Hallmark Mysteries: Mysterious Small Town Hijinks Ensue - General Discussion

[Guest]

1 hour ago, BradyBunchFan said:

And look what’s back again!
 

 

 

Smart move with the HBO show increasing interest on the character. I’d love it if Hallmark would make a deal with CBS for some of the other movies from the 80’s and 90’s. 

[BradyBunchFan]

33 minutes ago, Dani said:

Smart move with the HBO show increasing interest on the character. I’d love it if Hallmark would make a deal with CBS for some of the other movies from the 80’s and 90’s. 

I can see that working out for them.

[Kitty Redstone]

Has there been any word on whether plans to do another Emma Fielding are back on?  I sure hope so.  It'd be great if they did more Darrow & Darrow as well.  I forgot how much I liked these movies, especially the cast.

[TVFan17]

11 hours ago, Kitty Redstone said:

Has there been any word on whether plans to do another Emma Fielding are back on?  I sure hope so.  It'd be great if they did more Darrow & Darrow as well.  I forgot how much I liked these movies, especially the cast.

No news on Emma Fielding #4, which is so strange since it was scheduled to film before the shutdown.  I guess they either decided to cancel it, or they had to reschedule the filming for some later date.

It's interesting that the 4th Emma Fielding was not even mentioned in Hallmark's press release back in July, about projects coming up this year and in 2021.  They also neglected to mention MatchMaker Mysteries #3 -- which was scheduled to film earlier this year too.  They didn't mention Danica McKellar at all, in any project, which was weird because she is one of their regulars.  They neglected to mention Crossword Mysteries as well, which was bizarre because Brennan Elliott said they were supposed to be filming another movie or more this year.

And yet, in that press release they said that the 14th Aurora Teagarden was airing in 2021, but it is now airing this year.  That makes me wonder if they had planned to get one of the other mysteries on the air this year and it fell through, requiring them to move Aurora #14 to an October slot.

No word on more Darrow & Darrow movies either.

So, essentially, the usual confusing scheduling/programming hijinks are going on in the Hallmark offices!

[Kitty Redstone]

Thank you @TVFan17!  Yes, I never trust Hallmark when it comes to programming.  The last bit of trust I had for their schedulers evaporated after they pulled Crossword Mystery last October.and started airing 24/7 Christmas movies even earlier than the previous year.  It must be as vexing for the stars of these movies as it is for us viewers.  Hopefully my favorites will return at some point. 

I'm crossing my fingers that HMM will keep their regular late night schedule when they go Christmas this year, like they did when they went Christmas for half of July.

[TVFan17]

There are multiple articles floating around today about Alison Sweeney returning to Days of Our Lives.  One of them indicated that Alison is still doing the Chronicle Mysteries.  So although it may take a while for it to go into production, at least it sounds like she might be doing at least one more in the series

[TVFan17]

Lacey is in Canada right now, filming her Christmas movie.  So I guess Brennan is headed up there to quarantine for 2 weeks.  Then I suppose Lacey will be free from the Christmas movie and will jump into filming the 2 Crossword Mysteries back to back.   Filming things in one big block saves the trouble of going home, coming back to Canada and quarantining again.  That's also what Candace Cameron Bure did when she recently shot her new Aurora Teagarden movie and her Christmas movie back to back.  Similarly, Nikki DeLoach filmed her Christmas movie and Fall Harvest movie back to back.

 

 

Edited September 14, 2020 by TVFan17

[GaT]

There was a new movie! I had no idea, so I was very pleasantly surprised when I looked in the DVR & saw it there. And next week is a new Aurora Teagarden movie, finally!

[MerBearHou]

I enjoyed the PenaVega mystery movie last night.  I'm not a hard sell on any of these mystery series -- I actually like all of them (some more than others) which I can't say about the rom-coms (I like about a third of those).  

Edited October 12, 2020 by MerBearHou
overuse of word "enjoy" :)

[mikeb]

16 minutes ago, MerBearHou said:

I enjoyed the PenaVega mystery movie last night.  I'm not a hard sell on any of these mystery series -- I actually like all of them (some more than others) which I can't say about the rom-coms (I like about a third of those).  

