'Twas then that I wished that I was dead and Columbo could go to sea no more. "Last Salute to the Commodore" was the sixth episode of Columbo 's fifth season, which aired on May 2, 1976. Starring Peter Falk, Columbo is a crime drama series that follows the adventures of the ostensibly-bumbling, quietly-cunning Lieutenant Columbo. The formula is simple: The audience gets to see a too-clever-by-half killer attempt to get away with a crime, and then watch Columbo toy with — and ultimately bust — th...
Jan 16, 2023•39 min•Ep. 122
"The Big Neighbor" ran as the fifth episode of Dragnet 1967 's second season, airing on October 12, 1967. It stars Jack Webb and Harry Morgan, with appearances from Randy Stuart, Ann Morgan Guilbert, John Nolan, Kent McCord, Hal Lynch, Rhoda Williams, and Joseph Gallison. Crime takes a backseat to football, pushy neighbors, and strange vibes in this installment, which sees Officer Bill Gannon invite Sergeant Joe Friday to his suburban abode for a hang-out session. "The Big Dog" was the eleventh ...
Jan 09, 2023•39 min•Ep. 121
"A Killing in the Second House," the eleventh episode of Kojak's second season, debuted on November 17, 1974. It starred Telly Savalas, Martin Balsam, Dan Frazier, Kevin Dobson and George Savalas. It tells the tale of a corrupt ex-cop who hatches a plot that just might make him enough cash so he and his horoscope-reading wife can go to Paris and start over. Or it might just blow up in his face and completely wreck his life. We'll just have to watch and see what happens. Listen to Kevin and Áine ...
Jan 02, 2023•39 min•Ep. 120
It was the Dragnet Christmas story that kept on giving. "The Big Little Jesus" first debuted on the Dragnet radio program that preceded the television show. "The Big Little Jesus" first ran on December 22, 1953. It was re-broadcast on December 21, 1954 and December 25, 1956. It made its television debut on December 24, 1953, as the seventeenth episode of the show's third season. It starred Jack Webb, Ben Alexander, Harry Bartell, Joe Carioca Jr., James Griffith, Ralph Moody, Herb Vigran, Walter ...
Dec 26, 2022•51 min•Ep. 119
"Murder" is the twelfth episode of the fourth season of Night Court, a legal sitcom . The episode first aired on January 8, 1987. It starred Harry Anderson, Markie Post, John Larroquette, Charles Robinson, Richard Moll, and Marsha Warfield, with appearances from Florence Stanley, Bruce Kirby, and Alice Drummond in this episode. Night Court focuses on the eccentric, nocturnal legal proceedings of the nerdy and eager Judge Harold "Harry" T. Stone. In this episode, the courtroom is thrown into disa...
Dec 19, 2022•37 min•Ep. 118
Trial & Error is a television mockumentary-style sitcom, and the show's second and final season aired from July 19 to August 23, 2018. It starred Nicholas D'Agosto, Jayma Mays, Steven Boyer, Sherri Shepherd, Amanda Payton, and Kristin Chenoweth. In this run of 23 episodes, we return to the quirky — and borderline dystopian — town of East Peck, where naive criminal defense attorney Josh Segal has gotten in over his head with a new client, a sunny and sinister socialite played by Kristin Cheno...
Dec 12, 2022•36 min•Ep. 117
Beverly Hills Buntz is a dramedy spin-off of Hill Street Blues, starring Dennis Franz as gruff and loveable corrupt-cop-turned-private-eye Norman Buntz. This is the second episode of the show's first and only season, and it aired on November 29, 1987. This episode starred Franz as Butz, along with Peter Jurasik, Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, Grant Heslov, and Kurt Fuller. It's a retail-centric mystery, where Buntz and his sidekick go undercover at a high-end Beverly Hills clothier that's undergoing a ...
