Thu 5 Feb 2009

26 Responses to “TV Review: A NERO WOLFE MYSTERY: THE DOORBELL RANG (2001).”

1. Bill Crider Says:
   February 5th, 2009 at 9:51 pm

   I don’t know if this is the best book in the series, but it’s certainly one of my favorites. I think the TV version was a very faithful translation to the screen, and I enjoyed it a great deal when I saw it. I’m sorry the series didn’t continue.

2. paul herman Says:
   February 5th, 2009 at 10:32 pm

   Steve,

   Glad to see you finally purchased the DVD set. I bought mine for tne same 50% off from Deep Discount, what a steal! Now, as far as the shows go, I’ve watched the first half dozen or so in the last two weeks and from what I can tell, they’ve kept the stories in the same decade that they were written, changing clothing styles, cars, even the interior paint colors are different in the Wolfe brownstone from show to show.I can’t remember the exact show, but when these were first run on TV there is an episode that takes place in Lily Rowan’s apartment with a poetry reading and the clothing was definitely 60’s Mod! And what a variety of color they use in the show. Almost like looking through a comic book. I know a lot of people didn’t like the guy that portrays Nero, but he certainly grows on you. And the
   dialogue is almost verbatim from the books. Keep watching those episodes and you’ll see what I mean. I also liked the way they used the same cast of actors for so many different parts in the series. A great loss when they ended the show.

3. Walker Martin Says:
   February 6th, 2009 at 11:01 am

   First of all let me make it clear that I absolutely agree that the NERO WOLFE TV series was excellent. I watched all the shows when they first aired and as is often my habit, I read the novella or story before watching the TV version. I was very impressed by how close they followed the books and captured the atmosphere and characters of Nero Wolfe and Archie. Your comments have made me realize that I want to watch the shows again and reread some of the novels. I managed to find my NERO WOLFE box set(not as simple a task as it sounds), and set it near my dvd player for future watching.

   Having said the above, I would like to present another series that I believe is in the running for, as you put it, “…the finest TV series ever based on the works of an American mystery writer.”

   I am referring to the HBO original series that aired in 1983 and 1986 for a total of 11 hour long episodes, titled PHILIP MARLOWE, PRIVATE EYE. Based on Raymond Chandler’s short stories, it starred Powers Boothe and is available on dvd and vhs.

   There were other series of interest but they did not reach the levels of NERO WOLFE or PHILIP MARLOWE, PRIVATE EYE. I’m talking about MIKE HAMMER, starring Darren Mcgavin in an early TV series available on bootleg dvds and Stacey Keach later on in the 1980’s. Also some would say SPENSER FOR HIRE, based on Robert Parker’s series character is of interest.

   British TV is another matter of course and there are several of interest, a subject too complex to get into right now.

4. Steve Says:
   February 6th, 2009 at 11:38 am

   Bill:

   Since writing this review, I’ve now watched the second presentation, a two-part adaptation of Champagne for One, and I enjoyed even more than I did The Doorbell Rang.

   It’s a matter of comparing an “A” with an “A plus,” though. It’s hard to say how either could have been improved.

   As far as I’m concerned, A&E could have continued forever, or if not, then at the least, through all of Nero Wolfe stories.

   I’m sure the cast and crew wouldn’t have minded either. They seemed to know what they were doing, and even better, to have enjoyed doing it.

   Paul:

   You’re certainly right about the bright, vibrant colors. Sumptuous, even. I tried to be sure the images I chose reflected this, and I hope I succeeded.

   But I thought I read somewhere that they decided to keep the 1950s decor and atmosphere throughout the series. Sounds as though I’m wrong about that. I’ll have to pay closer attention from now on.

   In fact, I have a feeling that this is a series that once you’ve watched your way through, you can start all over again, giving you a chance to pick up on all the things you missed the first time.

   Walker:

   You’re absolutely right about the Powers Boothe PHILIP MARLOWE series. I didn’t remember it at all until you brought it up.

   I enjoyed that show immensely and couldn’t understand why everyone didn’t. I also don’t understand why it slipped my mind last night when I was polishing up my notes on the Nero Wolfe series.

   I’m sure I have the Marlowe series, either on VHS or DVD. Like you, I have some digging around to do. The only problem with having so much to watch — a veritable abundance of riches — is that it takes too much time away from reading.