I feel the same about all mystery series in general and last night’s PenaVega movie in particular.  It was enjoyable, but I did guess the killer about 1/2 way thru.  I also noticed a small continuity error - early on Sam said the victim was 27 years old, but later her friend said her birthday was in November 1990.

[ShelleySue]

I originally wasn't a PenaVega fan.  But now I'm hooked.  The characters have just grown on me.  I have no idea why, because in the first movie she really got on my nerves.

Am I the only one who was disappointed to find out that books on a set are really cardboard boxes?  It makes total sense and it would be useless for them to be real.  But I'm disappointed anyway.

[mikeb]

4 hours ago, ShelleySue said:

I originally wasn't a PenaVega fan.  But now I'm hooked.  The characters have just grown on me.  I have no idea why, because in the first movie she really got on my nerves.

Am I the only one who was disappointed to find out that books on a set are really cardboard boxes?  It makes total sense and it would be useless for them to be real.  But I'm disappointed anyway.

Yes, I was also disappointed when saw that the books were just cardboard boxes, but then quickly realized that was logical.

[rainsmom]

On 10/13/2020 at 12:06 PM, ShelleySue said:

I originally wasn't a PenaVega fan.  But now I'm hooked.  The characters have just grown on me.  I have no idea why, because in the first movie she really got on my nerves.

I agree 100%. The actors have grown into the roles, and the writers have gotten past the tiresome, "I'm a cop and you need to stay out of it" trope that gets so tired, so fast. I enjoyed this movie, and I'm looking forward to the next Aurora Teagarden movie next week.

[Kitty Redstone]

I also really enjoyed the PenaVega movie and think the cast interactions are great.  Also looking forward to the new Aurora Teagarden movie on Sunday.  I'm depressed that this channel is going 24/7 Christmas next week, though.  I was hoping they'd at least keep the regular mystery shows on for the late night/early morning hours.

[susannot]

What did everyone think of the new Aurora Teagarden mystery?  I wasn't crazy about it.  Mostly it has turned into a kissfest between Roe and her fiance Nick.  I guess that's progress for Hallmark--there is a hint of sex.  Anyway, I wasn't impressed with the resolution of the mystery.

[Kitty Redstone]

I didn't mind it.  The subtext of people you once knew changing into something unrecognizable, and being happy with where you are in life even if it's not where you thought you'd be, was appealing.  Or at least it was believable.  Because even if you suspend disbelief at the number of murders that happen in this tiny town and which are solved by a librarian with a great coat and sweater collection, that is easier for me to believe than the number of huge houses Aurora lives in one after another after another.  I know she inherited a house at one time and had that as seed money, so to speak, but come on! 

Anyway, the blonde woman who played the wife of the murder victim has been in previous mysteries (Murder 101 and Darrow & Darrow are two that come to mind) and she always impresses me.  It was also good to see the regular crew, especially Sally, though I still miss John.

 

[GaT]

3 hours ago, susannot said:

What did everyone think of the new Aurora Teagarden mystery?  

I thought it was OK, nothing great, but watchable. Of course, in the tradition of Hallmark, her wig was horrible. I kept staring at it when I was supposed to be watching the scene. Also, when Aurora was climbing down the side of the hotel, all I could think about was how she was wearing jeans & sneakers, & Cassie was wearing a cocktail dress & heels so climbing down a hotel probably wasn't going to happen.

34 minutes ago, Kitty Redstone said:

Because even if you suspend disbelief at the number of murders that happen in this tiny town and which are solved by a librarian with a great coat and sweater collection, that is easier for me to believe than the number of huge houses Aurora lives in one after another after another.  I know she inherited a house at one time and had that as seed money, so to speak, but come on! 

I think a better question is, why does this small town have so many huge houses?

[Ashforth]

7 hours ago, GaT said:

Of course, in the tradition of Hallmark, her wig was horrible. I kept staring at it when I was supposed to be watching the scene.

Why oh why don't they budget for higher quality wigs? It's a mystery that deserves its own series of shows. 

[rainsmom]

Heh. Horrible wig aside, I like Aurora. I was hoping, though, that this would be some sort of complex mystery where multiple people did it and covered for each other. It ended up not being terribly complex -- the person that the police were told did it, did it. Everything else was just distraction. Amanda has every right to be pissed, LOL.

