S01.E04: The Sting

[DoubleUTeeEff]

8 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

My first thought about Only Murderers in the Building was that one or more of the main three are suspected of murder or that there are multiple killers in play. Which makes sense, as there have been two presumably unsolved murders, Tim Kono now and Zoey in the past, assuming that the same person didn't kill both of them.

This makes perfect sense especially since Selena Gomez knows both of them and she was around when both murders took place. That makes her a good suspect for a murder podcast.

On 9/7/2021 at 9:53 PM, Pickwick71 said:

All this talk about elevators in a Steve Martin show reminds me of the Elevator Killer reveal in the movie The Man with Two Brains.

I'm just quoting you since you sound like you might be old enough...but my favorite joke of the episode was when Steve Martin was explaining who Sting was to Selena and he said, "The Police? Roxanne!"

For you youngsters who don't know who Sting is, Roxanne is both a Police song and the name of a movie that Steve Martin starred in.

Steve Martin was on fire this episode with his physical comedy as well. I laughed at how he flopped down on the couch at Martin Short's after he shared his story with Amy Ryan. "A pillow!" This show has really grown on me. I think it's really hit it's stride this episode.

[Quilt Fairy]

I spent all weekend waiting for the new episode and then the holiday messed up my time sense so much that I forgot about it until Wednesday evening.

When they were standing in front of Sting's door with the turkey and Oliver did his sound check, I thought that they had bugged the turkey. 

[cardigirl]

On 9/8/2021 at 1:14 AM, SomeTameGazelle said:

I love Charles' neighbour who kindly set up the meeting with Cinda and updates him re Lucy. It's a small part (so far) but he feels so fully human. 

Halfway through I concluded that Bugs Bunny and Porky Pig were there to reveal to us that Charles was "looney tunes". The explanation about missing Lucy was much sweeter. 

As a Canadian of a certain age, my first thought on hearing the oboe start to play was that was one of the themes of Gilmour's Albums. I had to look it up to find the actual name of the piece. Their little musical conversation was fun and suitable since Charles seems to find it difficult to talk easily.

I laughed out loud at Oliver's text (inappropriately signed "love, Oliver") and when he burst in and announced that they were going with the turkey idea for Sting. 

I'm a little suspicious of him, though, because he first asked Charles if he ever heard from Lucy and to tell her hi when Charles next spoke with her. Then the next time we see him, he says his wife/daughter (?) is chatting with her online.  So initially it sounded like he was also out of contact with Lucy, and then suddenly he's able to chat with her (or at least members of his family are).  So, I'm not sure where the real truth lies—with Charles' story about not being in contact with Lucy and her mother engineering the "hard break" or the neighbor not knowing Charles' true situation.  

Complicated story here. 

 

Edited September 9, 2021 by cardigirl

[shapeshifter]

9 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

I spent all weekend waiting for the new episode and then the holiday messed up my time sense so much that I forgot about it until Wednesday evening.

When they were standing in front of Sting's door with the turkey and Oliver did his sound check, I thought that they had bugged the turkey. 

Hah! Microphone in the turkey (with a remote on/off switch in Oliver's pocket) would have been great!

[chediavolo]

On 9/7/2021 at 8:52 PM, callie lee 29 said:

Okay so weird question: do NYC apartments not have window screens? Is that a tv thing or a real life thing? All I could think of is how so these people not keep flying bugs and birds out???

Yes they do. It’s a movie/tv thing. You can’t see clearly through a screen, as in real life. So they don’t show them. Makes our viewing easy. Now that you know, you will notice it when you watch just about everything. 

[chediavolo]

Why does the theme music sound so familiar? I did a quick Google search & it was written for this show. Still, I could swear I’ve heard it before. 

[Aryanna]

I didn't take Tina Fey's character doing her podcast as an indication that she had stolen their idea. I took it to mean that something had happened with the three characters or to them that took them from covering the story to actually being the story.

