# Old-fashioned Who-Dunnits, and really good Sci-Fi/Fantasy **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 11, 2020, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-fashioned-who-dunnits-and-really-good-sci-fi-fantasy/851555 "2020-04-11T11:52:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-fashioned-who-dunnits-and-really-good-sci-fi-fantasy/851555/21 "2020-04-11T17:30:55Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Seconding the 1935 **AMND.** Have it on the DVR, because it was on TCM recently. I watched it, but no one else has. Is Helen Mirren nekkid in the Royal Shakespeare AMND where she plays Hermia? I haven’t seen it in forever. I know she wears some form-fitting stuff in the BBC version where she plays Titania. I don’t honestly care if he sees nudity, if it’s not porn. He’s probably perfectly capable of finding plenty of it on his computer anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-fashioned-who-dunnits-and-really-good-sci-fi-fantasy/851555/22 "2020-04-11T17:51:18Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > SF: > \*Blade Runner > \*\*Closer Encounters of the Third Kind > \*\*Dark City > \*\*Battle Beyond the Stars > \*\*Enemy Mine \* > > Fantasy: > \*Labyrinth > \*\*Legend > \*\*The Dark Crystal \* > > Who Done Did It: > Noe especially my genere, but you could go with _Who Framed Roger Rabbit_, if it isn’t too dark for him. > > If “country does not matter”= tolerates subtitles, one of my all-time favorite comedies is the Japanese movie _Summer Time Machine Blues_, which seems to be available only on Netflix Japan, so [here](https://archive.org/details/Summer.Time.Machine.Blues.2005.720p.HDTV.x264-FILMKU) it is on [archive.org](http://archive.org) (and [here](https://subscene.com/subtitles/summer-time-machine-blues) are the subtitles.) A +1 for \*Enemy Mine \* ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-fashioned-who-dunnits-and-really-good-sci-fi-fantasy/851555/23 "2020-04-11T17:57:13Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Is Helen Mirren nekkid in the Royal Shakespeare AMND where she plays Hermia? I haven’t seen it in forever. I know she wears some form-fitting stuff in the BBC version where she plays Titania. Haven’t seen the Royal Shakespeare production, but I can’t think of any reason beyond prurience to play any of the four lovers unclothed. I remember Mirren’s fairy-suit vaguely as a transparent bodystocking with strategically-placed bits of vegetation. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-fashioned-who-dunnits-and-really-good-sci-fi-fantasy/851555/24 "2020-04-11T18:01:07Z")
Not a movie, but _Midsomer Murders_ are hour-and-a-half long cozy mysteries, usually very well done. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-fashioned-who-dunnits-and-really-good-sci-fi-fantasy/851555/25 "2020-04-11T20:13:21Z")
Try “Murdoch Mysteries” a series set in 1896 Toronto, where the lead detective invents forensics and solves murders with science. Tesla is in the first episode. It’s on Season 13 now. It is on Acorn, and DVD from Netflix. There are a few movies, skip them, they aren’t as much fun as the show. Also Miss Fisher, set in post WW I Australia. Three seasons, new movie out whichwe haven’t seen yet. Other good British series are “A Touch of Frost,” “New Tricks” - before the cast change which hurt it, and “Death in Paradise,” murders in the Caribbean. Standard format, but the first three seasons are great. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-fashioned-who-dunnits-and-really-good-sci-fi-fantasy/851555/26 "2020-04-11T20:23:43Z")
Can’t believe we’ve gotten this far without mentioning the SF movie that is also something of a mystery, as in “how does he survive this situation?” I mean of course _ **The Martian** _. Don’t watch too many mysteries but another vote for the Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes if you want programs true to the stories of A. Conan Doyle. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-fashioned-who-dunnits-and-really-good-sci-fi-fantasy/851555/27 "2020-04-11T20:58:30Z")
[The Last Starfighter](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087597/) is wholesome, funny, fun and exciting; the subject matter holds up well nearly 40 years after it’s original release. This movie is criminally under-appreciated IMO. I’ll dig back to that era for a whodunit too: [Deathtrap](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083806/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1). ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-fashioned-who-dunnits-and-really-good-sci-fi-fantasy/851555/28 "2020-04-12T01:33:10Z")
