Hallmark Mysteries: Mysterious Small Town Hijinks Ensue - General Discussion

[LuvMyShows]

6 hours ago, mikeb said:

I don't think Hallmark Drama is always an extra $6.00 a month.  It is a cable channel just like Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movies and Mysteries.  It is up to your cable, satellite or streaming provider whether they carry it and, if so, which package they include it in.  There are a lot of cable providers (including mine, Verizon FIOS) that do not carry it.

It is the streaming-only 'app'  Hallmark Movies Now that is only available for extra $6.00 a month (or $5.00 a month if pay a year at a time).

This seems correct.  The first three are channels, and if your cable company doesn't offer them, then it doesn't matter how much you love them or how much you're willing to pay, you won't be able to get them. 

HMN is an app and available on-line, and you have to pay monthly.  I signed up, and for me, it paid off already because I was able to watch Darrow and Darrow Body of Evidence, which I had not seen previously.  But going forward, it remains to be seen how long I'll keep subscribing, especially since the new D&D is going to be on HMM.

[redpencil]

10 hours ago, MikaelaArsenault said:

I really wish we got Hallmark Drama just so I can see the SS&D movies, but Comcast unfortunately doesn't carry it.

At least in my area, Hallmark Drama is being added to at least Digital Preferred and above in October (per a notice I saw on my most recent bill). So anyone else with Xfinity should definitely check in October (I'm not clear when).

[Was-MArsenault]

1 hour ago, redpencil said:

At least in my area, Hallmark Drama is being added to at least Digital Preferred and above in October (per a notice I saw on my most recent bill). So anyone else with Xfinity should definitely check in October (I'm not clear when).

Okay, but I hope my area gets it.

[Jaded]

19 hours ago, GaT said:

WHAT???????? The last SSD movie that I saw Rita & Norman got married. I thought the next one was due in 2020. What other movies have there been?

I poked around on the Hallmark Drama site yesterday and the SSD movie you mentioned is the latest one. 

[LuvMyShows]

Excited about the new Darrow & Darrow on HMM tonight!

[roctavia]

59 minutes ago, LuvMyShows said:

Excited about the new Darrow & Darrow on HMM tonight!

Me too! I really like the cast, though as i was thinking about it, the one person I don't care for is the coach guy... Like, i get what they were going for with the daughter and the team, and then grandma getting interested in him... but I don't know if it's the actor or just how they have him playing the coach- he's just kind of weird and not in a quirky way... So i'd be okay if he doesn't show up in this new movie. 

The actor did show up playing a detective in something else (Not sure if it was a hallmark movie? Probably) and it took me forever to figure out why he was familiar... 

[mikeb]

1 hour ago, roctavia said:

The actor did show up playing a detective in something else (Not sure if it was a hallmark movie? Probably) and it took me forever to figure out why he was familiar... 

I think he played Carlos Vega's partner in Picture Perfect HMM mystery.  No idea why I remember useless trivia like this.

[GaT]

3 hours ago, LuvMyShows said:

Excited about the new Darrow & Darrow on HMM tonight!

I'm so glad you posted this because I didn't have it set up to record. Usually there's an option to treat these movies as a series, so I don't have to remember, but for some reason the Darrow movies don't have that option. I don't know if that's Comcast's or Hallmarks' doing.

[Jenniferbug]

I also saw on Facebook that they're airing the Darrow movie at 9 pm (CST) on the regular Hallmark channel after Chesapeake Shores. 

[roctavia]

1 hour ago, mikeb said:

I think he played Carlos Vega's partner in Picture Perfect HMM mystery.  No idea why I remember useless trivia like this.

That must be it!  He was kind of annoying in that one too, but not as bad as the coach... 

[susannot]

I liked tonight's Darrow mystery.  I am a (mostly retired) lawyer so I love courtroom scenes.   Kimberley Williams' character is excellent at cross-examination and I tried to channel her in a few cases.  However, the courtroom scene would NEVER have gone down that way, probably, but I can see the Judge getting a whiff of injustice and letting it all continue.

[MerBearHou]

I thoroughly enjoyed tonight’s Darrow movie as well.  Great cast, great rapport.  When is the next one — or is on the blasted app??

