Whydunit (Whodunit, Howdunit)

Bapopik at AOL.COM Bapopik at AOL.COM
Wed Mar 22 17:42:45 UTC 2006


WHODUNIT--2,240,000 Google hits
WHODUNNIT--781,000 Google hits
WHYDUNIT--12,400 Google hits
WHYDUNNIT--716 Google hits
HOWDUNIT--32,300 Google hits
HOWDUNNIT--568 Google hits
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I was watching NCAA basketball on CBS, then the 60 Minutes story about the  
NYPD, and then saw the popular CBS show "Cold Case."
...
Last Sunday's episode of "Cold Case" was no "whodunit." A guy came in and  
freely admitted that he'd killed someone 25 years ago. It was--to quote a "Cold  
Case" actor--a "whydunit."
...
It later was revealed that this creep killed people because he had multiple  
sclerosis. My late father had M.S.--he didn't kill anyone. Couldn't CBS have  
said something else--you know, the usual, he was abused as a child, whatever.  
Ultimately, the "whydunit" is a bad drama. I don't care "why" this psycho 
creep  killed someone. I don't particularly care to get inside the mind of a 
psycho  creep mass murderer. CBS played the M.S. card, then played the murders up 
to a  mass audience for cheap thrills. It wasn't based on a real case, 
either--they  made this "M.S. murderer psycho creep" stuff up, just for my enjoyment. 
I don't  think I'll ever watch "Cold Case" again.
...
A Google check shows that "howdunit" appears more popular than "whydunit"  in 
the "whodunit" spin-off category.
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(GOOGLE)
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_CBS News | The Ice Queen of 'Cold Case' | October 1,  2003 12:17:05_ 
(http://cbsnews.cbs.com/stories/2003/10/01/earlyshow/contributors/lauriehibberd/main57
6020.shtml)       
... “I think what's different about ‘Cold  Case’ is that it's much more of a 
whydunit as opposed to a  whodunit," she says. Morris ... 
cbsnews.cbs.com/stories/2003/10/01/  
earlyshow/contributors/lauriehibberd/main576020.shtml - 43k - Supplemental  Result - _Cached_ 
(http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:up167CrdSvQJ:cbsnews.cbs.com/stories/2003/10/01/earlyshow/contribu
tors/lauriehibberd/main576020.shtml+whydunit+and+cold+case&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk
&cd=1&ie=UTF-8)  - _Similar pages_ 
(http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&q=related:cbsnews.cbs.com/stories/2003/10/01/earlyshow/contributors/laur
iehibberd/main576020.shtml) 
<NO
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_Tough 'Case' / Actress Kathryn Morris relishes shot at lead  role_ 
(http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/09/28/PK250279.D
TL&type=printable)      When Morris was asked to head up the "Cold  Case" 
cast, she had some questions before ... This show is much  more of a whydunit 
than a whodunit, I would say.  ...
www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/  
chronicle/archive/2003/09/28/PK250279.DTL&type=printable - 14k -  _Cached_ 
(http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:qsRgqrEujckJ:www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/09
/28/PK250279.DTL&type=printable+whydunit+and+cold+case&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=
2&ie=UTF-8)  - _Similar pages_ 
(http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&q=related:www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/09
/28/PK250279.DTL&type=printable)  
... 
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(GOOGLE BLOGS)
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_A Psychological 'Case!' Plus 'Simpsons,' a Nick Lachey Comedy and  ..._ 
(http://passtheremote08.blogspot.com/2006/03/psychological-case-plus-simpsons-nick.
html)      20 Mar 2006 by TVFan  
Wow, there  is a lot to say about last night's episode of Cold Case, ...  
I've always
been a fan of Cold Case's "whydunit" approach (to  quote star Kathryn Morris).
... What did you think of Cold  Case's break from its usual format? ...
_Pass  The Remote -  http://passtheremote08.blogspot.com_ 
(http://passtheremote08.blogspot.com/) 
...
...
_Un pure formalite_ (http://tifoso.livejournal.com/534.html)      9 Jan 2006 
by tifoso  
A  psychological mystery story, not so much a whodunit as a howdunit or  
whydunit.
As night is falling, a shot rings out in the forest. A  man (Gerard 
Depardieux)
is running through the forest in the rain. He  is soaked. ...
_The Films They Don't Want  You to See -  
http://www.livejournal.com/users/tifoso/_ (http://www.livejournal.com/users/tifoso/) 
...
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_My Wife's Murder_ (http://bbthots.blogspot.com/2005/09/my-wifes-murder.html) 
     14 Sep 2005 by Balaji  
At its  heart is a murder but it is not a whodunit, a whydunit or even a  
howdunit.
All these are revealed to us when the murder happens. The  story is fairly
straightforward and doesn’t throw up any unexpected  twists. ...
_Balaji's Thots -  http://bbthots.blogspot.com_ 
(http://bbthots.blogspot.com/) 

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org



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