Latest / Hallmark Mysteries & More / Andrea and Eric Argue Over the Best and Worst of Hallmark Mysteries of 2023

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Andrea and Eric Argue Over the Best and Worst of Hallmark Mysteries of 2023 · Hallmark Mysteries & More

• 0:00
  Eric: This podcast was created by fans or fans and is not affiliated with or sponsored by Hallmark or the Hallmark channel.
• 0:09
  Eric: Hello, I'm Eric.
• 0:14
  Andrea: And I'm Andrea.
• 0:15
  Eric: Wait, who are you Just kidding?
• 0:17
  Eric: And this?
• 0:18
  Andrea: is Hallmark.
• 0:19
  Eric: Mysteries and more.
• 0:20
  Eric: All right, Andrea, welcome aboard.
• 0:25
  Andrea: I am very excited to be here.
• 0:27
  Eric: I know I am, I am too Like I say it's bittersweet, I or I don't know.
• 0:34
  Eric: Since I actually got into this whole Hallmark thing, you kind of were like one of my very first Hallmark buddies.
• 0:40
  Eric: I think it's because we align usually which we'll find out today where our alignment is but more often than not we usually align, and even when we do, we don't.
• 0:52
  Eric: I see where you're coming from, so I don't, I don't always, I don't always hate your takes and stuff like that.
• 0:59
  Andrea: Well, thanks.
• 1:00
  Eric: But yes, but you've also been on as a co-host or a guest host, I should say, quite a few times and I think we've had some, some fun.
• 1:08
  Eric: But very excited to have have you joining for for this season two and I think we're going to have a lot of fun.
• 1:18
  Andrea: Yes, and congrats to both you and to Sydney, who I know said she's going to be listening and I told her I have big shoes to fill and I'm very excited for her because I welcomed in a baby last February myself, so I know where she's at and the work that's coming her way.
• 1:33
  Eric: So I'm right there with you Sydney.
• 1:35
  Eric: You're like.
• 1:37
  Eric: When I first came up with the idea, I'm like oh, I wonder if Andrea wants to do this.
• 1:40
  Eric: And I approached you and you're like hell, no, I've got a kid coming.
• 1:46
  Andrea: Like I'm taking a maternity leave.
• 1:47
  Andrea: I have a plan for this.
• 1:48
  Andrea: So yeah, I need some time off.
• 1:51
  Eric: Yeah.
• 1:52
  Eric: So when Sydney was telling me, and then with her time, and she's a little behind you, I'm like, because she's still trying to to, you know, oh, I'll be able to do it.
• 2:00
  Eric: And we got talking and I got to thinking about about like yeah, you and for me going back quite a few years when I had had my kids, but your life is just pure chaos for a while there.
• 2:11
  Andrea: Yeah, and I have a my own podcast with with my business, and so I've and I've had that for eight years.
• 2:17
  Andrea: So I was like I already I know the work that goes into a podcast and you know it's a lot.
• 2:22
  Eric: Yeah, you should have.
• 2:22
  Eric: When I first approached you, you should have told me a little bit more about that, because I literally had no idea that it does take as much work as it does to do.
• 2:31
  Eric: I thought you'd just get on chit chat, push a button and off we go.
• 2:34
  Eric: But yeah, it's definitely more work, but it's, you know, it's fun it is fun.
• 2:42
  Eric: Okay, so today, what we're going to be doing is we're going to be ranking our, I guess, from 11 to one, the 2023 mysteries from our least favorite to our favorite, and, as I was saying, we typically are aligned.
• 3:07
  Eric: But I think maybe that's a little more in the romcom world than the mystery world, especially when I think about how many times you've been a guest on here.
• 3:15
  Eric: We didn't ever, we never agree, which is very odd, like I said.
• 3:19
  Eric: So it goes.
• 3:21
  Eric: I have a feeling we may have a couple and I'm going.
• 3:25
  Eric: If we don't have the same number one, I don't know.
• 3:30
  Eric: We may have to cancel a show right after the first episode Because I don't know if we are, I'm just going to throw that out there.
• 3:37
  Andrea: I don't know if we are.
• 3:39
  Eric: There's one that's so much better than every other one, but okay, yes, there is Okay.
• 3:44
  Eric: I am going to because, as my welcoming present to you, I am going to let you go first with your.
• 3:53
  Eric: I don't want to say 11 because that sounds yeah, that sounds so negative.
• 3:58
  Eric: So we'll just say your 11th.
• 4:00
  Eric: What is your first entry into the rankings?
• 4:07
  Andrea: Okay, so my caveat is well, first, when I was looking through all of these, I was shocked that we only got 11 mysteries.
• 4:13
  Andrea: I mean, I really that seems not not a lot.
• 4:16
  Andrea: I know in years past we've had a lot more, so that was kind of shocking.
• 4:22
  Eric: Now, for the most, I think the strike may be messed up because they were going with momentum and then it seemed like kind of like to windows get it, and then they picked back up.
• 4:31
  Eric: So I'm yeah, I don't know, that's my guess.
• 4:34
  Andrea: Okay, that would make sense because I was.
• 4:37
  Andrea: I was a little surprised by that.
• 4:39
  Eric: Same here.
• 4:41
  Andrea: But my, I would say, and my other caveat is I really enjoyed the majority of the mysteries.
• 4:46
  Andrea: I will, looking at my list, the bottom three are really the only ones that I probably wouldn't go out of my way to watch again.
• 4:53
  Andrea: So, kicking off my number 11 and I know people are not going to agree with me here, it's mystery island.
• 5:00
  Andrea: I really did not enjoy it.
• 5:03
  Andrea: I think I did watch that one twice to try to think you know what am I missing?
• 5:08
  Andrea: And the second time through I still didn't get into it anymore than the first time.
• 5:11
  Andrea: It wasn't captivating to me.
• 5:15
  Andrea: You know I love my good cozy, mystery small town experience and for me the ones that fall in these bottom three are ones that lack that cozy small town that I can always come back to and enjoy side characters from.
• 5:29
  Andrea: So that's where I landed for my number 11.
• 5:34
  Eric: I think the problem was mystery island is not in Lake Manitoka or whatever they.
• 5:40
  Andrea: Minnetonka.
• 5:42
  Eric: Minnetonka, whatever that Minnesota like it, or some Norwegian Ford, if it was there then this would have been like off the charts, the best mystery ever for you.
• 5:51
  Eric: But since it was in a nice little spot I also enjoy.
• 5:55
  Eric: Scotland location You're like don't give me that sun, I want cold and bitter.
• 6:04
  Andrea: Maybe that was it.
• 6:06
  Eric: But you can take you out of the Nordic be can't take the Nordic out of you.
• 6:11
  Andrea: Well, it was your 11.
• 6:13
  Eric: It was not mystery island, but it was family history mysteries, and I will put my caveat on this.
• 6:20
  Eric: I don't think it's necessarily bad, but it completely requires more episodes for me to get more into these characters.
• 6:34
  Eric: I just don't think that with going away from, like you say, that whole cozy mystery which we're used to, finding the dead body and doing this whole different thing, it just needed more.
• 6:48
  Eric: And that, coupled with just and I couldn't get past it that you know, trying to find the dad who was literally in the town next door, one stayed over just the off the plausibility scale and I know we check it there, but for me it just it was a little too much and I just didn't couldn't quite get into the characters enough.
• 7:18
  Eric: I think there's potential, I really do think there's potential, and if there's another one that came out I would be more than happy to watch it.
• 7:26
  Eric: But the as a standalone it just didn't stand alone.
• 7:32
  Andrea: Well, that was my number 10 family history mysteries buried past.
• 7:35
  Andrea: I for pretty much everything that you had said and I will also agree I know Sydney had said this to like she always likes the dead body count and I was expecting that to happen at some point and there wasn't.
• 7:47
  Andrea: So I feel like this one mystery but maybe not the mysteries that were traditionally used to on the hallmark Movies and mystery channel so I think that would also that kind of threw me, I think, when I first watched it, of just being like, okay, we are really going down a different type of mystery, which was fun, you know, just as we did during the Christmas season, we had that, that mystery thrown in there.
• 8:07
  Andrea: So I think that was a rough one for me to kick off.
• 8:12
  Andrea: I think that was the first mystery of 2023.