[roctavia]

4 minutes ago, susannot said:

I liked tonight's Darrow mystery.  I am a (mostly retired) lawyer so I love courtroom scenes.   Kimberley Williams' character is excellent at cross-examination and I tried to channel her in a few cases.  However, the courtroom scene would NEVER have gone down that way, probably, but I can see the Judge getting a whiff of injustice and letting it all continue.

I liked this one too, but was definitely thinking that the court scene wasn't quite realistic... but it helped that she totally had all the evidence and even if it hadn't been the dramatic day in court thing, it would have all come out shortly... 

It's nice to see some progress in the relationship between Claire and Miles but those hallmark smash your mouth together and don't move kisses are so weird :P Not that I want to watch random people make out, but it just looked so awkward.   Oh well, they are still fun to watch together. 

The mystery itself wasn't too difficult to figure out, but it was still some interesting twists in what was really going on and who the real killer was. 

[susannot]

The court scenes weren't realistic but as you say she had all the evidence--and the prosecutor wasn't objecting as he realized he had it all wrong.  So I think in real life a Judge might have done the same thing.

[LuvMyShows]

3 minutes ago, susannot said:

I liked tonight's Darrow mystery.  I am a (mostly retired) lawyer so I love courtroom scenes.   Kimberley Williams' character is excellent at cross-examination and I tried to channel her in a few cases.  However, the courtroom scene would NEVER have gone down that way, probably, but I can see the Judge getting a whiff of injustice and letting it all continue.

That is exactly what I was wondering about.  Seemed like Kimberly was recounting a lot of hearsay.  Also, as the Tom Cavanaugh character objected, she was doing more of a closing argument than asking the witness a question.  IRL, I wonder what would happen if a lawyer tried to have a recess to enter new evidence, and was turned down by the judge...would that lawyer then have been able to get away with going ahead and introducing that evidence?  It sort of seems like if a judge wants to, they can basically suspend any rule they want...although it then seems like it would open it up later to an appeal by the losing lawyer.

Still, I enjoyed the movie.  But there is one thing that I questioned.  I think they said that Cassie had been a fellow lawyer at that high-powered firm NYC.  Yet she was going to have to mortgage her house and do one other thing (I forget what it was) to make the $100K portion of the bail.  Seems like she would have had that amount of money in a much more liquid fashion.  And they never followed up with that for us to know if she did end up getting that money to avoid being in jail.  

[LuvMyShows]

33 minutes ago, roctavia said:

It's nice to see some progress in the relationship between Claire and Miles but those hallmark smash your mouth together and don't move kisses are so weird 😛 Not that I want to watch random people make out, but it just looked so awkward.   Oh well, they are still fun to watch together. 

Those kisses really are sadly lame.  I have to say that in the recent Aurora Teagarden movie, I seem to recall a fairly realistic kiss between her and her beau.

It is nice to see Claire and Miles getting closer, and while I see an actor-ly chemistry between them, I just don't see boyfriend/girlfriend chemistry with them.

[Irlandesa]

This was definitely the best of the Darrow movies.  Who did it was pretty predictable but it still felt, to me, like the movie moved at a good pace.

I will say that the opening with all the gunshots seemed a bit excessively violent for a Hallmark movie but then given what the big "gotchya" clue is, it was a pretty good opening.

And I don't even think Hallmark tries to make the courtroom scenes realistic but that's okay.

[Kitty Redstone]

I haven't watched the new Darrow movie yet but am glad to hear it was good!

On 9/6/2019 at 5:44 PM, jlc said:

Why don't you like her with Cameron Mathison?

I don't like Cam Matheson's acting.  If it weren't for him I might've given the Murder, She Baked series a go.  I'd read most of the books when the series got greenlighted and honestly had come to hate all the characters but the two cats, so it wasn't a series I was looking forward to watching (even with AS as the lead).  CM made it all the easier to skip.  Several people here told me the series was really good, though.

Edited September 9, 2019 by Kitty Redstone

[roctavia]

3 hours ago, Kitty Redstone said:

I haven't watched the new Darrow movie yet but am glad to hear it was good!