[Abra]

I didn't care for the use of Sting and Tina Fey. Sting is not an actor and it shows; I feel they could have found a big name star who is an actual actor or was just better at acting than Sting. Tina Fey just plays Tina Fey, whom I don't particularly care to watch. And by this point it's too many big names for the sake of it, which pulls me out of the story a bit.

I also feel like it's beyond time for them to be contacting Detective Charmonique. They have more than enough to give to the police that something fishy is going on around Tim's death to bring it to police attention. 

[Bill1978]

So I finally decided to check the show out and I binged all 4 available episodes in one sitting. I am hooked. This is my kinda show, a mystery that needs to be solved, characters with secrets that aren't kept hidden just for the sake of the plot, the humour. I am going to assume that the death of Zoe and Tim are connected otherwise why even introduce The Hardy Boys as a major backstory for Mabel. I assumed that Cinda's podcast about Murderers in the Building is linked to the beginning of the series where we saw Mabel over a dead body, and the podcast is about revealing how the 3 of them were framed for murder. I like how at this stage there is no clear suspects - although I feel the Grey Hoodie is the killer.

The whole time Sting was in the presence of the turkey I kept waiting for some mention of Sting not eating meat. But a quick Google search indicates that apparently we've just assumed Sting doesn't eat meat and apparently there is no concrete evidence that he has declared himself vegan/vegetarian.

[spaceghostess]

On 9/7/2021 at 9:53 PM, Pickwick71 said:

All this talk about elevators in a Steve Martin show reminds me of the Elevator Killer reveal in the movie The Man with Two Brains.  https://youtu.be/1apPcf1D4hI

It might not be as funny if you aren’t old enough to recognize the killer and remember who he was, but it makes me laugh every time.  It also makes me still wonder about Sting!

Thanks for that! One of my all-time favorite movie twists!

[spaceghostess]

On 9/8/2021 at 10:46 PM, DoubleUTeeEff said:

 

I'm just quoting you since you sound like you might be old enough...but my favorite joke of the episode was when Steve Martin was explaining who Sting was to Selena and he said, "The Police? Roxanne!"

For you youngsters who don't know who Sting is, Roxanne is both a Police song and the name of a movie that Steve Martin starred in.

One of my favorite lines from this show so far was in last week’s episode:

Oliver: “Don’t stand so close to Sting.”

https://youtu.be/KNIZofPB8ZM

Edited September 11, 2021 by spaceghostess

[spaceghostess]

On 9/9/2021 at 8:03 AM, cardigirl said:

I'm a little suspicious of him, though, because he first asked Charles if he ever heard from Lucy and to tell her hi when Charles next spoke with her. Then the next time we see him, he says his wife/daughter (?) is chatting with her online.  So initially it sounded like he was also out of contact with Lucy, and then suddenly he's able to chat with her (or at least members of his family are).  So, I'm not sure where the real truth lies—with Charles' story about not being in contact with Lucy and her mother engineering the "hard break" or the neighbor not knowing Charles' true situation.  

Complicated story here. 

 

I’m also suspicious of him because . . . I just am. He’s too nice and has had just enough scenes and lines so far that I can’t rule him out as an Agatha Christie-style, “What, that guy? Really???” suspect.

Edited September 11, 2021 by spaceghostess
Distracted by baseball.

[OpieTaylor]

On 9/10/2021 at 4:11 AM, chediavolo said:

Why does the theme music sound so familiar? I did a quick Google search & it was written for this show. Still, I could swear I’ve heard it before. 

The artwork of the opening reminds me of Masterpiece Theater Mystery on PBS, but the theme songs aren’t particularly similar. Only Murders song is haunting and somehow familiar, I agree.

[tkc]

On 9/10/2021 at 4:11 AM, chediavolo said:

Why does the theme music sound so familiar? I did a quick Google search & it was written for this show. Still, I could swear I’ve heard it before. 

Does it remind you of:

It does me!