[Irlandesa]

I found the movie oddly comforting.  The ending wasn't very complicated, although it was a bit random.  It was kind of nice for Ro to be vehemently wrong through most of the movie.

Forget her wig, the shade of her lipstick was atrocious.  The pinky red against her complexion and hair color aged her.

[mikeb]

I have only gotten thru about half of the new Aurora Teagarden, but find it strange how few scenes Lynn is in.  There is a uniformed police officer interviewing suspects and talking to Arthur about the case instead of Lynn.  I wonder if Miranda Frigon, who plays Lynn, only had limited availability when this was filmed.   She had missed a couple of earlier movies due to having a baby, but thought she was back full-time.

Edited October 20, 2020 by mikeb

[Jenniferbug]

13 minutes ago, mikeb said:

I have only gotten thru about half of the new Aurora Teagarden, but find it strange how few scenes Lynn is in.  There is a uniformed police officer interviewing suspects and talking to Arthur about the case instead of Lynn.  I wonder if Miranda Frigon, who plays Lynn, only had limited availability when this was filmed.   She had missed a couple of earlier movies due to having a baby, but thought she was back full-time.

That was strange to me too. I kept wondering where she was and why she wasn't involved. I don't think any explanation was given for her absence at any point. 

[rainsmom]

Yeah, it really stuck out, didn't it? In the scene where the murder occurred, I think "Call Lynn" was said three or four times. It would have been less noticeable to me if they'd made a simple statement like "Lynn had to miss the reunion because she took the kid to grandma" or something -- and then not had her in the movie at all. That she didn't attend because she didn't want to be around his high school friends is totally in character, but I would have expected a lot more of her once the murder occurred. I agree with the supposition above that the actress probably wasn't available.

[GaT]

7 hours ago, mikeb said:

I have only gotten thru about half of the new Aurora Teagarden, but find it strange how few scenes Lynn is in.  

 

6 hours ago, Jenniferbug said:

That was strange to me too. I kept wondering where she was and why she wasn't involved. I don't think any explanation was given for her absence at any point. 

6 hours ago, rainsmom said:

Yeah, it really stuck out, didn't it? 

Add me to the list of the confused. When we didn't see her for a while, I just thought she wasn't in the movie, but then she popped up for a scene & disappeared again. It was really odd.

[mikeb]

One possibility I came up with is they started filming this movie before the lockdown and filmed her scene and then when they resumed filming post-lockdown, she elected or couldn't return.

[MerBearHou]

I enjoyed the new mystery and for once, it turned out to be the person they pointed to all along -- I liked that for a switch.  That actor is "too perfect" so I liked that he was the killer.  

Count me as one who was glad there was almost no Lynn in this one.  Like the poster above surmised, I bet COVID came into play once she started filming and she couldn't get back on set for whatever reason.  I cannot stand Lynn -- I get it that she's supposed to be a tough counterpart to her nice husband Arthur but she's way too bitchy in words and attitude for my liking.

[rainsmom]

1 hour ago, MerBearHou said:

I cannot stand Lynn -- I get it that she's supposed to be a tough counterpart to her nice husband Arthur but she's way too bitchy in words and attitude for my liking.

I agree with this. I was glad there was no overt aggression toward Ro in this one. That schtick has gotten old. They don't have to be friends -- though, frankly, by this point they really ought to be -- but the constant "Stay out of police business" just gets old.

[Terrafamilia]

When the comment was made that Ro and Sally hadn't changed since high school I could believe it in Sally's case at least. Lexa Doig doesn't seem to have changed much since the first time I saw her in Andromeda, which began in 2000.

[mikeb]

Hallmark is already at with last-minute schedule changes for new Christmas movies.  Christmas Tree Lane is listed as starting Saturday 9:00 PM ET on HMM on my on-screen program guide, but I have seen commercials showing 10:00 PM ET and Alicia Witt confirmed the 10:00 PM start on social media.  Seems odd to be premiering a new movie that late.   If you were planning on recording, you may need to double-check your DVR settings.

It looks like all the start times shown on HMM website are shifted an hour relative to my on-screen program guide starting Friday 6:00 AM.

