Charlie Chan Message Board
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: John Cucinotta on June 20, 2019, 07:01:34 pm
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While channel-surfing, I noticed a show that I had never seen or heard of before, called Frankie Drake Mysteries. There was one episode available, called "Mother of Pearl", which turned out to be the first episode in the series. My wife and I watched it, and we weren't very impressed. The setting in 1920's Toronto is interesting, but the story line was somewhat shallow and the characters were rather dull. There are a few more episodes airing next week, which I will record and watch. Perhaps I may develop an interest in this series. Has anyone else watched these shows? What is your impression?
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I have never seen this series; but i can relate to the possible lack of interest. i ,for one; need a main detective or a great mystery plot to develop an interest. Let us know if you feel the same way after the next few episodes
;D
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. Has anyone else watched these shows? What is your impression?
Hi John,
Nope went and viewed a pre-view....does not seem to be my type of item. That and I'm stuck watching "It takes a Thief" right now. :)
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On the Ovation Network on my cable TV provider, a few more episodes of Frankie Drake Mysteries were recently broadcast. The quality varies by episode. In general, the story lines seem more simple than the Hallmark Mystery movies (such as the Aurora Teagarden Mystery series) and there is little character development in the supporting roles. The setting in 1920's Toronto is interesting, and these stories must occur about 20 years after the Murdock Mystery Movies.
The premise of the stories is also a bit odd. A female detective agency in the 1920's would have been very unusual. Also, Frankie has a black woman as her professional partner in the detective agency, and Frankie also has a black boyfriend. These circumstances are very common today, and are realistic in our time, but would likely have been very unusual in 1920. Still, I will watch another episode later this week and see what I think.
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My wife and I watched another Frankie Drake Mystery episode called "Ties That Bind". We would give this episode a grade of "C", meaning average quality but nothing memorable or exciting. Frankie's mother plays a prominent role in this episode, which gives it a different spin, but I still think this is a relatively weak series of mysteries. However, opinions differ, and I would say that all mystery fans should definitely consider watching a few episodes, and see if you find the stories appealing.
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I tend to ignore "locally produced" Canadian detective shows like Frankie Drake Mysteries (or Murdock mysteries, Motive, Republic of Doyle etc.) even though they dominate one of my PayTV channels that would otherwise show reruns of MURDER SHE WROTE and QUINCY. The plots tend to be retreads of familiar TV detective subjects but without the budget ... they just can't afford to do those smash-em up car chases and explosions like they do "over the border" (or on American TV shows made in Toronto pretending to be New York, Los Angeles or Central City in the ARROW DC Universe). OK I like PRIVATE EYES with Jason Priestley and END GAME (about a agoraphobic Russian chess grand master who solves crimes from his hotel room) so there are exceptions. Also, I like spotting Canadian actors who do "double duty" and appear regularly in supporting roles in American TV shows (eg. richie.com, the reformed computer criminal in Blindspot also appears regularly in PRIVATE EYES as the cooperative police friend).