I don't like Cam Matheson's acting.  If it weren't for him I might've given the Murder, She Baked series a go.  I'd read most of the books when the series got greenlighted and honestly had come to hate all the characters but the two cats, so it wasn't a series I was looking forward to watching (even with AS as the lead).  CM made it all the easier to skip.  Several people here told me the series was really good, though.

I thought it was a good series, though I don't mind him and I like Alison Sweeney a lot (good old childhood days of our lives nostalgia)

And while they did have both love interests, the series was much more decisive early on instead of every book being some will they won't they, here's another random dude to date. 

I also think it's funny that the actor they have as Norman is now a buff but doofy firefighter on Tacoma FD, it took me forever to figure why he was familiar on that show, since the character is very un-norman like. 

The mysteries themselves were also pretty good... though I haven't read enough of the books to know if the books give away the murderers.

[jlc]

3 hours ago, Kitty Redstone said:

I haven't watched the new Darrow movie yet but am glad to hear it was good!

I don't like Cam Matheson's acting.  If it weren't for him I might've given the Murder, She Baked series a go.  I'd read most of the books when the series got greenlighted and honestly had come to hate all the characters but the two cats, so it wasn't a series I was looking forward to watching (even with AS as the lead).  CM made it all the easier to skip.  Several people here told me the series was really good, though.

It was really good, although the plot lines weren't  very good towards the end. I was really mad that they ended the series when they got engaged. I felt like the last show SHOULD be the wedding, but I don't  work for Hallmark so I am sure they don't  care what I think. Lol

[Kitty Redstone]

So she got engaged to Mike?  I thought she'd end up with Norman.  But, by the time I'd read everything that had been published at the time, I didn't care.  It was the longest, stupidest triangle of all time.  I was a bit angry with myself for investing so much time on them, tbh, but I'm a completist and was compelled to get through what was there.  Surely there have been more books published since, but I will absolutely not bother reading them.

39 minutes ago, roctavia said:

I thought it was a good series, though I don't mind him and I like Alison Sweeney a lot (good old childhood days of our lives nostalgia)
 

Oh I get it!  DOOL is where I came to really like AS.  Cam, however, is one of the people who drove me away from AMC after years of watching.  His character was a total jerk but somehow he became the hero of the show. 

[Irlandesa]

4 hours ago, Kitty Redstone said:

I don't like Cam Matheson's acting.  If it weren't for him I might've given the Murder, She Baked series a go.

He's a terrible actor but he's one of the terrible soap actors who could at least generate chemistry with his costars (although it'll always be Ryan and Gillian for me).  That serves him well in this series.

[TVFan17]

I haven't watched enough of the Murder, She Baked movies to decide whether or not I like Cameron Mathison in that specific series, but I used to watch Cameron on All My Children back in the day.  I also watched him on Dancing With the Stars.  

But, above all else, I really enjoy quite a few of his non-mystery Hallmark movies!!  The Christmas Ornament (which is now exclusive to Hallmark Movies & Mysteries) is one of my all-time Hallmark favorites.  I also love A Summer to Remember.   Love, of Course and Very, Very Valentine are thoroughly enjoyable to me too.    He played the role of a jerky guy quite well in Window Wonderland.

I think I even liked Cameron's Christmas movie with Jennie Garth, over on ABC Family/Freeform (Holidaze).

And, really, the only thing I didn't like about A Christmas to Remember was, oddly enough, Mira Sorvino!  lol   If there had been another actress in Mira Sorvino's role, I might have liked the movie more -- which is hilarious, since Mira is an Oscar winner.

So I guess I am a Cameron fan!  

I wish him well, as he gets his renal cell carcinoma taken care of.   He's already a super healthy guy, so hopefully his good health will work in his favor.  And he says that he won't be undergoing any chemo or radiation treatments, if I recall correctly, so the surgery will be it for now.

(Edited to add:  The final Murder, She Baked movie just aired, and I see that Cameron and Alison Sweeney did have pretty good chemistry.  Too bad that series is over.)

