Mostly Murder (But Sometimes Not)

New episode out now! We have our first podcast encounter with the famous teenage sleuth in 1938’s Nancy Drew...Detective . We discuss the literary origins and evolution of the character, how the film took liberties in order to fit into 1930s Hollywood, how annoying it is that practically nobody listens to women, and the surprisingly equal relationship between Nancy and her dad. Katy shares Wikiped...

New episode! We cover 2007’s Zodiac directed by David Fincher, which somehow ended up in the mystery tin even though it is depicting real people and events. But we watched it anyway because it is good! We discuss the excellent atmosphere of the film, created by the music, cars, costumes, props, colors, cinematography, styling, and constant, constant smoking. We also get into the amazing group of a...

New episode out now! We delve into another Agatha Christie adaptation, the BBC’s And Then There Were None, and the discussion is deep and dense! We talk about the bleak and intense atmosphere of the miniseries, aided by the rocky island setting, the drab visuals/weather, and the unsettling fact that everyone just kept mysteriously dying. This is not the typical genteel British mystery! We discuss...

Oh my glob it’s a new episode! We watched two episodes of Adventure Time , S2E19 “Mystery Train” and S3E12 “The Creeps” and it was mathematical! We discuss how the episodes play up the typical mystery tropes, the bizonkers-ness of Finn’s potential solutions, the influences of Agatha Christie and Clue , and how Finn should really deal with his trauma. We get into the whole series a little (so spoil...

New episode out now! We watched the pilot episode of Riverdale , and wow did we have some problems with it! We discuss the CW’s penchant for adapting outside properties into “young, dark, and sexy” content and how that is often problematic, and how while two of us have watched more than one season we barely remember anything because it gets so convoluted. We do cover the awful inclusion of statuto...

We’ve reached into the (open) vault to repost a classic episode! Our producer had a last minute hardware malfunction and a new episode is not available at this time, so we decided to share an older fun one! Recorded February 2018 and originally posted February 2020, it’ll take you back in time for sure. Barring any more complications we should be back in two weeks with a brand new episode for your...

BAM! We’re back! New regular episode is out today! We watched S3E11 of the original Hawaii Five-O , “Over Fifty? Steal”, and mostly enjoyed it! We discussed how the theme song entered our consciousness as children, how this show probably influenced the modern procedural and “copaganda” shows, the surprisingly small amount of overt racism for it being 1970, and how we loved the cleverness of the th...

New episode out NOW! We’re shaking things up for the month of December! It’s the last of four brand new episodes along the same theme: the game Crack the Case. It’s Crack The Casemas! Crack the Case is a Milton Bradley party game that came out in 1993 where players ask yes or no questions in order to solve a mystery. We’re finally putting our detective skills to the test! Mack hosts week four, whe...

New episode out NOW! We’re shaking things up for the month of December! It’s the second of four brand new episodes along the same theme: the game Crack the Case. It’s Crack The Casemas! Crack the Case is a Milton Bradley party game that came out in 1993 where players ask yes or no questions in order to solve a mystery. We’re finally putting our detective skills to the test! Carrie hosts week two,...

SURPRISE! New episode out NOW! We’re shaking things up for the month of December! For the next four weeks you’ll get a brand new episode along the same theme: the game Crack the Case. It’s Crack The Casemas! Crack the Case is a Milton Bradley party game that came out in 1993, where players ask yes or no questions in order to solve a mystery. We’re finally putting our detective skills to the test!...

New episode! We watched the 1995 film Devil in a Blue Dress , based on the Walter Mosley novel of the same name. We discussed that although it had the same beats as any other 1950s LA-set noir (of which there are many), the added element of a Black lead and Black characters gave new eyes and experiences to the old tropes. We also wonder if most LA crime is just marginalized people being hired by t...

New episode out now! We watched season 3, episode 10 of Castle , titled “Last Call”, and it was — fine! We discuss the dynamic between Castle and Beckett (and how half of it seems to be smirking), complain about the things that bother us about crime procedurals, wonder who exactly the target audience was for this show, and get annoyed at the lack of crime scene etiquette. Katy makes a secret confe...

New episode! We cover our third book, Raymond Chandler’s 1939 debut novel The Big Sleep. We discuss the detective Philip Marlowe and his possible secret life, muse upon the motivations and intentions of Raymond Chandler, read similes and descriptions to each other, and eventually fall into two camps with our enjoyment of this book. We really get into the outrageous misogyny and homophobia present...

New episode! We watched 2009’s Sherlock Holmes , starring Robert Downey, Jr. as the famous detective. We discuss the Guy Richie-ness of the film, weigh the balance between Hollywood blockbuster and Holmes adaptation, decide if the anachronisms are acceptable due to the bohemian-steampunkiness of it all, ponder the science vs. supernatural elements, and love that Holmes and Watson are basically an...

SURPRISE! Bonus episode out today! We watched the brand new Netflix movie Enola Holmes and we have some opinions to share. Mostly good! We cover the excellent casting and how great Millie Bobby Brown is, the fun not-quite-period design but how we forgive it due to "whimsy," the similarities and differences to canon Holmes tropes, and how this is the most YA Netflix movie not to originally be made...

New episode! We watched the first part of the 8-part HBO series The Night Of , titled “The Beach,” which means we speculate a lot about things we don't have answers for. We cover how this episode felt like we were just watching the prosecution build a pretty solid-looking case, how tense we felt the entire time, how everyone makes really bad decisions (but especially Naz), how CCTV is eerily ubiqu...

It’s our 30th episode, dollfaces! We watched 1941’s The Maltese Falcon and dug into one of Hollywood’s biggest noir movies. We cover the iconic Humphrey Bogart and his literal presence in our lives, get into the vague history of the MacGuffin storytelling device, talk about how this is an actual mystery we traverse along with Sam Spade, and discuss how no one in the movie is really a good person—n...

New episode! We watched 1985’s not-really-a-mystery movie Blood Simple . We discuss the Coen brothers and explore the familiar Coen tropes already present in their first film, get very annoyed at how utterly terrible Ray is at covering up a murder, wish the characters would just use their words, and list out the many, many clues left behind for the investigators to piece the events together. Katy...

New episode! We watched 2002’s Red Dragon and cover how this movie fits into the Hannibal Lecter Cinematic Universe™.  We discuss the excellent almost-over-the-top-but-not-quite acting choices, the actually good detective work, the confusing but tragic reality that the Dragon lived in, and how this is one of the best book-to-movie adaptations. We also learn this is Carrie’s first encounter wi...

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...