   As for MIKE HAMMER, while they’re good in their own right, none of the TV series based on them have been able to match the furious energy that made the original Spillane stories so popular. I agree that the SPENSER stories on TV come very close to Parker’s version, but to me, the characters soon seemed to take on a separate life of their own, in a world that was almost — but not quite — the same as the one that Parker created.

   — Steve

5. Mike Doran Says:
   February 6th, 2009 at 1:05 pm

   Not to tell you how to do your job, Steve, but I think you should have watched The Golden Spiders first; it was the “pilot”, and a number of refinements were made when the decision to go to series came – not the least being the opening title sequences by Aurore Giscard-D’Estaing (Mme. Timothy Hutton). Also, Spiders has Saul Rubinek playing Saul Panzer instead of Lon Cohen, and Wolfe wears white shirts (okay, not such a big deal, but they did get it right when they went to series). As you get deeper into the episodes, you’ll note the repertory company – the same actors playing different roles from one story to the next. athat was one of the particular charms of the WOLFE series, and one that got it some needed press in the early going. One actor who benifited was Kari Matchett, who played about a dozen different roles in the various shows, including Lily Rowan a couple of times. Matchett got some press as “the Wolfe woman” *groan* but was able to cash in on it; she has spent much of the time since WOLFE went off appearing in almost every other scripted show extant. There are any number of other elements that I could comment on, but you get the idea: NERO WOLFE ia a treasure. One thing does get to me: apparently Maury Chaykin has been again relegated to playing inarticulate schlubs – and that is a shame. Somebody please start paying attention.

6. Mike Grost Says:
   February 6th, 2009 at 1:48 pm

   I really enjoyed the 1980’s PHILIP MARLOWE, too. Have only seen a few of the NERO WOLFE episodes. Need to catch up!
   The best episode IMHO of the 1970’s ELLERY QUEEN series was THE MAD TEA PARTY.
   American mystery fiction is largely un-filmed. It is like an alien world to modern day Hollywood.

7. Steve Says:
   February 6th, 2009 at 1:49 pm

   Mike Doran —

   You’re right about my messing up in regards to not watching The Golden Spiders first. Tell me this, though, why is the pilot included in the second season set of DVDs, where I forgot to look for it?

   Anyway, that’s my one and only excuse. I’ll get to it, though, and probably faster than usual. I suspect that this is one set that I won’t get stalled out on partway through. I usually find myself picking up another interest before I’m finished with one.

   I tend to watch two sets of DVDs at the same time, though. Alternating with episodes of NERO WOLFE, I’m watching M SQUAD, and two or three of those at a time.

   Lee Marvin doesn’t get a lot of credit for his acting, I don’t think. In these shows he doesn’t have a lot to do, in terms of body language and facial expressions, but he seems always to be doing something. And when he’s supposed to be masquerading as a hick out-of-town salesman, by golly, he’s a hick out-of-town salesman.

   Mike Grost —

   I really like the Jim Hutton ELLERY QUEEN’s. They’re far from faithful adaptations of the EQ stories, but they stand on their own in great fashion. They’re all very enjoyable. I’m especially fond of the way that Ellery stops the action toward the end of a show and asks the audience to come up with their own solutions.

   I had hopes at one time that PBS would do televised adaptations of some US detective fiction. They might do a decent job. I think they did so a couple of Tony Hillerman books, which I missed, unfortunately, but I don’t seem to recall any others.

   — Steve

8. Walker Martin Says:
   February 6th, 2009 at 2:03 pm

   M SQUAD with Lee Marvin is a favorite of mine also. Years ago I managed to get over a hundred episodes on bootleg dvds. Now that the Official dvd box set is out, I also bought it.

   Lee Marvin is such a commanding presence, with his deep, gravelly voice and ice cold stare. The tough, violent Lee Marvin of POINT BLANK can first be seen in these fast moving 25 minute shows. He really looked the part of a no nonsense hardboiled cop.

9. Steve Says:
   February 6th, 2009 at 2:18 pm

   Walker

   As I understand it, if it weren’t for bootleg collectors, many of the episodes in the authorized box set of M SQUAD shows would still be missing.