Edited October 21, 2020 by mikeb

[ctlady]

On 10/19/2020 at 3:17 AM, GaT said:

On 10/18/2020 at 11:09 PM, susannot said:

What did everyone think of the new Aurora Teagarden mystery?  

I thought it was OK, nothing great, but watchable.

Was I the only one who was getting 'No One Would Tell' vibes during the part where Ro brought out all her high school memorabilia and her mother picked up the letter jacket from Ro's HS bf?  It would've been a complete shout out if they named him 'Bobby' instead of Parker!

[Guest]

2 hours ago, mikeb said:

Hallmark is already at with last-minute schedule changes for new Christmas movies.  Christmas Tree Lane is listed as starting Saturday 9:00 PM ET on HMM on my on-screen program guide, but I have seen commercials showing 10:00 PM ET and Alicia Witt confirmed the 10:00 PM start on social media.  Seems odd to be premiering a new movie that late.   If you were planning on recording, you may need to double-check your DVR settings.

It looks like all the start times shown on HMM website are shifted an hour relative to my on-screen program guide starting Friday 6:00 AM.

Good to know. They have updated the entire HMM premiere calendar to 10 pm starts. I guess someone finally realized that having the movies overlap wasn’t a good plan. I not sure that a 10pm premiere is a much better plan. 

[GaT]

5 hours ago, ctlady said:

Was I the only one who was getting 'No One Would Tell' vibes during the part where Ro brought out all her high school memorabilia and her mother picked up the letter jacket from Ro's HS bf?  It would've been a complete shout out if they named him 'Bobby' instead of Parker!

Since I have no idea what 'No One Would Tell' is, no vibes for me LOL

[ctlady]

31 minutes ago, GaT said:

5 hours ago, ctlady said:

Was I the only one who was getting 'No One Would Tell' vibes during the part where Ro brought out all her high school memorabilia and her mother picked up the letter jacket from Ro's HS bf?  It would've been a complete shout out if they named him 'Bobby' instead of Parker!

Since I have no idea what 'No One Would Tell' is, no vibes for me LOL

Okay - my age showing here!

No One Would Tell - a 1996 Lifetime movie starring CC-B and Fred Savage about a HS girl who remains silent about being abused by her boyfriend.  FS character is named Bobby and is on the wrestling team and, at one point in the movie, gives CC-Bs character his team letter jacket

[GaT]

32 minutes ago, ctlady said:

Okay - my age showing here!

No One Would Tell - a 1996 Lifetime movie starring CC-B and Fred Savage about a HS girl who remains silent about being abused by her boyfriend.  FS character is named Bobby and is on the wrestling team and, at one point in the movie, gives CC-Bs character his team letter jacket

Ahh, I see. I don't watch Lifetime movies, so it didn't ring any bells.

[LuvMyShows]

On 10/20/2020 at 5:55 PM, MerBearHou said:

I enjoyed the new mystery and for once, it turned out to be the person they pointed to all along -- I liked that for a switch.  That actor is "too perfect" so I liked that he was the killer.  

I have been racking my brain trying to figure out who the actor is.  I feel like I saw him in something recently, but don't know what his name is, and couldn't find a large enough cast list from this episode to show him...help!

[Kitty Redstone]

19 minutes ago, LuvMyShows said:

I have been racking my brain trying to figure out who the actor is.  I feel like I saw him in something recently, but don't know what his name is, and couldn't find a large enough cast list from this episode to show him...help!

He's the boyfriend of Kelly Martin's character in her mystery series.  At some point the names will come to me but I haven't had enough coffee yet.

At any rate, my annual boycott of this channel is set to begin with it's onslaught of 24/7 Christmas movies.  See you all in 2-1/2 months!

[GaT]

3 hours ago, Kitty Redstone said:

At any rate, my annual boycott of this channel is set to begin with it's onslaught of 24/7 Christmas movies.  See you all in 2-1/2 months!

Save me a chair at the boycott table, it's so frustrating.

[Terrafamilia]

9 hours ago, LuvMyShows said:

I have been racking my brain trying to figure out who the actor is.  I feel like I saw him in something recently, but don't know what his name is, and couldn't find a large enough cast list from this episode to show him...help!

That would be Matthew MacCaull.

