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Mystery! (also written MYSTERY!) is a long-running television series in the USA, which airs on PBS and is produced by WGBH. The show has brought a large number of detective series and television movies — most of them British productions from the BBC or various ITV companies — to air on American television. In 2002, they added an American produced series based on the novels of Tony Hillerman to their roster.
The first host of the show was film critic Gene Shalit. He was soon replaced by Vincent Price, who hosted the series from 1981 to 1989. When his failing health forced him to relinquish this role, he was replaced by Diana Rigg. She had the unique opportunity to introduce herself when the series Mother Love, and later, The Mrs. Bradley Mysteries were aired. Beginning in 2004, shows began airing without a host. After airing on Thursday night for most of its history it has been moved to Sunday nights where it alternates with episodes of Masterpiece Theatre.
Mystery! came into being as a result of the success of Masterpiece Theatre, in particular, a series of programs adapted from the Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries by Dorothy L. Sayers. Like Masterpiece Theatre, Mystery! was also financed by the Mobil Corporation.
One of Mystery!
Mystery! is noted for its animated title sequence, based on the cartoons of Edward Gorey. The title sequence was, in turn, the inspiration for the Nine Inch Nails video for song "The Perfect Drug".
In 2006, four new mysteries starring Miss Marple were produced: Sleeping Murder, The Moving Finger, By the Pricking of My Thumbs, and The Sittaford Mystery. All four episodes are scheduled to be shown on PBS's "Mystery!" series as "Agatha Christie's MISS MARPLE, Series 2" on Sundays (June 4-25 and July 9-23, 2006). *
Inception
Mystery! began in 1979, when Henry Becton, General Manager of Boston PBS station WGBH, received a phone call from Herb Schmertz, head of corporate communications for Mobil Corporation, with an unsolicited offer to put together a series that was nothing but British mysteries. Mobil, as the sole underwriter of WGBH's enormously successful Masterpiece Theatre ever since its inception in 1971, had enjoyed tremendous public relations benefits from that association. Mobil had still more money to invest in prestigious television programs and was looking for new outlets.
See also
Bibliography
- Ron Miller (1996). MYSTERY!: A Celebration, ISBN 0912333898.
External links
1970s TV shows in the United States | 1980s TV shows in the United States | 1990s TV shows in the United States | 2000s TV shows in the United States | Detective television series | Drama television series | PBS network shows
"Mystery!"