Episode 44- Miami Vice (1984-1990) “The Lost Madonna”

New episode out now! We enter the world of the 1980s with the season five episode of Miami Vice, “The Lost Madonna”. New to us all, we marveled at the wild fashions, the synth score, the feathered hair, and of course—the drugs. We really get into the Florida-ness of it all with the production design and color choices. And we talk extensively about Michael Chiklis’ ponytail. Katy critiques art packing techniques, Carrie thinks Don Johnson is very symmetrical, Maddy has started to see older people commercials tailored for her, and Mack tells a eulogy story. We also spoil St. Elsewhere, share college professor anecdotes, get excited about Indiana Jones, learn about product placement, and wonder why all Italian mafia members have a New York accent. We do introduce a new point of order in this episode and Katy is (justifiably) chastened for dominating research. And if you stick around after the end music, you’ll get a special treat! (A short interview with our parents re: Miami Vice that has terrible audio and random microwave beeping). Enjoy! As Maddy says, “Birds, boats, and boobs—what more could you ask for?”

TW: animal cruelty, drugs, audio surge warning at 06:58 for microphone issue

Show Notes/Links:

Episode 43- Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)

New episode out now! He is vengeance. He is the night. He’s Batman! We have our first encounter with the Dark Knight in 1993’s Batman: Mask of the Phantasm and listeners, Mack is excited. Seriously, he’s like a Batman encyclopedia! We learn about the origins of the animated series that gave way to the film, discuss the iconic and game-changing animation style that only half of us noticed, and rave over the brilliant voice acting by Kevin Conroy and the Joker himself, Mark Hamill. We discuss different iterations of both Batman and the Joker and judge how the animated series stacked up. (Spoiler alert: Hamill may be the best one?). We also really enjoy how sassy Alfred is, think that Andrea calling out Bruce Wayne’s self-destructing tortured-man tendencies is very refreshing, critique Batman’s detective work, and wonder why Gotham has so many dilapidated warehouses and amusement parks but somehow the municipal government has high rise offices. Katy shares a Girl Scout camp story, Carrie appreciates a good voice note recorder, Maddy comes up with a new tagline, and Mack just—really knows a lot about Batman. We also collectively share a surprising knowledge about various world’s fairs, learn that cartoon code for “we had sex” is one person wearing the other’s shirt while thinking on a balcony, and we all try out a voice acting technique by imitating our favorite cartoon laughs. And don’t worry – there’s also plenty of Batman impressions. Starting literally 60 seconds in. Enjoy!

Show Corrections/Notes:

This is the video Maddy referenced that she used to quote all the time: Batman’s Night Out

Hamill appreciation

Episode 42- Midsommer Murders “Judgement Day”

New episode out now! We took our first foray into the world of Midsomer Murders with the series three episode “Judgement Day”. We discuss the traditional high body count in Midsomer County murder cases, complain about the slightly confusing timeline, create actual suspect lists, try to psychoanalyze the murderer, and extensively discuss young Orlando Bloom. We get into the show’s dark humor and longevity, as well as the whitewashed portrayal of English country life. Katy complains about her coworker, Carrie gives relationship advice, Maddy gets lost in men’s names, and Mack shares his weird allergies. We also wonder if just everyone has racist dolls, tear apart late ’90s fashion, discuss how the attractiveness of actors can take away from the story, hate on the Charmin bears, share church festival memories, and reveal who among us loves the theremin. Enjoy!

TW: Racism, accidental disfigurement, the police, laboratory animal research

Show Notes:

  • Why do butchers wear white? According to Quora answers, it’s a combination of tradition, and so they can be bleached/cleaned. The whiteness makes it easy to see if there are leftover contaminants after cleaning as well as being able to know when to get a new one while working; you can see easily if you have gotten something non-food safe on them.
  • The death penalty was abolished in the UK in 1965. Wiki. 
  • The play Katy was thinking of was Hangmen by Martin McDonagh.
  • The last execution by guillotine in France was in 1977. 8 Things You May Not Know About the Guillotine
  • The Morris Ring website explaining the Morris Dance, a traditional folk dance 
  • Apparently the Briefcase Men stopped appearing in America’s Thanksgiving Parade in Detroit after 2014? Katy always thought she slept in and missed it but that’s why they haven’t been around in a while. The parade drill team was first created as a marketing ploy for a haberdashery in 1985 and were always 16 men because that’s how many men signed up when the hat shop owner first advertised. See the Detroit Free Press article here and see their 1993 Thanksgiving Parade appearance here. 
  • The theremin – A short introduction to a unique instrument, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, Claire de Lune
Cuties

Episode 41- Nancy Drew… Detective (1938)

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 Wikipedia facts, Carrie resents Nancy’s perfection, Maddy hates the Mid-Atlantic accent, and Mack tells a truly terrible joke. We get into the logistics of carrier pigeons, have multiple tangents about medical history, argue about amateur photo developing, and try to decide if emotional manipulation is okay if you’re a victim of a patriarchal system. We also discuss 1980s diet culture, weird military tactics, Shrek, and 19th century lithotomy. Give it a listen! 

TW: Animal cruelty, disturbing medical history

Corrections: Katy was wrong about the year of the US military’s “gay bomb”; it was proposed in the 1990s, not the 1940s, and never went past the proposal stage. 

Show Links: 

Episode 40- Zodiac (2007)

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 actors and how they don’t age, wonder how Graysmith’s evidence would hold up in court, discuss the depiction of mundanity in life and criminal investigation, and realize that it’s a whole movie of back and forth dialogue that was paced so well it held our attention the whole 162 minute run time. Katy annoys everyone by doing too much research for not being the host, Carrie misses being in an office, Maddy gets offended over Adventure Time, and Mack does a pretty good John Mulaney impression. We also get very disturbed by Palpatine imagery, are slightly annoyed about the Disney shareholder meeting announcements, spoil Batman comic storylines, really wish that this case was solved, and wonder if the 1970s ruined everything from hitchhiking to picnics. And yes, we mention T*d Cr*z.

