Murder Live at Five

Debin (The Big O) takes satirical swipes at L.A., self-help cults and TV journalism as his hero, Albie Marx, 1960s survivor and columnist for Up Yours magazine, finds himself a prime suspect in the wedding-day murder of a media tycoon. The man who pulled the trigger implicated Albie on national TV just before dying of colon cancer; $50,000 has appeared in Albie's checking account; and the beautiful woman who is his alibi has disappeared. All of this comes as a gift for Albie's longtime nemesis, a cop named Danno. Naturally, Albie sets out to clear his name, find his missing alibi and expose the murderer. But who could that be? Is it a rival media mogul? Or a New Age guru called Ozzie Baba (aka Jack Schwarzberg) whose mantra for the '90s is, ``It's not my job to make you happy''? Or perhaps the victim's widow, inheritor of a considerable estate? The writing is edgy, fresh and appropriately outrageous. A tinge of melancholy deepens this manic, layered mystery as funny, fast-talking Albie holds tight to hippie principles in a town where money and position come first. (Apr.)