Monk, Death in Paradise, Ellery Queen, Jonathan Creek, Blacke’s Magic, some episodes of Marple, some episodes of Poirot, follow “mystery rules”. They give the viewer all the information they need to solve the case, and provide it all before the detective solves it. Also they tend to have a point where it’s clear to the viewer that the mystery should be solvable by now and they are now proceeding with the solution.
Other dramas follow “detective rules” The detective follows the case information and generally solves it in the last 15 minutes but doesn’t use information that was available to the viewer and often is one of a multitude of ways it could have gone, not solvable at all early.
I’m looking for more mystery dramas that strictly follow the “mystery rules”. Anybody got any recommendations?
If it helps, I think the usual term for what you’re looking for is “fair play mysteries”.
Does Columbo count? I mean, the viewer certainly gets enough information, and before the detective…
To a degree I’d accept Columbo. In that the mystery isn’t whodunnit it’s howscrewedup and most of the time the viewer is able to solve it before Columbo
Veronica Mars is pretty good about it, I think, although unlike you (the OP) I don’t seek those out. I watch to be entertained, not to try to figure it out before the reveal, and my pet peeve is the deliberate counterintuitive twist near the end — where in order to have the answer be something the audience didn’t anticipate, the solution is contrived to be something technically possible but often in violation of the characters as developed to that point.
Author Sue Henry’s mysteries are good about giving you the clues and not throwing unlikely curve balls at you in chapter 38.
That is a good point, I hadn’t thought of it like that when answering (admittedly in a rather tongue in cheek way). I recently watched the whole of the 1970s Columbo run so it was fresh in my mind. But you’re right, when I was watching it I did find myself wondering which screw up would catch the killer out.
TVTropes has a whole page on Fair-Play Whodunnits across media types. My favorite one for live action TV is probably Jonathan Creek.
If Columbo counts, then Poker Face now on Peacock should also count. They both show how the crime is committed at the start of the show, so the mystery is how the clues add up to become convincing evidence. I’m liking Poker Face as much as I liked Columbo.
I have only seen the first episode so far. It is a fair bit funnier than Columbo.
I assume that they will continue with the format where the crime occurs on screen and then Charlie’s involvement begins in flashback? Nice touch.
I’m currently re-watching Jonathan Creek and really enjoying it the third time around.
I just got finished watching Jeremy Brett’s Sherlock Holmes and while that’s the detective show to end all detective shows, the mysteries themselves are pretty weak.
Jonathan Creek is fun because of the “locked room” aspect of most of the mysteries.
I haven’t seen many but I’m pretty sure Murder, She Wrote qualifies.
The team of Levinson and Link created that show along with Ellery Queen, Columbo, and Blacke’s Magic. That was their specialty.
If you’re up for farce, you might try Murderville. Will Arnett is a homicide detective, and in each episode, he’s matched up with a different guest star as a trainee who accompanies him to talk to the suspects. It’s all improvised, and at the end, the guest is asked to name the culprit. They’ll throw a lot of clues and red herrings at you, and even with the ridiculousness, I think the logic involved in the solution is always sound (but I wasn’t watching with the mindset of looking for flaws).
The improv has mixed results, but I think Marshawn Lynch was the best of the guests.