Mostly Murder (But Sometimes Not)

New episode out now! We watched an episode of The Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley, “The Case of the Logical I Ranch”, and friends…it was a journey. We talked about the brand (cult?) of Mary-Kate & Ashley and their “Pantheon of Entertainment” (©Mack), growing up entirely in the public eye and how truly young they were, how the episode is 37% songs, and how they really do solve a mystery wi...

It’s time to party Mardi Gras style! We watched S1E15 of NCIS: New Orleans ,  “Le Carnaval de la Mort” which from the get-go made us realize we cannot speak French. We get into the tropes of CBS procedurals—from their penchant to create spinoffs, to the immediately recognizable character traits, to weird expository dialogue, to trying to fit horrendous crimes and the emotional reactions to th...

New episode out today! We watched 1997’s L.A. Confidential , which made all of us Google very different things (historical exchange rates, when contacts were invented, Mickey Rooney…). We discuss the blatant corruption and racism of the 1950’s police force, the way the movie seemed to allude to a number of unconfirmed Hollywood murder and mafia stories, how well constructed the mystery and detecti...

New episode out now! We watched TWO episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation , S2E3 “Elementary, Dear Data” and S6E12 “Ship in a Bottle,” and boy did we have a lot of questions about the Star Trek universe that we did not research. We discuss how the show explored aspects of simulated worlds and sentient AI, the great costumes and fun set design, and ponder if it is weird as an adult to dress up...

It will be to your advantage to listen to the newest episode of our podcast—because it’s our highest rated movie yet! We covered 1985’s cult classic Clue and talked about the brilliance of the ensemble cast, the clever script and hilarious line readings, how the mix of highbrow and lowbrow humor was super enjoyable, and how they totally bungled the “three endings” gimmick from a marketing standpoi...

New episode out now! We discuss the 2016 film The Nice Guys , about two 1970s “investigators” who are really just total disasters. We cover the excellent music and production design, how you can tell the actors are having fun, how surprisingly funny the movie is, and how it sneaks in commentary on governmental oversight and harmful carbon emissions. Katy tries to explain 1970s drug trends but does...

Bonjour and bienvenue! We have our first repeat character in today’s new episode—Hercule Poirot! We watched 1974’s Murder on the Orient Express starring Albert Finney as the famous detective, and do quickly disuss both David Suchet and Kenneth Branaugh’s take on this story as well. We have a (very spoilery) discussion disentangling the multitude of famous actors and how you can’t identify the culp...

New episode up now! We watched one of the famous(?) Boston Blackie mysteries, the 1946 film The Phantom Thief . We talk about his problematic name, secret house skeletons and slides, the penchant for wartime movies to have bumbling comic relief, and how to decide who’s the protagonist in an old movie because everyone is terrible. Katy did some archival research, Carrie gives us a book report, Madd...

New episode out today! We read the “children’s” novel The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin, and discuss this delightful Christie-like story— so beware, spoilers abound! We cover the immersive and stylistic writing choices, talk about how the "game" may have induced empathy in the characters, learn that the 1970s were not PC, and wonder if kids know who Abbot and Costello are anymore. Katy reveals the...

New episode! We cover season 3, episode 4 of The X-Files, “Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose”. Please heed the trigger warnings in this time of heightened anxiety! They’re listed at the end of this description. We discuss this critically-acclaimed episode of the 90’s phenomenon, and cover how it gave us childhood flashbacks, how shocking it feels that it was filmed 25 years ago, how we individually ex...

New episode out now! We watched season 1, episode 8 of Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries and discussed just how awesome the Honorable Miss Phryne Fisher truly is. We cover the beautiful and dynamic costume design, the obvious and delightful tension between Phryne and DI Jack Robinson, how toxic masculinity ruins everything, have a sidebar about feeling connected to fictional characters, and discover...

New episode is up now and friends, it covers some dark stuff. We watched S1E1 of the British adaptation of Wallander and really got into the egregious depiction of  “man pain.” We discuss whether the Swedish Chef is offensive, the “austerity and bleakness” of the visual landscape, how it took longer than it should have to realize it was set in Sweden, and come up with cool nicknames for Tom H...

New episode! We talk about the original Hot Priest (okay, vicar) as we cover the pilot episode of Grantchester. We do interchange ‘priest’ with ‘vicar’ and ‘reverend’ so be prepared for that; we can’t help our past indoctrination. We discuss swearing in front of our parents, pitch a new TV show (with great titles), speculate about what is in a Victoria sponge, and again, talk about how great dogs...