   — Steve

10. Lee Goldberg Says:
    February 6th, 2009 at 2:23 pm

    Steve,

    I’m glad you enjoyed the NERO WOLFE series so much, particularly one of my episodes, “Champagne for One.” (I ended up getting nominated for an Edgar for another one of my episodes, “Prisoner’s Base”).

    You’re right — we were slavishly loyal to the books and used as much dialog as we could from the books and novellas (though, in the case of Wolfe’s speeches, we often had to condense two pages of monologue into two short paragraphs). That doesn’t mean we didn’t make plot changes, combine or eliminate characters, and create new scenes and dialog — but it was probably the most intentionally loyal adaptation of a series of book on TV (at least as far as I know). Michael Jaffe, the executive producer, was an enormous Stout fan and, had the series gone on,there would have been no original episodes, every one would have been based on a Stout book or novella.

    There were many reasons the show was canceled. It skewed to a very narrow, and very old audience, making it a hard sell to advertisers. It was a period piece, which made it expense to make. It was very talky, which made it feel musty to younger viewers and made it a difficult sell overseas (where half of the financing was coming from). And using the same guest cast, like a theatre company, in every episode confused the audience.

    I wrote a long column for Mystery Scene about my experiences on Nero Wolfe…I will see if I can dig it up for you.

    Lee

    PS – I think you are mistaken about Perry Mason. I believe the books predated the Raymond Burr TV series by quite some time.

11. Lee Goldberg Says:
    February 6th, 2009 at 2:26 pm

    By the way, you can find all of my NERO WOLFE screenplay, which I co-wrote with William Rabkin, here:

    http://www.leegoldberg.com/scripts.html

12. Lee Goldberg Says:
    February 6th, 2009 at 2:30 pm

    I meant “screenplays” not “screenplay” in my previous post. I’m a lousy typist.

    I wrote four episodes: the two-hour movies “Champagne for One” and “Prisoner’s Base” and the one-hour episodes “Murder is Corny” and “Murder A La Carte” (which were later combined into a movie with a bridging scene).

    Lee

13. Walker Martin Says:
    February 6th, 2009 at 2:58 pm

    I hope Lee Goldberg can find his Mystery Scene article about NERO WOLFE. I’m sure we all would be interested in reading it.

    You are right about the bootleg collectors providing the missing episodes for the official M SQUAD box set. For awhile it looked like the box set would be missing several episodes but the collectors responded to the call for help.

14. Mike Doran Says:
    February 6th, 2009 at 6:31 pm

    Why is Golden Spiders in with the second season DVDs instead of the first? You’ll have to ask the Big Branes at A&E – and while you’re at it ask them why they dropped the damn show! Have a nice weekend…

15. Steve Says:
    February 6th, 2009 at 7:48 pm

    Mike D —

    For what it’s worth, the pilot for ROCKFORD FILES is an “extra” in the 2nd season set of DVD’s also. It makes little sense to me.

    I’ll rephrase that. It makes no sense at all.

    As for A&E dropping the show, I’m sure Lee Goldberg is absolutely right. High costs, old (and small) audience. What else is new?

    Lee —

    It sounds as though NERO WOLFE is a part of your resume that you’re particularly proud of, and rightfully so.

    Thanks for telling us more about the series and your part in it. I’m not speaking for myself alone, I’m sure!

    — Steve

16. Lee Goldberg Says:
    February 6th, 2009 at 8:33 pm

    Here’s the article…

    Writing Nero Wolfe

    By Lee Goldberg

    INT. BROWNSTONE – WOLFE’S OFFICE – DAY

    Archie sits at his desk, OILING HIS TWO MARLEY .38s. As we hear his voice-over, he switches to OILING HIS TYPEWRITER with the SAME OIL.

    ARCHIE’S VOICE
    Nero Wolfe is a creature of habit. Every morning, from nine until eleven, he tends his 10,000 orchids and I, Archie Goodwin, his confidential secretary and legman extraordinaire, tend to business. And since there wasn’t any business to tend to, I was preparing for action… if and when it ever came.

    The PHONE RINGS. He answers it.

    I can’t tell you how much pleasure it gave me to write those words, the opening scene of the A&E adaptation of Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe novel “Champagne for One.”

