#Murder in Small Town X Rewatch: Episode 1

“#Murder in Small Town X Rewatch: Episode 1”

Reality TV has seen its fair share of interesting concepts over the last 20 years.

Ever since Survivor blew up in 2000, pop culture has experimented with competition shows. Just imagine a world where reality TV was new, and the big networks were trying to find their next hit. (MTV had found earlier success with The Real World and Road Rules.)

One ambitious gem from 2001 tried to combine the real world into a true-crime adventure. This was the cult classic from FOX: Murder in Small Town X Season 1.

I love Murder in Small Town X!

Back in the summer of 2001, I was hooked on trying each week to figure out the serial killer and see which investigator would make it to the end. The clues, the fictional twists, and the dedicated acting made it an immersive experience.

It’s a shame Murder in Small Town X lasted for just one season as it had (and still does) the potential to become a huge hit. Though, along the way, it influenced other similar shows to fill the void, like Whodunnit? and The Murder Game.

You won’t find the show on a streaming service, but fans have kept it alive over the years, like through somewhat blurry uploads on YouTube or podcast series like JAM Presents.

For the series’ 20th anniversary, I’ll be going through each of the eight episodes to discuss the mystery and relive the killer’s game.

The concept of Murder in Small Town X is easy to understand: in the quiet fictional town of Sunrise, Maine, a killer mysteriously murdered the Flint family in the middle of the night. The killer challenges 10 everyday people from across the US to solve the killer’s game for the chance at claiming the reward.

Throughout the game, the killer provides new clues, the players interrogate suspects (all actors) and inspect crime scenes. The killer removes a potential suspect if the group succeeds in its mission. And every round, two investigators are chosen to search a secluded area for a killer clue, but only one investigator returns.

Welcome to Sunrise. I hope you like the gift I left you. I see you’ve decided to play my game, so I’ve sent you the rules. I look forward to meeting each one of you. Face-to-face.
Killer

A “Lifeguard” is selected every round from the group to lead the players. They’re immune from being eliminated that round, and they assign players to different tracks (i.e., storylines for the investigation).

Murder in Small Town X feels like a combination of Clue, CSI, and the SAW series. The game gets easier to understand as more players and suspects are eliminated.

The first thing you’ll notice from Murder in Small Town X Season 1 Episode 1 is how much detail went into producing the show.

Sunrise, Maine (in actuality, it’s Eastport, Maine) became a setting for this fictional serial killer murder mystery. The story isn’t contained to select moments; it’s an overarching plot of townsfolk, death, and twists.

The investigators interacted with the “suspects” like it was real and dove deep into Sunrise’s history.

Sure, the series shows its age due to video quality, technology, clothing, and certain behaviors of the cast. The series is a timepiece from 2001, but it feels like a gripping crime mystery.

Right from the town meeting, the drama pulled us in as the citizens panicked over the two murders and Carmen Flint’s disappearance. This scene gave a few hints about the current status of the murder and lightly introduced us to some suspects.

The meeting was a good breadcrumb moment as it established this as a “real” investigation and set the mood. Though, too much happened to overwhelm the senses.

It’s not until the players got back to base and debriefed the rules where the pacing thankfully got ahold of itself.

As mentioned above, the stages of the game get easier to understand as the rounds move on. Opening the envelopes and assigning tracks were a common occurrence (and sometimes the most shocking updates).

And fifteen suspects was a good number to frame the series around. This allowed people to be removed from the board and a different mix of characters to pop in every round.

From the three tracks, heading to the Flint house should’ve been the most sought-after scene for the players as it would’ve provided the most clues. The Flints were murdered there, so it’s the best start.

Prudence Connor appearing out of the blue made her look extremely sketchy. She had no reason to be there, especially after the town knew the Flints were murdered.

It’s good the players put the pieces together that she was there searching for the naughty photos of her and Nate Flint.

Those photos gave her a reason to be connected to the Flints. Did Nate have those secret photos of Prudence taken? Was she being blackmailed? Was he being blackmailed over the affair?

We’ll see if that clue leads the story down a certain path. (I’m trying to give no major spoilers here. You’re welcome!)

I’ve always wondered if the players had missed a piece of evidence, would the show have given it to them later on?

The series adapted as the players talked with the suspects, discovered evidence, and moved through the game. But, if they had missed something that provided more to the story, it would’ve hindered their tracks.

