BBC – The Cozy Mystery List Blog

Great News for Mystery Movie Buffs!

August 24, 2016

Movies OK, in the “old days” I would have said get out your pens and pencils, however, I’ll just tell you about this news, and you can annotate it the way you do these days >>> with your I-Pads, I-Phones, Desk Tops, or… with your pens & pencils!

Let me start by telling you all there is good news for us, the Cozy Mystery lovers, from both the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel AND the BBC!

I’ll start with the news from the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel. They have a lot in store for us in the realm of mystery movies! As a lot of you know, the channel is already showing movies that feature: Charlaine Harris‘s Aurora Teagarden Mysteries, Kate Collins‘s Flower Shop Mysteries, Joanne Fluke‘s (Hannah Swensen) Murder, She Baked Mysteries, Peter King‘s Gourmet Detective Mysteries, and Suzi Weinert‘s Garage Sale Mysteries.

Here’s the good news! Hallmark Movies & Mysteries will also be starting (New York Times bestselling) Kate Carlisle‘s Fixer-Upper Mysteries! Yes, that’s right! Singer/actress Jewel will be both starring and executive producing the Fixer-Upper mysteries. Jewel will be playing Shannon Hammer, the owner of a construction company that specializes in restoring Victorian houses.

And it just keeps getting better! For those of you who have missed Kellie Martin in the Mystery Woman movies, she’ll be back! Yep! Nancy Grace‘s Hailey Dean Mysteries will be starring Kellie Martin. For those of you who already read Nancy Grace’s mysteries, you already know that Hailey is an ex-prosecutor who specialized in violent crimes who then works as a therapist, and then a TV commentator.

The bad news is that Hallmark Movies & Mysteries is somewhat secretive about giving out their full TV schedules. So, this month I will only be telling you about the following PREMIERS that will air on that channel. Kellie Martin will be hosting what the channel is calling October Sunday Night Mystery Movies in which three new mystery movies will be introduced/air. (In this case, make sure to get these set-up on your DVRs as soon as possible!)

Sunday – October 9, 2016

8:00 PM Central
Death Al Dente: A Gourmet Detective Mystery *****PREMIER*****
IMDB: When Henry Roth is hired to find the best Italian chef for a new high-end eatery, murder was not on the menu. As the body count climbs, Henry and Maggie find themselves at the heart of another mystery with deadly consequences. Stars Dylan Neal & Brooke Burns. Based on the mysteries by Peter King.

***** ***** ***** *****

Sunday – October 16, 2016

8:00 PM Central
The Julius House: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery *****PREMIER*****
Aurora Teagarden is a beautiful young librarian with a passion for solving murders. After an exhaustive search for the perfect home, Aurora finally purchases her dream house, unaware of its murky history. As she prepares to move in, Aurora discovers that the family who once lived there mysteriously disappeared without a trace. Stars Candace Cameron Bure & Yannick Bisson. Based on the mysteries by Charlaine Harris.

***** ***** ***** *****

Sunday – October 23, 2016

8:00 PM Central
Murder, with Love: A Hailey Dean Mystery *****PREMIER*****
(No information is available at this time.)
Stars Kellie Martin
Based on the mysteries by Nancy Grace.

***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Now on to the great news from BBC. Last December, author Donna McLean told us about the Lifetime channel’s airing of the BBC’s And Then There Were None. (Thank you so much, Donna! I really enjoyed it!) Great news! The BBC will be making seven more of these wonderful Agatha Christie adaptations.

Ordeal by Innocence will be the first movie Agatha Christie Productions will be making for the small screen. Death Comes as the End and The ABC Murders are among the other Agatha Christie movies they will be making. If these new Agatha Christie movies are as good as December’s fare, we’re in for some exceptional TV mystery movies!

Mrs. Bradley Mysteries – British Television Series

October 27, 2015

Calling all Diana Rigg fans! Get ready to see Rigg dead-panning to the camera as only Diana Rigg can do. She is absolutely delightful as Mrs. Bradley, a middle age flapper with very modern views.

Mrs. Bradley Mysteries is a BBC production that I was fortunate to have watched years ago. It ran in Great Britain during 1998-1999, so I’m not sure when my local PBS channel aired it >>> some time around then. It was particularly fun to watch Diana Rigg as she introduced the shows (she starred) in on PBS – during her Mystery! hosting years. (Those were the days when they actually provided background information about the authors, times, ETC.)

Neil Dudgeon (lately seen as John Barnaby on Midsomer Murders) plays George, Mrs. Bradley’s chauffeur. Mrs. Bradley, with George’s help, solves crimes, and is quite a celebrity. She is known to be an excellent crime solver and a very modern thinker. She is a woman who never stops learning. She keeps up with all the events that are happening during the current times. She is a loyal friend, but values justice over friendship. Her interests include those that were thought to be only men’s interests during this time. She is not a woman who would retire with the ladies while the men smoked cigars and drank cognac in the study!

The ambiance of this series is beautiful. Diana Rigg (Mrs. Bradley) wears the most amazingly beautiful clothes. The entire wardrobe department has done a wonderful job. The 1920s was a time of opulence: sequined gowns, soft fabrics, and tuxedos were common-place for the upper echelon to wear during the evening. This was a time when people (at least in Mrs. Bradley’s aristocratic circle) dressed up for dinner >>> which was “announced.”

