Mystery Woman: Game Time

I really enjoy the Hallmark cozy mysteries, and this is one of them. However, the constant annoying background ... music, jingle, whatever you want to call it ... really detracts from the enjoyment of it. Sure, you need some background music at certain suspenseful moments, but not for the entire movie. After about 15 minutes you become so aware of it that the movie starts to become the background setting instead of your prime focus. Which is the reason I only rated it a 5.

This entry into the Mystery Woman series had a lot more energy than some of its predecessors. The show seems to be moving a little faster as the characters are further developed.

"Game Time" featured a familiar face, William Katt, as an eccentric mystery writer who is murdered. The plot was interesting, concerning a video game, an old high school friend of Samantha's and his partner in the game venture. I still think the show is directed too pedantically, with way too many shots of the Mystery Woman store exterior, but perhaps there were a few less.

I agree with a previous comment about Kellie Martin. I am a long-time fan, and she is indeed an unusual woman. She was unforgettable as Lucy on "E.R." I'm glad to see her have her own series.

All of these Hallmark shows seem to be targeted towards baby boomers and older, those who were fans of the "Perry Mason" movies and series. The stories are clean, the regulars familiar, and the guest stars are people we're happy to see again. I for one say keep 'em coming.

Some of these stories are pretty enjoyable, but this isn't one of them. The actual story was so convoluted it was just silly. Most of the time, everyone was running around doing nothing, creating filler for the story, I guess, which got really boring after a while. It just dragged on and on, and every 5 minutes they added a new twist, a new suspect, until it was just tiresome. The biggest problem was that none of the characters were even remotely likable; everyone was horrible. I didn't care about the victim, or who killed him or any of the suspects, because they were all obnoxious. Oh, and I knew who the killer was very early on; it was pretty obvious.

Famous mystery writer William Katt has moved to Kellie Martin's town and she's having a hard time in getting in touch with him to do a book signing at her mystery book store. That is until Jamie Elfman, complete stranger offers to help. He knows Katt from back in the day and if he gets Katt then can she help sell a mystery video game he has designed. Seems like a bargain.

Looks good too until Katt abruptly leaves the signing and is found dead with Elfman standing over him. Somehow and some way Martin just believes he didn't do it. Of course her rival and nemesis Chief Casey Sander believes Elfman is as guilty as sin.

One of the two weaknesses of this otherwise enjoyable TV movie is that there really is no reason for her to believe in Elfman. He's exposed time and again as a liar and conman. Martin should have walked away from him.

Of course there are other suspects including Sheree Wilson, Katt's estranged wife and their son A.J. Trauth. She's looking to make a big divorce settlement and is frustrated. Katt was not the most faithful of spouses.

Secondly though as it turns out Katt did invent the game as a sort of mind exercise. I'm not any kind of knowledgeable on this, but it would seem that if Katt invented it he would know all the possible outcomes and how would that be a mind exercise. A conundrum I could never quite grasp.

But for those two anomalies I would have rated this Mystery Woman film higher.

As Levinson TV movies go, this is definitely above average. I've not seen any of the others in this series but based on this I would certainly want to. Kellie Martin's Samantha is a sort of cross between Miss Marple and Buffy Summmers, and there is more than a passing resemblance to SMG in Martin's performance.

The plot may be a bit silly and the script lacks imagination but the characters are well portrayed and likable. The story won't have you on the edge of your seat, but there's sufficient intrigue to keep the viewer interested.

This is a good honest film with no delusions of grandeur. It does what is says on the tin and does it quite well. For Martin's charismatic and well-rounded performance alone, this is worth viewing.