| Reviews & Columns |
|
Reviews DVD TV on DVD Blu-ray 4K UHD International DVDs In Theaters Reviews by Studio Video Games Features Collector Series DVDs Easter Egg Database Interviews DVD Talk Radio Feature Articles Columns Anime Talk DVD Savant Horror DVDs The M.O.D. Squad Art House HD Talk Silent DVD
|
 DVD Talk Forum |
|
|
| Resources |
|
DVD Price Search Customer Service #'s RCE Info Links |
|
Columns
  
 
|
|
|
Mystery Woman: Mystery Weekend
Echo Bridge Home Entertainment // Unrated // May 9, 2006
List Price: $28.98 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
Samantha Kinsey (Kellie Martin, an Emmy nominee and formerly of E.R.) is an avid mystery lover and bookseller for whom crime had previously been confined to her favorite novels, until a real murder turns a weekend of fun into a whodunit for Kinsey to solve. The bookshop is struggling, but she's come up with an inspired plan for her shop to host a "Mystery Weekend", bringing in three popular mysetery writers who also seem to be a bit on the prima donna side, Maura Hobbs, Angela Cooke, and Clare Beckman (Beth Broderick). Unknown to Samantha, Beckman is using this public appearance as an opportunity to announce her retirement. While Claire is posing for publicity shots in the store, a gunshot rings out- and while Claire luckily manages to avoid the bullet, she later falls prey to being poisoned. Enter our store proprietor Kinsey, who manages to uncover a web of blackmail, deception and greed.
Inspired by the early days of NBC rotating mystery movies as a means of creating a weekly series, "Mystery Woman" was one of three vehicles used by the Hallmark Channel to create their own "Mystery Movie" franchise, using star Kellie Martin in order to draw in a young audience while keeping a degree of "Murder She Wrote" flavor. Other cast members are Nina Siemaszko ("The West Wing") who plays Samantha's assistant district attorney pal, and Clarence Williams III ("The Mod Squad") is the bookstore's manager, who still has many tricks up his sleeve from his days as a CIA agent, something he is secretive about divulging to Sam(think Shepherd Book in Firefly/Serenity here).
There are some good things to be found in this series; casting Williams in a main supporting role is inspired, as his acting abilities are as fine as ever; he brings a degree of maturity to the vehicle it simply wouln't have without him. The sets of the series, chiefly the bookstore itself, are breathtaking; the shop which the show uses as its home base is immense, both eloquent and eerie in style. The Samantha Kinsey character comes across as a slightly older Nancy Drew, and Martin plays it with lots of energy and a passion for both her tasks of keeping the store afloat and looking past the surface when it comes to solving a mystery.
Having said that, this isn't a series I could see myself going out of my way to become anything more than a casual viewer of. The producers seem intent on meshing young and old in order to draw in the widest range of viewers it could, and it just doesn't work very well. Kinsey seems out of place in the role of bookstore owner; while the character is certainly intelligent enough, the Archaic Victorian bookstore seems far too sedate for a proprietor with the restless exuberence that goes with her age. While I understand that Hallmark wanted to bring in the young viewing audience with such a character, the Samantha role seems to go a bit overboard, perilously closer to something one would find as a Disney Channel concept.
Video-
Aspect ratio appears to be widescreen 1.78:1 and according to the box has been digitally remastered. The picture here is pleasant enough, but a bit soft and I did notice occasional shimmering.
Audio
While the box gives no clear indication this seems to be Dolby Digital stereo 2.0. Sound is fine, if unexciting.
Extras-
No extras.
Final Thoughts-
The apparent intent here was for Hallmark to use this series to draw in both the younger audience as well as an older crowd who long for something akin to "Murder She Wrote". The problem is, it plays out of sync for me. The cast is fine as well as the sets but the concept seems to try to cater to too many age groups, and isn't truly successful in any. It's a pleasant enough story, but not my cup of tea. Rent it.
Inspired by the early days of NBC rotating mystery movies as a means of creating a weekly series, "Mystery Woman" was one of three vehicles used by the Hallmark Channel to create their own "Mystery Movie" franchise, using star Kellie Martin in order to draw in a young audience while keeping a degree of "Murder She Wrote" flavor. Other cast members are Nina Siemaszko ("The West Wing") who plays Samantha's assistant district attorney pal, and Clarence Williams III ("The Mod Squad") is the bookstore's manager, who still has many tricks up his sleeve from his days as a CIA agent, something he is secretive about divulging to Sam(think Shepherd Book in Firefly/Serenity here).
There are some good things to be found in this series; casting Williams in a main supporting role is inspired, as his acting abilities are as fine as ever; he brings a degree of maturity to the vehicle it simply wouln't have without him. The sets of the series, chiefly the bookstore itself, are breathtaking; the shop which the show uses as its home base is immense, both eloquent and eerie in style. The Samantha Kinsey character comes across as a slightly older Nancy Drew, and Martin plays it with lots of energy and a passion for both her tasks of keeping the store afloat and looking past the surface when it comes to solving a mystery.
Having said that, this isn't a series I could see myself going out of my way to become anything more than a casual viewer of. The producers seem intent on meshing young and old in order to draw in the widest range of viewers it could, and it just doesn't work very well. Kinsey seems out of place in the role of bookstore owner; while the character is certainly intelligent enough, the Archaic Victorian bookstore seems far too sedate for a proprietor with the restless exuberence that goes with her age. While I understand that Hallmark wanted to bring in the young viewing audience with such a character, the Samantha role seems to go a bit overboard, perilously closer to something one would find as a Disney Channel concept.
Video-
Aspect ratio appears to be widescreen 1.78:1 and according to the box has been digitally remastered. The picture here is pleasant enough, but a bit soft and I did notice occasional shimmering.
Audio
While the box gives no clear indication this seems to be Dolby Digital stereo 2.0. Sound is fine, if unexciting.
Extras-
No extras.
Final Thoughts-
The apparent intent here was for Hallmark to use this series to draw in both the younger audience as well as an older crowd who long for something akin to "Murder She Wrote". The problem is, it plays out of sync for me. The cast is fine as well as the sets but the concept seems to try to cater to too many age groups, and isn't truly successful in any. It's a pleasant enough story, but not my cup of tea. Rent it.
|
| Popular Reviews |
| Sponsored Links |
|
|
| Sponsored Links |
|
|
| Release List | Reviews | Shop | Newsletter | Forum | DVD Giveaways | Blu-Ray | Advertise |
|
Copyright 2024 DVDTalk.com All Rights Reserved. Legal Info, Privacy Policy, Terms of Use,
Manage Preferences,
Your Privacy Choices 
| |||||||