'Murder In Small Town X' Talkback

[James Harvey]

Opinions on the latest reality show. I'll admit it actually ain't that bad at all. Thoughts?

[Calhoun07]

I missed it cuz I was at work. Well, I can't say I missed it that much. I don't think I would have watched it if I was home.

[Mr. Obsession]

Didn't watch it. I've got better ways to waste my time.

[The Mad Hatter]

Huh? It was on? Shoot, I was hoping to see what all the fuss was about. People kept griping about how morally bankrupt the concept was (as most "reality" shows are), but the whole thing just sounded like a cool audience participation "murder mystery" game a lot of groups put together.

[optimal321]

I thought it was kinda cool. The whole 'murder mystery' thing was neat, and a lot better idea than most other reality TV shows out now. The only thing i don't like is that the people don't really use their own detective skills. This is probably because they don't have any, but still. They just have to go out and get what the host tells them then come back and answer one question every week (or three days their time). But i don't know, i might be coming to conclusions too soon. I'm sure gonna keep watching it to see what happens.

[Clayface]

Yeah, I saw it too and enjoyed it. It's a pretty cool show - like one of those murder mystery dinner shows. I think I'll be watching regularly.

[James Harvey]

I was a bit dissapointed that they were just given the information, but the concept is neat, and I may watch again. It's a nice change of pace from the crap that is BIG BROTHER, SURVIVOR, FEAR FACTOR, and all those other really bad reality shows.

[Clayface]

Hey! I love Survivor!

[Bud 'n Lou]

I watched it. There were things about it that surprised me, and things that disappointed me, but on the whole, it was entertaining.
First of all, I like how there's not a new group of contestants every week, like with some other reality shows. It gives you a chance to get to know the characters, rather than having a bunch of people who you don't care whether the killer gets them, which equals no suspense.
I also like the concept that the players can be "killed off", and the method of doing so.
Now, things that I didn't like:
As many of you have already pointed out, they were given directions, and didn't have to rely on their own skills.
Also, I think there are certain instances where it gets too corny, like the suspects who had an arguement at the club. If I were either of the two players, I probably would've had a hard time keeping a straight face.
And my last gripe: the players acted as if they would REALLY die! Gimme a break. The one who was killed off this week even went as far as to say goodbye to her children. Please!
But everything else on the show was pretty cool. :-D

[Gpoliceman]

I was watching that show and..........

..........I GUESS THERE WAS SOMETHING IN THE CLOCK!I GUESS THERE WAS SOMETHING IN THE CLOCK!I GUESS THERE WAS SOMETHING IN THE CLOCK!I GUESS THERE WAS SOMETHING IN THE CLOCK!I GUESS THERE WAS SOMETHING IN THE CLOCK!I GUESS THERE WAS SOMETHING IN THE CLOCK!I GUESS THERE WAS SOMETHING IN THE CLOCK!I GUESS THERE WAS SOMETHING IN THE CLOCK!I GUESS THERE WAS SOMETHING IN THE CLOCK!I GUESS THERE WAS SOMETHING IN THE CLOCK!I GUESS THERE WAS SOMETHING IN THE CLOCK!I GUESS THERE WAS SOMETHING IN THE CLOCK!

I'M AMAZING! I SHOULD BE A DETECTIVE!

I thought the only person on that show who knew what they were doing was the girl with blonde hair who figured out the answer to the red package question.

I was mad when the lifeguard voted her off. That was a stupid choice.

I hate it when they do that whole "guys versus girls" thing. That's so dumb and the people on the show are doing it.

Gpoliceman

[Bud 'n Lou]

Personally, I would've voted off the redhead. She irritated me.

Edited to add that I definately know who ISN'T the killer.
The fisherman, because he's just a huge red herring. I mean, the mean personality, the fact that he found the wife's body....too obvious.
The boyfriend too. Another red herring, since we heard that he threatened the father with a tire iron. Too easy.

[James Harvey]

I think the killer is male. Why? Becuase in a short scene we saw of him with that clock, he was obviously male. Even when they played it again -- male. Then again. that could've been just anyone playing the killer and not the actual suspects. I also thought it was pretty funny when they girl said goodbye to her kids. I can understand she was scared, but...COME ON! It's a show - and a pretty good one.

[optimal321]

I think the killer is... THE HOST!!! No but really, i don't think they're going to actually figure out who the killer is. They'll just keep eliminating the suspects until the end when they just pick one. But that's just based on what i've seen thus far because they haven't really done much detective work. But that's just my opinion.

[The Mad Hatter]

What? There's no actual detective work? Dang. I was hoping this would be a reality show for semi-intelligent people who don't generally like reality shows, but looks like it's not.

Then again, I should know by now that Fox does not equal cerebal.

[Clayface]

Originally posted by The Mad Hatter
What? There's no actual detective work? Dang.

Eh, its not as bad as they're making it out to be. There is some detective work to it, but they are led by the hand a bit. You gotta remember that a real murder investigation, by professionals, can take years. Here, we've got a bunch of inexperienced Joe Schmoe amatures trying to solve a case in a very limited time - so, the show host provides them with some rather obvious leads, and lets them take it from there.

[Robin2099]

I thought it was pretty good. It had a nice "pulp detective story" feel to it, which is why I enjoyed it. I like the idea that the contestants could be "killed off" during the course of the game, and the fact that the townspeople seemed to be like legit actors. I'll agree though that I didn't like the contestants gettting there hand held through the entire show, and some of the contestants don't seem to smart. And why did the two girls act like it was really there last 15 minutes alive? But all in all I thought it was good.

P.S. I'm going with the killer being a male too.

[James Harvey]

With the supposed strenght and amount of blood spead across the murder scene, it has to be male. Or a real boyish girl. REALLY boyish girl. It would be a complete cop out to make the killer a female, given the seen footage.

[optimal321]

After seeing it again last night, i realized the only thing i don't like about it. We only get to know what the writers want us to know. It may seem like 15 people are solving this murder mystery, but i think it is almost imposible for one of them to name the killer. We are just being shown the plot through these people.

However, on the upside, it still is a great mystery. If i can't enjoy the realism of it too much, at least i can think of it more like a movie than a game show.

[Clayface]

Originally posted by DickGrayson
With the supposed strenght and amount of blood spead across the murder scene, it has to be male. Or a real boyish girl. REALLY boyish girl. It would be a complete cop out to make the killer a female, given the seen footage.

But what footage has really given us any idea that its a guy? I'm not sure I agree that it is. If I'm not mistaken, we don't evenknow what the murder weapon was yet, so there's nothing that that tells us if it was male or female. Getting a lot of blood spattered is easy - one well placed stab wound or a gun shot wound could quirt blood all over the place.

One thing I was thinking about while watching last night: what's to say that we can actually believe the killer? The killer is the one that's eliminating a suspect each week right? What's to say the killer doesn't just name him/herself as one of the "cleared" suspects? What's to stop them from going with the whole "unreliable narrator" aspect of a story?

[James Harvey]

I noticed that last nite's "cleared suspect" was someone we barely knew, that X-Ray guy. I think it'll start getitng better within the next few weeks. Things are starting to come togethor. I was a bit dissapointing Andy was killed. He actually seemed to be one of the smartest people there. As for the unreliable thing...would they do that? It could come as a nice twist near the end of the series, almost logical, but I'm just wondering would they thow that twist in.