Category: TV Reviews

Anastasia – Director: Cal Coons/Writer: Michelle Ricci

This one starts with Ernest Hemingway asking Frankie to take a case for a friend of his. The friend (Louisa Winchester) is a lover of Russian culture, since her father was once Ambassador to Russia. Louisa is even hosting three Cossacks (Sergei, Sasha, and Misha) at her estate because their loyalty to the Tsar—or his memory—has made them unwelcome in post-Revolution Russia. Louisa then introduces Frankie to another guest, a young girl she names as Anastasia Romanov, daughter of the last Tsar. Unfortunately, the girl is just as surprised as Frankie at Louisa’s declaration and faints dead away. Continue reading “Frankie Drake Mysteries Reviews: Season 1, Episode 10”

Ghosts – Director: Peter Stebbings/Writer: Ian Carpenter

This one starts with a shadowy figure meticulously putting together a homemade bomb. At Frankie’s office, a woman named Elspeth Burton wants to hire Frankie to find out why her husband has been pushing her away lately. Continue reading “Frankie Drake Mysteries Reviews: Season 1, Episode 9”

The Pilot – Director: Leslie Hope/Writer: Carol Hay, Michelle Ricci

This one starts with Frankie and Trudy at an air show, where Frankie is fascinated by the planes while Trudy is more interested in the beautiful baby contest. Frankie meets an ex-RFC pilot (Greg Mills) and gets a bit flirty with him. Continue reading “Frankie Drake Mysteries Reviews: Season 1, Episode 8”

Ties That Bind – Director: Eleanore Lindo/Writer: Carol Hay

This one starts with a young woman named Jenny teaching English to some Chinese people. When she leaves, Mary starts following her through the darkened streets. Jenny meets with a tall Chinese guy and gives him some money. Mary keeps following her, but Jenny just disappears. The next day, Mary goes to Frankie and Trudy to ask them to look into Jenny’s disappearance, since they have connections in Chinatown. Frankie agrees, but notices that Mary is acting weird and figures she’s holding something back. Continue reading “Frankie Drake Mysteries Reviews: Season 1, Episode 7”

Whisper Sisters – Director: Leslie Hope/Writer: Adriana Maggs

This one starts with Frankie experimenting with various blends of homemade gin, using Trudy as the final judge of quality. Trudy points out an article in the newspaper about a mobster (Joe Perry) committing suicide in prison. Frankie is bothered by the news and we get an extended flashback to six months ago, when she and Trudy met Joe Perry. Continue reading “Frankie Drake Mysteries Reviews: Season 1, Episode 6”

Out of Focus – Director: Sudz Sutherland/Writer: John Callaghan

This one starts with Frankie about to be hanged; naturally, it’s a fake-out, but we don’t get to see the circumstances until later. The real story starts with Frankie and Trudy watching a silent comedy in Frankie’s office. The guy showing them the film turns out to be Mack Sennett, who points out someone getting shot in the background of the scene. Sennett tells them that nobody saw or heard anything, and no dead body has been found, so he wants Frankie to find out what happened. He does mention that a local who worked on the production (Dan Channing) has disappeared, so he could be the victim … or the killer. Continue reading “Frankie Drake Mysteries Reviews: Season 1, Episode 5”

Healing Hands – Director: Sudz Sutherland/Writer: Andrew Burrows-Trotman

This one starts with Trudy and her mom (Mildred) going to church. The pastor (Edmund Thompson) gets everyone going with his sermon, then brings out his daughter Elsie, who’s apparently a healer. Trudy seems a bit skeptical, but Mildred is a believer and wants to get her hip healed. Continue reading “Frankie Drake Mysteries Reviews: Season 1, Episode 4”

Summer in the City – Director: Norma Bailey/Writer: Carol Hay

This one starts with Frankie at a gym watching a boxer (Moses Page) train. Hemingway shows up and she gives him shit for his half-assed reporting on previous bouts. Later, Frankie and Moses are out for a walk and it’s pretty obvious that they’re attracted to each other. They’re interrupted by a young guy named Eric Morrison, who says he’s the son of Captain Morrison, who Frankie worked for during the Great War. Eric says he has a problem with his car (which he “acquired” somewhere) and shows her a steamer trunk in the back of the car that has a dead body in it. Continue reading “Frankie Drake Mysteries Reviews: Season 1, Episode 3”

Ladies in Red – Director: Ruba Nedda/Writer: Cal Coons

This one starts with Frankie, Trudy, and Flo investigating a very important case … trying to figure out whose dog has been sneaking in to hump a prize Great Dane. Frankie notices a guy with a gun in the house across the street, so she and Trudy (who are both apparently familiar with guns) arm themselves and go to check it out. They find a man and his maid tied up and surprise the gunmen, who start shooting and take off. The gunmen have a car waiting in the alley and get away, despite Frankie and Trudy trading shots with them. Continue reading “Frankie Drake Mysteries Season 1, Episode 2”

Mother of Pearl – Director: Ruba Nadda/Writer: Michelle Ricci

Welcome to my first review of Frankie Drake Mysteries, a Canadian show about a couple of female detectives in Toronto in the 1920s. This first episode starts with a classy couple (Abe and Nora Amory, played by Canadian stalwarts Derek McGrath and Wendy Crewson) staying in a fancy Toronto hotel. Abe is a steel magnate from Pittsburgh in town to do a deal, but he gets a shock when he finds a string of pearls missing from the hotel suite’s safe, with a feather left in their place. Continue reading “Frankie Drake Mysteries Season 1, Episode 1”