Last Scene Alive: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery

Binge watching a series sure make continuity errors/irregularities more noticeable! "Last Scene Alive" had so many that I literally paused on separate occasions thrice and triple checked that I was watching the series in correct order.

This entry in the Aurora Teagarden Mystery series was a little off in many ways. Here are three examples without spoilers (any details I use are mentioned within the first few minutes after the intro):

1) Aurora very casually moved out of the house she fought so hard to stay in. Where she lived had no bearing on this movie and mentioning this was confusing and pointless. Aurora's tone didn't match her previous feelings toward her living arrangements.

2) John was gone abruptly (along with Doig) and both Aurora and her Mom's feelings about this were way too casual. That's another gripe about this film: many scenes were either a little overacted, or a little underacted.

3) Either Lynn was pregnant again (the other baby was never mentioned) or she had a reverse immaculate conception and the baby shrunk and morphed back inside her. A subtle shoutout to vore enthusiasts perhaps?

The intro of the movie was good enough. The panning was excessive, but the intro captured my interest. Also, the last 25 minutes were much better, aside from one scene that was plain ridiculous while at the same time having a "Chekov's Gun" so pointless, it was shooting nerf balls.

The middle portion was quite boring and predictable and if this was my first entry into this series, I would have given up on the show and series entirely. The guilty party was spotted immediately. I'm pretty sure this was not intended, and those responsible for this film were being sloppy. The acting was a little too big, the character makeup a bit too shiny, the camera zoomed in a little too much...just a combination of "not quite right" of many involved ended up spoiling a good chunk of the mystery.

The writing felt rushed, it seemed like each scene was only a few takes and the producers said "good enough", and the capable editing team must have been paid for the assignment, not by the hour.

Still, there were enjoyable scenes such as in the police hallway with Arthur and Robin who both acted quite well throughout. Also, something I did not realize until coming to this IMDB page would cause me to stick around if this movie popped up on TV so I could rewatch a few scenes. Providing more info than that -might- be considered a spoiler. Maybe just one more phrase: clever meta usage! An extra star tacked on for that.

I certainly hope the rest of these Mysteries are more enjoyable and the script, character developments, and dynamic between characters are treated with better care.

Aurora's friend and mystery author, Robin Daniels, is back in town because his book is being made into a film. The lead character is based on Aurora herself. Martin is suspicious of Robin as he briefly dated Aurora in the past. Three days after the crew's arrival, the actress playing her, Celia Shaw, is found murdered in her trailer. Several people involved with the movie had problems with Celia. The plot thickens when the police find out that Celia was both poisoned and then clubbed. Meanwhile, since John moved away to be closer to his grandchildren, Aida gets friendly with the movie director. Another subplot has Martin preoccupied by the disappearance of his CIA partner, Rex, and he leaves for South America at the end of the film to look for him.

The film sets setting and some fine detection make this otherwise routine entry watchable. It's can get confusing with so many suspects with the male actors looking alike. Not the best entry but efficient enough mystery. The killer didn't come as much of a surprise and I missed Lexa Doig- her character is the most entertaining.

The movie was okay but not the same with John not there and Martin acting jealous. Plus why was Aurora living with her mom? Did she sell her house in the country? Don't remember hearing about that.

7/10 - cool movie set setting made this mystery one of the most entertaining in the Hallmark Movies and Mysteries series

First a pet peeve. The reviewer, "westsidechi" keeps copying and posting the same vague negative review on each of the Aurora Teagarden movies. IMDB should delete his entries, since he clearly has no interest in the individual episodes that he is supposed to be reviewing.

For me, this was the least interesting episode thus far of the Aurora Teagarden mysteries.

The main problem was too much change in personnel. Lexa Doig's absence is probably the most serious MIA. The loss of Bruce Dawson, though, is also a serious loss of continuity. Yannick Bisson is in the episode, but this is his last appearance. Bisson's character is distracted by a kidnapped CIA partner, and he is uncharacteristically jealous. In a sense, Yannick Bisson's character is also MIA, in this episode.

Finally, for most of the past episodes, the town of Lawrenceton has been something of a "character" in the shows. With this episode, most of the action takes place on a movie set.

The actual murderer is not that much of a surprise. But the mysteries have never been the strong suit of the show. It has been the interaction and camaraderie between the regulars on the show. That has been disrupted with this new season opener. Hopefully the producers can get the show back on track.