New episode out now and It. Gets. Real. We discuss the 1995 film Se7en , a modern day morality play about an everyman violently casting judgement on a sinful society . . . or maybe just a ‘90s thriller with Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman? We discuss whether or not we would survive an apocalypse, how the city is basically Gotham, how the killer was kinda brilliant with how he timed out his whole plan...

New episode out now! Take a break from the drafty English manors and the drizzly Pacific Northwest and head on down to the sunny, breezy island of Saint-Marie. We watched season one, episode five of Death in Paradise , “Spot the Difference,” and got caught in a twisty plot—that half of us figured out twenty minutes in. We discuss the lackadaisical nature of island law enforcement (who gives suspec...

Bonus Extra Special Episode Out Now! It’s Friday the 13th and the Knives are Out! SPOILERS ABOUND! We watched the still-in-theaters Rian Johnson film Knives Out and discuss this excellent subversion of/update to the classic whodunit. We talk about the difference in audience reactions in different theaters, how much fun the actors seemed to be having, how the movie misrepresents the publishing indu...

It’s time to spend the summer in Gravity Falls ! We watched the third episode of season one “Headhunters” and unpacked a surprising amount of detail from a 22-minute episode of animated television. The four of us talk about the mechanics of ax handling, when kids learn about John Wilkes Booth, how amazing dogs are and how much we want Ducktective to be real. (Like, so much.) Katy extols the virtue...

Welcome to Film 101! We watched the first film in our tin that appears on the AFI’s Best 100 Movies list, Alfred Hitchcock’s 1954 feature Rear Window . We talk about the amazing and suspenseful worldbuilding of the film, using music, lighting, soundscapes, background actors and sets to essentially create Hitchcock’s Dream Dollhouse™. Katy channels a bit of her inner white male film nerd (sorry), C...

“Let’s talk about cannibalism!” We go full book club and talk about our first mystery/thriller read— The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris! We try to avoid talking about the filmed version as we all read the book, so instead we talk about murder houses and whether we’d live in them (even if they are prime Chicago real estate), the mechanics of reading about/picturing book characters and how we...

Let’s-Get- Criminal ! We watch season five, episode sixteen of Criminal Minds , “Mosley Lane” and wow... do we talk about things other than the episode. We play What’s-That-Actor-From-Again?, discuss some unfortunate dated hair choices from both ourselves and the actors, and really talk some shit about CSI: Miami for people who’ve never really watched it. Katy says “muffin buffalo” more than once...

Back to the British crime procedural! For our eighth episode we watched season two, episode four of Rosemary and Thyme , “The Invisible Worm.” We talk about the “vaguely sexual flower opening” of the opening titles and one of us gets very excited about Scarborough Fair. Katy pretends to know more about the British school system than she actually does, Carrie spends her first Joke Buck, Maddy loves...

Join us for coffee and doughnuts as we discuss all 51,201 residents of Twin Peaks ! We watch the pilot episode of this early 1990’s TV show and get into the small town gossip of the Pacific Northwest. Katy tries not to spoil anything from the series, Carrie and Maddy are both very tired, and Mack keeps trying to derail the conversation with doughnut history and hot men. We talk awkward crying, Buf...

Bonjour listeners! Welcome to Mostly Murder ( But Sometimes Not ), a podcast where four siblings discuss mysteries and whodunits throughout a vast array of pop culture. Recorded originally in May 2017, the inaugural episode of what is sure to be an illustrious podcast starts with us discussing one of the most famous detectives in the Western canon—Hercule Poirot! Although more recently made famous...

Out of the mystery jar for our second episode is a personal favorite investigative gang of all of ours—the Scoobies! We love Buffy The Vampire Slayer and were jazzed to talk demons and dating so soon into this endeavor . Buffy and her friends try to figure out who threatens the students at Sunnydale High in episode eighteen of season three, “Earshot” . Originally airing out of sequence on Septembe...

For our third episode we get c-c-c-cold in Fargo ! (Seriously you will feel cold watching it there’s ice and snow all over). We watch the first episode of the first season of Fargo , “The Crocodile’s Dilemma,” which aired in 2014. Katy still can’t keep a synopsis short, Carrie and Maddy each individually coined the phrase “Agent of Chaos,” and Mack spends some more Joke Bucks. We talk difficult Am...