix. And it’s based on the books that were written by Michael Connelly. And so at some point I think we should do an episode about legal thrillers. But as the title suggests this features a lawyer investigating you know serving as the sleuth and there’s two seasons on Netflix. And the second season I’m partway through watching that and I actually have read the book that this season is based on. They’ve adjusted this story a little bit, but all of the main points they are sticking true to. And I enjoyed the book and I’m enjoying this series so far. Something that I think is really interesting about Michael Connelly is he’s got another series of books that have been adapted for screen. And that’s his Bosch series which I haven’t read but and I haven’t watched either. But I think that those are police procedural and there’s some crossover between the Lincoln Lawyer books and the Bosh books. Actually, I have read a Bosch book but there is there’s some crossover between the two series. I haven’t seen that yet in the Lincoln Lawyer. But there’s some opportunity there because he does also have a Netflix I think it’s on Netflix The Bosch series.
Brook	I’ve seen the first season of that series and I’m not sure if I had a hard time with it because there’s also the Matthew McConaughey movie that is the Lincoln Lawyer and I mean that is just like two very different representations of that attorney. Both good. But it was just like it was very different than um than the other portrayal. So um, but yeah, great stories, great mysteries and I thought that the characterization was really good the way the characters interact with each other.
Brook	So something I’ve been watching lately is Bones which is funny because yes, this is an old one an oldie but goody. But I was researching something I’m working on personally. I had an idea for like a clue drop and I kind of wanted to get some ideas and I remembered an old episode of Bones where something similar happened so you know the power of streaming you can go back and watch these old ah shows. It got me hooked on it. I really like these. So this is like you know I make a sandwich for lunch and I turn on a 30 minute Bones and they’re pretty fun. The banter is really good and it’s fun to see this is a forensic mystery. But. It’s very lighthearted. So it’s fun to see that they make this into like almost like a cozy even though it’s forensic which is you know pretty gruesome at times. But um, I’ve been having fun revisiting Bones.
Sarah	Oh that’s great. Yeah, I don’t think I’ve seen everything, but I’ve seen a lot of episodes. It’s been a long time since I’ve read any of the books though. And maybe that’s another episode idea is to do forensic mystery. There’s you know several authors who’ve written in that in that genre.
Sarah	We’re almost through watching Sister Boniface which is a spinoff of Father Brown, who we know. was a character that was originally written by GK Chesterton. Sister Boniface was a character in one of the episodes of Father Brown the BBC you know. Sort of most recent version of Father Brown. I guess she was well received and so she’s been spun off into her own series and I like that this takes place about a decade later than the Father Brown mysteries and so you can really see the difference in terms of the clothing that the characters are wearing but even just kind of the way that the characters interact you get a sense that you know it’s a different decade and life is changing for them.
Brook	Oh that’s great. Yes, that’s another one that looks really good to me. I love British mysteries. Well I’ve also been watching the latest season, season 3 of Only Murders in the Building. I was really really anxiously awaiting this one. Um I have to admit I don’t think this is my favorite of the seasons. There have been some changing of the way they tell the story and um I kind of miss the threesome working together really closely to solve the crime. But heck, it’s such a great ensemble cast. It’s still a lot of fun and there is one scene that Martin Short who is Oliver is having dinner with Loretta and it reminded me so much of this classic dinner scene that Martin Short has in his movie Pure Luck. Where if you know you know like the straw goes up his nose. I mean you know it’s classic Martin Short and so there’s this dinner scene in this episode of Only Murders in the Building that to me just really draws back to that and it’s such classic Martin Short and that some of that physical comedy that he’s known for um I don’t know it was just it was a ah high point for me.
Sarah	So, I’ve been I’ve been watching the third season as well and I have to agree I don’t think it’s my favorite of their seasons. I think that first one was really magical and it was always going to be really hard for them to recapture that without people saying like we’ve already seen you do this? Um, so yeah I still I I still really enjoy it. Um, and that kind of lighter comedy sort of comedic mystery um is similar to The Afterparty, which I’ve been watching. And so this is streaming on Apple TV and the premise is there’s a high school reunion and the characters go to a party after the you know main event at the at the high school and someone dies. It’s pretty light in terms of the tone of the of the show. I laugh far more than I do in most in most mysteries. Um, so yeah I would recommend it. It’s I think they have two seasons and I’m just. Um, kind of partway through the first season. Um, but yeah, it’s it’s definitely worth a watch.
Brook	That sounds so good I’ve noticed that Apple TV has a lot of great looking mysteries and that’s not something that I um subscribe to and I’m always sad. I’m like oh Apple Tv is on it with the mysteries I may I may have to ah. And may have to jump in.
Brook	Well something that I’m looking forward to that. I haven’t gotten into yet but plan on is The Sinner season 4 and here at my house we’ve watched all the other seasons and these follow um, emotionally damaged. Poor Harry Ambrose he’s a detective that has definitely had a hard time. Um, but each season is a new homicide that he investigates and um, that original was adapted from a novel by Petra Hammesfahr but um it’s a good one. It’s very. It’s more cerebral. It’s pretty slow moving not a lot of action. But um, it’s been a good see a good series that we’ve enjoyed.
Sarah	Ah, so that’s a I have never um I’ve never watched any of that. Is it on Netflix did you say? Okay, yeah, no I haven’t I haven’t watched that one.
Brook	Yes, that’s a Netflix one.