• 8:14
  Andrea: And so I think that also my expectations were like, yes, we're going to come out of the gate with something strong, and it just didn't quite live up to that for me.
• 8:22
  Andrea: And I agree I feel like this maybe as an ongoing, like short series, something where we could get a little bit more from each character because there was so much going on.
• 8:31
  Andrea: I think that we needed more on each character because they each could have had their own movie and expanded this plot.
• 8:37
  Andrea: So we didn't feel like we just got a little taste of everybody and then that kind of left me, you know, like I didn't enjoy it, because I wanted more from each of these characters.
• 8:47
  Andrea: I want to know more about their backstory so I could truly be invested in the movie.
• 8:53
  Eric: There.
• 8:53
  Eric: See, we agree, we agree.
• 8:54
  Eric: All right, I have a feeling we may go sideways here because I'm not sure if you did the.
• 9:05
  Eric: No, I guess you didn't do it.
• 9:08
  Eric: I know we've just talked about it.
• 9:09
  Eric: I was wondering if you did the we're a guest reviewer.
• 9:12
  Eric: When I did this one but the Jane mysteries and I know this either from reading your review back when it happened.
• 9:23
  Eric: But I'll say once again, this is kind of the same for me where I think I need more.
• 9:31
  Eric: And Sadie loved her character.
• 9:35
  Eric: We got to talk to Paris Jefferson and she's absolutely delightful.
• 9:39
  Eric: Steven, who's our that's one of my complaints too, and this is I like the guy like Ruby herring mysteries.
• 9:47
  Eric: He was so good in that and unfortunately they brought the what, what was the homework one when he was the ski guy.
• 9:59
  Eric: Love on the avalanche.
• 10:01
  Andrea: Love on the slopes or whatever.
• 10:03
  Eric: Yeah, what they brought that Steven who's are in this, they just didn't give him his chance to really be great, which I think he's completely capable of, and I also found them for me, I think, doing the 15 year old mystery thing why it could be good.
• 10:23
  Eric: I just I don't think it was executed that great.
• 10:27
  Eric: So, once again, though, I fully am on board to get get more and from what I've heard, there is another one coming.
• 10:37
  Eric: So I like to say I'll be there and I'll watch it, and I hope I hope that it gets a little bit better as we get to know the characters, and I hope that they let Steven shine.
• 10:51
  Eric: So that's, that's where we are.
• 10:54
  Andrea: I won't comment on that one yet my number nine is dancing detectives I this was the one that I came on and reviewed with you and, as people know, if they listen to, that was not.
• 11:05
  Andrea: I was not.
• 11:07
  Andrea: It wasn't horrible, but it this would be my bottom three, where I'm not going to necessarily seek it out.
• 11:11
  Andrea: I enjoy both the leads.
• 11:13
  Andrea: Again, it lacked that cozy kind of small town feel to it.
• 11:18
  Andrea: Dancing is really not my thing, so I can't see myself enjoying a series where we go ballroom dancing or tango or waltz all across the you know the globe.
• 11:28
  Andrea: To me that's not super exciting, but that's not to say it's not for other people like, if you enjoy watching dancing I mean, dancing with the stars has a huge following, so people do, and so that's where this movie would hit, if that's, if that's something that you enjoy, you know observing.
• 11:42
  Andrea: For me that's where it missed and I would love to see the leads together in a different style of mystery, maybe not involving dance, if it was like yoga around the globe.
• 11:56
  Eric: I'm all in no.
• 11:57
  Eric: So you hated Christmas Waltz then, huh.
• 12:01
  Andrea: I think I did.
• 12:01
  Andrea: I'm pretty sure I did.
• 12:03
  Eric: You're the one person on the planet.
• 12:05
  Eric: I didn't, so okay, well, I'm pretty sure that we're going to be really in line here too, with my number nine, which is haunted harmony mysteries and murder.
• 12:20
  Eric: G major.
• 12:22
  Andrea: What.
• 12:24
  Eric: I did see your post this morning so I had a feeling we were a little bit off.
• 12:30
  Andrea: Oh my gosh, I'm shocked.
• 12:34
  Eric: What I will say.
• 12:39
  Eric: It was okay, the scenery was nice.
• 12:41
  Eric: I just thought it was okay.
• 12:46
  Eric: I really think that to do another one, and part of my thing is I want is I'm very much on record of saying I think every mystery, unless it specifically says this is a standalone, should be three Right.
• 13:01
  Eric: I just think it played out.
• 13:05
  Eric: It was pretty cute for what it was.
• 13:08
  Eric: It had the whole final thing, which is head scratchers of wait, like yes, we check our logic and everything like that At the door when we watch a hallmark, but it just sort of was just like wait, what, what, what, and of course we're talking about a ghost.
• 13:21
  Eric: So, yeah, how realistic are we?
• 13:27
  Eric: But it was just okay and I don't know how it has legs to be interesting again without being redundant.
• 13:34
  Eric: So it was pretty and I really liked the ghost guy.
• 13:39
  Eric: He was a lot of fun, she was okay.
• 13:44
  Andrea: Wow, on that note I'll move on, because I have that a little higher myself.
• 13:49
  Eric: My number eight.
• 13:53
  Andrea: So this is one that again it's towards the bottom, but I enjoyed it.
• 13:57
  Andrea: Curious caterer grilling season.
• 13:59
  Andrea: And now I'm going to be honest Do I remember that much about this one?
• 14:04
  Andrea: Not really.
• 14:05
  Andrea: I remember the grill exploding.
• 14:07
  Andrea: Do remember that piece.
• 14:08
  Andrea: I do remember this one when I looked back to kind of see how I ranked this one versus the other curious caterers Since we had two this season this was the one that aired first.
• 14:17
  Andrea: I don't remember that.
• 14:19
  Andrea: I really enjoyed it as much as that second one, but honestly, that's about all I remember is the grill exploding and me not enjoying this one.
• 14:26
  Andrea: This was kind of a downer compared to the third one.
• 14:31
  Eric: You don't remember Lachlan's kiss of his girlfriend?
• 14:34
  Eric: No Long long awkward no.
• 14:40
  Andrea: Do not remember.
• 14:41
  Andrea: I'm literally scratching my brain.
• 14:43
  Andrea: I have no idea what this movie.
• 14:45
  Andrea: I can't recall it.
• 14:47
  Eric: I guess that's why it's down there.
• 14:49
  Eric: Yes, All right For me.
• 14:52
  Eric: My eight is Dancing Detective.
• 14:57
  Andrea: I'm actually shocked by this.
• 14:59
  Eric: I will say, though, from this point forward, I kind of enjoyed all of the mysteries.
• 15:07
  Eric: I thought it was fun.
• 15:09
  Eric: I thought that Will Kemp was just nice, having essentially a comedic mystery, which we'll get to another one a little later which I thought was really good.
• 15:24
  Eric: I thought that was good.
• 15:26
  Eric: Seeing Lacey sort of as the detective as opposed to the snoop, I thought that was fun.
• 15:33
  Eric: The scenery was gorgeous.
• 15:35
  Eric: The mystery itself, I thought, was fairly decent, thought out, good mystery.
• 15:45
  Eric: It was running down the list of oh, it's that person, it's that person, it's that person, that person.
• 15:50
  Eric: So it had a lot of that.
• 15:52
  Eric: So I liked it all.
• 15:53
  Eric: But I just think at the end of the day it was just okay.
• 16:00
  Eric: It was okay, it was enjoyable, it was fun.
• 16:03
  Eric: If it's on and I'm not doing anything, I'll watch it.
• 16:06
  Eric: I'm not going to go out of my way.
• 16:08
  Eric: So that's why it's eight as opposed to like three.
• 16:12
  Andrea: Well, my number seven is I'm going to flip flop these.
• 16:17
  Andrea: I wrote them differently but then I was like I don't think that's accurate, cause my recollection of this.
• 16:23
  Andrea: It's going to be the Hannah Swenson and it's going to be a carrot cake murder, which is the one where they break up at the end.
• 16:32
  Andrea: So I originally had that one above the zest for death, but they're right next door to each other in my reviews here.
• 16:38
  Andrea: But that one I didn't like.
• 16:40
  Andrea: Just I mean again, I liked, I liked it.
• 16:42
  Andrea: I think I gave it like a four and a half stars.
• 16:44
  Andrea: I just.
• 16:44
  Andrea: That ending is what kind of split for me.