Edited September 10, 2019 by TVFan17

[Jenniferbug]

15 hours ago, Kitty Redstone said:

So she got engaged to Mike?  I thought she'd end up with Norman.  But, by the time I'd read everything that had been published at the time, I didn't care.  It was the longest, stupidest triangle of all time.  I was a bit angry with myself for investing so much time on them, tbh, but I'm a completist and was compelled to get through what was there.  Surely there have been more books published since, but I will absolutely not bother reading them.

Yeah I can't bring myself to read any of the recent books either. I looked up spoilers from the recent 2 out of curiousity and definitely not interested in reading them. Yuck. That series really needs to end. The writing has gotten worse with each book. 

I did enjoy the movies a lot more than the books! I think it helps that they don't drag out the triangle for long.

I liked the newest Darrow mystery! The plot was pretty good. It lost a little focus near the end, but I thought Miles and Claire were cute so that made up for it. I hope they keep making these. 

[chitowngirl]

15 hours ago, Kitty Redstone said:

So she got engaged to Mike?  I thought she'd end up with Norman.  But, by the time I'd read everything that had been published at the time, I didn't care.  It was the longest, stupidest triangle of all time.  I was a bit angry with myself for investing so much time on them, tbh, but I'm a completist and was compelled to get through what was there.  Surely there have been more books published since, but I will absolutely not bother reading them.

Who Hannah ends up with is different in the books than on the show. 

Spoiler

She marries an old flame. But a few books later, he’s not what he seems.

Edited September 10, 2019 by chitowngirl

[TVFan17]

3 hours ago, Jenniferbug said:

I liked the newest Darrow mystery! The plot was pretty good. It lost a little focus near the end, but I thought Miles and Claire were cute so that made up for it. I hope they keep making these. 

I did not really watch the previous 3 Darrow & Darrow movies (I think I caught a snippet of movie #3, but not enough to know what was happening) so I can't compare this 4th one to those, but..... I kind of liked it too!   I was surprised, as I expected to be bored.   It did get a little zany in the last few scenes, but it was pretty good.   Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Tom Cavanagh and Wendie Malick are all strong in their roles, and Kimberly works well in separate scenes with each of them.

Edited September 10, 2019 by TVFan17
Typo, as usual!

[Happywatcher]

1/3 of the way through the Darrow movie off the DVR.

1. What TH is Claire's problem with being a vague bitch. If she does not want to have a date with geek boy then say 'thanks for asking but no. Friends?'

2. NORINCO, the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army owned gun company which exported a lot of Chinese guns to the US for a few years, literally only exported to the US for about 5 years. They still send guns, including Tokerav TTs converted in 9mm para, into Canada. So good job, Hallmark Canada citizen writers. 

3. I have no idea about mandatory disclosure laws in New York, but either way shouldn't she be motioning to send the gun and car and the victims' phones to her defense experts?

4. I was an MP in the US military. I carried one of the pistols the red hair cop carries. It was awful. The gun is great to shoot, light recoil, easy to aim. Back then 16 rounds, now 18 rounds with the new super slick magazines they bought after the pistols started jamming in Iraq because of the powder sand. As shown on the waistband of the detective, they are roughly the size of a paving stone. I would carry a lot of guns before that. Like yikes, in particular on a size zero actress

[Happywatcher]

So the pretend courthouse literally had a saying on the facade that says:" Placed Upon the Horizon (Casting Shadows)"

10 seconds on google shows that is the insufferable chic saying on the VANCOUVER ART GALLERY,

Do better with deep fakes, Hallmark

[roctavia]

20 hours ago, Kitty Redstone said:

So she got engaged to Mike?  I thought she'd end up with Norman.  But, by the time I'd read everything that had been published at the time, I didn't care.  It was the longest, stupidest triangle of all time.  I was a bit angry with myself for investing so much time on them, tbh, but I'm a completist and was compelled to get through what was there.  Surely there have been more books published since, but I will absolutely not bother reading them.

Oh I get it!  DOOL is where I came to really like AS.  Cam, however, is one of the people who drove me away from AMC after years of watching.  His character was a total jerk but somehow he became the hero of the show. 

