A Morte Entre Outros Mistérios

Imogene Scott (Violett Beane) is a guest of her rich best friend Anna Collier (Lauren Patten) on an oceanliner. As a child, Imogene lost her mother in a car bombing and celebrated private investigator Rufus Cotesworth (Mandy Patinkin) failed to solve the case. She was raised by the Collier family. While on the ocean cruise, Anna is in negotiations with the Chun family for a corporate takeover. Imogene is shocked that Chuns have hired Cotesworth. She is further annoyed by Anna's loser brother Tripp's entitled investor Keith. She plays a prank on him who later turns up murdered.

This is part Agatha Christie and part White Lotus. It is nowhere near as good as the best of either. It does have some fun with the mixture. It is pretty good for most of its run until the show gets to the season's big reveal. That reveal presents me with some problems. This really should be a limited series, but it seems to have left the closing open-ended. I hope that there is no second season.

The series has an affable comedic mystery tone, interesting stock characters, decent performances and an engaging pace. Direction and dialogue are generally good.

The main detective repeatedly breaks the fourth wall to exort the audience to pay attention to details and nudges us to notice things. We're apparently meant to follow along and solve the case with (or, if we're sharp enough, ahead of) the protagonists. It's a nice concept for a mystery series but the writers don't even try to pull it off. Instead whenever they paint themselves into a corner they use a flashback to add facts, information, scenes and/or backstories that retroactively alter previous events. No matter how closely you pay attention you can't notice details that won't exist until a flashback exposition dump three episodes later. The writing turns an active concept into passive viewing.

I must admit I am a sucker for mystery TV shows and a whodunnit gets my juices flowing but this just mystery is dragging. Like who did it already? I'm at episode 8 and I'm fatigued. That is one of my pet peeves with whodunnit mysteries. This show could have easily been 8 solid episodes.

However, one thing I did like is how they placed Imogene in Coatsworth's clothes and set as they are recollecting past events. That was pretty inventive. Other than that, it has been an ok ride. The characters are too many. I would have liked more character development for the Collier family and the Mayor. The Priest character seems just as unnecessary as the social media influencer son.

Nevertheless, I have already invested 8 weeks...what's 2 more lol. Let's hope I don't regret it.

I feel like I've been watching for months.

I can't remember anyone's name.

The business deal is odd. People at this level should have a better ability to evaluate investment.

What episode am I on. Am I supposed to care about the death of that lady's mother. Why are there so many scenes going nowhere.

The photography is perfect. Composition and montage and lighting is all done away.

The characters are opaque. It's hard to care about them.

Rahul and Hugo make the most of their scenes.

Mandy's accent needed more work.

Violett's hair makes this feel like an SNL skit.

How am I still watching this.

Rating: 5.75 out of 10.

"Death and Other Details" aims to be a clever locked-room mystery set aboard a luxury cruise liner but quickly loses steam with an increasingly unbelievable plot and unsatisfying conclusion. Mandy Patinkin does his best as eccentric detective Rufus Cotesworth but is underserved by the messy writing.

The more significant issue is Violett Beane as suspect-turned-sidekick Imogene Scott. While Beane has done OK work on shows like "The Flash" and "God Friended Me", here she struggles to make Imogene either likeable or believable. For a character meant to be brilliant, her choices defy logic. And despite the show's attempts at sultry intrigue, Beane's lack of chemistry with her co-stars makes Imogene the least compelling (or sexy) young female lead in this type of glossy mystery series.

"Death and Other Details" has a polished look you'd expect from the genre, but not even the glamorous setting can make up for the lacklustre plotting and central performances.

What starts as a mildly intriguing mystery soon becomes absurd, wasting a decent supporting cast on dead-end twists. Diehard fans of TV whodunits may find it passable, but this series is ultimately dead on arrival.

Such a dissapoitment.