    For one thing, I’ve been a fan of Nero Wolfe since I was a kid. The Brownstone on West 35th Street where Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin live and work in New York City was as real to me as my family’s suburban tract home in Walnut Creek, California. I read each and every book, reveling in Archie’s amiable narration, his lively banter with Nero Wolfe, and Wolfe’s wonderfully verbose and brilliant speeches. While I may have been underwhelmed, even as a teenager, by Stout’s lazy plotting, I loved the language and, most of all, the relationship between Wolfe and Archie. I never dreamed I’d have a chance to write those characters myself. And, in the case of that opening, to write new words in their voices, at least as I’ve always heard them.

    It was a screenwriting assignment unlike any other that my writing partner, William Rabkin, and I had ever been involved with. Because “Nero Wolfe,” starring Maury Chaykin as Wolfe and Timothy Hutton as Archie, was unlike any other series on television. It was, as far as I know, the first TV series without a single original script — each and every episode was based on a Rex Stout novel, novella, or short story. That’s not to say there wasn’t original writing involved, but it was Stout who did all the hard work.

    Everyone who wrote for “Nero Wolfe” was collaborating with Rex Stout. The mandate from executive producers Michael Jaffe and Timothy Hutton (who also directed episodes) was to “do the books,” even if that meant violating some of the hard-and-fast rules of screenwriting.

    Your typical hour-long teleplay follows what’s known as a four-act structure. Whether it’s an episode “The West Wing” or “CSI,” the formula is essentially the same. But “Nero Wolfe” ignored the formula, forgoing the traditional mini-cliffhangers and plot-reversals that precede the commercial breaks.

    Instead, we stuck to the structure of the book, replicating as closely as possible the experience of reading a Rex Stout novel (which, sadly, few viewers under the age of 50 have ever done).

    In the highly competitive world of primetime network television, and in an era of “MTV”-style editing, it helped “Nero Wolfe” stand apart (and, perhaps, sealed its doom). “Nero Wolfe” required the writer to turn off most of his professional instincts and, instead, put all his trust in the material… which was a whole lot easier if you were already a Nero Wolfe fan.

    “It’s amazing how many writers got it wrong,” says Sharon Elizabeth Doyle, who was head writer for “Nero Wolfe.” “I mean very good writers, too. Either you get it or you don’t. It’s so important to have the relationships right, and the tone of the relationships right, to get that it’s about the language and not the story. The characters in these books aren’t modern human beings. You have to believe in the characters and respect the formality of the way they are characterized.”

    That doesn’t mean writers for the show simply transcribed the book into script form. It can’t be done. There’s no getting past that a novel and a TV series are two distinct, and very different, mediums. The writer’s job on “Nero Wolfe” was to adapt Rex Stout’s stories into scripts that could be produced on a certain budget over a seven-day schedule on a particular number of sets and locations. Beyond that, the writer had to re-tell Stout’s story in the idiom of television. By that, I mean the story had to be shown not told, through actions rather than speech, which isn’t easy when you’re working with mysteries written in first-person that are mostly about a bunch of people sitting in an office and talking. And talking. And talking. It’s very entertaining to read it, but can be deadly dull if you have to watch it.

    Our first step in the adaptation process was the most fun – we’d sit down and read the book for pure pleasure, to get the feel and shape of the story (I couldn’t believe someone was actually paying me to read a book that I loved!)

    After that, the real work started. We’d sit at the laptop and briefly jot down notes on the key emotional moments of the story, the major plots points, the essential clues, and most importantly, whatever the central conflict was between Wolfe and Archie. We’d also make notes of an obvious plot problems (and there were many). Once we were done with that, we were ready to read the book again, only not as readers but as literary construction workers who had to figure out how to take the structure apart and rebuild it again in a different medium.

    We’d go through the book page-by-page, highlighting essential dialogue while writing a scene-by-scene outline on the computer as went along. We used the outline, combined with our previous notes, to get a firm grasp on the story, to see what scenes had to be pared down, combined or removed. Within scenes, we looked for ways the dialogue could be tightened, simplified or re-choreographed to add more momentum, energy and movement to the episode. And we’d do all this while keeping one thought constantly in our minds… stick as closely to the books as you can.

