13 replies to this topic

[Twilight Man]

I didn't find a thread for this so I'm starting one.

In the middle of 2001, this reality show surfaced on TV.

You know those "murder mystery" parties rich people have.
(You probably saw the episode of Fraisier and/or Third Rock and/or The Jeffersons that had one).

This show did that - large scale.

An entire (small) town, several dozen actors, and 10 average joe/jane contestants.

See more information about this show at TV.com, IMDB, and Wikipedia.
Here's a website dedicated to the show.


Angel won the show (sorry if I spoiled it for you).

The final episode aired on September 4, 2001.

And then...........

Edited by Twilight Man, Nov 4, 2009 @ 7:08 PM.

[niklj]

I seriously loved this show. I remember when the website came out...freaking creeped me out badly (including a secret easter egg in which you had to unscramble some words that spelled out a message but I forgot what it said). I spent a lot of time on the message boards where everyone was just doing riddles and whatever and then...there were questions on Angel's status. And message after message came about whether Angel was okay or not. And he wasn't :(

RIP Angel.
----

I wish this show did better. It was pretty innovative and pretty graphic (the corpses of all the people who were killed positioned around a dinner table).

[SanLynn]

I wish this show did better. It was pretty innovative and pretty graphic (the corpses of all the people who were killed positioned around a dinner table).

It was indeed, I was very fascinated with this show and I really enjoyed trying to figure it out along with the Joes and Janes. I would like to see someone try this concept again.

RIP Angel. Missed and remembered very very fondly.

[Puds38]

I hope they give this show another chance, although considering how poorly The Mole did, I kinda doubt it.

[SimplyObsessed]

Oh gosh, I watched this show RELIGIOUSLY when it was on! I remember it being my guilty pleasure during summer of 2001. I thought it was scary and creepy as hell but so well-executed.

I would love to revisit some of the episodes. It's too bad they never got a second chance. :(

[SVNBob]

It's too bad they never got a second chance.

Victim of timing. Luckily, Fox decided to air the final 2 episodes on the same night. Originally, the finale would have aired on Sept. 11.

Looking at the Wikipedia entry for the show, the concept was sold to the BBC and tried again under a not dissimilar name, but met with about the same success as the original.

Somewhat surprisingly, Fox Reality has not re-aired MiSTX. Since it was originally a Fox show, it's not a rights issue preventing this.

On a side note, I once played in an online forum-based game based on MiSTX. Similar concept, similar tasks...and even a somewhat modified version of The Killer's Game. Got sent out twice as I recall.

Edited by SVNBob, Sep 29, 2008 @ 9:55 PM.

[SanLynn]

Somewhat surprisingly, Fox Reality has not re-aired MiSTX. Since it was originally a Fox show, it's not a rights issue preventing this.

I suspect this is the Angel factor. Although it would seem a fitting tribute if they aired it and then did a nice dedication to him at the end.

YMMV

[facetious]

I remember wanting to watch it when it first came out, but I missed the first couple episodes and sort of figured I'd be a little lost if I tried to get into it after that. I think I even turned it on a few times, but never gave it a proper chance.

It always struck me as a cool concept - I even participated in something kind of like it as part of an academic competition in school. We read a short story about the murder, then had a chance to interview high school actors from the school it was being held at who were portraying the characters; we got stars which equated to points if we asked certain 'key' questions. Then all the teams had to decide who they thought the murderer was.

The funny part was my team was the only one who failed to correctly guess the murderer - I actually guessed the right person, but without any real cognitive basis to argue for it, so went along with what the other guys said - but we ended up winning by a landslide despite not getting the big bonus points. We absolutely demolished the quiz parts of the competition.

Edited by facetious, Sep 30, 2008 @ 1:31 AM.

[evilandproud]

I thought this show was absolutely fascinating when it was on. I was fifteen at the time, and I never would have admitted it then, but it creeped me out like crazy. The casting for this show was phenomenal, everyone was a very real person as opposed to a caricature (except for the crazy blonde, I think her name was Kristen?). The concept behind the show was amazing and even though I'm bummed that it didn't catch on, I'm not surprised. It was almost too high concept for television. I think that to the average viewer the show didn't seem accessible, much the way The Mole seems to be for a lot of people. If it is ever re-aired I would be all over it.

R.I.P. Angel.

[Twilight Man]

Somebody asked a question about "a murder mystery reality show" at Yahoo Questions, and as I was posting the answer along with several links about the show, I checked YouTube.

Thanks for posting the show, MoleJunkie (You must be a fan of "The Mole" as well, perhaps?)

Edited by Twilight Man, Jul 18, 2010 @ 12:15 PM.

[GracieM]

Wow, it's been 9 years since this aired? I remember it well and felt bummed that no one else I knew watched it, for water-cooler type discussions. Yeah, too bad about Angel.

I find it funny that Twilight Man opened the thread by saying it was like "murder mystery parties rich people have". Rich people? I've done these murder mystery nights several times with friends (we're not rich). They're pretty mainstream.

Edited by GracieM, Jul 18, 2010 @ 5:16 PM.

[Unconditional]

Bringing this thread back from the abyss. I just got done watching my recorded copy of the show for the first time in years. It was a pretty brilliant show but I knew there were just too many contributing factors as to why it wouldn't be renewed for additional seasons. I was really upset when I heart about Angel but I always thought that the show should carry on in memory of him. A real problem was the cost of production, specifically how many actors they had to hire to be present around town for the 3-4 weeks that the show filmed. The ratings were poor as well but I attribute that to it airing in Summer 2001 which was long before Reality TV really took off in America.

Looking back, it will always feel like one of those lightning-in-a-bottle shows. The editing was a little suspect especially how it centered on the same 5 suspects while completely ignoring the other 10. There were really no swerves in the storytelling. Lambert was shown early-on to be the most suspicious with the most powerful motive and despite the attempts to show Frank/G.D. as equally suspicious there were always too many signs to point to Lambert. I came to the conclusion that it was Lambert during the third episode but it took another 4-5 episodes for the full story to actually develop. A unique element to this show was how there was no explanation to how and why players aligned, but the fact that they shot thousands of hours of footage and only could produce ~330 minutes means that so much of the experience was left on the cutting room floor. The only player commentary we got was how every other episode a new person stood out as being the one everyone hated, from Andy to Kristin to Jeff.

This will remain one of the handful of shows that I would love to see reinvented and reproduced but will always know that it will never happen.

[BDArizona]

I also loved this show, and wish I had recordings of it.

I think not re-airing the series on Fox Reality was probably a smart move. You just know there would have been vocal pockets of outrage aimed at those who depicted death when the hero of the piece actually died a week after the show ended. I don't think there's a way they could have spun it to avoid the outrage. I remember a couple of weeks after 9/11, MST3K was set to air an episode on the Sci-Fi Channel. It had Mike making a quip about how several Keebler Elves were killed today when a light plane crashed into their tree. The episode was years old, so it had nothing to do with anything, but SFC pulled it that Saturday. They aired it a few months later. So, I can see why no one went there with this show.

[BK1978]

I was a huge fan of this show and I was crushed when I found out that Angel died. To me it put a face on the 9/11 attacks. What I mean is yes they were beyond horrible but because Angel died there it felt like I "knew" someone that died there, even if it meant I only knew him as someone on a television show.