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It was the best reality show to date. It was a reality show that didn’t compare to those before it. A reality show that had something to offer that no other reality show could, a thought-provoking mystery mixed with traditional reality show emotions. But sadly enough it was also a reality show that lacked viewers.

It’s all over now. Murder in Small Town X (MSTX) was a mystery that started with 15 suspects and 10 investigators in the New England town of Sunrise, Maine. The two-hour season finale (which was really two episodes back-to-back) ended with the last two investigators each seeking out a suspect. The winner (highlight to read: Angel with the suspect William Lambert) walked away with $250,000 and a 2001 Jeep Liberty. Well, I suppose they drove away, eh?

The show had its positives and negatives, but I think I’ve discussed those enough already (see past columns). However, I do want to say that if I were an investigator, I think I would have done things differently. It was clear that Gary Fredo was leading the investigation, but did the investigators have to stop there? Couldn’t they follow the townspeople around for themselves? Couldn’t they have done a little mini-investigation of their own?

I suppose they could have, but then they wouldn’t have been playing the game correctly, right? Take "Survivor" for example. Half of winning that game is surviving each time someone is voted off. The same can be said about "Big Brother". It seems that a part of winning MSTX was to be led around in circles by the show’s creators. All of my guesses about the killer were incorrect. I had blindly chosen a suspect from week one and throughout the show’s progression, I had put together a story that seemed to fit. But I was wrong (week one).

There was no substantial evidence from the show’s first six episodes that would lead anyone to believe they were 100% sure they knew who the killer was. Hints were dropped left and right, but a bulk of the clues were handed out tonight in the show’s last two episodes. Until those two shows, there were still 8 suspects. And at least half of them had likely scenarios.

The writers knew what they were doing from the beginning; the story that was ultimately told was great. And my realization of that also proves that my theory of the writers not knowing whom the murderer would be until the end of their filming was incorrect, too.

Several things are certain, though.

Kristen seemed to annoy almost everyone in the house except Angel. And she knew who the killer was. Well, she switched suspects every week, so she was kinda right.

Another certainty was that Jeff was almost hated as much as Kristen. The footage shown of him storming around looking for the killer clues were funny. While he was running around screaming and smashing things en route to the clue, everyone at home was laughing because he probably crapped his pants both times he went out.

MSTX had a hard time keeping viewers interested. The first week scored well (around a 3.5-3.9 rating), while the 8/21 episode dropped over a million viewers (2.5). Many say the show was needlessly complicated.

It probably was.

But I liked MSTX for its innovation and complexity. I look forward to visiting the town of Eastport, Maine (where it was filmed) one of these days, too. While MSTX may have left a sour taste in the mouths of FOX and those who didn’t chose to view it week after week, it sure did give me a reason to watch TV on Tuesday nights (c’mon, Dharma & Greg?). In reality, there may not be another season of MSTX, but I hope there will be. And if there is, you know I’ll be here writing up my views about the show while providing you with uncanny interviews. Until the next murder.

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