I guess I've only ever seen him on these hallmark type movies so I don't know any better about his acting/infuriating other characters he's played... but he's earned some good will from being in the Murder She Baked movies since those were when I first started watching the hallmark mystery channel... 

I've only read like one or two of the books and liked them ( i think they were the first ones) so it was excited for the movies. But never read more of the books. 

I wish they would make some more Nora Roberts ones (the more mystery suspense ones) into movies, but I can't remember what channel was doing that... 

3 hours ago, TVFan17 said:

I did not really watch the previous 3 Darrow & Darrow movies (I think I caught a snippet of movie #3, but not enough to know what was happening) so I can't compare this 4th one to those, but..... I kind of liked it too!   I was surprised, as I expected to be bored.   It did get a little zany in the last few scenes, but it was pretty good.   Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Tom Cavanagh and Wendie Malick are all strong in their roles, and Kimberly works well in separate scenes with each of them.

I really like the main cast.. .I think some of the law office crew changed a bit from the first movie, but the lead, the love interest and the mother are all great casting, so I hope they make more of these. 

[LuvMyShows]

4 hours ago, roctavia said:

I really like the main cast.. .I think some of the law office crew changed a bit from the first movie

IIRC, the inside of the law office also changed, rather significantly.  It was a bit cramped and older looking, and now it's modern and more spacious.  I don't know if the outside changed or not.

[Ashforth]

16 hours ago, Jenniferbug said:

I liked the newest Darrow mystery! The plot was pretty good. It lost a little focus near the end,

I only recently got HMM and I'm enjoying watching for the most part, but I find that for me, pretty common threads in most of the movies are:

• a LOT of time is spent pointing viewers in different directions without many real clues to help allow us to deduce who the killer is
• the protagonist is usually attacked (often in her own home) and fights off the attacker
• said attacker is often not the killer
• the body count rises to a pretty ridiculous level
• the police are trying, but are relatively inept 
• when the killer is finally revealed, he or she tells a long, long story of what they did and why they did it while holding the protagonist at gunpoint, until the cops finally show up

I think the two hour format is too long. HMM should try 90 minute movies, trim the fat, make it an actual whodunnit with reasonable clues instead of picking one of many suspects out of a hat as the killer at the very end.

Stop with the protagonist in peril. How many times have you been held at gunpoint? How many times would it take for you to think, eh, maybe I should drop this amateur detective gig?

[roctavia]

17 minutes ago, Ashforth said:

I only recently got HMM and I'm enjoying watching for the most part, but I find that for me, pretty common threads in most of the movies are:

• a LOT of time is spent pointing viewers in different directions without many real clues to help allow us to deduce who the killer is
• the protagonist is usually attacked (often in her own home) and fights off the attacker
• said attacker is often not the killer
• the body count rises to a pretty ridiculous level
• the police are trying, but are relatively inept 
• when the killer is finally revealed, he or she tells a long, long story of what they did and why they did it while holding the protagonist at gunpoint, until the cops finally show up

I think the two hour format is too long. HMM should try 90 minute movies, trim the fat, make it an actual whodunnit with reasonable clues instead of picking one of many suspects out of a hat as the killer at the very end.

Stop with the protagonist in peril. How many times have you been held at gunpoint? How many times would it take for you to think, eh, maybe I should drop this amateur detective gig?

You are definitely right that the lead always ends up in peril.... every single time... I wouldn't mind if it happened some of the time, but it would be nice if they found another dramatic way for it all to come together. 

At least in this new Darrow movie that didn't happen- she figured it out and got to have her dramatic scene in court, so  that's a little different!! But the other series have definitely played out that way a lot more.

[Jenniferbug]

23 minutes ago, Ashforth said:

I only recently got HMM and I'm enjoying watching for the most part, but I find that for me, pretty common threads in most of the movies are:

• a LOT of time is spent pointing viewers in different directions without many real clues to help allow us to deduce who the killer is
• the protagonist is usually attacked (often in her own home) and fights off the attacker
• said attacker is often not the killer
• the body count rises to a pretty ridiculous level
• the police are trying, but are relatively inept 
• when the killer is finally revealed, he or she tells a long, long story of what they did and why they did it while holding the protagonist at gunpoint, until the cops finally show up

I think the two hour format is too long. HMM should try 90 minute movies, trim the fat, make it an actual whodunnit with reasonable clues instead of picking one of many suspects out of a hat as the killer at the very end.

