I've been curious about The Ellery Queen Mysteries ever since I read creator Peter S. Fischer's book Me and Murder, She Wrote (which is SUCH a great book btw). In it, he talks about several series he created or worked on, including Murder, She Wrote, Columbo, and a few you probably don't remember (like The Law and Harry McGraw or Blacke's Magic). There's a special place in his heart, though, for The Ellery Queen Mysteries, which Fischer recalls fondly throughout the book while expressing continued confusion as to why the show wasn't more popular. After watching the series on DVD, I think I know why.
It's not that the show is terrible--it has a lot of great elements which make it fun and watchable--but it definitely has some problems. The premise--that writer Ellery Queen solves murder cases better than his police inspector father can--might be straight from the books, but the TV series makes it seem like his father is the world's absolute worst detective. It's not that he's portrayed as bumbling (quite the opposite--David Wayne is very gruff and direct) so much as that he has no idea what he's doing. Whenever there's a murder he literally panics until someone goes to get his son. His son the writer, not the police officer. It stretches the very limits of belief.
I'm also not a fan of the fourth-wall-breaking moments when Jim Hutton as Ellery Queen speaks directly to the camera saying, "I've figured it out. Have you?" That almost never works out as well as TV and movie creators want it to. Suddenly I feel like I'm watching a children's detective show with the host saying, "Hey kids, did you figure it out?"
The series was only based on the Ellery Queen stories in the most basic ways (only one or two episodes even credit Queen, the rest being original scripts using the same characters) so you're not likely to find your favourite books or short stories depicted. It does stay true to the "fair play mystery" aspect of Ellery Queen stories, in that all the clues you need to solve the mystery at home are given and shown. Of course, they rather hit you over the head with that point. And the answer to almost every single one is that the murderer left before the victim was really dead, giving the victim a few seconds to leave a "dying clue," some cryptic indication of who the killer is (no one ever uses those last seconds to call for help or try to stop their own bleeding).
Still, there's something inviting about the show. It takes place in the 1940's but was made in the 1970's, which means that it feels very 70's. What was it about the 1970's that compelled people to make period dramas in which everybody wore polyester and shiny blue eyeshadow? And the odd relationship between father and son is sort of like a detective duo version of Sanford and Son. Plus there's the added mystery of how 5'7 David Wayne managed to have a son as tall as 6'5 Jim Hutton. How tall was the mom supposed to have been??
But the chess-themed opening sequence and instrumental music draws you in. Get it? Because his name is Queen, like a chess queen? And he solves difficult puzzles, sort of like playing chess. Yeah, the show doesn't go much for subtlety. But I'm glad I watched them. I could almost hear Peter S. Fischer in the background saying, "I love this show! Why isn't anyone watching it?"
DVD Details:
The Ellery Queen Mysteries--Complete Series
Starring Jim Hutton, David Wayne, John Hillerman
Series Creators: Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson, William Link
Based on characters created by Ellery Queen
DVD Release Date: September 28, 2010 (Entertainment One)
Original TV air date: March 23, 1975
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Source: I borrowed it from my local library
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