Sarah	On Netflix you will find several Harlan Coben adaptations because he signed I think it was like a multi-book agreement with Netflix for them to adopt. So you know his his stories. Um and they are all domestic thrillers, domestic suspense. And I’ve never actually read any of his books but I just had a hold come through at the library so I will be fixing that um, very soon. One thing that I found really interesting about his adaptations is that they’re not all in English. So there’s one in French one in polish. Um, maybe a couple in polish one in Spanish and then obviously um, a few in English. And I’ve enjoyed the ones that I’ve watched I haven’t watched all of them. But I have enjoyed the ones that that um, that I’ve watched.
Sarah	And on Prime is another adaptation of his um his books and that is Shelter so this is more YA. And I didn’t realize this but it’s a spinoff so it’s based on a series of books that he wrote. Which was a spinoff from another series of books that he wrote um and I can see in the show where they’ve kind of um, recognized or acknowledged some of those earlier, some of those other characters. So it’s it’s really interesting but you know this this one is on prime whereas most of his other ones are on Netflix which I thought was um, interesting. But it’s you know, filled with characters who all of whom have you know secrets that they’re keeping and I think there’s going to be a lot of twists I’ve watched a couple of episodes and I can’t wait to watch the next one.
Brook	We’ve watched several of those as well over on Netflix and um I think it’s interesting and you know this will come up again in ah in another sort of franchise that I’m in a reference later but um, have you noticed that it’s. Many times the same actors. It’s almost like they have some sort of a group that have like joined in to ah to create this series of different shows. Um, and I like that I always like the ah actors in those like they are really really great actors and um, they’re so Twisty. They really do their their job of making you push watch for that next episode.
Sarah	Yeah I know I agree. Yeah, you’re right? Um Richard Armitage appears in a couple of of those and he’s fantastic.
Brook	Yes. Well a funny one that we have watched a few episodes of at my house simply because the title got me. This is also from Netflix it’s called Murderville I was like ok I got to see what this is all about. And so this is a comedy murder mystery slash game show I don’t know how to describe it but will Arnett who you might remember from Arrested Development plays bumbling detective Terry Seattle. And each episode brings on a different celebrity guest who is essentially put in like a murder mystery game. The cast and crew create this um full-on ah scenario for this celebrity guest to then try to discover who the culprit is in the murder mystery. And they have to solve the mystery with the clues that are given to them. They have the opportunity to interview you know in different scenes the different people the different players and if they do a good job then they can solve the crime. And it’s pretty hilarious because it turns into improv of course they have this celebrity guest who has no script and it’s pretty cute I like the way that it pokes fun and kind of um caricatures our murder mystery genre and I think that that’s good for us to remember that there’s never anything serious going on here. So it’s good for a laugh.
Sarah	So I’ve watched a couple of episodes of that and I don’t think I was in the right mood because didn’t it it. I only watched two episodes when I was like I don’t think I can watch another one of these so I might have to revisit that.
Brook	Yeah I I I agree I don’t think it’s going to be like my go to thing. And it’s definitely better if the celebrity guest is either an actor or improv comedian themselves when they get um other people who really don’t have a lot of acting background they get. Pretty ridiculous, but um, yeah, again, if you if you love mysteries and you’re in for a laugh you might you might take it up one evening.
Sarah	So I’m going to share something that I’m looking forward to and that is A Haunting in Venice, which will come out in mid-September. So we’re recording this before um the before it’s released and. This is ah Kenneth Branaugh’s latest in his Hercule Poirot series adaptations of Agatha Christie books um and this is based on ah The Halloween Party which doesn’t take place in Venice. It takes place in a small English village so it’ll be really interesting to see how that um how that works.
Brook	Yes, I am really looking forward to that as well and I can’t wait to compare for myself the book versus the movie but it looks really scary, Sarah.
Sarah	It does look a little bit scary. So maybe it’s you know, not something that I’m going to watch at night but have to go to a matinee or something.
Brook	But I really feel like um in the end Poirot is going to explain what really happened and really there was not anything that sinister going on all. All Along. So we’ll see. We’ll see if my prediction is right.
Brook	Well another upcoming show that I’m excited for is ah The Fall of the House of Usher which is releasing on October 12 of this year and I suppose that this isn’t technically a mystery because if you’ve read Poe’s short story ah with the same title you’ll know this is more of a you know gothic horror I suppose. But I think we can lump it in since we are talking about the grandfather of mystery. This is also going to be a Netflix production and I’m really looking forward to seeing how they do this because of course originally, it’s set in the eighteen hundreds in a big spooky house, the house of Usher. But they’re setting this in common time, current era and um. The quote unquote “house of usher” is more like a corporate kind of feel so I’m excited to see what they do with this adaptation. Now as I said before with these groups of um actors and producers that work together. This is done by the same group who have done Midnight Mass and The Haunting of Hill House so you’ll see some of those same faces I’m sure in this and ah yeah, so a much more sleek and different kind of creepy House of Usher.
Sarah	Oh it sounds like it could be a little more kind of suspenseful twisty turny Yeah, that sounds like it’ll be really interesting.
Brook	Maybe a little more like those domestic thrillers that we were referencing before So I’m hoping that I’m happy with the way they adapt this Poe story.
Sarah	Ah, that’s definitely something to look forward to. Well, Brook, I think this was really good to talk about some of the things that we’ve been that we’ve been watching and and hopefully some of our listeners can um, find out what to what to watch next.
Brook	Exactly or even maybe give us some suggestions of what they’ve been watching and what they’ve been enjoying so thanks for listening today to Clued in Mystery. I’m Brook.
Sarah	And I’m Sarah and we both love mystery.