Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone! *takes out noisemaker* 2012 here we are! Is everyone ready for another fun filled year of our favorite sleuth's adventures? 


Most newspapers and such like to recap what has happened in the past year, but I'm going to take a slightly different approach and list some of the things to come in 2012, both for the blog and in the sleuth world.


On the Nancy Drew games front, we have the release of Tomb of the Lost Queen just around the corner. News of Castle Finster should be approaching as well. And who knows what HeR has planned in way of contests, puzzles, and the fall game.


As far as new paperback adventures for Nancy and the Hardys, the Girl Detective and Undercover Brothers series finish up in January and February, respectfully. Hopefully we'll see traces of the replacement series before the end of the year, though we probably won't see the first books until 2013.


As far as the blog, I'm still working on the music player, pretty much my only blog improving project. I'm always trying to improve though, so if you have any suggestions, let me know. ;)


CouCou

Sleuth Scoop's Holiday Gift Guide

Girl Detective! Even though this series is officially cancelled, it's still a treasure. Nancy got an update, complete with a hybrid car (still the most famous color: blue) and a cell phone. And of course, there just happens to be a collector's set with the first four models. ^.^

Undercover Brothers! And, yes, there's the exact same thing for Hardy Boys lovers. However, they got the cool group name, since the package is officially known as the "Spy Set". ^.~

Super Mystery! And, of course, the best of the three best: together! The fifth and most likely last in the series; Nancy, Frank, and Joe are back at it!

Clues to Sleuthing! Whether you've read every Nancy Drew book published, or not a single one, this is the ultimate book to have. Filled with sleuthing facts from the original series to either introduce you to the series or jog your memory, it rocks!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, celebrated by some, not by others, in varying ways. Whether you gather around a large table to dine on a turkey that's taken three hours longer than it should have to cook, or you just enjoy the early weekend, complete with football, most of us at least celebrate the time off.


In the land of our sleuths, holidays, aren't really acknowledged. In several books, it's mentioned that Nancy and her Dad have been to church, and Hannah is famous for her grand meals. So it seems logical to see Nancy, Carson, Hannah, and maybe even Ned around a table willed with the traditional Thanksgiving meal. On the other hand, in the Girl Detective series, she drives a hybrid car. So perhaps that stuffed turkey is really Tofurky?


The Hardy Boys follow a similar pattern, though I doubt Aunt Gertrude is serving up fake turkey. And, provided a urgent case isn't keeping them tied up, I can see the Hardys gathering around the TV with their Dad to watch the game.


What do you picture our favorite sleuth's during tomorrow?


Cou

Lots of Mayhem

I recently discovered that Movie Mayhem would not only be the end of the Deathstalker Trilogy, but of the whole series. Now, yes, I did read this on Wikipedia. But I also followed up with research around the net and a heart attack.


Hardy Boys: Undercover Brothers is ditched after the Deathstalker Trilogy, which finishes on January 3, 2012 with Movie Mayhem. It will be replaced with The Hardy Boys Adventures in 2013. Okay, so maybe we can get rid of those awful covers and lame trilogy format...


Nancy Drew: Girl Detective is also done as soon as Stalk, Don't Run is published in February and the Malibu Mayhem Trilogy finishes. Okay, so maybe this isn't too bad... Wait! It's being replaced with Nancy Drew Diaries in 2013. Yeah, why does that sound so bad? Idk, it just does... ^.~


The Supermysteries are still a question. I think it's suppose to be done with Undercover Brothers in 2012, but maybe they'll sneak #6 in. I hope.


What are your thoughts?


Cou

The Ultimate Showdown

The ultimate showdown: Nancy Drew vs. The Hardy Boys. Yep, I'm going there.


I used to like the Hardy Boys' books a little better, since there was more action. Of course, that was when I just read the classics. Others (also reading the classics) I've talked to liked Nancy better, because she used her head, instead of brawn, to solve cases. Then I started reading the Girl Detective series, and began to agree with them. Ultimately, it matters a lot on what series you compare.


