The Coffee Place's Joke Stack
Rules of TV Murder Mysteries
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1. The first suspect is innocent.
2. The innocent person, on seeing a murder weapon, will pick it up and leave his/her fingerprints on it.
3. If the body hasn't been found, the "victim" isn't dead.
4. If the body can't be identified, it isn't who they think it is.
5. People with deviant life styles, such as couples who shack-up, are innocent.
6. People who are rich or religious, or both, are guilty.
7. The Ebert Law of Economy of Characters-the person who seems to be unnecessary to the story is more significant than he/she appears to be.
8. The unmotivated close-up-(from Stuart Cleland, Chicago, as quoted in Ebert's Little Movie Glossary) When there is a close-up of a character for no apparent reason, that character is more significant than he/she seems.
This page is maintained by: mark@thecoffeeplace.com
Changes were last made on 11-20-2001
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