Let's face it: "Mystery Woman" "McBride" and "Jane Doe" are about as bad as you can get. They have no pacing and most of the time suffer from poor direction and bad scripts.
What these series have going for them are attractive leads, sometimes okay mysteries, and if you have an elderly relative at home who is affronted by just about everything else on television, the Hallmark Channel is perfect for them.
"Mystery Woman" stars Kellie Martin as the owner of a mystery bookstore with no customers. We know it's a mystery store because there's an establishing shot of it every two minutes. Obviously, these shows run short - there are lots of scenes where we see a car from way off driving down the street, into a driveway...endless.
In this episode, Sam winds up taking care of a fugitive's wife and baby though at first, she thinks the woman is just a family friend. The woman's husband is sought in a murder that took place on a golf course - he was seen bending over the body. There are people after him and they're not all police. At one point, he's shot and his wife leaves Sam with the baby and goes to his motel to take care of him. Sam's investigation uncovers an FBI case and blackmail.
It's hard not to like Kellie Martin as both an actress and an individual. I love her, and she's good as Samantha. She doesn't have a lot to work with, yet she always manages to give a charming performance. As her best friend and the DA, Nina Siemaszko does well with an impossible role. Clarence Williams III, as the mysterious Philby, is certainly mysterious - it's a mystery how he was cast. Dead man barely talking.
Okay if there's nothing else on television.
