I ordered Network's complete series of Whodunnit? because Jon Pertwee was on the cover of the DVD set. He's the host of this rather unusual panel game show and while that doesn't actually start until the second series, he does appear as a guest in the first series. Edward Woodward is the host of the first series and a panelist in the pilot. I hadn't ever heard of this show before I saw the DVD listed on Amazon UK but it was odd enough that I wanted to take a shot.
The 6 series were each released as individual sets but I got the 13 disc complete series box set. It's packed in one of those big fat plastic cases with hinged panels to hold the discs. I hate them and this one has an extra annoyance, the discs are stacked 2 to a hub and staggered. I hate that stagger, making you remove a disc to get to another disc, doubling up the discs on a hub, even more heinous. I put the discs in paper sleeves, recycled the box and kept the paper insert. It sure saves a lot of space. Amazon sells some nice folding boxes that hold those paper sleeved discs quite well.
The series was devised and written by Jeremy Lloyd and Lance Percival. Jeremy was an actor and writer who appeared in The Magic Christian and Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In in 1969. He wrote a lot of British TV shows that I haven't seen, as well as material for Laugh-In. Lance is the more well known actor, at least to me, I'd just seen him in On The Fiddle with Alfred Lynch and Sean Connery. I've seen him in other movies and I know I'll be seeing more of him. Several of his credits include films that are part of The British Film series that I've been possessed by following. He appeared in 3 films with Frankie Howerd.
The Pilot aired August 15 1972. That's Shaw Taylor as the host above. Based on the name you might guess that the show has something to do with solving crime. Each week the panel of guests has to try to solve the murder they are presented with, actors act out the murder in a short film. The characters then appear before the panelists to answer their questions.
That's Edward Woodward, Anne Summer and Frank Windsor, they are the panelists. Edward isn't in a lot of movies that I've watched but I usually like him in what I have seen, like that episode of The Saint where he's the new Prime Minister of a newly independent British colony. I have his show The Equalizer to watch and I'm sort of interested in Callan. Can't find anything much about Anne but the host said she was a detective at one time. Frank Windsor is an actor who's been in a lot of TV shows over the years, he started in 1955 and his last credit is in 2004. He did a few movies but I can't say I knew them.
They show the film, the panelist question the characters, the panelists and the audience fill out cards with whodunnit and the clues they used to get to their conclusion. The audience member with the most correct answers will be given a choice of a prize from several props used on the show. That lady in the picture won the jewelry box that appeared in the 2nd episode of the 1st series. The winning panelist gets to pick a charity to receive £25.
The first series aired in June and July of 1973. Shaw is gone, replaced by Edward Woodward as host. There are 4 panelists instead of three.
Other panelists for the series include Reginald Bosanquet, Daliah Lavi, Jon Pertwee, George Sewell, David Hemmings, Sally Geeson, Joe Lynch, Peter Byrne, Moira Lister, Kingsley Amis, Russell Hunter, Alfred Marks, Dulcie Gray, Michael Denison, Marius Goring, Barbara Windsor, John Woodvine, Tom Tullett and Patrick Mower. Many of them I hadn't ever heard about.
The first episode is set on a ship, a woman goes missing, they find a suicide note and an open porthole.
The second has murder in a stately home. Other murders happened at a fashion show, a couple of companies and a New Years Party. I didn't do too well picking the villains, not that the crimes were too complex, but I did better spotting the clues. I don't as a rule try to outguess the detective when I'm watching a mystery.
There are all sorts of actors that I recognize in the murder films but I might not know some of their names. They all do a great job and the films are well made with decent TV production values. The panelists are hit or miss, I was just pleased to see some of them. It's all pretty low-key but I enjoyed what I saw. I'll be looking forward to the Jon Pertwee programs.
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