[SunnyBeBe]

Gomez seems to be a little more animated with this last episode, but it’s still a struggle for me. And, I really want to like her.  I understand her situation.  I’m curious as to why she was cast.  She doesn’t seem to have the right energy, imo.  
 

Oliver is just hysterical, imo.  I love it when I get to lol multiple times in an episode.  He can crack me up without speaking a word.  
 

And of course Charles is perfect for his role. In fact it all works for with the exception of what I mentioned above and the randomly tossed 4 letter words, that the fellows seem to have picked up from Mable.  Normally, it doesn’t bother me, but it sure seems odd in this.  Oddly placed, imo.  (I think someone mentioned that on an earlier thread.)

I was also confused how Charles didn’t know much about Lucy, then he did.  That family vacation story didn’t makes sense to me, but Charles’s heart seemed to be in it. 

[chediavolo]

13 hours ago, tkc said:

Does it remind you of:

It does me!

That is close, but no what I was thinking of. 

[judyri]

I think Selena Gomez is perfectly cast.  She's not a superior actor which to me makes her more believable, in a weird way.  She totally has the look and tone of a 20-something NY girl (though in real life she is approaching 30).

[cardigirl]

10 hours ago, SunnyBeBe said:

Gomez seems to be a little more animated with this last episode, but it’s still a struggle for me. And, I really want to like her.  I understand her situation.  I’m curious as to why she was cast.  She doesn’t seem to have the right energy, imo.  
 

Oliver is just hysterical, imo.  I love it when I get to lol multiple times in an episode.  He can crack me up without speaking a word.  
 

And of course Charles is perfect for his role. In fact it all works for with the exception of what I mentioned above and the randomly tossed 4 letter words, that the fellows seem to have picked up from Mable.  Normally, it doesn’t bother me, but it sure seems odd in this.  Oddly placed, imo.  (I think someone mentioned that on an earlier thread.)

I was also confused how Charles didn’t know much about Lucy, then he did.  That family vacation story didn’t makes sense to me, but Charles’s heart seemed to be in it. 

It's not that he didn't know much about her, it's that he wasn't sharing the information.  And he wasn't in contact with her, because her mother wanted it that way, but he wasn't telling everyone that. When the neighbor said he liked smelling the omelets that Charles made because it reminded him of Lucy and then asked if he was in touch with her, and Charles said not really, then later the neighbor says they're facetiming with Lucy, that's what I find suspicious!  

Not sure if Charles is telling us the whole truth, but I'm pretty sure the neighbor isn't either. 

[Abra]

1 hour ago, judyri said:

I think Selena Gomez is perfectly cast.  She's not a superior actor which to me makes her more believable, in a weird way.  She totally has the look and tone of a 20-something NY girl (though in real life she is approaching 30).

I think Mabel's age and Selena's age are about the same - it's been 10 years since Zoe died, and it seemed to me they were high school students at the time. So, late 20s now.

I appreciate the "energy" Selena gives to Mabel. Can you imagine three people with Martin Short/Steve Martin energy levels? No thank you.

[QuinnM]

3 hours ago, Abra said:

I think Mabel's age and Selena's age are about the same - it's been 10 years since Zoe died, and it seemed to me they were high school students at the time. So, late 20s now.

I appreciate the "energy" Selena gives to Mabel. Can you imagine three people with Martin Short/Steve Martin energy levels? No thank you.

I notice that both Martin Short and Nathan Lane are noticeably ‘low key’ compared to things I’ve seen of them in the past.  And I appreciate that.  I wonder if this was the direction for all of them.  I quite like Gomez in her part.  She definitely reminds me of the 20 somethings in my life.  

Edited September 13, 2021 by QuinnM

[SunnyBeBe]

Gomez seems to be reading her lines to me.  Granted, episode 4 was a little better.  I find it distracting.  Nice girl, I’m sure.  