    More often than not, that meant loyalty to the dialogue rather than to the structure of the plot or the order, locations, or choreography of the scenes. Because the first thing we discovered as we took apart Stout’s stories and put them back together again was how thin and clumsily plotted the mysteries are…a weakness that seems to be more easily hidden in prose than it can be on camera (which is one reason plots are so often reworked in the movie versions of your favorite mysteries).

    “Television does seem to make the plot problems more glaring. The Nero Wolfe mysteries, generally, are very weak,” says novelist Stuart Kaminsky, who adapted the novella “Immune to Murder” into an episode. “Wolfe seldom does anything brilliant. We are simply told he is brilliant and are convinced by his manipulation of people and language. His is a great act.”

    Any avid reader of the Stout books soon discovers that there are three ways Wolfe will solve a mystery:

    a) Wolfe either calls, mails, or in some other way contacts all the suspects and accuses each one of being the murderer, then waits for one of them to expose him or herself by either trying to steal or retrieve a key piece of evidence… or trying to kill Archie, Wolfe, or some other person Wolfe has set up as bait.

    b) Wolfe sends his operative Saul or Orrie to retrieve some piece of evidence that is with-held from Archie (and, by extension, all of us) and revealed in the finale to expose the killer.

    c) Wolfe uses actual deduction.

    The challenge in adapting the Nero Wolfe stories for television was obscuring those plot problems by playing up the character conflicts and cherry-picking the best lines from Wolfe’s many speeches. The plots became secondary to the relationships and the uniqueness of the language. The vocabulary was never dumbed down or simplified for the TV audience, which is why the series felt so much like the books.

    “There is a pleasure in Wolfe’s speeches, what we call the arias,” says Doyle. “Wolfe has lots of them, the trick is isolating that one aria you can’t live without.”
    In the novel “Too Many Clients,” which Doyle adapted for the show, there was one Nero Wolfe speech that she knew had to be in the episode:

    “A modern satyr is part man, part pig, part jack-ass. He hasn’t even the charm of the roguish; he doesn’t lean gracefully against a tree with flute in hand. The only quality he has preserved from his Attic ancestors is his lust, and he gratifies it in the dark corners of other men’s beds or hotel rooms, not in the shade of an olive tree on a sunny hillside. The preposterous bower of carnality you have described is a sorry makeshift, but at least Mr. Yeager tried. A pig and a jack-ass yes, but the flute strain was in him too, as it once was in me, in my youth. No doubt he deserved to die, but I would welcome a sufficient inducement to expose his killer.”

    Where else on television do you find a character who talks like that? No where. Not before “Nero Wolfe,” and not now that it has been cancelled.

    “There is one thing we did that nobody else is doing. We played with the language and had a good time doing it,” Doyle says. “Most TV language is very minimalist.”

    She’s right. When was the last time you heard a TV character use satyr and bower in casual conversation? I’m not surprised “Nero Wolfe” was canceled. Perhaps the creative choices that were made, while respecting the material, were wrong for TV. Not because audiences are stupid, but because television is, ultimately, not a book, and certainly not one written in the 1940s. By design, the show had a dated feel, one that may have alienated all but the oldest viewers and the most avid Wolfe fans.

    That said, and with my obvious biases showing, I think the series, and especially the performances of Maury Chaykin and Timothy Hutton, will be recognized as the definitive dramatic interpretation of “Nero Wolfe,” the one any future movie or TV incarnations will be measured against. And I was honored to be a part of it.

    Lee Goldberg was nominated for an Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America for his work on “Nero Wolfe.”

17. Missy Kagen Says:
    February 7th, 2009 at 1:36 am

    And while you’re at it ask them why they didn’t restore for the DVDs the scenes they cut for commercials or issue a set in widescreen since both Seasons One and Two were filmed in widescreen and aired in 16×9 in Europe.

    Per Wikipedia, a partial DVD set of the series with missing scenes from just one episode has recently been released through the foreign distributor, Fremantlemedia, in Australia and New Zealand, of all places:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Nero_Wolfe_Mystery

    “The Pearson Television International version of “Prisoner’s Base” on disc one of the DVD set includes three scenes (3.5 minutes) found on pp. 3–5, 21 and 27–28 of the script written by Lee Goldberg and William Rabkin.”