Death trap is great! When I saw it in the theatre, there were people gasping and going «No» and «whoa!ˋ at the reveal at the end. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-fashioned-who-dunnits-and-really-good-sci-fi-fantasy/851555/29 "2020-04-12T01:41:40Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Death trap is great! > > When I saw it in the theatre, there were people gasping and going «No» and «whoa!ˋ at the reveal at the end. Well:There is more than 1 such moment in the film, too! ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-fashioned-who-dunnits-and-really-good-sci-fi-fantasy/851555/30 "2020-04-12T01:48:24Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Death trap is great! > > When I saw it in the theatre, there were people gasping and going «No» and «whoa!ˋ at the reveal at the end. I’ve seen it in the theater, and seen the film. But the boychik has not, and DH has not. I also just found out that while DH has seen a stage version of _Wait until Dark_, he has not seen the movie, and the boychik has seen neither. Also, neither of them has seen the Angela Lansbury version of _The Mirror Crack’d_. I thought it was pretty good, even thought the critics met it lukewarmly. Also, the boychik has not seen _Rear Window_, and DH saw it so long ago he doesn’t remember it (he claims). ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-fashioned-who-dunnits-and-really-good-sci-fi-fantasy/851555/31 "2020-04-12T04:04:27Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > [The Last Starfighter](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087597/) is wholesome, funny, fun and exciting; the subject matter holds up well nearly 40 years after it’s original release. This movie is criminally under-appreciated IMO. I loved that film. It had some great lines. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-fashioned-who-dunnits-and-really-good-sci-fi-fantasy/851555/32 "2020-04-12T04:22:06Z")
The thread title immediately brought to mind [Frequency](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0186151/reference), a favorite of mine that combines time travel sci-fi with an old-fashioned who-dunnit. ---
**Author:** ![jharvey963](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/54ee81/32.png) [@jharvey963](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jharvey963)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-fashioned-who-dunnits-and-really-good-sci-fi-fantasy/851555/33 "2020-04-12T05:26:20Z")
“Arrival” is the best science fiction movie I’ve seen in the last few years. J. ---
**Author:** ![psikeyhackr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/97f17d/32.png) [@psikeyhackr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psikeyhackr)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-fashioned-who-dunnits-and-really-good-sci-fi-fantasy/851555/34 "2020-04-12T06:05:15Z")
An exceptionally good SF flick that rarely gets mentioned. **The Abyss** (Special Edition) XXX- Not theatrical edition -XXX ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-fashioned-who-dunnits-and-really-good-sci-fi-fantasy/851555/35 "2020-04-12T06:09:06Z")
If he’s familiar with Star Trek, Discovery and Picard are serialized mystery box shows. Then there’s Soylent Green ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-fashioned-who-dunnits-and-really-good-sci-fi-fantasy/851555/36 "2020-04-12T06:20:50Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > Then there’s Soylent Green Ohhhhhh! The boychik hasn’t seen that, and I haven’t seen it in ages! I know DH has seen it, but I don’t think he’s seen it in a long time either. Going to do a night of “fake apes,” including the original _Planet of the Apes_, and\* King Kong\*, as well as some things like a Ritz Bros. movie about a killer gorilla, and _Gorilla at Large_, because the boychik saw them when he was little-- he had a thing about movies with fake apes, and the faker the better. He thought \*Planet of the Apes \*was very funny. ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-fashioned-who-dunnits-and-really-good-sci-fi-fantasy/851555/37 "2020-04-12T06:45:19Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > [The Last Starfighter](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087597/) is wholesome, funny, fun and exciting; the subject matter holds up well nearly 40 years after it’s original release. This movie is criminally under-appreciated IMO. I’m taking this as a whoosh. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-fashioned-who-dunnits-and-really-good-sci-fi-fantasy/851555/38 "2020-04-12T06:50:43Z")
Here in the UK, ITV (an independent TV channel) did all the Agatha Christie stories starring David Suchet as Hercule Poirot. As usual with Christie, the characters are rather stereotyped, but the plots are superb! I don’t know if you’ll be able to watch them from that TV company’s web site, but you can buy them from Amazon. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-fashioned-who-dunnits-and-really-good-sci-fi-fantasy/851555/39 "2020-04-12T06:56:52Z")
Also in the UK, the BBC did an excellent set of ‘locked room’ detective mysteries starring Alan Davies as Jonathan Creek. As per my previous post, I don’t know if you can simply watch them over the Internet. Hopefully Amazon do a suitable version for your country. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-fashioned-who-dunnits-and-really-good-sci-fi-fantasy/851555/40 "2020-04-12T07:03:16Z")
If your favorite movie is _Star Wars_ then you should watch _Rogue One_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-fashioned-who-dunnits-and-really-good-sci-fi-fantasy/851555.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-fashioned-who-dunnits-and-really-good-sci-fi-fantasy/851555.md?page=3)