[iMonrey]

Quote

Okay so weird question: do NYC apartments not have window screens? Is that a tv thing or a real life thing? All I could think of is how so these people not keep flying bugs and birds out???

It's a big thing on TV and in movies, for sure. Also in some places where it's just too damn hot or too damn cold to ever open your windows. But I think if you're high up enough you don't really get much in the way of bugs.

[SoMuchTV]

41 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

Quote

Okay so weird question: do NYC apartments not have window screens? Is that a tv thing or a real life thing? All I could think of is how so these people not keep flying bugs and birds out???

It's a big thing on TV and in movies, for sure. Also in some places where it's just too damn hot or too damn cold to ever open your windows. But I think if you're high up enough you don't really get much in the way of bugs.

Oh gosh, if I was high up enough, I would be super paranoid about opening a window with no screen.  Not just bugs, but cats, toddlers...

But I guess it's just a tv thing, not just NYC.  Doesn't every tv teenager have a window that their best friend or love interest climbs through?  With a convenient trellis or accessible rooftop nearby?  Sorry, maybe we need a small talk thread.

Oops, sorry, I see we do have a small talk thread.  If anyone wants to reply, feel free to move this there (click the "+", then go to the other thread, then it will be in your reply box.)

Edited September 13, 2021 by SoMuchTV
oh, yeah

[Quilt Fairy]

9 hours ago, cardigirl said:

When the neighbor said he liked smelling the omelets that Charles made because it reminded him of Lucy

When he mentioned that, it finally made sense to me why back in the first episode Charles kept making omelets and then throwing them in the garbage, something that was unexplainable at the time. 

[SoMuchTV]

8 minutes ago, Quilt Fairy said:

When he mentioned that, it finally made sense to me why back in the first episode Charles kept making omelets and then throwing them in the garbage, something that was unexplainable at the time. 

I was wondering about that. I thought they were showing some kind of OCD issues but then I didn’t see any follow up on it. 

[MisterGlass]

On 9/13/2021 at 9:30 AM, Abra said:

I appreciate the "energy" Selena gives to Mabel. Can you imagine three people with Martin Short/Steve Martin energy levels?

The show got a positive mention by Sarah D. Bunting in the ExtraHotGreat podcast, who led with "It is exactly enough Martin Short."

ETA: there is strong language in the rest of the podcast, though not in the Only Murders in the Building part.

Edited September 16, 2021 by MisterGlass
Spelling

[cardigirl]

On 9/11/2021 at 11:48 PM, OpieTaylor said:

The artwork of the opening reminds me of Masterpiece Theater Mystery on PBS, but the theme songs aren’t particularly similar. Only Murders song is haunting and somehow familiar, I agree.

The artwork reminds me of the New Yorker magazine. 

Edited September 14, 2021 by cardigirl

[SoMuchTV]

On 9/10/2021 at 7:11 AM, chediavolo said:

Why does the theme music sound so familiar? I did a quick Google search & it was written for this show. Still, I could swear I’ve heard it before. 

I thought it was meant to be reminiscent of the intro to Serial. But maybe they have a common inspiration that I’m not familiar with. 

[shapeshifter]

8 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

I thought it was meant to be reminiscent of the intro to Serial. But maybe they have a common inspiration that I’m not familiar with. 

Yes. I agree that it is Serial's theme song they are riffing off of, and, also, I am almost sure there's an old B&W mystery from which at least Serial's is derived.

• Only Murders in the Building theme on Youtube: https://youtu.be/93203coJbgE
• Serial's theme music on YouTube: https://youtu.be/M0v6dmme1DU

 

[Ceindreadh]

On 9/8/2021 at 2:47 AM, grandmabegum said:

Oh, totally. I laughed hard at it, but then thought, "wait, this can't just be a song that people who play music know off the top of their heads." But, as I said, I don't play an instrument so I have zero idea how quickly people can pick things up. I do highly enjoy when musicians play a song in another style whether it's modern music on classical instruments or classical music on electric guitars.

