Mystery

1991 – The Silence of the Lambs

  • Title: The Silence of the Lambs
  • IMDb: link

The Silence of the Lambs movie review30 years ago, on Valentine’s Day, The Silence of the Lambs was released in theaters. While not the first of Thomas Harris‘ novels to be written about Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), nor the first to be adapted to film, The Silence of the Lambs stands out from the rest for the odd pairing central to its story. With prequels, sequels, and even television series, Hollywood has searched for a way to recreate the magic of a film that took home Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay while earning a reputation as an instant classic. 30 years later, they’re still looking.

The first thing you notice about watching The Silence of the Lambs is how well it holds up building tension and teasing the audience where the story will lead next. We start with the introduction of a FBI trainee sent to interview the former psychiatrist and currently incarcerated cannibalistic serial killer. The unusual relationship between the pair will provide the heart of the film as Lecter offers to help Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) hunt down a current serial killer, and former patient, Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine), as the tabloids have named him, who is killing and skinning young women.

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Charlie’s Angels – Angel Flight

  • Title: Charlie’s Angels – Angel Flight
  • wiki: link

Charlie's Angels - Angel Flight television review

Throwback Thursday takes us back to the tale of three beautiful former police officers turned private detectives working for a faceless boss known as Charlie. When an old friend (Fawne Harriman) of Sabrina (Kate Jackson) reaches out for help, the Angels set out to find who is harassing the stewardess. Kris (Cheryl Ladd) and Kelly (Jaclyn Smith) go undercover as new trainees while Sabrina plays herself, just an old friend in town for a few days. Despite the skill we’ve seen up until this point, the Angels miss some vital clues about the value of the experimental auto-pilot system the airline is launching with their training flight. It’s almost too late before they learn one of the pilots is attempting to steal the plane with the unwitting help of Sabrina’s friend.

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Miss Sherlock – Stella Maris

  • Title: Miss Sherlock – Stella Maris
  • IMDb: link

Miss Sherlock - Stella Maris television review

A severed ear and finger, from separate victims, sent through the mail to a politician (Yuki Saitô) piques Sherlock’s (Yûko Takeuchi) interest in an unusual case. Each body part is traced back to a member of the police force, but each is adorned with an item that does not belong to either victim. Instead they belong to a hit-and-run victim of the politician years before, and it’s the victim’s father who has come after those responsible for covering up his crime. The unusual case is interesting to see unfold, although the episode is more memorable for Sherlock discovering that Dr. Wato (Shihori Kanjiya) can be useful on a case and the final scene in which she uncovers the existence of Akira Moriwaki who is the head of the secret organization known as Stella Maris.

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Remington Steele – Vintage Steele

  • Title: Remington Steele – Vintage Steele
  • IMDb: link

Remington Steele - Vintage Steele television review

Throwback Tuesday takes us back to a con man pretending to be the world’s greatest detective in Remington Steele. “Vintage Steele” throws Remington Steele (Pierce Brosnan) and Laura (Stephanie Zimbalist) together on an absurd case involving a dead body which keeps appearing and disappearing. The body is first discovered by Laura’s ex-boyfriend (David Huffman), a banker overseeing a deal with a local winery, who discovers the body floating in a vat of chardonnay. He successfully hides the body, which he fears will blow the deal, only to lose in on the road and later discover it again in the winery. With most of the story centered around either finding the body, which Steele takes to calling Harry, or preventing others from stumbling upon it, the mystery of how the man died (or who he is) remains on the back-burner.

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Scooby-Doo! – Jeepers, It’s the Creeper

  • Title: Scooby Doo, Where Are You! – Jeepers, It’s the Creeper
  • wiki: link

Scooby-Doo! - Jeepers, It's the Creeper television review

Throwback Thursday takes us back to Scooby Doo, Where Are You! for another mystery involving some meddling kids and their talking dog. “Jeepers, It’s the Creeper” features one of the mostly unlikely occurrences in Scooby-Doo history: Mystery, Inc. choosing to go to a barn dance rather than solve a mystery. The episode opens with a bank guard attacked on the road by the mysterious Creeper, who has been stealing money from the local bank. After dropping the guard off at the Bank President‘s (Casey Kasem) home, Scoob-Dooy (Don Messick) and the gang completely ignore the mystery and head to a dance. They are only forced back into the mystery when the Creeper follows them in hopes of getting his hand on a mysterious piece of blank paper.

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