[LuvMyShows]

2 minutes ago, Terrafamilia said:

That would be Matthew MacCaull.

Thank you!  

[Kitty Redstone]

I thought the Christmas movie onslaught was supposed to begin Friday night but apparently it started tonight?!?!?!?!  They just had to add one more night?  This really feels like a giant FU to the regular mystery viewers.  So, so frustrating.

[MerBearHou]

34 minutes ago, Kitty Redstone said:

I thought the Christmas movie onslaught was supposed to begin Friday night but apparently it started tonight?!?!?!?!  They just had to add one more night?  This really feels like a giant FU to the regular mystery viewers.  So, so frustrating.

Couldn’t agree more.  It actually makes me angry to see Christmas movies in place of the mysteries so early.  Ugggghhhhhh.  Law & Order, here I come.

[LuvMyShows]

In the new Aurora Teagarden movie, Aida had a comment from another era that just seems so inconsistent.  She was complaining about Aurora's mystery solving and said something like, "Some daughters take up needlepointing or scrapbooking, but mine does crime solving," and she definitely was complaining, not praising.  Yes, it's possible that the words came from the book, but the dialog absolutely could be changed by Hallmark to reflect the fact that for independent women of Aurora's era, there are many other options for hobbies besides the home-oriented ones Aida mentioned (not that there's anything wrong with those hobbies, and I also didn't get the impression that she was trying to contrast the safety of those hobbies versus the danger of crime solving).  Additionally, it makes no sense for Aida's character to have to keep up that schtick that's been present since the start, because Aida is a very independent, successful, single real estate agent, and doesn't seem to have those hobbies either!

[ctlady]

12 hours ago, MerBearHou said:

I thought the Christmas movie onslaught was supposed to begin Friday night but apparently it started tonight?!?!?!?!  They just had to add one more night?  This really feels like a giant FU to the regular mystery viewers.  So, so frustrating.

I've never cared for the 24/7 Christmas movies on either Hallmark or Lifetime and I ain't starting now.  Starting it earlier and earlier (kinda like Black Friday went from traditionally being the day after Thanksgiving to the week before) really isn't going to get anyone into the Christmas spirit.  By December, I'm going to be longing for January 2nd (or for this entire blur of a year to be over)

Why can't Hallmark play the Christmas movies on the regular Hallmark channel and leave the the HM&M channel for mysteries only? 

[mikeb]

1 hour ago, LuvMyShows said:

 Yes, it's possible that the words came from the book.

The last 5 movies, including this new one, are not based on a book in the Aurora Teagarden book series.  There are only 10 books, with 9 of them adapted into movies.  The book that has not been adapted into movie is most recent one in which Aurora has a baby.

I do agree the first part of that quote from Aida seems out of character, but she did use to frequently complain about the Real Murders club so that part isn't new.

 

[Kitty Redstone]

1 hour ago, ctlady said:

I've never cared for the 24/7 Christmas movies on either Hallmark or Lifetime and I ain't starting now.  Starting it earlier and earlier (kinda like Black Friday went from traditionally being the day after Thanksgiving to the week before) really isn't going to get anyone into the Christmas spirit.  By December, I'm going to be longing for January 2nd (or for this entire blur of a year to be over)

Why can't Hallmark play the Christmas movies on the regular Hallmark channel and leave the the HM&M channel for mysteries only? 

This, x 1,000. 

[Veronica]

Kris Polahaha is currently quarantining in Canada in preparation for filming Mystery 101

[Guest]

I stumbled on a site that list’s things being filmed in British Columbia. In addition to the new Mystery 101 mentioned by @Veronica they are also currently filming or about to start filming for a new Aurora Teagarden, Crossword Mystery and Chronicle Mystery. 

[chitowngirl]

Mystery Movies return January 2nd at 6:00 am!

[LuvMyShows]

On 12/28/2020 at 7:46 PM, chitowngirl said:

Mystery Movies return January 2nd at 6:00 am!

Thanks for the first sharing of the return of mystery movies...next step, the (eventual) premiers of the new mystery movies!

[LexieLily]

Aurora Teagarden #14 (Reunited and It Feels So Deadly) is on this Sunday (1/10) and it is showing as new. Didn't this one premiere in September or October?