Stop with the protagonist in peril. How many times have you been held at gunpoint? How many times would it take for you to think, eh, maybe I should drop this amateur detective gig?

I feel like they go one of 2 ways- either (as you said) it seems that they are picked randomly from a hat of characters OR the killer is obvious from the moment they appear on screen. 

I agree 2 hours seems to result in filler. What's sad is that if you take out the commercials, it probably is only 90 minutes of plot. 

I also wish they would stop putting the lead in peril so frequently. We all know Aurora Teagarden (or whoever) isn't going to die in their own movie, so it's not at all suspenseful. 

[roctavia]

4 minutes ago, Jenniferbug said:

I feel like they go one of 2 ways- either (as you said) it seems that they are picked randomly from a hat of characters OR the killer is obvious from the moment they appear on screen. 

I agree 2 hours seems to result in filler. What's sad is that if you take out the commercials, it probably is only 90 minutes of plot. 

I also wish they would stop putting the lead in peril so frequently. We all know Aurora Teagarden (or whoever) isn't going to die in their own movie, so it's not at all suspenseful. 

I do think one of the challenges for the killer is obvious thing is that as these series continue, we know all the characters, so each new episode introduced just a few new characters, and clearly one of those will be the killer.  And the add in the habit of casting nobodies in most supporting roles and then one person that everyone recognizes in what also seems to be a supporting unimportant role, so they are obviously going to be the killer since we recognize them. 

Short of only doing stand alone movies, I don't know if there is a great fix for that... though having situations where we meet a ton of new people does help a little- i'm thinking of the last movie 101 with the play. There were a lot of new people and while some were clear red herrings, it left a little more mystery.

[Was-MArsenault]

Hallmark Drama has now been officially added to our TV provider lineup!

[Irlandesa]

13 hours ago, Ashforth said:

I only recently got HMM and I'm enjoying watching for the most part, but I find that for me, pretty common threads in most of the movies are:

Very true but that's pretty much standard for the cozy mystery genre.  Even looking back at popular shows like Murder She Wrote or Diagnosis Murder seemed to pull the culprit out of thin air with very few clues.

That's why I appreciate Mystery 101 so far.  Both movies have had their fair share of red herrings but enough clues were dropped that the reveal, when revealed, made sense. I'm crossing my fingers for that to continue this weekend.

[Was-MArsenault]

21 hours ago, Ashforth said:

I only recently got HMM and I'm enjoying watching for the most part, but I find that for me, pretty common threads in most of the movies are:

• a LOT of time is spent pointing viewers in different directions without many real clues to help allow us to deduce who the killer is
• the protagonist is usually attacked (often in her own home) and fights off the attacker
• said attacker is often not the killer
• the body count rises to a pretty ridiculous level
• the police are trying, but are relatively inept 
• when the killer is finally revealed, he or she tells a long, long story of what they did and why they did it while holding the protagonist at gunpoint, until the cops finally show up

I think the two hour format is too long. HMM should try 90 minute movies, trim the fat, make it an actual whodunnit with reasonable clues instead of picking one of many suspects out of a hat as the killer at the very end.

Stop with the protagonist in peril. How many times have you been held at gunpoint? How many times would it take for you to think, eh, maybe I should drop this amateur detective gig?

That's awesome you just got it. Do you have Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Drama as well?

[Ashforth]

I've had Hallmark Channel forever and I won't lie, I like to watch their Christmas movies - but I like to watch them during the actual holiday season, not year-round, and I long for them to update the formula for those as well. Recently my apartment complex changed our bulk cable/internet plan (to a better plan, if you can believe it!) and I had to get a new cable box. The process was ridiculous and lengthy (6 hours of my life gone, thanks Spectrum) but voila, suddenly I have HMM and some other channels that I didn't have before. As far as I know, I don't have Hallmark Drama, but in all honesty, I think there's only so much Hallmark product I can swallow.