Like, Kristen and Stacey discovering the Abby Flint/Mary-Elizabeth conversation in the webcam was connected to the Leita Rose-Blodgett track, so missing that wasn’t a big deal. However, if no one had found Nate’s clock in the basement, that was a standalone piece only connected to this track.

Plus, seeing the missing sheets could’ve only been seen by the investigators during this track. It’s a carefully placed row of dominoes that affected everything.

The Leita track seemed like a small scene when I watched it as a kid, but this rewatch opened my eyes to how it was connected overall.

Leita’s account of Jimmy fighting with Nate was directly connected to the webcam conversation. Abby was crying about something she discovered during that fight.

Based on how Jimmy’s storyline develops, this scene was the connection that loops it all around.

Keep this confrontation in the back of your mind, first-time watchers. Nate’s fight with Jimmy will mean a lot more as pieces to the puzzle are revealed and how Nate truly felt about his daughter’s boyfriend.

During the G.D. Thibodeaux track, Alan played it recklessly and dangerously.

Granted, I don’t think the killer would’ve murdered him or Lindsay when they split up. It was only Murder in Small Town X Season 1 Episode 1, after all. However, there wasn’t a guarantee that the show wouldn’t have pulled off that twist.

Alan: [About G.D. Thibodeaux] I’ll tell you what I’m gonna go. I’m gonna go down there and talk to him.

Lindsey: No, no, no, no!

Alan: I’ve got to. I’ve got to! You sit here where you’re fine.

Lindsey: That is not fine. How do you and I know the killer is not in here?!

Alan: Because you’re around too many people.

Lindsey: No, no, no, no. Please, don’t!

Alan: I’m gonna go talk to him.

Lindsey: No, that is not a good idea!

Alan: I think it’s … where’s Drew? Hey Drew!

Lindsey: No. No! He could be the killer!

The host Gary Fredo made it clear in the rules that if the investigators split up or go on their own, there would be a chance that the killer could kill them off.

If the players kept breaking the rules or the cast was larger, there could be a world where either Jeff or Lindsay was “murdered” to scare the players. Shockingly, he didn’t get any votes for elimination or was mentioned as a possible vote for the group.

From the evidence received, Thibodeaux didn’t give anything substantial that the players could use at the time.

His alibi of being out of town and with Prudence successfully cleared the mission, but you couldn’t take his word at face value. The alibi had lots of doubt, including his claims that Nate didn’t fire him.

Also, his story of getting money from Nate only painted him more in a sketchy light. Why would Nate give him all this money, and why foster the rumor of him getting fired?

Thibodeaux stayed high on the list of potential suspects.

Andy made two big mistakes as Lifeguard. The first was pushing the divide between men and women; Kristen helped with this, but it was more a reaction against Jeff.

This storyline was something new I picked up during this rewatch. I remembered Kristen/Lindsay/Shirley teaming up to get Jeff out based on his misogynistic comments, but I hadn’t realized it was a full majority team against the trio.

Very disappointed. Personally, I really don’t want to come back. I’d rather face the killer than backstabbers. At least I know what the motives are behind the killer.
Shirley

Andy should’ve played the middle and chosen someone else to do the killer’s game.

The move would’ve taken the attention off of him and appeased both sides of the group. As Lifeguard, he could’ve come up with any reason to select someone … or at least given a better reason as to why he chose Kristen.

His second mistake, of course, was selecting Kristen as his choice.

The killer’s location is a 50/50 chance of survival. Kristen coming back, directed all her anger at him so that he couldn’t hide in the background. Kristen now had both Andy and Jeff as her two main targets.

[To Andy] If I make it back here, your ass is grass! And I’ve made sure of that.
Kristen

Plus, if Shirley had survived, Kristen would’ve chosen her or Lindsay as the next Lifeguard, which would’ve made Andy a target yet again. He most likely played the odds since he didn’t know what entailed at the separate locations.

Though, we as the viewers were gifted with the drama to come when Kristen survived. Kristen was the type of strong reality TV contestant who brought all the fire.

Last Thoughts From The War Room:

I wish we had more scenes of why Shirley had been voted into the killer’s game. Why was she the weakest out of the group?
The killer’s game always freaked me out a little as a kid. The night vision cameras and the green light seemed so ominous and creepy!
My main suspects as a kid were Thibodeaux, William Lambert, and Prudence from the premiere alone. Jimmy and Deanna Harris seemed like good options since they were hanging around all episode.
Police Chief Dudley Duncan was the best choice to clear as the first suspect. He would be around a lot as the cop, so the players needed someone to trust in town.