Nero Wolfe: The Complete Classic Whodunit Series

This is a series of a detective and the solving of criminal cases. The acting, story lines, scenes, and characters are outstanding. See for yourself. Now that we own the set we're watching the series for the third time.

Rex Stout wrote 33 novels and 39 novellas featuring his rotund private detective, yet the big screen depictions have been minimal. Several television projects struggled to find a network despite serious actors such as Orson Welles lining up to play the title character. I suspect that if Stout had been british and wrote the quirky Nero as living in London’s west end he would have been as beloved as Christie’s Poirot has proven to be over the years. But, the truth is that we americans seem to like our televised private detectives to be either con artist charmers (Jim Rockford / Thomas Magnum) or hard nosed tough guys who brawl and shoot there way through a case (Travis McGee / Lew Archer / Mike Hammer, etc.). Dealing with an orchid loving gourmand who is a borderline agoraphobic, questionably misogynistic, and generally quarrelsome with everyone he encounters is a tough way to draw in a weekly audience.... tough that is until 2001 when A&E put their Nero Wolfe on Sunday nights.The series stars the late Maury Chaykin as Nero and Tim Hutton as Archie Goodwin. The balance of the cast is built around a small, but talented ensemble that play both recurring and one off characters as the stories dictate. Nero and Archie get on each other's nerves on more than a few occasions and their relationship verges from employee / employer to a sort of domestic cold war that bubbles just under the surface. The rest of the household consists of Fritz Brenner, the chef / housekeeper and Theo Horstmann, the unseen (in this series) gardener, who tends Wolfe's rooftop orchid house. A few guest stars show up, but their roles tend to be interesting minor characters rather than overplayed ego trips designed to drive ratings. A typical example would be that of the late Carrie Fisher playing a frumpy button maker who thwarts Archie’s best efforts to track her whereabouts.All told this 8 disc set includes nine 90 minute feature films including the pilot, “The Golden Spiders”, along with twelve 45 minute episodes from the novellas. Three of the feature length films are shown in two parts of 45 minutes each while the balance are an un-interrupted 90 minutes each. Additionally, there’s a reprise of “The Silent Speaker” shown in 16 x 9 format and a 20 minute short on the making of the series. The pilot is on the last disc which is unusual, but I suspect it was done for a purpose as there was some shuffling of characters and actors from those in the pilot to the roles they ultimately played in the series. The pilot was filmed at least a year before the series was picked up and many details had not yet been brought up to the high standard set in the series. In addition a couple of the actors play multiple characters within a given film while others play multiple characters within the series which sounds chaotic but is not uncommon for small performing companies in the theatre world, which is what this cast most resembles.Despite it’s NYC backdrop these were filmed in LA and Toronto and done at a time when A&E was still producing quality material. Unlike the William Conrad series from 1981 this collection is true to the source literature and is set in the 40's, 50's, and 60's with convincing time period authenticity, elaborate sets, and great attention to detail. A number of the episodes were directed by Tim Hutton who clearly has a flair for this sort of period perfect reading. It’s noteworthy that his father, the late Jim Hutton, starred in a rather good “Ellery Queen” series in the 1970’s that was innovative in it's own right. As much as I admire Hutton's directorial contribution I reserve my singular negative comment to his often over the top wise-cracking dialogue which mars an otherwise stellar performance. I have both the Conrad set and this production, and though they share a few episode titles there really is no comparison between the two. Some of the disparity stems from the 20 years between when each was made, but the biggest difference boils down to good writing, a budget sufficient to produce a convincing backdrop, and a top notch ensemble cast. While I consider this to be amongst the top tier of network television series of the last 20 years I should point out that it's a highly produced theatrical production done more in the style of a BBC series than the usual american network fare, so if you don't like witty dialogue and character driven plots this might not be your cup of tea. But to my mind the only real flaw is that A&E ran out of money long before the series ran out of original stories to film.

