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Latest Donald Strachey Movie is Great Mystery, Sexy FunAlso keep your eye on Gabrielle Rose, the quiet second half of the lesbian couple in question. When she gets her chance to shine, she’s riveting. And Nelson Wong is cute and funny, the latest in a noble tradition of hapless, put-upon detective sidekicks. “How come I never get to follow the hot guy?” he says dejectedly. I do have a couple of minor quibbles. Sebastian Spence’s Timmy, while easy on the eyes, seems to be growing increasingly fussy with each new movie, and I found myself wondering what Donald sees in him.
In addition to its television debut on July 25th on here! TV, On the Other Hand Death will see a limited theatrical release in selected cities starting on July 18th. But I’m not sure this movie warrants such a release. The sets are simple and, while the acting is quite good, the production quality is that of a project made on a limited budget. Still, here! is working on another entry in the Donald Strachey series, Ice Blues, due for release later this year. I’m looking forward to it. Submitted by on Wed, 2008-07-23 21:32.  Sebastian Spence?Submitted by
Cosmic Lad (671 points) (126 posts) on Thu, 2008-07-24 14:04.Okay, back already with another question! I remember Sebastian Spence from First Wave, and his guest spots on Supernatural and Battlestar Galactica. I always thought he was a rather good looking guy, no surprise really as he's an actor. Does anyone know if he's straight or gay? I *think* I read something somewhere, or maybe it was an extra/ behind the scenes thing on a previous Strachey movie that suggested or said he was straight, but I've always wondered... Anyone know? Thanks! 8)  Yes, he is straightSubmitted by
Read my books! Explore "Brent's Brain" at http://www.brenthartinger.com Average (1 vote):  Sebastian Spence - He's a Newfoundlander!Submitted by
Kel (5 points) (1 post) on Tue, 2009-11-10 10:29.Whether he's straight, gay or bi, doesn't matter. He does a fabulous job with that character. Sweet, clever, protective, funny. They're both so in love and perfect together. It's just a joy to see a, dare I say it, happy domestic platform for these two men instead of the usualy "they die in the end" or "they hurt each other and go their separate ways." They're polar opposites in ways and complement each other. I have the first two on DVD and they're on my top 10 list of excellent movies. That Sebastian is a beautiful Newfoundlander is the cherry on top. :)  Read the books!Submitted by
SonicSwoon (126 points) (43 posts) on Thu, 2008-07-24 14:57.I loved the first two Donald Strachey movies. The books are really great too. They were written over the course of about 20+ years and draw so much information from the times they were each written that reading them is like a crash course in gay history. Donald and Timmy are always going to clubs and dancing to the songs of the day, talking about recent events and growing older together. The author, Richard Stevenson, has a great voice that really comes through in his writing. He's living through these times just as Donald is living through these times. The chronicle that he creates is on par was Armisted Maupin without nearly the level of recognition. The movies don't capture the progression as they are all set in "today", but I enjoyed them on their own merits. Chad Allen is a great Donald. I think that having a gay actor play the role is an important part of why the movies work so well. Sorry to report, however, that Sebastian Spence is indeed straight and is married. He talks about it in a "making of" segment on one of the DVDs. Girlfriend does an awesome up-tight gay boy though!  I started reading Ice BluesSubmitted by
Jeremymlad (623 points) (129 posts) on Thu, 2008-07-24 16:24.I started reading Ice Blues last night and was struck by how well-written it is in just the first few chapters. I agree with you, Richard Stevenson has a very good way with the dialogue for his characters, especially Donald and Timmy - such good stuff I can't help reading it out loud to myself. Looking forward to more films AND more books.
 Read the BooksSubmitted by
db (3165 points) (658 posts) on Thu, 2008-07-24 17:43.I agree Jay. I read the books years ago but have re-read them occasionally. At first it was hard for me to wrap my mind around Chad Allen as Donald--I always pictured him differently, but I've come to really like him in the role, and I find Sebastian Spence adorable even if he is straight--interestingly, his character is a bit more stereoptypical than Allen's, an actually gay actor.
 Thanks BrentSubmitted by
Steven Frank (429 points) (421 posts) on Thu, 2008-07-24 15:29.for this excellent review. I'm a fan of the books but haven't seen any of the movies yet. After reading this, I'm definitely going to check them out.  Thanks Brent, I'm so happy to hearSubmitted by
Samuel Gillespie (1090 points) (206 posts) on Thu, 2008-07-24 15:39.that the quality is indeed improving. I did enjoy watching the first two, and I've been waiting for the new ones. I will be loooking forward to it!
 Agree with everyone elseSubmitted by
Campion (1340 points) (281 posts) on Thu, 2008-07-24 20:42.I agree with everyone else above about how well written the books are. I had read them years ago (very big gay mystery novel fan here) and have recently been rereading them. Like Steven I've yet to see the Chad Allen films but I am going to look at the first two very soon(hence the rereading). Just finished Ice Blues last night. Brent, while I can agree with you about sometimes questioning what Donald sees in Timmy the fact that film Timmy is shown as being fussy is just keeping the character true to the novels. Interesting, I didn't know that (been years since I read one)Submitted by
Read my books! Explore "Brent's Brain" at http://www.brenthartinger.com no votes a couple of lines from Ice BluesSubmitted by
Campion (1340 points) (281 posts) on Thu, 2008-07-24 21:46.Brent, I had read your review last night and then later went on to finish reading Ice Blues. I had your comment about Timmy being fussy in my head when I read the following. The "I" is of course Donald Strachey who is having breakfast with Timmy:
"None of your business. Crap. I'm going out." I got up and flung my muffin in the trash. After I left Timmy would retrieve the muffin, wrap it in a bread bag, and place it in the refrigerator until garbage-pickup day so that it wouldn't draw ants or mice. "When will you be back?' he said, making a mental note of the improperly discarded baked good.  Can't wait to watch this...Submitted by
Janet (2386 points) (465 posts) on Thu, 2008-07-24 21:28.I worked with Gabrielle Rose 7 years ago. She is a lovely, sweet lady and a very focused actress. Give her something juicy and she sparkles even at 4:00 am when I had to wake her up to give her wardrobe.