• 16:46
  Andrea: I watched that one with my mom.
• 16:47
  Andrea: I enjoyed the mystery.
• 16:49
  Andrea: It was just kind of the head scratching.
• 16:51
  Andrea: And I know you don't agree because you were.
• 16:53
  Andrea: You know you're dying on that feminist movement that we are all not feminist because we don't agree with Hannah.
• 16:59
  Andrea: But it just was not.
• 17:00
  Andrea: It didn't feel right.
• 17:04
  Andrea: I mean there was just nothing about that scene.
• 17:06
  Andrea: I mean the whole buzzing in the ear.
• 17:08
  Andrea: I still thought that the, the captain, like the sheriff, was the one who was the murderer.
• 17:12
  Andrea: That's what she was realizing and he was going to take Mike or her captive or something and my mom thought the same thing, because we're both like what's going on here, and then it just kind of came out of nowhere and it didn't feel like it aligned with the story.
• 17:24
  Andrea: So that was the biggest hit on that.
• 17:25
  Andrea: But I still again, I still enjoyed the movie overall because I can remember the mystery of the guy in the shaft and I enjoyed that.
• 17:34
  Andrea: So that's where that one fell for me.
• 17:37
  Eric: All right.
• 17:38
  Eric: Well, I'm staying with Hannah Swenson, but, unlike you, I've got a zest for death and I thought it was okay.
• 17:49
  Eric: The murder she baked series, you know Murtice Ray, hannah Swenson, for me, isn't my favorite.
• 17:58
  Eric: I think it's okay.
• 18:00
  Eric: I don't dislike it by any means, but it's just one that I find okay, and I put this one in that category.
• 18:09
  Eric: I will say, though, the one thing I really liked was the.
• 18:13
  Eric: The um killer was unexpected for me.
• 18:19
  Eric: Um, I thought that ending and how unfolded was was really good, but I thought this, the rest of the movie was kind of meandery, so that's why I have it actually lower than the counterpart one, as opposed to you.
• 18:36
  Andrea: Well, my number six then is the Hannah Swenson a zest for death.
• 18:40
  Andrea: So again, those could be probably interchangeable for me.
• 18:43
  Andrea: I enjoyed both of them.
• 18:44
  Andrea: I liked that the sister came back in this movie.
• 18:47
  Andrea: Barbara Nevin carried that movie.
• 18:50
  Andrea: She was spectacular Um I could care less about.
• 18:55
  Andrea: I think this is when the professor came in.
• 18:58
  Eric: I was just going to ask you what you thought of that.
• 18:59
  Andrea: I feel like they're trying to figure out what to do.
• 19:02
  Andrea: And, um, I know Cameron Matheson signed with um great American family.
• 19:06
  Andrea: Uh, does that mean he's done over at Hallmark, I don't know.
• 19:11
  Andrea: And so I feel like they're trying to figure out, if they're going to continue this series, who they could maybe bring in and I know that you had said the professors in the books and so maybe that's why they kind of brought him in just as a potential for the future if needed.
• 19:24
  Andrea: So I don't know if the series will continue.
• 19:27
  Andrea: I agree it's it's lost, it's luster.
• 19:29
  Andrea: I personally enjoyed the first one.
• 19:32
  Andrea: You know the, the murder she baked, because you can tell the scene, the setting, everything shifted they might.
• 19:38
  Andrea: You know I'm pretty sure they got rid of all of the original.
• 19:40
  Andrea: You know pieces from the set.
• 19:42
  Andrea: That's why it looks different, but it does.
• 19:44
  Andrea: It doesn't have that same small town feel per se.
• 19:47
  Andrea: It has more of.
• 19:49
  Andrea: I was talking with someone in the DMs here in Minnesota and we both said it's got more of a Bloomington like a bigger city feel to it now, versus your like cute little quaint.
• 19:58
  Andrea: Um Cannon Falls feel.
• 20:00
  Andrea: It's just a different vibe.
• 20:02
  Andrea: And it does interrupt because, just as me liking my Cabot Cove it.
• 20:06
  Andrea: It interrupts that peacefulness to it.
• 20:09
  Andrea: There's a reason the murder she wrote.
• 20:10
  Andrea: Episodes in Cabot Cove are better than the New York City.
• 20:13
  Andrea: You like that backdrop, so that's kind of my other hit on the series is will it continue?
• 20:18
  Andrea: I'm fine If it's done.
• 20:20
  Andrea: I don't need to have it wrapped up in any way.
• 20:22
  Andrea: I'm I'm okay with it being complete where it is.
• 20:27
  Eric: Uh, oh, it feels more Bloomington than Too funny.
• 20:34
  Eric: All right, Well, I dropped my uh curious cater in here.
• 20:40
  Eric: Fatal vows, Um, I had this lower than grilling season mostly.
• 20:46
  Eric: Um, I thought it was interesting, it had some fun in it.
• 20:51
  Eric: Um, it's unfortunate, though, like I figured the mystery out literally even before the death happened, I thought it was when they made such a big deal about the um the cake thing and the whatever the avocado, it, just um, for me it, it, it didn't have as much.
• 21:12
  Eric: Also, as much as the charm, I thought, is the the first two.
• 21:16
  Eric: Um, the relationship with uh Marla and Goldie kind of went backwards a little bit.
• 21:23
  Eric: I did like, though, that they brought in the other detective and with Marla getting a little love interest potentially, but I also thought the guy was like so kind of in, like Mason was incompetent in his way of being a goofball and this guy was just incompetent of the way it's like, oh, I'm just going to make Tom, because I don't like him, Uh, guilty, so like it was okay.
• 21:45
  Eric: I'd love, though, the ending um with you know the uh wedding dress scene, when like, oh, you wore, like you were wearing, a wedding dress to my, to my wedding.
• 21:58
  Eric: Um the Jasmine and uh Goldie.
• 22:03
  Eric: But uh, overall, like I said, I just it did switch writing.
• 22:06
  Eric: Um, I know, like you, kind of like the new writing a little more than the older writing.
• 22:11
  Eric: I think I was just a fan more of the way that John Christian Plummer wrote it than the Canadians.
• 22:18
  Eric: So there you go.
• 22:19
  Eric: That's why I have it right there, Sort of smack in the middle.
• 22:23
  Eric: Um, I liked it, I liked the goal, I liked the series.
• 22:25
  Eric: I do like the fact that Goldie and um Tom have progressed.
• 22:30
  Eric: I do think, like we had a New York kiss, I think they could have taken a little further, but so that there you go.
• 22:41
  Andrea: Well, that is my number five, as well as the war, I guess moving up.
• 22:44
  Andrea: But curious caterers, fatal bows, is my number five.
• 22:47
  Andrea: Um, pretty much for the same reasons that you said.
• 22:51
  Andrea: I, though, am not a fan of them in a romantic relationship.
• 22:52
  Andrea: I do feel like they are better off as like friends, and I think that's yeah, and I think that's okay.
• 23:00
  Andrea: Like I wish some of these series would have.
• 23:01
  Andrea: That it's hey, let's have a friendship vibe.
• 23:03
  Andrea: We don't need to have a romantic interest.
• 23:05
  Andrea: That's why I really enjoyed the garage sale mysteries, cause, you know, her vibe with the detective was very much.
• 23:11
  Andrea: It's just we're friends, were kind of work colleagues, even though they were technically working together.
• 23:15
  Andrea: Um, that is something that I think could benefit the series if they took it in that direction.
• 23:22
  Andrea: I don't know if they will.
• 23:23
  Andrea: Um, I enjoyed the mystery.
• 23:24
  Andrea: I liked the, the, the wedding, you know dress, let's, that sticks out in my mind.
• 23:31
  Andrea: Of her being stuck in, locked in the barn in a wedding dress.
• 23:32
  Andrea: Like you know sometimes think, what do you remember with movie?
• 23:35
  Andrea: That's what I remember.
• 23:37
  Andrea: Of her being locked in that barn in a wedding dress.
• 23:38
  Andrea: Um, that's from like yep, that sticks out to me.
• 23:40
  Andrea: And I think sometimes to remember all of the movies cause we watch a lot of them like you need to have some of those scenes to be like, oh yeah, did I like that one?
• 23:48
  Andrea: And again, the grilling season the only thing I remember is the grill blowing up.