This box is the second time the series has been released on DVD.Contents are identical to the 2006 release on the A&E label. *Order whichever version is cheapest (usually this one).The box under review was actually manufactured in Australia, but don't worry - it is region-free NTSC, which means it is compatible with all North American DVD players and televisions.Eight DVDs in four standard-size double-DVD plastic cases; all in a cardboard slipcase.CONTENTS:- The 2000 pilot "Golden Spiders" (90 minutes)+ Season One (2001) complete = Eight episodes (four are double-length)+ Season Two (2002) complete = Twelve episodes (four are double-length)+ Bonus: "The Making of Nero Wolfe", a 22 minute introduction to the series (2001)(see end of this review for the titles of each episode)HOW TO VIEW THIS SERIES:-- Step One: Insert DVD number 8 (Volume 4, Disc 2) into your player.Watch the pilot: "Golden Spiders".-- Step Two: Watch the 22 minute bonus "The Making of Nero Wolfe" (also on DVD 8), an excellent introduction to the remaining episodes in the series (no spoilers).-- Step Three: Watch DVDs 1 through 7 in that order. When you come to DVD 7, you have a choice of aspect ratio for watching "The Silent Speaker" -The series is presented in the 4:3 aspect ration which was standard for televisions in 2001.Apparently it was also filmed in the wide-screen aspect ratio of 16:9, common to modern televisions.But only one episode is presented in wide-screen, "The Silent Speaker" on DVD 8."The Silent Speaker" can also viewed in the old 4:3 format on DVD 7.If you have a modern TV set, by all means view it in wide-screen on DVD 8.The pilot, "Golden Spiders", is rated M for Mature audiences, because of violence (Archie Goodwin actually tortures one of the bad guys to make him talk).It is the best film in the series, and darker than the rest.The remaining episodes (rated PG for Parental Guidance) are a bit flippant in tone, almost campy at times, but still rewarding for mystery buffs.[a surprising number of Wolfe's clients are murdered after hiring him - seems like this would be bad for business.]With Maury Chaykin as Nero Wolfe, and Timothy Hutton as Archie Goodwin,this TV series was originally produced by the cable network A&E.Hard to believe,A&E has gone down-market considerably since then.Back in 2000 they spent a lot of money and produced a quality product.Set in 1950's New York, it was filmed in Toronto.No problem. 2001 Toronto looked a lot like 1955 New York. Beautiful cinematography, sets, automobiles and costumes.SUBTITLES?Not actual subtitles, but the DVDs are closed-captioned in English.Closed-Captioning is activated while the disc is playing by pressing a button on your TV's remote."Subtitling" is activated by pressing a button on your DVD player's remote."Closed-Captioning" is obsolete, but it's better than nothing.Unfortunately closed captioning will not work if your DVD player is connected to the TV using the preferred modern method of HDMI cable.You have to use the three-cable (red-white-yellow) method to connect your player to the TV.[a lot of the less expensive DVD players do not even give you the option of a three-cable output - one tip: DVD/VCR combo players always include a three-cable output.](old-fashioned coaxial cable also will work with closed captioning)The remastering on these DVDs is pretty old, but looks gorgeous.I think they would look even better on blu-ray, with everything in 16:9 widescreen.Whenever it is released on blu-ray, I hope we will have subtitles instead of closed captioning.* Earlier A&E DVD release:  Nero Wolfe: The Complete Classic Whodunit Series  (this is usually more expensive, though the contents are identical - including the bonus feature)The A&E version is also available in separate volumes for Seasons 1 and 2, but that is really expensive.------------------------------------------------------------CONTENTS:Pilot (2000)- The Golden Spiders *Season 1 (2001):- The Doorbell Rang *- Champagne for One *- Prisoner's Base *- Eeny Meeny Murder Moe- Disguise for Murder- Door to Death- Christmas Party- Over My Dead Body *Season 2 (2002):- Death of a Doxy *- The Next Witness- Die Like a Dog- Murder Is Corny- Motherhunt *- Poison à la Carte- Too Many Clients *- Before I Die- Help Wanted, Male- The Silent Speaker *- Cop Killer- Immune to Murder* 90 minute episodes, the rest are 45 minutes long (give or take a minute)-----------------------------------------------------------------------P.S. An earlier "Nero Wolfe" series (14 episodes) aired on NBC in 1981 starring William Conrad as Nero Wolfe.It was preceded by a 1977 pilot starring Thayer David who passed away before filming on the series started.Neither is commercially available at the present time,nor are the two movies that Columbia Pictures made in the 1930s:- "Meet Nero Wolfe" (1936) starring Edward Arnold- "The League of Frightened Men" (1937) starring Walter Connolly(but see my comment dated March 19)

Shame it was cancelled, the narration by Archie Godwin is cuttingly dry and drives the episodes. I enjoyed the recycling of actors almost like a theatre company with the minor players taking different roles in each episode. Has led me to the books where I can "hear" the dialogue as if watching the series, if you like Leverage you should enjoy this.