    Mike Doran Says:
    February 6th, 2009 at 6:31 pm
    ….and while you’re at it ask them why they dropped the damn show! Have a nice weekend…

18. Mike Tooney Says:
    February 7th, 2009 at 6:45 pm

    Lee Goldberg wrote:

    “… using the same guest cast, like a theatre company, in every episode confused the audience.”

    Count me as one who was confused in that fashion. I loved the continuing characters in NERO WOLFE, but the recurring guest actors playing different roles, especially villainous ones, somehow just didn’t work for me. They would have to be extraordinarily versatile — able to “disappear into the character,” as it were — to make me forget their previous appearance(s).

    As a cost-cutting measure, however, reusing the same performers is hard to beat.

    Mike

19. Steve Says:
    February 8th, 2009 at 12:14 pm

    Missy —

    Your comment was the first I’d learned about scenes that were filmed but never used.

    Since the DVD sets have being selling at huge discounts, I don’t suppose that sales in the US have been spectacular enough for A&E (or whoever) to consider a Special Edition containing the missing material, but it would be nice.

    I’ll make sure that Lee Goldberg sees your question. Maybe he can say more.

    Mike —

    I’m not sure how the “repertory” approach would do much in reducing costs — whoever the actors are, they’d have to be paid.

    What I can see that would be beneficial is that the actors they used wouldn’t have to be “indoctrinated” (I can’t think of a better word) into the “intellectual” and dialogue-heavy approach that the series took.

    So far I’ve not watched enough of the series to see if it bothers me or not. Now that I’m expecting it, I suspect it won’t.

    — Steve

20. Steve Says:
    February 8th, 2009 at 1:46 pm

    Lee’s reply, via email:

    I don’t know anything about the DVD sets. However, I do know that the episodes aired in the U.S. were all shorter than the international versions, especially the episodes that were later combined into two hour movies (like my “Murder is Corny” and “Poison a la Carte,” which included several extra scenes not broadcast on A&E).

    Lee

21. Mike Grost Says:
    February 8th, 2009 at 5:56 pm

    THE RIFLEMAN used a repertory system of casting for guest star roles. The same actors would appear again and again, always as different characters. They would be made up differently, with different hair styles and costumes. Actors like Chris Alcaide or John Anderson made eleven appearances, each, I think.
    Have no idea “why” the producers did this. They clearly liked the actors – and as Steve suggests, they probably knew “the Rifleman way of doing things.”
    I enjoyed this.

22. Mike Doran Says:
    February 9th, 2009 at 11:09 am

    Steev(that’s how the e-mail was signed): I didn’t see Lee’s comment until after I sent my little blast in. Not that it matters; we’ve all heard that song before, Lee and Bill Rabkin probably more than most. It’s all about the pseudo-science of demographics, imposed by the ad agencies to try to make hits by formula, thereby guareanteeing success. The fact that it almost never works – hey, a .300 hitter misses seven times out of ten, so shut up. Well, that’s the lesson we all have to learn early on: take what you can get and run with it – because it won’t last anyway. Best from Miek (lol)

23. Steve Says:
    February 9th, 2009 at 11:21 am

    “Well, that’s the lesson we all have to learn early on: take what you can get and run with it – because it won’t last anyway. Best from Miek (lol)”

    Ditto to that, in spades.

    By the way, I’ve outsourced my email response system to an outfit overseas. That’s who you must have heard from, not me. The clue to who it is that you’re actually hearing from is subtle, but rather obvious once you’ve caught on.

    — Steve

24. David L. Vineyard Says:
    February 28th, 2009 at 2:21 am

    I agree the Chaykin and Hutton Nero Wolfe series is not only the best film version of Wolfe, but one of the best adaptations of a fictional sleuth to film (certainly to the small screen). Both Edward Arnold and Walter Connally, who played Wofle in early films, decided to play him as a jovial and bluff type much like the millionaires and policiticans they usually played, and it didn’t help that Lionel Stander (Max on Hart to Hart) was badly miscast as Archie (much less John Qualen as Fritz). The sets were faithful to the books though (based on Fer de Lance and The League of Frightened Men).