Dec 05, 2022•32 min•Ep. 116
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is a 2022 mystery film from director Rian Johnson and the sequel of the director's 2019 riff on Agatha Christie: Knives Out . Like its predecessor, this movie features a star-studded cast, including Daniel Craig, Edward Norton, Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Kate Hudson, Dave Bautista, Jessica Henwick, Madelyn Cline, Noah Segman, Jackie Hoffman, and Dallas Roberts, along with cameos from Ethan Hawke, Hugh Grant, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Stephen Sondh...
Nov 28, 2022•35 min•Ep. 115
"No Exit" is the seventh episode of Miami Vice 's inaugural season, first airing on November 9, 1984. Miami Vice was a popular police procedural about Metro-Dade Police Department detectives who work in Miami, a city of stylish crimes. The show starred Don Johnson as the white blazer-donning James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as his partner Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs. In this episode, Bruce Wills guest stars as an evil gunrunner who plans to sell dangerous missile launchers to the highes...
Nov 21, 2022•32 min•Ep. 114
Martha's Vineyard Mysteries: A Beautiful Place to Die is an original film from Hallmark Movies & Mysteries that first aired on January 12, 2020. It's the first in the Martha's Vineyard Mysteries series, based on a string of novels from Philip R. Craig .This film stars Jesse Metcalfe, Sarah Lind, Eric Kennleyside, Chelsea Hobbs, Sunita Prasad, Bradley Stryker, Naika Toussaint, and Kendall Cross. Metcalfe plays retired detective Jeff Jackson, who retires to his late father's bungalow on Martha...
Nov 14, 2022•51 min•Ep. 113
The Fugitive is a 1993 action thriller film directed by Andrew Davis. Based on an influential 1960s television series, the picture stars Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones, along with Sela Ward, Joe Pantoliano, Andreas Katsulas, and Jeroen Krabbe. Ford stars as Dr. Richard Kimble, a brilliant physician who's wrongly accused of murdering his wife. Kimble goes on the run to clear his name, pursued by the cunning U.S. Deputy Marshal Samuel Gerard. Áine and Kevin track down topics like on-the-lam lif...
Nov 07, 2022•44 min•Ep. 112
Trial & Error is a television sitcom. The show's first season aired between March 14, 2017 and April 18, 2017. It starred Nicholas D'Agosto, Jayma Mays, Steven Boyer, Sherri Shepherd, Krysta Rodriguez, and John Lithgow. The show focuses on Josh, a naive, young attorney from New York City, who is tasked with defending the indefensible defendant: John Litghow's eccentric, roller-cising college professor who is accused of brutally murdering his wife. Áine and Kevin read their opening statements...
Oct 31, 2022•27 min•Ep. 111
Looper is a 2012 film time travel thriller directed by Rian Johnson. It stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis, along with Emily Blunt, Jeff Daniels, Paul Dano, Summer Qing, Noah Segan, and Piper Parabo. Gordon-Levitt and Willis both star as different versions of Joe, a "looper" — or hitman who specializes in killing targets sent back in time. When young Joe fails to "close the loop" by gunning down his older self, that kicks off a out-of-control spiral concerning time, gang warfare, and th...
Oct 24, 2022•36 min•Ep. 110
Ring of Fear is a 1954 film noir from directed by James Edward Grant. It stars hardboiled author Mickey Spillane and lion tamer Clyde Beatty as themselves, along with Pat O'Brien, Sean McClory, Marian Carr, and John Bromfield. After a revenge-seeking madman begins sabotaging Clyde Beatty's circus, famous author Mickey Spillane must come in and bungle around for about an hour or so. It's basically the strange child of circus B-roll and enough leaden crime thriller dialogue to keep Mike Hammer's C...
Oct 17, 2022•51 min•Ep. 109
Vega$ is a crime drama show that aired from September 20, 1978 to June 3, 1981. It stars charming but unlucky-in-casting Robert Urich as a capable private detective named Dan Tanna. Tanna must dive into the murky, neon-stained waters of Sin City itself as part of his work. In "The Macho Murders," which aired on November 28, 1979, Tanna is pulled into an investigation into a crusading feminist, after a sleazy leader of the local sex trade is found murdered. The episode also features Greg Morris, ...