[Was-MArsenault]

7 minutes ago, Ashforth said:

I've had Hallmark Channel forever and I won't lie, I like to watch their Christmas movies - but I like to watch them during the actual holiday season, not year-round, and I long for them to update the formula for those as well. Recently my apartment complex changed our bulk cable/internet plan (to a better plan, if you can believe it!) and I had to get a new cable box. The process was ridiculous and lengthy (6 hours of my life gone, thanks Spectrum) but voila, suddenly I have HMM and some other channels that I didn't have before. As far as I know, I don't have Hallmark Drama, but in all honesty, I think there's only so much Hallmark product I can swallow.

Hallmark Drama just got added to our plan, but don't know when that was.

[roctavia]

Looking forward to the Mystery 101 tonight, do we get 2 more weeks of it as well or just next weekend has another new Mystery 101? 

I like this cast and the being a Mystery/Literature teacher was a different kind of way to get her involved, and actually can give her some reason to have knowledge about murders and be useful instead of the typical I just keep stumbling into murders and will keep investigating just because... for some of the other movies.

[GaT]

I don't know if it's obvious, or if my detecting skills have gotten really good, but I'm guessing who done it really early in these movies. I just watched Murder 101 Words Can Kill & guessed who it was almost as soon as they appeared on screen.

[Kemper]

6 hours ago, GaT said:

I don't know if it's obvious, or if my detecting skills have gotten really good, but I'm guessing who done it really early in these movies. I just watched Murder 101 Words Can Kill & guessed who it was almost as soon as they appeared on screen.

As soon as the British publisher/editor appeared, I figured she would be the one.  I didn't expect the add-on story of the demented fan killing her husband.  So, that was an unexpected plot point.  I really like all the actors in this series...just wish the mysteries were better written.  But acting-wise, I think this series is one of the better ones.  

I do wonder about the Hallmark Ken Detective's jacket.  He is always wearing it.  But I think he is a cut above the usual Ken blandness in this network's mysteries.  And I love the actor who plays her father; wasn't he the father of Murphy Brown's baby back-in-the-day?  Let's give him a mystery series...he is a writer, has sex appeal (maybe because I am his age) and is a decent actor - with a bit of a twinkle in his eye.  Maybe he and the Gourmet Detective could be partners?  

[AnnaRose]

8 hours ago, GaT said:

I don't know if it's obvious, or if my detecting skills have gotten really good, but I'm guessing who done it really early in these movies. I just watched Murder 101 Words Can Kill & guessed who it was almost as soon as they appeared on screen.

I guessed too, but there were enough other distractions going on to keep it interesting.  I love Jill Wagner, Kristoffer Polaha and the actor who plays the author/father.  I think this has been a great series so far.

[TVFan17]

21 hours ago, roctavia said:

Looking forward to the Mystery 101 tonight, do we get 2 more weeks of it as well or just next weekend has another new Mystery 101? 

I like this cast and the being a Mystery/Literature teacher was a different kind of way to get her involved, and actually can give her some reason to have knowledge about murders and be useful instead of the typical I just keep stumbling into murders and will keep investigating just because... for some of the other movies.

Sunday (9/22) is the last new Mystery 101 for this year, and I think it is the last one in the initial series of movies they knew they were going to make.  In other words, according to Kristoffer Polaha, apparently  they (Hallmark and the cast/crew of Mystery 101) knew up front that they would make 4 movies.  So that was their plan all along.   After movie #4 airs on Sunday, then another series of Mystery 101 movies would have to be ordered -- or another standalone movie -- if everyone wants it to continue.

September 29th is the next Ruby Herring Mysteries movie. 

October 6th is the premiere of Matchmaker Mysteries,

October 13th and 20th are the 2 newest Crossword Mysteries movies.

And then that's it for the year as far as mysteries go!

Edited September 16, 2019 by TVFan17

[roctavia]

33 minutes ago, TVFan17 said:

Sunday (9/22) is the last new Mystery 101 for this year, and I think it is the last one in the initial series of movies they knew they were going to make.  In other words, according to Kristoffer Polaha, apparently  they (Hallmark and the cast/crew of Mystery 101) knew up front that they would make 4 movies.  So that was their plan all along.   After movie #4 airs on Sunday, then another series of Mystery 101 movies would have to be ordered -- or another standalone movie -- if everyone wants it to continue.