    Television did much better with the pilot film Nero Wolfe (1979) that starred Thayer David and Tom Mason. Based on The Doorbell Rang it was a superior made for television film and David and Mason were both good. They even did the scene from the book where Wolfe’s client (Anne Baxter in this one) spots the portrait of Wolfe’s father (Sherlock Holmes). If memory serves Biff McGuire was Cramer and John Randolph played Lon Cohen. Frank Gilroy directed and scripted. The untimely death of Thayer David postponed the series which eventually starred William Conrad and Lee Horsely, and the least said about it the better.

    Wolfe did somewhat better on radio where the role was played by Santos Ortega and Sidney Greenstreet. If you’ve never heard them they are well done, and not hard to find. But running only a half hour seldom adapted Stout’s material.

    As to why there is no American equivalent to Mystery or Masterpiece Theater part of it lies in the fact the BBC is a government operation and part the commercial nature of network and cable television. We’ll always get another version of Knightrider and seldom get a quality program like Nero Wolfe, and certainly nothing to resemble those adaptations of Lord Peter, Campion, Poirot, or Miss Marple. Another factor is that many British series only commit to six to eight episodes a season so budgets aren’t as restrictive, and the actors can do other work while doing a series without having to leave the series.

    That the Jim Hutton Ellery Queen, the Chaykin Wolfe, and the Spenser tv series were as good as they were and ran as long as they did are all minor miracles. Eventually there will be a revival of classical tec films (everything comes back to some extent) and we’ll get a new round of American made Agatha Christie with some poor actress as badly cast in the part of Miss Marple as Helen Hayes was or a Peter Ustinov struggling with diminishing budgets and scripts. But the sad fact is, it’s cheaper to generate material based on old series and follow trends than try to do something smart. It’s more cost effective to invent a tec series for the small screen than to buy the rights to a proven product and run afoul of fans preconcieved ideas and the authors desires, and it probably doesn’t help that todays honchos have a better understanding of comics, science fiction, fantasy, movies, and 80’s television than mystery fiction. Our only hope is that somewhere down the line another cable network decides to gamble on something like the Nero Wolfe series and produces something worthwhile instead of more reality series and tiresome comedies and dramadies. But I wouldn’t hold my breath.

    And I know I’m gilding the lily here, but there seems to have been a suggestion that Perry Mason debuted sometime around the creation of the Raymond Burr television series. Of course Mason appeared for the first time in the late 1930’s when Gardner was already a highly successful pulp author (H. Bedford Jones officially passed the title king of the pulps onto Gardner). Mason pushed Gardner onto the bestseller list and made him one of the most successful writers of all time. Warner Brothers did a series of Mason movies with Warren William, Ricardo Cortez, and Donald Woods as Mason (at least one had Allen Jenkins as Paul Drake and Errol Flynn made his American film debut as a corpse in another). There was also 15 minute radio serial based on Perry, but it was never a particular success. It wasn’t until television and Burr’s incarnation of the character that Perry finally conquered another market. Fans will recall a second attempt to do Perry with Monte Markham that met an early and much deserved end, and of course Burr’s return to the role in later years in a series of made for television movies. Although Gardner was a major success as a mystery writer without Burr, it can certainly be argued that Burr so embodied the character that he took the whole thing to another level pushing Perry to a level closer to Sherlock Holmes, Tarzan, and James Bond than the usual run of mystery icons. There is a good book, Murder in the Millions that covers the mega sales of Gardner, Ian Fleming, and Mickey Spillane.

25. Tony Says:
    August 30th, 2009 at 10:24 am

    I’ve enjoyed reading all the comments regarding the Nero Wolfe series in this email stream. I was an avid watcher of the series when it first aired and taped them as well because I knew the show would eventually be dropped – it was too good for television. It was a bonus that it came back for a second season. What I especially liked about the show was the crimes being solved were done by deduction and reasoning and not done by DNA samples, video cameras, the internet, etc. Since I now have the DVD set I have watched each episode several times over with pleasure and enjoyment except for two that I watched only during their first time airing on A&E: ‘Over My Dead Body’ and ‘Before I Die’. I am saving these for when I can’t take another reality tv show or special crimes unit (all the same) and need a good Nero Wolfe fix. The series also got me to read for enjoyment again. Thanks to all of the talented people associated with such a remarkable show.

26. Sharon M. Strawbridge Says:
    January 6th, 2010 at 8:08 am

    Thank you for the good post. I really love this tv series. Can’t wait for the next episode ! Keep up the good work with this 🙂

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