Oct 10, 2022•38 min•Ep. 108
Dragnet is a 1954 film starring Jack Webb, along with Ben Alexander, Richard Boone, Virginia Gregg, Stacy Harris, Vic Perrin, and Ann Robinson. Richard Breen — the wordsmith behind The FBI Story — wrote this thing, and wow, does it show! Web plays Sergeant Joe Friday, everyone's favorite stiff, stern Los Angeles Police Department detective. Friday and his partner Frank Smith get assigned the homicide of a low-level gangster. They proceed to repeatedly harass their suspects, based on rather flims...
Oct 03, 2022•36 min•Ep. 107
Crossword Mysteries: Abracadaver is an original film from Hallmark Movies & Mysteries that first aired on January 5, 2020. It's the third in the Crossword Mysteries series.This film stars Lacey Chabert, Brennan Elliott, John Kapelos, and Barbara Niven. The story comes from the criss-crossed mind of New York Times crossword editor Will Shortz. Chabert stars as Tess Harper, the New York Sentinel crossword-editor-slash-detective-slash-aspiring-amateur-magician. In this movie, she ends up gettin...
Sep 26, 2022•29 min•Ep. 106
Crossword Mysteries: Proposing Murder is an original film from Hallmark Movies & Mysteries that first aired on October 13, 2019. It's the second in the Crossword Mysteries series.This film stars Lacey Chabert, Brennan Elliott, John Kapelos, and Barbara Niven. The story comes from the twisted mind of New York Times crossword editor Will Shortz. Chabert stars as Tess Harper, the plucky New York Sentinel crossword editor who can't stop getting embroiled in murder mysteries. In this film, she do...
Sep 19, 2022•45 min•Ep. 105
Chronicle Mysteries: Recovered is a film from the Hallmark Movies and Mysteries series that first aired on February 17, 2019. This movie stars Alison Sweeney, Benjamin Ayres, Dave Collette, Olivia Steele Falconer, Lisa Durupt, Jim Thorburn, Chris William Martin, and Rebecca Staab, as well as Matt Bellefleur as Troy Hines. Sweeney stars as a podcaster who returns to her hometown in order to investigate the cold case disappearance of her childhood best friend. She and a local editor-in-chief must ...
Sep 12, 2022•47 min•Ep. 104
"The End Game" is the series premier of Police Woman , which aired on September 13, 1974. Angie Dickinson stars as the eponymous "Police Woman," also known as Police Sergeant "Pepper" Anderson. Earl Holliman Charles Dierkp, and Ed Bernard round out the squad. In this episode, Anderson and her colleagues must catch a gang of dangerous criminals engaging in bank robberies, murder, kidnapping, rape, and home invasion-style hostage-taking. This overstuffed episode fails to establish its central char...
Sep 05, 2022•29 min•Ep. 103
Crossword Mysteries: A Puzzle to Die For is an original film from Hallmark Movies & Mysteries that first aired on March 10, 2019. This film stars Lacey Chabert, Brennan Elliott, John Kapelos, and Barbara Niven, and featured a story from New York Times crossword editor Will Shortz. Chabert stars as Tess Harper, the crossword editor whose puzzles are the only thing keeping the New York Sentinel afloat. Her peaceful life tinkering over grids gets criss-crossed when a murder victim is found with...
Aug 29, 2022•54 min•Ep. 102
"Dizzy Detectives" is a 1943 short film starring The Three Stooges (this iteration consists of Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Curly Howard). It's all about three bumbling rookie policemen facing off against thieves (and a gorilla). Who Done It? is a 1949 short film starring Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Shemp Howard. These Three Stooges play private detectives assigned to save a kidnapped millionaire. 'Fraidy Cat is 1951 short film that's an identical remake of Dizzy Detectives . That stars erstwhile...
Aug 22, 2022•34 min•Ep. 101
Heavens to Betsy Ross! My stars and stripes! Jumping George Washington! The Funky Phantom was a Hanna-Barbera mystery cartoon that ran from September 11, 1971 to January 1, 1972. It had a relatively short afterlife, only lasting one season (or seventeen episodes). The show stars Micky Dolenz, Tommy Cook, and Kristina Holland as a trio of teenaged sleuths stuck in a somewhat disturbing love triangle. Daws Butler stars as the titular specter, recycling his turn as Snagglepuss, which itself was a s...