• 23:53
  Andrea: That's probably not a good sign for the movie, if that's the main thing that I recall from it, and so, yeah, that's something that I'm like.
• 24:00
  Andrea: Oh, yeah, I know, I do remember the whole mystery, not just her being in the barn.
• 24:03
  Andrea: So that was my number five.
• 24:05
  Andrea: Um, I'm curious to see where, where you're going to go.
• 24:08
  Eric: Well, I'm back in a like Eden with a hair cake murder.
• 24:14
  Andrea: Wow, I'm surprised it's actually that high for you for um, the opposite reason of you.
• 24:21
  Eric: Well, I know you were like I love the movie.
• 24:24
  Eric: Until the final 20 minutes I thought the movie was okay and then the final 20 minutes were just spectacular for me.
• 24:31
  Eric: I loved the conflict.
• 24:33
  Eric: I, as we've battled many a times, both like on on camera as well as behind the scenes I just think she was standing up for herself.
• 24:46
  Eric: I think that Mike totally did her wrong by just he could have just easily said, hey, the captain's putting pressure on me, that I know I told you this was your thing, but it's back to being an official investigation.
• 25:02
  Eric: He could have avoided it and I think he just made her look dumb and then she stood up for herself and so I'm a hundred percent behind her in that and I know, like I say, we exactly see this movie whole or opposites.
• 25:18
  Eric: But the one thing we do agree on was the weirdness of the killer being like two years old when he committed the, the murder, like the casting of it, just the cast of the guy too young to have committed the murder, whatever it was, 15 some years ago, and then being like 30 years old when, uh when, when they, when they found him.
• 25:43
  Eric: So they could have done that a little bit better.
• 25:45
  Eric: Um, but yeah, I, I could say I not that he was just fan of it.
• 25:51
  Eric: And the reason, to be honest, why it is this high is because I thought the final 20 minutes and I thought that L A Sweeney and maybe this is, maybe this is her, uh, uh, what was she in all days of our lives or whatever her soap opera, but this could be maybe some of her soap opera background, but I thought she brought the drama of that really well.
• 26:13
  Eric: Like I thought she acted great, like her, like she's.
• 26:20
  Eric: I felt her pain in that, in that, and so, like I know you don't agree with it, but regardless, I just I thought the final 20 minutes of that was spectacular, so I liked it in that aspect.
• 26:32
  Eric: All right.
• 26:32
  Eric: So now we're in the lower, not quite on the podium, but we are in the, in the sort of the upper echelon of movies, and it's kind of funny because two of my lower ranked ones still have not been mentioned by you.
• 26:47
  Andrea: No, they have not and they still will not.
• 26:48
  Andrea: Number four for me is Aurora teaguard, and mystery is something new.
• 26:52
  Andrea: Um, this actually surprised me when I kind of was sitting down and looking at my list, cause I was more critical on this movie, I know, when I had talked to you earlier.
• 27:00
  Andrea: This is why I also like to take time after.
• 27:03
  Andrea: I kind of sit with the movies and I'm like, okay, what am I still drawn to?
• 27:06
  Andrea: Because sometimes in the moment we're like, yes, it's amazing.
• 27:08
  Andrea: But then when we sit down we're like actually I probably won't watch that movie again.
• 27:13
  Andrea: Like guiding Emily, I was doing my rankings for 2023.
• 27:17
  Andrea: Great movie, but I'm not necessarily going to want to sit down and watch that again.
• 27:21
  Andrea: The Roura teagarden I'm actually like I'm going to probably turn that on in the next couple of days.
• 27:26
  Andrea: I only watch it that one time.
• 27:30
  Andrea: I'm curious to kind of go back into it.
• 27:31
  Andrea: I think it's grown on me a little bit more of the concept, just because we've been away from the original for so long and I know you know you're not a fan of it, but I enjoyed that first one.
• 27:40
  Andrea: But now I think I've had enough time apart.
• 27:42
  Andrea: There's been no new ones, obviously.
• 27:44
  Andrea: So this one.
• 27:46
  Andrea: I'm like let me give this another spin because it was, I thought, a pretty good concept and I'm hopeful that they will make more of these so we can kind of see this progress, cause I think the actors were amazing in this.
• 27:56
  Andrea: I know Evan Roderick he was in the field with a little bit of the field with a list, wasn't a huge fan of him in this, but having seen him now in that movie I'm like, okay, I I really can see he's got some acting chops and I'm curious to kind of see where he could take this character, cause I think he did do such a great job in that movie that he could really go far with Arthur in this in this series.
• 28:18
  Andrea: So that's where it landed for me.
• 28:20
  Andrea: Surprised myself that I'm like okay, it's actually it's, it's up there for me.
• 28:26
  Eric: How did you like the casting then?
• 28:27
  Eric: You liked.
• 28:28
  Eric: You liked, obviously, arthur.
• 28:29
  Eric: What did you think of the casting of Aurora and the casting of Sally?
• 28:34
  Andrea: Sally would be the one I wasn't the biggest fan of.
• 28:36
  Andrea: I did enjoy Aurora.
• 28:37
  Andrea: I thought she was great.
• 28:37
  Andrea: I don't remember her name.
• 28:42
  Eric: Why am I going brain dead on it?
• 28:43
  Eric: Schuyler Samuels yes.
• 28:45
  Andrea: She was.
• 28:45
  Andrea: I enjoyed her, but Sally, I feel like she started strong for me, and then about halfway through the movie I was like, okay, maybe not the best choice, I wouldn't mind a recast there, not going to be make or break for the series.
• 29:01
  Eric: For me, though, Okay, I know that was one of a lot of people liked that series and there was a lot of criticism about casting and also a lot of people just couldn't really put their heads around what a prequel is.
• 29:18
  Eric: That is not a continuation, that it literally is going back in time.
• 29:22
  Andrea: So Well, and I think again with the space, I think, having you know now a couple of years since we've seen a new Aurora, I think that might also give some new appreciation for those who enjoy that small town cozy feel.
• 29:34
  Andrea: We got that backdrop here and, you know, if you really enjoyed that type of mystery, maybe giving another you know set of eyes and being like, okay, I've had enough time and I do enjoy the series.
• 29:45
  Eric: Okay, so my number four.
• 29:47
  Eric: I am back in.
• 29:49
  Eric: Where are they?
• 29:49
  Eric: In Colorado, I don't know.
• 29:52
  Eric: They're not in Aurora but wherever.
• 29:53
  Eric: But I've got Curious Cater grilling season.
• 29:57
  Eric: Mostly I just loved the dynamic between Goldie and Marla in this, the first one Dying for Chocolate.
• 30:05
  Eric: They sort of introduced it and you got to know Marla.
• 30:07
  Eric: I think she's one of just the great BFFs in Mysteries.
• 30:12
  Eric: I love her character.
• 30:14
  Eric: We've talked to JC several times and regardless of the fact that she's a wonderful person, I think she just really has done a great job with that character.
• 30:22
  Eric: And they really leaned hard on sort of that buddy thing where they were in the caper together.
• 30:30
  Eric: It wasn't like just Goldie going after it and then Marla in a scene or two.
• 30:34
  Eric: She was totally part of it and I thought they played off each other.
• 30:37
  Eric: They had great humor in it.
• 30:41
  Eric: Tom, he came along and he was fun.
• 30:45
  Eric: I thought that the mystery was decent so I liked it.
• 30:51
  Eric: I thought it was pretty darn good.
• 30:53
  Eric: Like I say, it was my.
• 30:55
  Eric: Of the three episodes so far we've had, it was my favorite.
• 30:59
  Eric: So that's why it's number four.
• 31:02
  Eric: I wish we could get John writing more and I know you kind of like the other direction.
• 31:08
  Eric: So and that's funny because that's sort of the general feel I've heard from a lot of people when they talk about a lot of people are like, oh, I really liked the new direction and a lot of people didn't know that the writers changed.
• 31:19
  Eric: They just could sense that it was different and they liked that other way.
• 31:24
  Eric: Because I think when you went into the fatal vows it definitely focused more on Tom and Goldie versus the other one, which is a little more of a ensemble, I think, cast with obviously you know, tom and Goldie being the top.
• 31:41
  Eric: And it's funny when you're talking about how you would totally be okay with them sort of just being friends and really you know real close friends and you don't get the chemistry.