I say we take the warning labels off everything and let nature take it's course. It is a great filmSubmitted by
dsc (185 points) (39 posts) on Fri, 2008-07-25 13:04.I have to admit that the gay teacher and gay student part of the story line hit me where I live. I remember when Allen was outed by the Enquirer and he took it with such class. No equivocation, no fake girl friends. He did himself proud. At the time I felt sorry for him (I had kind of gone through the same thing but not as public) but it turns out the magazine did him a favor. He has found a great niche and is clearly enjoying life.
 Something NewSubmitted by
Chris S. (130 points) (27 posts) on Thu, 2008-07-31 03:35.I've watched the first two films that came out, back in the days when I could afford the glory of cable, and while I agree that the first movie was lacking, I was still entertainted beyond belief. Now, I usually don't watch mysteries because I could always spot who the killer was a mile away (not counting 'The Closer' which does a good job of keeping me guessing), but I was immediately taken away by the storyline of the Donald Strachey films. They had enough mystery and suspense to keep me interested and enough humor to make me life, but I wasn't weighed down by the films and I didn't feel the need to brake out my personal CSI equipment to solve the case myself! I am very excited about this new film and I hope that I will enjoy it as much as I did the first two. Not quite film noir, but a good start. I hope Here! Networks will try to expand on the genre and maybe come out with more original programming and not stop with just 'Dante's Cove' and 'The Lair' as their flagship original programs. Great moviesSubmitted by
Kern (35 points) (16 posts) on Sat, 2008-08-02 04:42.I love the "Strachey" movies! Don and Timmy are hot and cute together, but I actually prefer the first two flicks, "Third Man Out" and "Shock to the System", because of their emotional content and the wonderful and often sexy scenes Chad Allen and Sebastian Spence have got together. This is what I call great chemistry! Finally there are genre movies which present a happy gay couple in a committed and exclusive relationship. I've been wanting to see that happen for many years. "On the Other Hand, Death" is a good movie, too, the mystery is well written, well acted, but the fact that there are too few momens between the couple which is the main reason I watch the Strachey movies makes this one the least appealing for me.  Quite a few great twists towards the endSubmitted by
Whitetee (3108 points) (671 posts) on Mon, 2009-05-18 02:26.Finally got the chance to watch it.Very satisfied.
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Can I read the above article, or are there spoilers in it?
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Sleuth
Love these!
I love these films - they're fun. I have the first two on DVD, and I love mysteries, and having it feature a gay protagonist as well as numerous gay supporting characters is just great.
And, hey, some of us love those Murder She Wrotes too! I've got all of those too! 8)
Anyway, as I no longer have Here!, is there any word when this might come out on DVD? I'd love to get/ see it! Thanks!
Not sure the DVD release
Read my books! Explore "Brent's Brain" at http://www.brenthartinger.com no votes
Mystery -- Murder She Wrote etc...
While I agree with you on the inadequacy of the mysteries in these shows I still enjoy them--they're like comfort food.
I had an idea for the final episode of Murder She Wrote--a reporter would visit Jessica and, over tea, prove that she had actually commited all the murders on her show and through flashbacks show how she had done them and then framed numerous innocent people, but then at the shows' end it turns out that the tea had poison in it and end with the reporter dying and Jessica smiling sweetly into the camera.
hah!
Hahah!
I don't think your idea would ever happen, but just picturing it made me laugh - that would be fantastic! As we all know, Jessica Fletcher would NEVER kill anyone, but that sure would explain why death seemed to follow her around like her shadow! Love it! 8)
Oh gosh! I would pay good
Thanks!
Okay, hopefully it'll come soon after - as much as I love the previous 2, you can only watch them over so often, y'know! I need more Chad Allen/ Donald Strachey movie mystery goodness! 8) I just did a quick check on Amazon, which often has things listed a while before they come out for preorder, but no luck. 8( I'll have to check back in a couple months I suppose!
As for Murder She Wrote, I appreciate what you're saying. However, it's gotta be hard to come up with a new murder mystery (including why your detective is there, introducing all the characters, having some twists, some character building moments, and then a final satisfying resolution) everyweek, and tell the whole story in ~50 minutes. So, I appreciate them for what they try. I've seen them enough that I usually just remember who the killer is when the show starts, but sometimes the fun is just in the getting there!
For what I think is also a great show, but probably with better mysteries, I watch 'Agatha Christie's Poirot', which, as they're all adaptations of Agatha Christie mysteries, probably should be pretty good mysteries! And they've got some great character interaction between Poirot and his supporting cast in a lot of episodes - I love that.
8)