Aug 15, 2022•35 min•Ep. 100
You are a possessed hill, you're my possessed hill, Who do you want me to be to make you visit a house most ghostly? "The House on Possessed Hill" first aired on January 22, 1978. It was the fifteenth episode of The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries' second season. This episode stars Shaun Cassidy, Parker Stevenson, Ed Gilbert, Lloyd Bochner, Dorothy Malone, Royal Dano, Richard LePore, and Wayde Preston, as well as a young Melanie Griffith! Listen to Áine and Kevin communicate with the beyond on t...
Aug 08, 2022•36 min•Ep. 99
Father is a doctor-spy Mother's tired, she needs a cry! The rats are playing up downstairs Rafters sighing in their sleep Brother's got court dates to keep He got convicted ... Our house, in the middle of our swamp! "The Night of the Man-Eating House" is the twelfth episode of the second season of The Wild, Wild West, a show deserving of its name starring Robert Conrad and Ross Martin. The episode first aired on December 2, 1966. It's the show's taken on the horror genre, complete with a sppooky...
Aug 01, 2022•31 min•Ep. 98
Charlie Chan at the Circus is a 1936 mystery film starring Warner Oland as the titular detective, along with Keye Luke, George Brasno, Olive Brasno, Francis Ford, and Maxine Reiner. The movie was released on March 27, 1936. In this film, Honolulu detective Charlie Chan's family vacation is interrupted when he is asked to help to solve the murder of a circus owner. Between the inclusion of yellow face, the stereotyping of Chinese and Chinese-American people, and other racist aspects of this film ...
Jul 25, 2022•31 min•Ep. 97
The Wild Wild West is a Western slash espionage slash science fiction slash steam punk television series that's basically what happens when you combine James Bond antics with old time-y costumes. The series stars Robert Conrad as Secret Service agent Jim West, and Ross Martin and his partner-in-fighting-ridiculous-crimes Artemus Gordon. This show schwirsheled around genre with the enthusiasm of a skilled Frisco card sharpie shuffling cards. So today, we’re going to talk about two episodes that p...
Jul 18, 2022•43 min•Ep. 96
24 is a television thriller series that aired on Fox, starring Kiefer Sutherland as super spy Jack Bauer. Each season of the series takes place over 24 hours. The show's fifth season — also known as "Day 5" — began airing on January 15, 2006 and concluded with a finale on May 22, 2003. Along with Sutherland, the cast also features Kim Raver, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Carlos Bernard, Gregory Itzin, James Morrison, Roger Cross, Louis Lombardi, Jean Smart, Sean Astin, and William Devane. In this storyline...
Jul 11, 2022•33 min•Ep. 95
Airing on September 22, 1979, "Night of the Wizard" is the inaugural episode of A Man Called Sloane starring Robert Conrad. Conrad is Sloane. A man called Sloane, that is. Along with his partner Torque, as portrayed by Ji-Tu Cumbuka, and The Director, played by Dan O'Herlihy, Sloane must take on mad men like Roddy McDowall's robot-loving Manfred Baranoff. Listen to Áine and Kevin engineer conversations around topics like Kevin's childhood, pellets, Irish-ness, and tight pants. Follow us on the u...
Jul 04, 2022•41 min•Ep. 94
"Sullied Be Thy Name" is the eleventh episode of Quincy M.E.'s second season, which first aired on May 6, 1977. Jack Klugman stars as the hassled, always-yelling Dr. R. Quincy, M.E. Garry Walberg, Robert Ito, John S. Ragin, Val Bisoglio, and Joseph Campanella all appear as well. In this episode, Dr. Quincy must ... run interference to protect the reputation of a dead Catholic priest? Against a group of scheming pornographers? Okay! Listen to Áine and Kevin dissect topics like gritty Quincy reboo...
Jun 27, 2022•32 min•Ep. 93