TW: Serial murder, animal abuse, child endangerment

Note: We did wonder how this got into the mystery tin as it is fully based on and depicting real crimes, people, and investigations; this is the first and most likely last time we will cover something depicting wholly true events.

Show Links:

  • Interesting twitter connection

Episode 39- And Then There Were None

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 the influence of WWI on both Christie and the mindsets of the characters, the corrosiveness of English classicism and colonialism, the evolution of the original racist names of the book, and debate whether the characters really believe they did anything wrong. Is it better to be directly or indirectly evil? Katy semi-confidently knows things about Agatha Christie, Carrie thinks cooking is too violent, Maddy makes a Star Trek joke, and Mack brings up Dungeons and Dragons twice. We also let both a sarlacc AND a Gollumn impression go unacknowledged, decide if we would accept a mysterious invitation to a creepy manor, wonder what the appropriate amount of cocaine is for a sleepover, and one of us comes out as a nihilist. It’s a longer one, as we really get into some nuance here! Enjoy!

TW: Racism, PTSD, homophobia, xenophobia, child murder, suicide, classicism, colonialism, hanging, sociopathy 

Show Links:

This is the opposite vibe of the series

Episode 38- Adventure Time

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 spoiler alert!), talk about the voice acting industry and some of the recent racial reckoning, discuss how we like the darker themes the show explores, and quote Lumpy Space Princess. Like, a LOT. Katy steals a joke from Bones, Carrie’s screech laugh makes an appearance, Maddy shares her favorite line from the entire show, and Mack calls out Chevy Chase. We also try out Boston accents (badly), make references to a number of ‘90s TV shows, discuss some very old shared family mp3s, try to come up with our own mystery party names, praise fart jokes, and yell into the microphones. (Sorry). It’s lumping fun! Algebraic! 

TW: Racism

Show Links:

Skeleton versions, much discussed

Episode 37- Riverdale

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 statutory rape, don’t like how the teens are unnecessarily sexualized, decide that the producers are not “woke” for calling themselves out on their cliché writing choices, and discuss who is actually writing this show and for what audience. We do like the production design and talk about the Twin Peaks vibes it starts with, but ultimately land on the fact that it’s essentially just (bad) Archie fanfiction. Katy steals a joke and then owns up to it, Carrie gets triggered by the portrayal of the publishing industry, Maddy works on her voice acting, and Mack has a deep, deep well of rage inside himself. We aso wonder why Gen Z references Woody Allen movies, pitch a dark Teletubbies law drama, get confused by what MSG is, call out The Little Mermaid’s irresponsible behavior, reminisce about high school, and come to the conclusion that nobody’s really having a great time in Riverdale. Turns out teens doing sexy things makes us uncomfortable! Does that mean we’re old? Anyway, give it a listen! There’s something for everyone? SERIES SPOILERS

TW: Underage sex, statutory rape, incest

Episode 36- Hawaii Five-O

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 thief and think he may have had the right idea? Katy just had to mention Jack Lord’s appearance in Bond, Carrie enjoyed the raw power of the rowers in the credits, Maddy lets us in on her retirement plan, and Mack busts out a card from Pirates of the Caribbean Monopoly. We realized Matilda taught us everything we know about odometers, think Benedict Cumberbatch may be an Animorph, share childhood toy box memories, and learned that Carrie is wrong sometimes? We also read Wikipedia information about DNA evidence, serial numbers, and royal palaces. Book ‘em, Danno! (Is that right?)

TW: American healthcare system, racism, copaganda

Show Links:

Reference to some stylin’ shades
All the disguises
Spot the difference

Crack the Casemas!

CRACK THE CASEMAS, WEEK ONE

We’re shaking things up for the month of December! For 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!

Katy hosts week one, where we talk about game strategy, thrift shops, and library cards. Katy gives frustratingly unclear answers, Carrie forgot the Hindenburg, Maddy almost chokes for no reason, and Mack comes up with a new scheme to get rich. 

Give it a listen! Let us know if YOU solve it before we do!

TW: Death by suicide

CRACK THE CASEMAS, WEEK TWO

It’s the second of four brand new episodes along the same theme: the game Crack the Case. It’s Crack The Casemas! 

Carrie hosts week two, where we talk about European bodies of water, murderous musical instruments, and the scars we still hold from misread cards. Katy shares an odd story about a sinking ship, Carrie gets very finicky about verbs, Maddy makes more than one sound effect, and Mack tells some awful-ly amazing puns. 

CRACK THE CASEMAS, WEEK THREE

It’s the third of four brand new episodes along the same theme: the game Crack the Case. It’s Crack The Casemas! 

Maddy hosts week three, where we discuss poor city planning, have a few false starts, and it gets very apparent we’re siblings. Katy loves CSI, Carrie shares her perfect mansion location, Maddy has very specific sock questions, and Mack makes some gross jokes. There’s a callback to last week’s episode, and a small preview of an upcoming one! 

Give it a listen! Let us know if YOU solve it before we do!

TW: Death by gas

CRACK THE CASEMAS, WEEK FOUR

It’s the last of four brand new episodes along the same theme: the game Crack the Case. It’s Crack The Casemas! 

Mack hosts week four, where we talk about Christmas werewolves, minimum wage, and The Little Mermaid. Katy snaps in excitement, Carrie points out something obvious on the cards, Maddy couldn’t stand living with us, and Mack remembers Encarta. We also sing a wonderful holiday interlude!

Give it a listen! Let us know if YOU solve it before we do!