• 31:51
  Eric: I wonder if it really is the fact because it's seemed to be from, if you look at like everything that happens on social and the way they talk about each other that they really just are genuinely really good friends, that if that chemistry is just so palatable that they've kind of crossed a threshold where they're just so comfortable with each other that it kind of getting that tension they're just too comfortable.
• 32:18
  Eric: So we don't get it.
• 32:19
  Eric: Maybe I don't know.
• 32:20
  Eric: So because I could definitely be on board with the way you said of them never going romantic, or I mean I really like her ex-husband in the series and I don't mind her getting back together with him.
• 32:35
  Andrea: I know in the books he's a treasured, but like how they've played in the series I'm like I enjoy that vibe.
• 32:41
  Eric: Yeah, he's definitely a different guy than in the books and Lachlan.
• 32:45
  Eric: I mean he's just one of those Hallmark.
• 32:47
  Eric: I mean it's in what like 190 Hallmark movies.
• 32:49
  Eric: He's awesome.
• 32:50
  Eric: And he's literally every single mystery series at one point or another.
• 32:55
  Eric: But yeah, he's a good dude and they do have a really good relationship as far as for exes and stuff.
• 33:03
  Eric: So, all right, on two, now we're on the podium, so we're on number three for you.
• 33:10
  Andrea: Okay, number three is the cases of mystery lane.
• 33:13
  Andrea: I know this is probably gonna be your number one, but for me and I thought this was actually gonna be my number one too but again, when I was kind of sitting with the movies and what am I gonna really feel?
• 33:24
  Eric: whole.
• 33:24
  Eric: You just decided you had to be difficult and pick new two movies you know would be love for me.
• 33:29
  Eric: And you're like, I know it's the best, but I'm just gonna have to rile up Eric and choose two that I know he was not the biggest fan of.
• 33:37
  Andrea: Well, I didn't know that you did not like the haunted harmony mystery.
• 33:40
  Eric: I didn't dislike it, I just thought it was.
• 33:43
  Andrea: I'm shocked.
• 33:44
  Andrea: I thought that would be much higher for you.
• 33:45
  Andrea: So for me, the case of mystery lane it falls where it is because I enjoyed it.
• 33:50
  Andrea: I've watched that one a few times.
• 33:52
  Andrea: Maybe it's a little on the darker side, I don't know.
• 33:56
  Andrea: I'm like trying to think of, like, the way it was filmed, the way you know, I guess the whole movie, maybe that's what kind of put it.
• 34:03
  Andrea: To number three, again, I loved it.
• 34:04
  Andrea: I thought it was a great movie.
• 34:06
  Andrea: But if I'm choosing between my last, you know, my other two that I have above it, I probably am gonna watch the other two over this one.
• 34:13
  Andrea: I'm not.
• 34:15
  Andrea: I really can't like pinpoint why because I love the leading lady who was in Lucifer.
• 34:21
  Eric: She was great in that.
• 34:23
  Andrea: You guys see that, yes, and so I really enjoyed seeing her in there.
• 34:25
  Andrea: I thought Paul Campbell did a great job.
• 34:27
  Andrea: Those guys together were a great, you know married couple that were just living in the suburbs.
• 34:32
  Andrea: I want to see more of this series but again, at the end of the day, for me it's gonna be at number three.
• 34:38
  Andrea: This is where I have always the one movie that people are like how do you love this?
• 34:43
  Andrea: Like my Merry Scottish Christmas?
• 34:45
  Andrea: How it's stuck into number three.
• 34:46
  Andrea: My number two is that for most people I'm guessing Most people aren't gonna have the one that I have ranked second as in their top at all.
• 34:54
  Eric: Yeah, I think I agree with you.
• 34:56
  Eric: Okay, my number three is where we're very, very different is Mystery Island.
• 35:02
  Eric: I really liked the movie.
• 35:07
  Eric: I thought the Elizabeth Hensring was just fantastic.
• 35:13
  Eric: The character of Baroness Janie, I thought, is like with Marla, kind of the same thing.
• 35:20
  Eric: She was just awesome, just awesome.
• 35:23
  Eric: The other thing was they really and I know this is what he was trying to do, and maybe because I knew this was there and based on the conversation we had but the Agatha Christie aspect of and then there were none built into it and I was able to really sort of relate to where that was going, I just really enjoyed the mystery.
• 35:49
  Eric: I did kind of figure out because I knew what it was based off of, I knew where it was going, but I still had a really fun time I will say one of my challenges, though with it, and I also thought the scenery was great.
• 36:07
  Eric: I, unlike you, I do appreciate the cozy mystery, but really how many dead people can you like?
• 36:15
  Eric: Lake Eden has to be one of the highest crime rates.
• 36:19
  Eric: It's gotta make Chicago look safe, because you've had so many murders in that little Minnesota town that I would not be buying real estate in there, regardless of you and your little towns, but the island it wasn't turned out.
• 36:38
  Eric: The twist didn't turn out to be a murder, but I thought it was great.
• 36:44
  Eric: There were a lot of twists and turns and I think if I didn't know where it was going I would have been following those red herrings.
• 36:53
  Eric: But, like I said, I think that Elizabeth Headstring and I wish I remembered her name but the Baroness Janie, I thought they were just so good, so good and I loved it.
• 37:06
  Eric: I will say, though, the chemistry between her and the detective Charlie Weber, I'm not quite sure I'm feeling it.
• 37:15
  Eric: We'll see if it goes romantic or not, which it probably will, but in general we'll see.
• 37:26
  Eric: And whether or not this is kinda like when we talked about haunted harmony.
• 37:31
  Eric: I think it's got the legs to do more, but maybe not right.
• 37:36
  Eric: Hopefully cross our fingers that Hallmark is nice enough to give us a couple more so we can find out.
• 37:46
  Eric: I think it does, and I think getting this different cast in kind of like that old 70 stuff, the old fantasy island kind of thing, where you get sort of a whole new cast in with a couple of poor characters.
• 37:59
  Eric: Yeah, I know, but I think that could be a lot of fun.
• 38:04
  Eric: So that's my number three, so very different thinking there.
• 38:11
  Andrea: Yes, Well, my number two is again.
• 38:14
  Andrea: This is my outlier, probably for a lot of people it's the Jane Mysteries.
• 38:18
  Andrea: I just watched it again last night.
• 38:20
  Andrea: I loved that movie.
• 38:22
  Andrea: I don't know why, maybe it's Jodie Sweeten.
• 38:24
  Andrea: I really enjoy her.
• 38:26
  Andrea: I agree with Steven Hizarra.
• 38:28
  Andrea: That was my critique of the movie, I think originally.
• 38:30
  Andrea: As well as give him some more stuff to work with, he needs a better script.
• 38:35
  Andrea: He needs some more dialogue.
• 38:38
  Eric: He did have that one shirtless scene, which that was appreciated by many.
• 38:43
  Eric: I do know that.
• 38:44
  Eric: So the acting maybe wasn't there, but you had that.
• 38:49
  Andrea: I mean again, since the Ruby Haring mystery is like we know, we can play detective well.
• 38:53
  Andrea: I think he just needs to have a little bit more to do.
• 38:55
  Andrea: I agree, I loved Sadie the aunt.
• 38:57
  Andrea: She was great.
• 38:58
  Andrea: I love the mystery that incorporated crystals.
• 39:01
  Andrea: I found that fun, just because that's totally my vibe.
• 39:04
  Andrea: I enjoyed going into Sadie's closet and seeing all the cool clothes and just hearing some stories I'm sure that she would be able to bring forward in future mysteries they had the setting of.
• 39:16
  Andrea: It was set in Baltimore, so OK, we know where it's taking place.
• 39:20
  Andrea: I really enjoyed.
• 39:23
  Andrea: Baltimore's not a very tiny cozy community, by the way, it's not, but it didn't.
• 39:27
  Eric: But hey, it's got the big high crime rate, like Edie.
• 39:31
  Andrea: But what I'm talking about, though, is OK, we didn't see the entire city of Baltimore.
• 39:35
  Andrea: You have stuff to work with there, we can explore.
• 39:39
  Andrea: She started over in Paris, and somehow he flew to Paris from Baltimore to get her.
• 39:45
  Andrea: That might not make a ton of sense.
• 39:47
  Andrea: Really, I don't think they probably actually do that.
• 39:52
  Eric: But I think that was part of the will.
• 39:54
  Eric: That was part of it.
