Episode 73 - Mystery

Ben is joined by Norah this week, and cooperatively they investigate this week’s word. Things out a little slow conversationally, but then their on-brand rampant digression kicks in with topics such as television procedurals, the “cozy” genre of mysteries, the movie adaptation of Japanese author Kōtarō Isaka’s black humour thriller novel “Maria Beetle,” Ben’s favorite Chris Columbus movie script, and Scandinavian Noir. To close out the show, Norah listens intently while Ben talks about some of his favorite mystery themed point and click adventure games and Nintendo DS games from Capcom’s Shu Takumi. In the final words, Norah includes a book series recommendation (Jutta Profijt’s “Morgue Drawer”), and Ben casually endorses the television series “iZombie.” 00:00:21 - Surf’s up in Chicago, 8AM installations, and what Norah is watching 00:04:27 - State of mind, predictability, life things, mysteries of the sexes, and pod people 00:07:21 - From digressions to definitions, the death of Raquel Welch, and Ox N. Ford 00:11:00 - Origins of mystery, mysticism, Ben’s personal definition, and the denouement 00:13:40 - Guitars, books, television, movies, and the genre of the Cozy Mystery 00:18:18 - Egg preparations, the golden age of detective fiction, and “Abracadaver!” 00:21:35 - Movie mystery preferences, cycling streaming services, and greed 00:23:57 - Ben talks “Bullet Train” directed by a Brad Pitt / Jean-Claude Van Damme facsimile 00:29:00 - Storytelling preferences for mystery movies, and Norah’s cozy mystery trajectory 00:31:41 - The procedural mystery, character development in television, and realism 00:34:44 - Scandinavian Nior, IKEA, Encyclopedia Brown, Nancy Drew, and the Hardy Boys 00:38:35 - Enola Holmes, messing with Sherlock Holmes cannon, and Chris Columbus movies 00:42:22 - Norah adds one more before moving on to mystery games… questionable meat! 00:43:39 - Correction: “Grim Fandango” was Tim Schaffer’s second game as a project leader 00:46:45 - “Sam & Max Hit the Road,” the largest ball of twine, and other roadside attractions 00:49:19 - “Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney,” “The Thing” in Arizona, and to-do lists 00:52:10 - Ben explains Shu Takumi’s “Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective” to Norah 00:55:13 - An interesting Nintendo direct remaster announcement, more trivia, and a step 00:57:57 - Starting the wrap-up, a couple of recommendations, and ending mystery