E! Mysteries & Scandals

This show is a wonderful experience for anyone who is interested in the scandalous lives and often mysterious deaths of celebrities. I wish they would air some more original episodes of this exceptional series. It packs a lot of punch for a 30-minute segment and is absolutely addictive.

This show, like the E! True Hollywood Story (both shows appear on E!) is a biography, but what sets this show apart from the THS is that it is much shorter (usually is 30 minutes long) and focuses mainly on celebrities that were alive during Hollywood's golden era. Some are well-known (such as Marilyn Monroe, Howard Hughes, and I Love Lucy's Desi Arnaz) others were alive during the early part of the 20th century (Fatty Arbuckle, Mabel Normand and silent movie director William Desmond Taylor--all part of the silent movie era). Also, this show is much darker and focuses on what events lead to tragedy for whoever is the main focus of the show. A.J. Benza, the show's host, does a fantastic job. He gives a brief bio of the star that is being discussed, and introduces the segments that involve people that once knew or wrote about whoever is being talked about.

Another thing that sets this show apart from the THS is that there is never a happy ending (if it did ever have one, I don't think it would be called Mysteries and Scandals). It only has death, tragedy and misfortune.

What makes the show interesting is the fact that it doesn't deal with just movie stars. Gossip columnists (Hedda Hopper), movie directors (William Desmond Taylor), and millionaires (Howard Hughes) have also been discussed. I think that this is one of the more entertaining shows that E! has to offer because of the subject. Also, it has some intense renenactments of some key moments in the show. I think that if this show wasn't on, those of us who watch it wouldn't know about the silent movie stars, directors, etc. that existed during that time. I think that there was a show similar to this on the same network in the early 90s, but it was so badly acted that I can't seem to remember what it was called. This show, I think, is one of the best shows that E! has to offer.

The hand movements are the clue - half persuading, half threatening. This is Benza all over. Good, terse reporting, each sentence admirably short and taut, never a word wasted, clear and sharp to the end. And all touched with a little hint of his native Brooklyn.

It only ran for three seasons, yet those 150 episodes keep coming back and back. The familiar figure stepping out from a grimy townscape in dark, mean gangster clothes that give nothing away. And introducing tonight's topic, invariably the wreck of a Hollywood dream. "But behind the glitter and glamour lay a heartless and cynical network..." Yes, we know. And we're not switching off.

At only 25 minutes, it is not clear why we need periodic mentions of 'the story so far'. Presumably the original episodes had commercial breaks, but these top-and-tail sections should have been edited-out of the recycled versions. Still, the disembodied hand cutting up the letters from 'Mysteries and Scandals' each time, in the style of a kidnap demand, does provide a repeated hint of the sinister and the unknown.

I don't know why I'm not listed as a "regular guest." I did seven of the things! Mysteries and Scandals was a great idea on the part of E! - because they dealt with celebrities who were already dead, the series can be revived at any time, no updates needed. Whenever it is recycled, my parents get calls from Canada, Florida, you name it - people they haven't heard from in years.

M&S was the tough guy version of A&E's Biography and a step up from a dreadful, albeit similar series hosted by Tony Curtis a little earlier. The name escapes me. Truth to tell, some of the dramatizations look like the dramatizations that were on this previous show, which covered a few of the same subjects.

I like the show because E! has a young demographic who were fans of the show, and it introduced them to celebrities with whom they had no familiarity - such as Nazimova! Narrated by A.J. Benza, who stood, nearly engulfed in dry ice, on a wet sidewalk in the dark, the show had a real noir feeling. It covered not only film and TV stars, but famous murder cases and famous scandals, such as the shooting on Hearst's yacht. Watch for this show to be trotted out again.

I think that E! comes out with a lot of good shows like the E! True Hollywood Story and tons of other things, but I am really impressed with Mysteries and Scandals.

This is the kind of show where it's hard to say you like because every episode is about a different topic or celebrity. No matter who or what the discussion is, it is always very interesting. The main reason I enjoy this show is because it's about real things/people, and it gives sort of an inside look at the topic.

Any topic can be made really good, even if you have never heard about it/them before. The show is told and set up really well about the celebrities life. (It's usually about an old tinsel town celebrity.) The research and history put into each episode is carefully pieced together in order for it to be accurate.

It seems like this show always comes on. Try to watch at least one episode of Mysteries and Scandals. It is real clever.