• 39:56
  Andrea: They asked him to go do it.
• 39:57
  Andrea: That just seems odd.
• 39:59
  Eric: Well, because he was involved in the foundation.
• 40:01
  Eric: So that's why they asked him specifically to do it and they knew he was big enough and they said if you have to take off your shirt to get her back here, Well, it worked for me, so I enjoyed it.
• 40:12
  Andrea: I'm hopeful that there is going to be more.
• 40:14
  Andrea: I think we have seen that potentially.
• 40:16
  Andrea: I want to say that someone had posted that Jody Sweeten was filming more.
• 40:20
  Andrea: Ok, that was you, so yeah, so I'm hopeful that there will be more to this and I think that there is some meat on the bones to work with and we can develop this story and develop these characters.
• 40:31
  Eric: I'll say that was as I said earlier.
• 40:33
  Eric: I'm totally down for more.
• 40:35
  Eric: I didn't have a problem with Jody, loved Aunt Sadie.
• 40:40
  Eric: Give us some more Stephen, because he can handle it.
• 40:45
  Eric: And I think that making it like the three of them, really building up those characters, I think would make this actually probably a pretty darn good mystery.
• 40:54
  Eric: But you have to build up all three of them.
• 40:56
  Eric: You can't just rely I know you like Jody, but you can't just rely on her.
• 41:00
  Eric: I agree, you need those two supporting ones because I think they could bring so much more to this.
• 41:06
  Andrea: I agree.
• 41:07
  Eric: OK.
• 41:07
  Eric: My number two is Aurora Tea Garden, something new, which is surprising because, as you know, hate the regular the original.
• 41:18
  Eric: I just think it's not.
• 41:21
  Eric: I tried watching it.
• 41:23
  Eric: I made it.
• 41:24
  Eric: The funny thing is the first one I was like OK, this actually is not terrible.
• 41:30
  Eric: And then by the second one, when Candace had to really act, I was like OK, this is terrible.
• 41:37
  Eric: And then by the third I'm like I'm done.
• 41:40
  Andrea: Did you make it to an aisle meter being in there or no?
• 41:42
  Eric: No, I have watched.
• 41:45
  Eric: I think I jumped ahead to watch one of them because JC is in it, and so I watched the one that she was in, where she turns out to be the killer.
• 41:59
  Eric: Oh, sorry, everybody, I just ruined it for that six-year-old mystery.
• 42:05
  Andrea: Let's say there's so many.
• 42:06
  Andrea: I'll have to give you my favorite of that series and see if you like it.
• 42:09
  Eric: There's one that I really enjoy.
• 42:11
  Eric: I will commit for the show.
• 42:14
  Eric: We can go ahead because we never really got into them, so we can go through the season and we can get into some Aurora.
• 42:21
  Eric: We don't always have to agree, we don't always have to like it, and I do know that a lot of people out there do like it.
• 42:27
  Eric: But back to what we're talking about, something new.
• 42:31
  Eric: I thought Skyler Samuel was just magnificent.
• 42:36
  Eric: Her character.
• 42:37
  Eric: I thought she did such a good stepping into shoes of someone who had 17 episodes and is very beloved, very beloved by many people.
• 42:52
  Eric: Character and actress, for that matter, is a difficult task and she totally held her own.
• 42:59
  Eric: She did enough, I think, tribute to it, which you know better than I do, but at the same time making it her own and I thought she was fantastic.
• 43:11
  Eric: She was actually cast appropriately for a few to go into the books.
• 43:15
  Eric: That's where she's supposed to be.
• 43:17
  Eric: Aurora's supposed to be in her late 20s, not 140 like Candice, but the Arthur, like you said, he was in Ottoman, new York.
• 43:31
  Eric: I think it is, is the one with Amy T Garden, and then he was also, which was just eh.
• 43:38
  Andrea: I was saying very forgettable.
• 43:39
  Andrea: I didn't even realize using that.
• 43:41
  Eric: And then he was also in the one I forget what it's called like Tale of Two Christmases.
• 43:46
  Eric: I think the sliding doors Christmas movie with Kate Burrell last year where she has the two parallel stories where she tips the guy or whatever.
• 43:56
  Andrea: It's the Christmas movie where she makes the train, it doesn't make the train.
• 44:02
  Eric: And he's the rich boyfriend where I was like, eh, he's like a good looking guy, but not much.
• 44:07
  Eric: But in this movie I was like, oh, he was great.
• 44:11
  Eric: And then, as we know, sealed with a list, arthur charts great.
• 44:15
  Eric: So I thought that he was great.
• 44:17
  Eric: Plus we had Madison Smith, who's one of our friends, as the bad guy who just can't help himself but go around killing.
• 44:29
  Eric: So just all in all I thought it was great.
• 44:32
  Eric: I thought it's a great opportunity to sort of reinvent the franchise, to keep it going, to get people like me, who maybe didn't love the first one, back in.
• 44:42
  Eric: But I also know that a lot of the hardcore people who liked it just despised the attempt.
• 44:50
  Eric: They just did not want anything other than Candace Other than I heard a lot of people saying they wanted her daughter, which I really don't think her daughter is going to be going home with.
• 45:03
  Andrea: Candace, I don't think so either.
• 45:04
  Eric: Like I get where you're going, but it's just not very logical.
• 45:09
  Eric: So, and then the other thing is the cinematography of this movie and the costuming in the cinematography I also thought was just great in this movie.
• 45:20
  Eric: So really loved it, really really loved it, and I'm hoping that we get more.
• 45:29
  Andrea: Well, my number one is one that was way on the bottom of your list.
• 45:32
  Andrea: Haunted Harmony is Mystery Murder in G Major.
• 45:35
  Andrea: I actually just posted today that was my top movie of all of Hallmark movies of 2023, minus the Christmas ones.
• 45:42
  Andrea: I loved this movie.
• 45:45
  Andrea: I'm shocked that that was that low for you.
• 45:48
  Eric: I'm serious.
• 45:48
  Eric: I'm sitting here spellbounding.
• 45:51
  Andrea: I know we have both in reverse.
• 45:53
  Eric: Why it's not just your favorite of the mysteries, how it could possibly be your favorite movie of the entire year.
• 46:02
  Andrea: I loved it.
• 46:02
  Andrea: I mean, I thought again, maybe it's the settings Ireland drew me in, but I enjoyed the banter.
• 46:10
  Andrea: I think she's got some romantic love interest.
• 46:13
  Andrea: I think there is some tension between that detective and as well as the teacher, so she's got that teacher is a psycho stalker, okay.
• 46:23
  Andrea: Well, they can.
• 46:24
  Andrea: I mean, I think that's who, I think that's who they were going for as the main love interest, but she had so much chemistry with the detective that I'm like, give me the detective, I don't mind.
• 46:34
  Andrea: I feel like they could bring back that same ghost and solve other mysteries.
• 46:39
  Andrea: Have you seen the new?
• 46:41
  Andrea: Did you ever watch Monk?
• 46:44
  Eric: I've seen Monks and then I'm about to watch Monks Last Movie.
• 46:49
  Andrea: So okay.
• 46:50
  Andrea: So Monks Last Movie this is where I just kind of sparked as this idea Highly recommend.
• 46:56
  Andrea: I have already watched it, as I have everyone who's ever, you know, had a little baby.
• 47:01
  Andrea: You usually have a TV show that you're just watching all the time, and Monk was that movie.
• 47:06
  Andrea: When my son was born last February, I had never seen Monk, but I just binged it.
• 47:10
  Andrea: So then I watched the Monk movie and for me there, like 180 of them or something.
• 47:15
  Andrea: I watched them all.
• 47:16
  Andrea: So I watched them all.
• 47:17
  Andrea: I mean, anyone who's breastfeeding knows like you're doing that constantly or they're contact napping on you as they're little.
• 47:26
  Andrea: So that was my show for my little guy and my first one was diagnosis murder.
• 47:31
  Andrea: So apparently the mysteries just call me when I'm breastfeeding.
• 47:35
  Andrea: Not sure what that says about me, but the Monk movie, how they finish, and I don't want to give too much away because it is kind of especially because I haven't seen it.
• 47:44
  Andrea: I know I'm trying to be like toy around it.
• 47:46
  Andrea: How they handled it.
• 47:48
  Andrea: That could easily be the ghost of what is going on in this as a series and so I can see like into the future of like yes, this could easily be more movies and how that Monk is finished could be kind of in this movie.