I'm now drifting into the small talk category. Sorry.

If she's that competent on the bassoon, it shouldn't be that difficult to play a song that she knows the tune of.  (My late grandmother used to be able to do that on the piano). 

 

On 9/13/2021 at 10:55 PM, SoMuchTV said:

Oh gosh, if I was high up enough, I would be super paranoid about opening a window with no screen.  Not just bugs, but cats, toddlers...

But I guess it's just a tv thing, not just NYC.  Doesn't every tv teenager have a window that their best friend or love interest climbs through?  With a convenient trellis or accessible rooftop nearby?  Sorry, maybe we need a small talk thread.

 

Wait, how high can cats and toddlers climb?  (oh wait, you mean worried about the ones on the inside getting out, not the outside getting in!)

[spaceghostess]

On 9/18/2021 at 1:56 PM, Ceindreadh said:

If she's that competent on the bassoon, it shouldn't be that difficult to play a song that she knows the tune of.  (My late grandmother used to be able to do that on the piano). 

^This.^

My dad was a bassoonist* with the Metropolitan Opera for 30+ years and could play pretty much anything by ear. I remember him endlessly practicing a passage from Carmen only to drift off into “Pennies from Heaven” (speaking of Steve Martin) or some other standard. Needless to say, I LOVE the bassoon of it all and hope Jan is endgame for Charles and not up to anything nefarious!

*Second chair! He didn’t go for first chair, even when it became available, because he didn’t want the pressure. Also, back then you had to audition for the position even if you’d been there for years, and he hated auditioning so much he had to take Valium before doing it. He’d substitute for first chair when called upon, but happily stayed second chair until he retired. :)

Edited September 21, 2021 by spaceghostess

[sistermagpie]

On 9/7/2021 at 9:10 AM, cardigirl said:

I thought Charles said that Lucy was six or seven when they moved in together and they were together for six years? Wouldn't that make her too young for that group? But I'm worried about Oliver's son, now. 

Yes, she was shown in a previous episode pretty clearly. 

Yeah, I'm confused about Charles' timeline. I also understood him to be saying that when he got together with his ex Lucy was 7, then they were together for 6 years, which would make her about 13. 

So why would he be paying cartoon characters to entertain her on a family cruise? She would be too old for that. She'd also be too old for her mother to be able to decide that a "hard break" would be better for her. And certainly too old to not be defying that decision.

 

[Miss Bones]

On 10/2/2021 at 11:01 PM, sistermagpie said:

Yeah, I'm confused about Charles' timeline. I also understood him to be saying that when he got together with his ex Lucy was 7, then they were together for 6 years, which would make her about 13. 

So why would he be paying cartoon characters to entertain her on a family cruise? She would be too old for that. She'd also be too old for her mother to be able to decide that a "hard break" would be better for her. And certainly too old to not be defying that decision.

 

Maybe she was a late bloomer, or autistic...not all children develop mentally at the same rate.   And yes, I suppose 13 should be too old for the mother to decide that a "hard break" would be better, but just because she is 13 does not mean she is guaranteed to be defiant toward her mother.  Maybe she was just a sweet child, who didn't question her mother's decision.  Or maybe she was defiant about it, but what could she do about it?  

[dleighg]

On 9/14/2021 at 3:24 PM, shapeshifter said:

Yes. I agree that it is Serial's theme song they are riffing off of, and, also, I am almost sure there's an old B&W mystery from which at least Serial's is derived.

like others have mentioned, the theme music sounded familiar to me (and it's not because of Serial, because I never listened to that). I did some googling, learned it was original music, but also saw an article about how the composer for Serial is complaining that they "stole his music."

For me it sounds like something classical I may have heard. The Yo Yo Ma clip that someone posted is close, but I don't think that's it.

[aradia22]

I hope Will isn't involved somehow. It does make me wish I could recall what Charles said. I think it was something about Lester not recognizing anyone unusual entering the building. But maybe it was someone he knew but who isn't a resident? Just a thought.