The sets are excellent, the props are perfect. The Rolls Royce that George and Mrs. Bradley tootle around in is a phenomenal piece of art. And, the mysteries are good, too!

The unfortunate thing about the Mrs. Bradley Mysteries is that there are so few episodes. A 90 minute pilot aired in 1998 and only four sixty minute episodes were made for their 1999 airing. I ask you: WHY only five episodes!?! These productions are so delightful. What a shame there are so few… (and while I’m asking “Why?” >>> why can’t the USA match Britain’s beautiful period pieces?)

For more movie and television show recommendations, visit this page on my site: TV and Movies.

*** This series is available on Netflix in the disc format. Also, check your libraries.

Dr. Bell and Mr. Doyle: The Dark Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes, British Television Movie

September 26, 2015

As you may have guessed by the title of this entry, Dr. Bell and Mr. Doyle: The Dark Beginning of Sherlock Holmes is a fictionalized rendition of how Sir Arthur Conan Doyle came up with one of fiction’s most iconic characters >>> Sherlock Holmes. This movie stars the wonderful Ian Richardson (of the original House of Cards) as Dr. Bell, Doyle’s mentor.

Dr. Bell and Mr. Doyle: The Dark Beginning of Sherlock Holmes gives us a small glimpse into Doyle’s life in medical school. ( I was quite surprised by his family’s circumstances.) We are treated to what medical school in the late 1800s might have been like. Women are fighting to be seen as good enough to have the privilege of attending these universities; while it’s almost a given for rich, young men to have a seat in these lecture halls.

Dr. Bell is a medical doctor and professor who is quite different than the other teachers at the university. He doesn’t seem to question having women in his classes nor does he believe in simply teaching the medical students basic information. He has them use their deductive reasoning skills to become the best doctors possible.

Dr. Bell employs Doyle as his research assistant, which becomes an all-consuming, highly rewarding experience. It is this “internship” that Doyle uses as his basis for Sherlock Holmes’ deductive powers. According to the movie, Dr. Bell works at solving murders which the local police are unable to solve. He does so through reading all of the clues, not just the obvious.

Robin Laing gives a very good performance as young Arthur Conan Doyle in this BBC production. The costumes and sets are particularly good. The movie shows us how Sherlock Holmes could definitely have been modeled on Dr. Bell. If you enjoy terrific British made-for-TV movies, Ian Richardson, and Sherlock Holmes, I think you’ll enjoy Dr. Bell and Mr. Doyle: The Dark Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes.

PS. This movie is not available on Netflix or Acorn at this time. (When I wrote this entry, it was available on Netflix in disc format. Apparently they are waiting to re-release it, and have it on their “Save to DVD Queue” mode.)

For more ideas on movies and television shows, be sure to check my TV and Movie page on my site.

Inspector Lynley Mystery Series Television Mystery Series

July 11, 2015

I was an avid fan of Elizabeth George (even though they aren’t Cozy Mysteries) when I first attempted to watch the Inspector Lynley Mysteries, a British police procedural mystery show. Because I had read all of the novels, and felt I “knew” George’s well-defined main characters, I could not embrace this BBC television series when I first tried watching it. (It originally aired 2001-2007.)

My favorite Elizabeth George character was Sergeant Barbara Havers – a very unattractive, over-weight, socially inept police detective who wore too-tight clothes, and could not keep her opinions to herself. She was brusque, to the point of being rude, but an incredibly quick learner and an incredibly astute detective. Although she was terse and opinionated, she also had a more tender, giving side to her personality, which George was able to show every time Havers interacted with her little neighbor.

I felt that the Inspector Lynley Mysteries took all of George’s well-defined, complex characters and tossed them aside… This television mystery series had a classical beauty portraying Sgt. Barbara Havers. They had this beautiful actress wear an over-sized pea coat & no make-up. Yikes! I would have thought this was a North American production rather than a British one. (I had pictured an unattractive, overweight actress playing Barbara Havers >>> certainly not svelte Sharon Small without makeup!)

However…

My husband decided he wanted to watch the Inspector Lynley Mysteries series. Once he convinced me to look at the series as if it was NOT based on the Elizabeth George mysteries I enjoyed so much, I actually enjoyed the shows! I found myself looking forward to the next time we would be able to watch one!

Nathaniel Parker (aristocratic police inspector) and Sharon Small (blue collar Havers) were perfect in their roles. (Remember, I am no longer basing them on Elizabeth George‘s very complex, three-dimensional characters!)

As with the Elizabeth George mysteries, this made-for-television series is gritty. It is not a series that you would want to watch with children. It is also not a Cozy series, so don’t watch it if you don’t want to see graphic violence!

Again, once I was able to divorce the Inspector Lynley Mysteries television series from Elizabeth George’s mystery books, I enjoyed the shows. I am sure I would have watched them when they originally aired on PBS had they titled them something like “The Inspector Smith Mysteries” and had not mentioned Elizabeth George as the author.

If you would like to see more TV & Movies entries, here is the link to that page on my Cozy Mystery site: TV and Movies page,

*** This series is available on Netflix.