As far as the classics, the Hardy Boys tend to be more active, and really don't seem to use their heads very much. If they get caught, say hello to Joe's right hook. By comparison, Nancy works complex puzzles and crimes out, and pretty much avoids all confrontation. In one scene, she gets caught and fakes a faint to get out of the situation.


The pattern didn't change in the paperbacks, though Nancy does seem to develop some guts over time.


The same pattern prevailed in the Casefiles, Frank and Joe get more violent, often carrying weapons and the whole trio's IQ drops. Nancy becomes a bit more active, but also ten times more interested in any random guys who happen to pop up. The Hardys get less amateur, as they work on and off alongside the Network.


In 2005, both the Hardys and Detective Drew got rebooted in Undercover Brothers and Girl Detective, respectively. The extremes finally stop, as the Hardy maintain their standing in American Teens Against Crime (their Dad's new crime fighting group), while dropping the weapons and extreme action. Nancy gets to have some more fun, as that new cell phone apparently let's her out of the house past ten o'clock. ;)


I honestly can't tell you anything about the Hardys' Clues Brothers or Secret Files, and Nancy's Notebooks or Clue Crew, since I haven't read any of them.


Cou

If Nancy didn't meet Ned in The Clue in the Diary, how?

The first time Nancy ever meets Ned is in The Clue in the Diary (she thinks he's stealing her car, lol). Apparently, they also snuck him into a one of the Nancy Drew Notebooks, which is just a bit bizarra. Now, the question is, if they hadn't met in either The Clue in the Diary or the Notebook, how would they have met?

Now, they're probably only half a million romanticized scenarios of this, but I'm not going down the road of fan fiction. Quite literally, what are our possibilities? In the original series, Ned was from Mapleton, so he probably wouldn't go to the same school as Nancy. You still have random events, trips, or a case that could have landed them both in Mapleton or River Heights, but now we're on the same path as The Clue in the Diary. They could also have met through friends, such as in a random scenario where Burt Eddleton and George are a couple, and Burt brings Ned as a date for Nancy!

In the Casefiles, they made another attempt to erase The Clue in the Diary, by saying Ned and Nancy had been dating since high school. This might also imply that they went to the same high school though...

In the Girl Detective books, Ned lives in River Heights, which sends yet another twist to the whole high school thing, but leaves the door open for more interaction. This is also alluded to in the 2007 movie Nancy Drew.

Throughout most of the collection, Ned is going to Emerson College, which also gives us options, as Nancy could have visited Emerson for a case.

And, we always have the option of saying they met when they were nine years old, as the Notebooks would have us believe. ^.~ Which just might explain how Nancy knew about Ned in the remastered The Secret at Shadow Ranch, before they 'officially' met in The Clue in the Diary! ;D

Cou

Alibi in Ashes- did "Where's Nancy?" finally get turned into a game?

One need look no farther than the Book Suggestions thread on the HeRinteractive message boards to see people what books people really want to be made into games.  Right up the top of the list is The Hidden Staircase, despite the fact it was already incorporated into the computer game version of The Secret of the Old Clock. Also on the top ten list, is the Girl Detective Supermystery Where's Nancy has been requested dozens of times, including my own vote.


HeR is famous for listening to it's fans, illustrated by all the times something has been suggested on the message boards, avidly supported, and turned into a game. MAC games anyone? 


So, naturally, the question is, when will they turn Where's Nancy into a game? Better question, how would they, considering Nancy is missing until the end of the book? Though, personally, I want a game based on Where's Nancy to get more involvement from Ned, Bess, and George, not to have Nancy disappear for the entire game.


Is any of this sounding familiar? In Alibi in Ashes, you get to play as Nancy, Ned, Bess, and George, much the same as in Where's Nancy, in which the story is told from the point of view of Nancy, Ned, Bess, and George! Another similarity: in Where's Nancy, Nancy stays trapped in one place for must of the book. In Alibi in Ashes, Nancy stays trapped in the police station for most of the game! True, the main plot of Where's Nancy and Alibi in Ashes are fairly different, but they do share similar elements.


What's your opinion? Do you see any other similarities, or alternatively anything radically different?


Cou