I thought this episode was rather silly. Very blunt storytelling. It reminded me a bit of Pushing Daisies without the charm with all the backstory stuff. But I did like the flirting via music. And I did enjoy Tina Fey again.

Quote

But that all still seems like crumbs for our intrepid heroes, while Canning eats cake. 

I hope it isn't the kind of thing where the characters need to be underdogs so they are constantly pushed back down. That can get frustrating on a TV show. 

Quote

Not quite sure what to make of Jan yet, but I'm always down for Amy Ryan awesomeness! 

It's TV so her also being blond might hint at some relation to Zoe. But it would be weird if no one in the building recognized her mom or even an aunt. I'm hoping this is just a nice romantic subplot tangential to the murder mystery.

[Zonk]

On 9/10/2021 at 10:47 PM, Abra said:

Tina Fey just plays Tina Fey, whom I don't particularly care to watch.

I do love Tina Fey normally, but I agree. If you are going for an obvious Sarah Koenig parody (although she did exactly one true crime case and then was out), make her actually a bit like Sarah Koenig The choices here were just weird.

Cecily Strong did a much better job as far as Koenig impressions go:

 

[Lovecat]

On 9/7/2021 at 2:58 PM, shapeshifter said:

I too do not want Liz Lemon Cindy Canning to steel our heroes' podcast story.
Did you notice the last name "Canning" is the same as Michael J. Fox's character's on The Good Wife? Louis Canning was a real double dealer, so if that character is the namesake for Cinda Canning, it does not bode well for our trio's creative endeavor, which would make me sad.

See, and I went right to ANDREA Canning, one of the correspondents on Dateline.

[Scout Finch]

On 12/6/2021 at 1:19 PM, Zonk said:

I do love Tina Fey normally, but I agree. If you are going for an obvious Sarah Koenig parody (although she did exactly one true crime case and then was out), make her actually a bit like Sarah Koenig The choices here were just weird.

Cecily Strong did a much better job as far as Koenig impressions go:

I've watched this so many times! Cecily does an amazing job and I also crack up at Aidy Bryant nailing the screeching voice of the real-life lawyer!

[ItCouldBeWorse]

On 9/13/2021 at 5:55 PM, SoMuchTV said:

Oh gosh, if I was high up enough, I would be super paranoid about opening a window with no screen.  Not just bugs, but cats, toddlers...

NYC landlords are required to install window gates in a building that has at least three apartments and a child 10 or younger living in the apartment: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/health/health-topics/window-guards.page

[ItCouldBeWorse]

On 9/7/2021 at 3:09 AM, AnimeMania said:

Why would Sting have to personally fire Tim Kono unless Tim Kono was directly liaising with Sting on behalf of his firm.

That made no sense to me. Unless he was so angry, he got his number in order to be able do so personally.

On 9/7/2021 at 2:28 PM, grandmabegum said:

I know it's just an issue of time, but it took Jan like 15 seconds to get from her place across the courtyard to Charles' place. Do we know what floor Jan lives on? It's below 1O cause she got on the elevator after the group. Just curious. I can only hope there's some kind of secret passage. J/K

That bugged me too.

Edited August 11, 2022 by ItCouldBeWorse

[grandmabegum]

On 8/11/2022 at 8:32 AM, ItCouldBeWorse said:

I know it's just an issue of time, but it took Jan like 15 seconds to get from her place across the courtyard to Charles' place. Do we know what floor Jan lives on? It's below 1O cause she got on the elevator after the group. Just curious. I can only hope there's some kind of secret passage. J/K

Spoiler for season 2:

Spoiler

Wow! I guess I should have been more careful about my hopes.

[Crashcourse]

I recently watched the first three episodes and I'm watching this one now and I have to say, I'm not impressed with this show.  I know it's gotten a lot of praise, but it isn't my cup of tea.  

So, I'll bounce now.