Elsbeth: Pilot
March 4, 2024 6:01 PM - Season 1, Episode 1 - Subscribe
When a college theater student is mysteriously found dead in her high-rise New York City apartment, Elsbeth immediately suspects foul play and enters a game of wits against the victim's popular theater director Alex Modarian, who she believes is involved.
This is spin off of the Good Wife and the Good Fight, but a police procedural instead of a legal drama.
This is spin off of the Good Wife and the Good Fight, but a police procedural instead of a legal drama.
I really enjoyed this. I think the format works great for Elsbeth - banter with a smug jerk that thinks they just got away with murder is something I would watch every week.
Good Fight and Good Wife were not exactly pro-cop, so knowing that she's there for a consent decree and investigating corruption seems to be their way of distancing them from the copaganda charge.
posted by Garm at 6:10 PM on March 4 [5 favorites]
Good Fight and Good Wife were not exactly pro-cop, so knowing that she's there for a consent decree and investigating corruption seems to be their way of distancing them from the copaganda charge.
posted by Garm at 6:10 PM on March 4 [5 favorites]
This was great. Best Columbo-ing I've seen since "Poker Face".
"Oh, no, when I drink I get kooky. You don't want to see that."
posted by mmoncur at 10:58 PM on March 5 [1 favorite]
"Oh, no, when I drink I get kooky. You don't want to see that."
posted by mmoncur at 10:58 PM on March 5 [1 favorite]
10 more days until the next episode. 5 weeks! Make it make sense, CBS.
posted by Kyol at 6:12 AM on March 25 [1 favorite]
posted by Kyol at 6:12 AM on March 25 [1 favorite]
So weird! I was assuming they cancelled it after one episode or something!
posted by mmoncur at 6:38 AM on March 25
posted by mmoncur at 6:38 AM on March 25
Just watched this tonight. It was fun, if a little cheesy. I always have enjoyed watching Elsbeth operate.
Alex Modarian is actually a really bad actor and his theatre productions look like they suck, but the theatre facilities were pretty amazing.
"Old Irish" deodorant [snerk]. That's a fictional brand, apparently. Old Spice, Irish Spring, and Wild Irish deodorant all exist, but not Old Irish.
posted by orange swan at 9:23 PM on April 4 [1 favorite]
Alex Modarian is actually a really bad actor and his theatre productions look like they suck, but the theatre facilities were pretty amazing.
"Old Irish" deodorant [snerk]. That's a fictional brand, apparently. Old Spice, Irish Spring, and Wild Irish deodorant all exist, but not Old Irish.
posted by orange swan at 9:23 PM on April 4 [1 favorite]
I just found three episodes on Pluto. I loved her character on TGW and TGF but…small doses. I’ve never liked Columbo-type set ups though. I am enjoying her brightly colored coats and scarves, a different one every day.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 1:19 PM on April 12
posted by TWinbrook8 at 1:19 PM on April 12
And 3 different bags, _always different_, too. I've been enjoying the season so far, even if the next two mysteries are less whodunnit mysteries and more how Elsbeth works her way through figuring them out.
posted by Kyol at 1:39 PM on April 12
posted by Kyol at 1:39 PM on April 12
And because opening up a whole season post isn't worthwhile, this show was absolutely worth watching and I hope it gets renewed, even if the mysteries are kind of low caliber and not exactly investigated so much as vibe checked? But Carrie Preston plays Elsbeth so well, it's just fun fun fun.
posted by Kyol at 9:47 AM on May 28 [2 favorites]
posted by Kyol at 9:47 AM on May 28 [2 favorites]
I think the thirty-minute length and progressing the season's story arc work against complicated mysteries, blind alleys, or detailed investigations. (Columbo had an hour.)
posted by bbrown at 3:29 PM on July 18
posted by bbrown at 3:29 PM on July 18
Well, 43 minutes and 73 minutes, respectively, without commercials, although I stumbled across a couple of 90-ish minute episodes of Columbo. I'm not sure if that's 1 hour, 90 minute and 2 hour airtimes exactly, through the lens of a few decades of commercial television programming and whatnot.
But yeah, episodes of Suchet's Poirot were only 50 minutes long, and they managed to fit compelling mysteries into an hour-ish of airtime. But with more traditional pacing and direction, too. I suspect it really sort of boils down to the Kings' not necessarily wanting to write interesting mysteries so much as providing a framework for Elsbeth to react to. (Or maybe they were trying to write good mysteries / procedurals and they're just not particularly good at that side of it? I never really watched the Good Wife / Good Fight to know how good their courtroom stuff was, and Evil is sort of not really a mystery / procedural either - I'unno, I'm just a viewer.)
posted by Kyol at 12:52 PM on July 19
But yeah, episodes of Suchet's Poirot were only 50 minutes long, and they managed to fit compelling mysteries into an hour-ish of airtime. But with more traditional pacing and direction, too. I suspect it really sort of boils down to the Kings' not necessarily wanting to write interesting mysteries so much as providing a framework for Elsbeth to react to. (Or maybe they were trying to write good mysteries / procedurals and they're just not particularly good at that side of it? I never really watched the Good Wife / Good Fight to know how good their courtroom stuff was, and Evil is sort of not really a mystery / procedural either - I'unno, I'm just a viewer.)
posted by Kyol at 12:52 PM on July 19
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posted by Kyol at 6:07 PM on March 4