Curious and Unusual Deaths

"Curious and Unusual Deaths" is a creepy Canadian television series that is currently streaming on Netflix. Not surprisingly, it's not a show for the squeamish, as it's all about death. However, in a morbid way it is fascinating and very watchable. Each episode consists of several deaths being described and re-enacted along with experts discussing the unusual deaths. The deaths in each show all have some sort of similarity (such as those about sports in the first episode and do it yourself projects in the third in season two).

While I enjoyed the show, the quality of the research seemed iffy at times. Without even trying to find mistakes, I quickly noticed two. In episode 1, the narrator talked about a guy trying to catch kingfish and walleye in the Gulf of Mexico. Well, I live along the Gulf and would LOVE to catch a walleye...but can't because they are freshwater fish and are found no where near the Gulf. Also, episode 3 talks about a strange death in New Carrollton, Maryland---a town I lived near for over 20 years. Yet, oddly, they mispronounced the name at one point and no one seemed to catch it. These things certainly did not ruin the show, but made me wonder why the mistakes weren't caught by someone associated with the show.

UPDATE: Since my review, I've seen some more episodes. The fifth one of season two is problematic, as the murder of Rasputin is clearly overstated and filled with myth. Sloppy. And, in the next episode, they repeated a myth about British pilots and carrots. REALLY sloppy!

I could not agree more with what one reviewer, who said "constantly working in the title of the show at the end of every story was extremely irritating". Seriously. It's so bad that I came here just to review on how obnoxious and irritating this is. What a headache. It's a shame because the show is otherwise quite a great idea.

This seems to be the Canadian equivalent of 1000 Ways To Die, which I used to watch when i was younger. It has the same dark humor that seems inappropriate when talking about deaths. Now, I am all for making light of heavy topics; however, in some cases it doesn't seem... respectful. This is one of those cases. Everyone does have a different opinion of when they think its appropriate, and that is okay, but for me it seemed disrespectful towards the dead. I had the same issue with 1000 Ways To Die when I watched that.

I also found the use of cheesy jokes annoying as opposed to entertaining. However, if you're bored and need a distraction or background noise, season two is on Netflix for your viewing pleasure. And, if this show interests you, check out 1000 ways to die (if you haven't already).

This show was not terrible. It was interesting to see what story would come next.I found myself looking up several of them to see what was changed.

I found episode 5 the most interesting. I always wondered exactly how Brandon Lee died.

I would have rated it higher if not for a few things.

Like the other reviewer said, it seemed like the narrator was making light of the deaths. It was disrespectful and whoever had that idea should be ashamed.

One other thing was the constant repetition of words and phrases. If I had a dollar for every time the narrator said "explains" when introducing the experts I'd be rich. I think a different word was used only once when he said "according to" instead. IMO that and constantly working in the title of the show at the end of every story was extremely irritating.

These are indeed interesting and usually unexpected ways to die. The re- enactments are supplemented by factual information provided by experts, either in a general (scientific) sense or while extrapolating the specific circumstances that had to take place in order for the unique fatal event to occur.

Can work as cautionary tales, but my biggest objection is that the narration appears to be attempting to make light of the misfortune experienced by the victims. This doesn't work because in 98% of the cases the victims couldn't have possibly known that they were putting their lives at risk. These people, in most cases are not stupid deaths, and as a result the narrative tone does them a huge disservice and strikes me as very disrespectful. That is the only reason I dropped my score as much as I have.

Despite this I do see merit in the program, and it is the essentially my only objection to the show. As the first reviewer states, this is not for the squeamish or delicate (although none of the depictions are particularly graphic), but there is still valuable and intriguing information contained within the contents of this show. Definitely worth watching for the right audience and as a learning tool.