Editing Mystery! (section)

==Inception and early history==
''Mystery!'' was the second British anthology to come to WGBH Boston after ''[[Masterpiece Theatre]]''. In 1979, Mobil Oil head of corporate affairs [[Herb Schmertz]] offered the idea of an all-British crime series show to WGBH manager Henry Becton. Mobil Oil was already the underwriter for ''Masterpiece Theater'' and had seen success with high-profile British series, including ''[[The Six Wives of Henry VIII (BBC TV series)|The Six Wives of Henry VIII]]'' and ''[[Elizabeth R]]''. By 1979, WGBH was bringing in a diverse array of British programming, to the point that Mobil saw an advantage to creating a unique time slot for the crime/police drama genre.<ref>Hilmes, Michele. Network Nations: A Transnational History of British and American Broadcasting. New York: Routledge, 2012).</ref> Mobil spent 2.3 million in 1979 and 3.2 million in 1980 toward the shows it sponsored on PBS,<ref>Fraser, C. Gerald (May 9, 1980). Mobil asks PBS to reconsider showing film about Saudi Princess. New York Times, A10.</ref> including for the kickoff of ''Mystery!'' Not everyone was especially enthusiastic over the genre division between ''Masterpiece Theater''  and ''Mystery!'' Then ''Masterpiece Theater'' host [[Alistair Cooke]] initially bemoaned the loss of the crime genre:

{{cquote|I tell you one thing that makes life a little more difficult in choosing was since the arrival of ''Mystery''. We’re not able to have the change of pace and tone that we had when we could have had Thomas Hardy and Balzac and then had Lord Peter Wimsey. You know that’s denied us know [sic], of course, because it goes to ''Mystery''.<ref>Knox, Simone. “Masterpiece Theatre and British Drama Imports on US Television: Discourses of Tension.” Critical Studies in Television 7, no. 1 (2012): 32.</ref>}}

One of ''Mystery!''{{'s}} early successes was ''[[Rumpole of the Bailey]]''. Other noted successes include ''[[Sherlock Holmes (1984 TV series)|The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes]]'' starring [[Jeremy Brett]] in the title role, ''[[Inspector Morse (TV series)|Inspector Morse]]'' with [[John Thaw]], ''[[Cadfael (TV series)|Brother Cadfael]]'' starring [[Derek Jacobi]], and ''[[Prime Suspect]]'' starring [[Helen Mirren]]. [[Agatha Christie]] sleuths [[Hercule Poirot]] ([[David Suchet]]) and [[Miss Marple]] (at various times [[Joan Hickson]], [[Geraldine McEwan]], and [[Julia McKenzie]]) have also been featured.

''Mystery!'' won both the [[1988 Anthony Award]] and the [[1991 Anthony Award]] for "Best Television Show".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bouchercon.info/nominees.html |title=Bouchercon World Mystery Convention : Anthony Awards Nominees |publisher=Bouchercon.info |date=October 2, 2003 |access-date=March 14, 2012}}</ref>