• 48:04
  Andrea: So that's all I'll say.
• 48:06
  Andrea: There Might have confused people, but if anyone is a Monk fan, watch that and you'll kind of see how they could easily make that ghost, because I think he and I don't know the actor's name he was wonderful and I think having him in future movies would really benefit the movie, as kind of that side kick he was to a Jessamine Is that how you say it?
• 48:25
  Andrea: Did I get it right?
• 48:26
  Andrea: I?
• 48:26
  Eric: think so.
• 48:26
  Eric: I thought you, by the way you're saying, add Monk to the whole movie.
• 48:30
  Eric: I'm like, wait, what?
• 48:31
  Eric: Then I forget who you were talking about.
• 48:32
  Andrea: No, no, so like the end, how they, how they did it.
• 48:36
  Andrea: So that would be what I would most be looking forward to in the new year, and I really hope to see more of these.
• 48:44
  Andrea: I can't believe that you did not love this as much as I did.
• 48:47
  Andrea: I just the whole thing worked for me Like that's for the actual mystery itself was pretty that worked for me.
• 48:56
  Eric: Like how I forget what it was she found, like the coin that just happened to be in the piano which no one's noticed for years, or whatever, or the ring, or something like that, whatever that she found in the piano that she all of a sudden just out of nowhere gets, that puts two and two together with.
• 49:13
  Eric: No reasonable person will put two whatever.
• 49:16
  Eric: All right, it's your number one, you can enjoy it.
• 49:20
  Andrea: It and I think Tamera and she had posted in her stories that she really enjoyed this, was like one of her top films that she enjoyed working on last year, and so that's a great sign that, ok, you know your leading lady loved it, that hopefully there's more, because I do think that if you have the investment from the cast and they really enjoyed making it and enjoyed working together and I, for the most part, you're the first one I've, you know, really not enjoy this as much as I thought you would, for loving mysteries.
• 49:48
  Eric: Like I said, it was OK.
• 49:50
  Eric: It was great we're belonged.
• 49:52
  Eric: Nine for me, not number one.
• 49:55
  Andrea: So again, I enjoyed it.
• 49:57
  Eric: I hope to see more number one for the entire year.
• 49:59
  Eric: It's sweeter than chocolate.
• 50:02
  Andrea: Was.
• 50:02
  Andrea: That's my number two.
• 50:04
  Eric: I know, but that was literally a perfect Hallmark movie.
• 50:09
  Andrea: You know I love my mysteries, so that's my mystery.
• 50:13
  Andrea: Slid above, slid above that one.
• 50:15
  Andrea: All right, tell me about mystery.
• 50:17
  Andrea: Well, I already know.
• 50:19
  Eric: I already know what you're going to say, by default, that's the one that has to be, and I think it was so well written.
• 50:25
  Eric: I think the acting was spectacular.
• 50:28
  Eric: We talked to the writers and it was the way that they had put it together.
• 50:33
  Eric: Was it supposed to be a TV show?
• 50:36
  Eric: That a series?
• 50:37
  Eric: And I think they, by doing that, they really figured out really good pacing for it, because obviously if you're in a weekly show you have to get going, and so I thought they developed some really good pacing, the the costuming in it.
• 50:53
  Eric: We were able once again to talk to Nicole McCormack who did the costuming for it, so she let us in on on it and you know just the way that they dress, both of them.
• 51:04
  Eric: Like I didn't quite understand Alden, but that was the whole point Like his crazy sweaters, and you know he was a kind of an oddball guy, which Paul Campbell I mean, not that Paul Campbell is oddball, but you know he's definitely a little more of a quirky person and he came across that way.
• 51:21
  Eric: Amy Garcia she was basically became my home art crush there because she was adorable in this movie that I went through and I watched all of Lucifer, and then she's in I think it's a Netflix Christmas movie from a couple of years ago which is just, I have to say, bad.
• 51:41
  Eric: But I was flying to, ironically, to West Palm Beach in Florida, where you just got back from a couple of years ago, and I think last year, and I watched it then and the movie was like, I say not good, but she was once again fantastic and she is just adorable and I thought they did great, plus some of the stuff in the homework.
• 52:05
  Eric: Like we just didn't see where the you know, the secret gay relationship and it wasn't like a big deal, it just happened to be.
• 52:12
  Eric: And then it turns out that they're in this open marriage because it's sort of a hey, we love you, but we're not.
• 52:20
  Eric: This like that's cutting edge homework stuff.
• 52:21
  Eric: And the fact that it wasn't a big deal is just, it really was part of the plot and it helped it.
• 52:27
  Eric: I love that.
• 52:28
  Eric: And then you know we'll just get into the humor.
• 52:31
  Eric: It was just thinking funny and like, even when he's there at the very end and she's like trying to, you know, kill him, and it's like, oh, how are you going to do it?
• 52:40
  Eric: And that whole ending was funny, when you know, when she had him captive, and it was exactly what we wanted when we did Sydney and I did a thing early in the year of the 10 things we want to see in a homework, which I think maybe we should do at some point.
• 52:59
  Eric: But one of the things we wanted was that comedy, and I talked a little bit about how that dancing detective had some, but I wouldn't say that was, you know, comedy, whereas this one definitely had like laugh out loud scenes in it.
• 53:14
  Eric: And I could say every aspect of this movie I thought was perfect.
• 53:18
  Eric: They opened the door, as you said, to make more with the ending of you know that little.
• 53:24
  Eric: Hey, I need help too.
• 53:26
  Eric: So, like I say, it was just really, really, really good.
• 53:33
  Eric: And I will say not that public opinion matters, but definitely more people, I think, have cases of Mr Lane as their top mystery than they do.
• 53:44
  Eric: Haunted harmony.
• 53:46
  Andrea: We'll see, let us know, maybe we'll do you know Instagram comments.
• 53:51
  Andrea: Well, yeah, and let us know which one is your favorite, because I would be very curious to see.
• 53:56
  Andrea: I think there would be some people who also enjoyed the haunted harmonies mysteries.
• 54:00
  Eric: And once again, I'm sure there's a lot of people who did enjoy it, who enjoyed it like 3, 4, 5, not 1.
• 54:09
  Andrea: We'll see.
• 54:09
  Andrea: I don't know.
• 54:10
  Andrea: Or maybe there's a completely different movie that neither one of us picked.
• 54:13
  Andrea: Maybe it was one of our bottoms that they almost loved.
• 54:15
  Eric: I think Dancing Detective may be a little higher just because of Lacey and Will have a very strong following.
• 54:24
  Eric: I would and I also guess that well, I don't know Hannah Swenson's become pretty polarizing, I think.
• 54:34
  Andrea: Yeah, I think the yeah after the way they ended that one and from murder.
• 54:40
  Eric: She did, Hannah.
• 54:41
  Andrea: Swenson, I think there's been a split.
• 54:43
  Eric: And you're talking about the scene and the different things, because they have different producers.
• 54:47
  Eric: They legally just had to change everything.
• 54:51
  Eric: They didn't have access to what they did.
• 54:52
  Eric: So there was a big change and we even saw in Curious Cater, which is kind of a subtle change just between well, I guess it's not really subtle of having a different writer but to the public switching to the writing team there, which was a pretty noticeable thing.
• 55:12
  Eric: And then when you have to switch literally everything over, it does there and the why am I going brain dead on the one sister that Andrea right.
• 55:23
  Andrea: I was saying Andrea, how do I forget her name?
• 55:25
  Andrea: I don't know.
• 55:26
  Eric: That everyone misses, like Michelle's, who I like and I never, I guess, was in love with Andrea.
• 55:37
  Eric: So I was like, okay, she's good, I have no problem with her.
• 55:40
  Eric: But I was never like, oh, I don't want to watch this series anymore because Andrea is not there.
• 55:44
  Eric: But if you ever look at IMDB or any other comments, people love Andrea for some reason.
• 55:50
  Eric: So all right All right.
• 55:53
  Eric: So I will say I think our sort of meat of our rankings were pretty similar.
• 56:01
  Eric: You know a shift here, there, but our, our ends were very opposite, very different.
• 56:11
  Eric: The I should say that actually because my top two were pretty high for you.
• 56:18
  Eric: But obviously mystery island I appreciated a lot more than you, and the Jane mysteries and haunted harmony you appreciated way more than me.