The first couple of times I saw this production on A&E in 2001, I was kind of put off by Maury Chaykin's portrayal of Wolfe, but this show grew on me and it came to be among my all-time whodunit favourites. Now, finally, I can watch it again at leisure. Maybe it's like a fine wine where an appreciation of the item comes with time; I now enjoy the Hutton-Chaykin interpretation thoroughly. There are those who have difficulty wrapping their heads around the repertory cast having entirely different roles from one episode to the next and I'd admit to being a bit confused about it myself at first. Nevertheless, after understanding the concept, I'm even more impressed by the skill and talent of the repertory actors in successfully taking on vastly different roles through the series. You just have to watch each episode as a stand-alone - not as a continuation of one story to another. After all, these shows are dramatisations of the Rex Stout novels and are each best viewed on their own merit.Regarding the media, the series comes on 8 DVDs with all but one show in 4:3 SD, the final show being in 16:9. Despite this, the colour rendering is brilliant and, so far, I haven't run into any playback problems. The audio level is good, not overdriven and not too quiet as is the case with some DVD transcriptions. I'm not one to be too bent about a video being SD, HD or whatever, so long as it's watchable without too much degradation from the original format or what one might see at the cinema. After all, the real value is in the story line and the quality of acting, both of which are superb in this case.Regarding the portrayal, if I were to be asked what period of the 20th century this was set, it would be difficult to say. While Stout's novels were nominally set between 1950 and the early 1960's, I come away with the title fonts and leader format suggesting the 1930's and the music more of the 1940's, especially the Benny Goodman-ish clarinet and Gene Krupa drum riffs. The only give-away to a 1950's setting is the cars and clothes styling. Nevertheless, it all seems to work and comes together in an entirely entertaining production.All in all, this is a fine video product offered at a very modest price. I recommend it highly.

This is a fine series based on Tex Stout’s armchair detective. Wolfe (Maury Chaykin) solves crimes without leaving his elegant townhouse, principally by using his loyal assistant Archie Goodwin (Timothy Hutton). The two main actors are well cast, especially Chaykin, whose ability to occupy a persona was often unappreciated. Hutton is also very good, in a role different from many he has played. The opulent setting of Wolfe’s house and the adroit use of jazz and music of the period make this a great series to settle down and watch on a cosy evening. If you missed this when it was broadcast early in the 2000s, you will enjoy it. If you remember it, you will relish revisiting.

Ich bin überrascht, wie gut diese Serie die Atmosphäre und die Eigenarten der Charaktere wiedergibt: zB Archies unverholene Ironie beim Erzählen, Wolfes Marotten, Inspektor Cramers ständiges Aufgeregtsein; auch die Ausstattung von Wolfes Wohnung und Büro, wo sich immer gut drei Viertel der Handlung abspielen, ist sehr detailgetreu den Romanen und Geschichten entnommen. Die beiden Hauptdarsteller haben eine sehr gute und akzentuierte Aussprache, so dass man die leider fehlenden Untertitel verschmerzen kann (einziges Manko für Menschen, die hörgeschädigt sind oder nicht so gut englisch können). Leider gibt es die Nero-Wolfe-Serie aus den 80ern mit William Conrad in der Hauptrolle, an die sich viele gerne zurückerinnern, nicht auf DVD, aber diese neuere Serie ist mindestens ebenso gut.

I bought a a set of Nero Wolfe mysteries a few years ago. This was not a complete set, but was so good I wanted the complete set. The cast is excellent and the stories original. The costumes and settings were superb. I understand the series was cancelled due to high production costs. Such a pity, but that is what makes this series unique. Would recommend to anyone.