September 29th is the next Ruby Herring Mysteries movie. 

October 6th is the premiere of Matchmaker Mysteries,

October 13th and 20th are the 2 newest Crossword Mysteries movies.

And then that's it for the year as far as mysteries go!

Thanks!! I couldn’t remember what the full line up was... but am happy we are getting so many new mysteries 🙂

[Guest]

9 hours ago, GaT said:

I don't know if it's obvious, or if my detecting skills have gotten really good, but I'm guessing who done it really early in these movies. I just watched Murder 101 Words Can Kill & guessed who it was almost as soon as they appeared on screen.

I think it’s obvious if you’ve watched enough cozy mysteries to catch the pattern. It’s usually a character who is introduced early and appears to be a background character but is given an unusual amount of screen time and backstory for a random side character. They tend to be just likable enough that you’re supposed to be surprised and they have several interactions with the main character. All the Mystery 101 movies have followed the same pattern. 

[LexieLily]

6 hours ago, TVFan17 said:

Sunday (9/22) is the last new Mystery 101 for this year, and I think it is the last one in the initial series of movies they knew they were going to make.  In other words, according to Kristoffer Polaha, apparently  they (Hallmark and the cast/crew of Mystery 101) knew up front that they would make 4 movies.  So that was their plan all along.   After movie #4 airs on Sunday, then another series of Mystery 101 movies would have to be ordered -- or another standalone movie -- if everyone wants it to continue.

September 29th is the next Ruby Herring Mysteries movie. 

October 6th is the premiere of Matchmaker Mysteries,

October 13th and 20th are the 2 newest Crossword Mysteries movies.

And then that's it for the year as far as mysteries go!

Thank you for all your continued updates 🙂

[Happywatcher]

Watching the new Jill Wagner off the DVR. Pretty good plot and pacing. Only two issues are the dad character's over reaction in his first scene-- and the silly European fan club president. 

Jill and the love interest/police have good chemistry, and sell a natural 'interested/casual dating but not spending the night together' vibe

[Irlandesa]

I too guessed who the guilty party was in the latest Mystery 101 movie but it was mostly still just a guess that was reinforced as everyone else was killed off.  The mystery in this episode may not have been as well constructed as the previous entries but it was still very enjoyable.

4 hours ago, Happywatcher said:

Jill and the love interest/police have good chemistry, and sell a natural 'interested/casual dating but not spending the night together' vibe

And this is a big reason why these work.  There's genuine chemistry, the awkward "I've said too much" is awkward in the right way instead of the wrong way that makes it obvious it's bad writing.  And there's a sexy undertone to the stars' chemistry that Hallmark rarely allows.

[Starscream]

5 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

I too guessed who the guilty party was in the latest Mystery 101 movie but it was mostly still just a guess that was reinforced as everyone else was killed off.  The mystery in this episode may not have been as well constructed as the previous entries but it was still very enjoyable.

And this is a big reason why these work.  There's genuine chemistry, the awkward "I've said too much" is awkward in the right way instead of the wrong way that makes it obvious it's bad writing.  And there's a sexy undertone to the stars' chemistry that Hallmark rarely allows.

Yeah, I really get a vibe that these two wanna do it.  Most of the pairings in these mystery movies seem like they could barely cope with holding hands.  The most recent set of Aurora Teagarden movies was interesting to me because they seemed to go out of their way to pile on the PDA with Aurora and Nick, yet Aurora and Martin looked like they really were adhering to her mother's antebellum courting rules.

Amy's dad (Robin Thomas) has been in a lot of stuff, but I'll always remember him as Prosecutor Burton "Death Row" Hawkins from the earliest episodes of Matlock.

One thing that I wanted to point out, which I adored, was Amy having all the murder weapons from Clue on display behind her office desk.  I don't remember if she had them in the first movie but they weren't there in the second movie.  Her necklace is a Professor Plum player token.

Edited September 17, 2019 by Starscream