• 56:28
  Eric: I will say, of those Jane, if it came down like those two and it's like, oh hey, we have budget to make one, even though I ranked Jane lower, I would pick that above haunted harmony to say make another one of Jane with what we had talked about.
• 56:45
  Eric: Give Steven time to shine and give us some more Aunt Sadie.
• 56:50
  Andrea: I want both.
• 56:52
  Eric: Well, we only have budget for one.
• 56:55
  Andrea: I mean, I'm picking haunted harmonies, I guess, cause I think that-.
• 56:57
  Eric: I know it's your number one.
• 56:59
  Andrea: It's my number one.
• 57:00
  Andrea: I loved it.
• 57:01
  Eric: All right, all right.
• 57:03
  Eric: Yeah, I would love to hear everyone shoot us some comments After this airs.
• 57:10
  Eric: We will do a poll and let people let us know what your favorite mystery of 2023 was.
• 57:18
  Eric: As we mentioned, we've got a couple new mysteries coming out for 2024.
• 57:25
  Eric: We have True Justice, who we're talking to, the producer as well as the customer, so those should be some good conversations.
• 57:35
  Eric: Hopefully we'll get an actor or two as well.
• 57:38
  Eric: But and then we have the Gilded was it the Gilded Newport mystery?
• 57:45
  Eric: What are you thinking?
• 57:47
  Eric: I know you like your Gilded Age, so you excited.
• 57:53
  Andrea: I am so excited when you had said this.
• 57:56
  Andrea: I'm like, yes, the Gilded Age is on HBO Max and if anyone hasn't watched it and you enjoy that time period or you know down Abbey, I would highly recommend checking out that.
• 58:07
  Andrea: And so to have a mystery set in that time period, I think is gonna compliment the stuff I've already been watching.
• 58:15
  Andrea: I guess it's a nice twist on things and I don't know I'm trying to even rack my brain if we've done any mysteries that are that far back in time on Hallmark.
• 58:26
  Andrea: I don't think so.
• 58:28
  Eric: I don't you know if we've ever gone like like a Rora Teagarden going back to the early 2000s is.
• 58:35
  Andrea: Yeah, so this will be it.
• 58:35
  Andrea: So then, ones.
• 58:36
  Andrea: That happened, you know, a long time ago, but I don't think they've ever Tried to do this big of a timepiece jump, so I'm excited for it and I'm excited to see where it goes and the casting sounds spectacular.
• 58:48
  Andrea: So I would say, of the ones that I've read, this would be probably top on my list for next year.
• 58:54
  Eric: So if we did a worked on our like 10 things we wanna see in a mystery this year, doing like a Gilded Age thing, may have made your list for that and they're giving it to you, huh.
• 59:09
  Andrea: Yes, and like a murder she wrote.
• 59:11
  Andrea: Reboot would be great too.
• 59:16
  Eric: With a young, like 25 year old, type.
• 59:22
  Eric: So totally change it and make it a prequel, since you can't have Angela.
• 59:25
  Andrea: Lansbury.
• 59:25
  Andrea: I know you'd have to have a very strong leading lady to.
• 59:29
  Andrea: I mean, you have big shoes filled with Angela Lansbury who carried that show, so I would have to think about who I'd want I should do that.
• 59:38
  Eric: We'll do a little murder.
• 59:39
  Eric: She wrote one and I'll think about this.
• 59:40
  Eric: To tip our hat to an upcoming episode, because one of the things that Andrea talks about all the time is how she does love.
• 59:48
  Eric: Murder she wrote and I've never actually seen an entire episode of murder she wrote at least awake.
• 59:54
  Eric: I may have been sleeping with Hallmark when it comes on in the middle of the night, so I may have subconsciously, but we are gonna have an episode where Andrea gets 30 minutes to convince me that murder she wrote- A long time.
• 1:00:08
  Andrea: I don't know if I need 30 minutes.
• 1:00:10
  Eric: Looks like five questions or five points, cause it's gonna be not just monologue.
• 1:00:14
  Eric: We'll debate it and then we'll talk about the reboot, maybe Another thing we have coming up, because we do have Andrea on the show now and so Andrea is putting her foot down and stomping all over me.
• 1:00:28
  Eric: We are going to be reviewing.
• 1:00:30
  Eric: What show is that called again?
• 1:00:32
  Andrea: The Way Home Right.
• 1:00:34
  Andrea: I'm very excited for this.
• 1:00:35
  Eric: Bitch, he's never seen.
• 1:00:37
  Andrea: Eric has never watched this.
• 1:00:38
  Eric: No, no, no.
• 1:00:39
  Eric: I saw the first three and then I was like you, basically have never watched this.
• 1:00:44
  Eric: And then I'm like I'm out.
• 1:00:46
  Andrea: So I will-.
• 1:00:47
  Andrea: Did you enjoy the first three?
• 1:00:50
  Eric: I didn't watch the fourth, so what do you think?
• 1:00:52
  Andrea: Oh man, I will hop in what?
• 1:00:55
  Eric: And I've heard many people I know like what the girls go on Hallmark talk about how it's the greatest thing ever.
• 1:01:03
  Eric: It is so good how wow you like it, I will in the next-.
• 1:01:08
  Andrea: Give it another go.
• 1:01:10
  Eric: I will be binging.
• 1:01:10
  Eric: When does the new one?
• 1:01:13
  Andrea: start.
• 1:01:13
  Andrea: I think it's the January 21st second season starts.
• 1:01:16
  Eric: Okay.
• 1:01:17
  Eric: So we'll maybe right beforehand we'll do a little recap of season one and then we'll be doing little mini reviews of season two.
• 1:01:28
  Eric: I do like Andy McDowell.
• 1:01:31
  Andrea: I love Andy McDowell.
• 1:01:31
  Eric: For weddings in a funeral.
• 1:01:33
  Andrea: She's great.
• 1:01:34
  Andrea: I've never seen that movie, but she's great.
• 1:01:36
  Eric: You've never seen For Weddings in a Funeral.
• 1:01:37
  Eric: No, you're a romcom fan.
• 1:01:40
  Eric: Oh, andrea.
• 1:01:42
  Andrea: It's before my time.
• 1:01:44
  Eric: You can watch a movie.
• 1:01:45
  Eric: Maybe that is slightly Like I've watched Alfred Hitchcock movies.
• 1:01:49
  Eric: I was not born in the 40s and 50s.
• 1:01:54
  Andrea: Yeah, you should know this movie.
• 1:01:55
  Eric: You're like the Gilded Age.
• 1:01:56
  Andrea: I worked at a movie theater one theater, one screen, and I was a concession stand worker And-.
• 1:02:03
  Eric: Well, this is concession stand.
• 1:02:04
  Eric: Somehow, I'm innocent.
• 1:02:05
  Andrea: People are like how have you never watched these movies?
• 1:02:08
  Andrea: And you worked at a movie theater and I would read a book.
• 1:02:11
  Andrea: I'd sit in the concession stand and read a book and occasionally I would go out and watch the movie, because if people came out of the theater, they needed to order their food.
• 1:02:18
  Eric: What year is this?
• 1:02:19
  Andrea: This is ages, what would be 97 through 2003.
• 1:02:25
  Eric: Oh, so you worked there for a while.
• 1:02:28
  Andrea: Since seventh grade I was there till my senior year of high school, like seventh grade.
• 1:02:32
  Eric: Is it illegal?
• 1:02:34
  Andrea: Oh, I worked there.
• 1:02:34
  Andrea: They needed people to work, so I worked.
• 1:02:37
  Eric: They have no laws in rural Minnesota.
• 1:02:40
  Andrea: No, they don't.
• 1:02:40
  Andrea: So I worked in a theater, if you're taller than the counter, then you can work.
• 1:02:47
  Andrea: And I'm 5'10".
• 1:02:48
  Andrea: So there you go.
• 1:02:49
  Eric: Oh man, all right, all right.
• 1:02:53
  Eric: Well, there we go.
• 1:02:54
  Eric: It's been fun.
• 1:02:56
  Eric: I enjoyed it.
• 1:02:57
  Eric: It's been fun.
• 1:02:58
  Andrea: Let us know what you think that's what I'm curious about.
• 1:03:01
  Andrea: So what board things would you agree with Me?
• 1:03:05
  Eric: Bye.