Nero Wolfe is a television series adapted from Rex Stout's series of detective stories that aired for two seasons (2001–2002) on A&E. Set in New York City sometime in the 1940s–1950s, the stylized period drama stars Maury Chaykin as Nero Wolfe and Timothy Hutton as Archie Goodwin. A distinguishing feature of the series is its use of a repertory cast to play non-recurring roles. Nero Wolfe was one of the Top 10 Basic Cable Dramas for 2002.
Nero Wolfe | |
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Also known as | A Nero Wolfe Mystery The Nero Wolfe Mysteries |
Genre | Period drama |
Written by |
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Directed by |
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Starring |
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Composer | Michael Small |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 2 |
No. of episodes | 20 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Producers |
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Production locations | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
Cinematography |
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Editors |
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Camera setup | Single-camera |
Production companies | Jaffe/Braunstein Films Ltd. and A&E Networks in association with Pearson Television International |
Original release | |
Network | A&E |
Release | April 22, 2001 August 18, 2002 | –
Related | |
The Golden Spiders: A Nero Wolfe Mystery (2000) |
The series won praise for its high production values and jazzy score by Michael Small, and for preserving the language and spirit of the original stories. Most of the teleplays were written by consulting producer Sharon Elizabeth Doyle and the team of William Rabkin and Lee Goldberg, whose "Prisoner's Base" was nominated for an Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America.
A total of 20 episodes were produced over the two-season run. Eight of Stout's novels were adapted into two-hour broadcasts, while 12 of his short stories were filmed as one-hour episodes.
Nero Wolfe was produced for A&E by Jaffe/Braunstein Films, one of the first production companies to use high-definition video for television. Although the second season was shot in HD, none of the several home video releases of the series has been issued in HD, and only one of the 20 episodes ("The Silent Speaker") has been issued in 16:9 widescreen format.
Plot
editArchie Goodwin introduces Nero Wolfe as "a man who thinks he's the world's greatest detective. Truth being, he is." Grandly obese and famously eccentric, Wolfe is a genius who lives in—and rarely leaves—a large and comfortably furnished brownstone he owns on West 35th Street in Manhattan. Wolfe maintains an inflexible schedule of reading, tending his 10,000 orchids in the rooftop plant rooms, and dining on the fine cuisine of his master chef, Fritz Brenner. To support his opulent lifestyle and meet the payroll of his live-in staff, Wolfe charges high fees for solving crimes that are beyond the abilities of the police, most often the cigar-chewing Inspector Cramer of Manhattan Homicide. Wolfe sometimes calls upon freelance detectives Saul Panzer, Fred Durkin and Orrie Cather; but he depends upon his assistant Archie Goodwin, the street-smart legman whose wisecracking, irreverent voice narrates the stories.
The wardrobe, cars, furnishings and music place Nero Wolfe primarily in the 1940s–1950s.[a][1]: 37 It is technically a whodunit series, but like the original Rex Stout stories Nero Wolfe is less concerned with plot than with the interplay between its characters.
"I think that's something that's appreciated by Nero Wolfe fans," said Maury Chaykin, who stars as Nero Wolfe. "If you become focused on the crime, I think you're kind of in the wrong place. It's more the enjoyment of the characters and their eccentricities, and the reality of those characters."[2]
The Golden Spiders: A Nero Wolfe Mystery
editThe series was preceded by the original film The Golden Spiders: A Nero Wolfe Mystery, a Jaffe/Braunstein Films production that aired on A&E March 5, 2000. Veteran screenwriter Paul Monash adapted Rex Stout's 1953 novel, and Bill Duke directed. A&E initially planned that The Golden Spiders would be the first in a series of two-hour mystery movies featuring Nero Wolfe.[3] The high ratings (3.2 million households) and critical praise garnered by The Golden Spiders prompted A&E to consider a one-hour drama series.[4]
"We were so pleased with the reception of the movie that we said, 'Maybe there's a one-hour show (here),'" said Allen Sabinson, A&E's senior vice president for programming, in June 2000. "I don't believe we were thinking, or Maury Chaykin and Timothy Hutton were thinking, there's a series here. These are not people who do series. What happened was they had such a good time, I think they fell in love with their characters."[5]
Cast and characters
editPrincipal
editMaury Chaykin is the armchair detective Nero Wolfe, a reclusive genius with little patience for people who come between him and his devotion to food, books and orchids. Timothy Hutton is Wolfe's irreverent assistant Archie Goodwin, whose voice narrates the stories. In addition to starring in the series, Hutton directed four episodes and served as an executive producer.
Other members of the principal cast are Colin Fox as Fritz Brenner, Wolfe's master chef; Conrad Dunn (Saul Panzer), Fulvio Cecere (Fred Durkin) and Trent McMullen (Orrie Cather) as the 'teers, three freelance detectives who frequently assist Wolfe; Bill Smitrovich as Inspector Cramer, head of Manhattan's Homicide Bureau; and R.D. Reid as Sergeant Purley Stebbins. Saul Rubinek, who portrayed Saul Panzer in The Golden Spiders, took the role of reporter Lon Cohen in the series. Lon was played by Gerry Quigley in The Golden Spiders.
Repertory
editA distinguishing feature of the series is its use of a repertory cast — Boyd Banks, Nicky Guadagni, Kari Matchett,[6] Debra Monk, George Plimpton, Ron Rifkin, Marian Seldes, Francie Swift, James Tolkan and many other accomplished Canadian and American actors — to play non-recurring roles.
"Just as the series beautifully captures a time when cars with fins, fedoras worn at right angles and women's hats with feathers were all the rage, the existence of such a company also evokes another era," wrote syndicated journalist Jacqueline Cutler, who quotes Timothy Hutton as saying, "I don't think it's been done for a very long time."[7]
"If a stylized, period series based solely on books wasn't enough to separate Nero Wolfe from other TV shows," reported Scarlet Street magazine, "[executive producer Michael] Jaffe decided to employ a returning repertory cast in the guest roles for each episode. He felt that it was necessary to find actors who understood and fit in with the show's unique approach. 'Every other show agonizes about casting,' Jaffe says. 'We don't. We have 20, 30 people in our repertory company and we get great actors to play bit roles.'"[1]: 76
Kari Matchett has the distinction of playing a recurring role (Archie Goodwin's sometime girlfriend Lily Rowan) and a non-recurring role (nightclub singer Julie Jaquette) in the same episode, "Death of a Doxy." Nicky Guadagni has the distinction of playing two non-recurring characters (a secretary and Mrs. Cramer) in the same episode, "The Silent Speaker." Its ensemble cast gives A Nero Wolfe Mystery the effect of a series of plays put on by a repertory theatre company.[8][9]
Production
editNero Wolfe is a production of A&E Television Networks and Jaffe/Braunstein Films, Ltd., in association with Pearson Television International. The series was shot in Toronto,[b] with select Manhattan exteriors filmed for the series premiere, "The Doorbell Rang," and seen in subsequent episodes including "Prisoner's Base."[11][c]
Conception and development
editIndependent producer Michael Jaffe's efforts to secure the rights to the Nero Wolfe stories date back to his earliest days in the business. In the mid-1970s he established a friendship with the Stout estate and was working with his father, Henry Jaffe, a successful attorney turned producer, when the Nero Wolfe rights came on the market. Warner Bros. wanted to adapt the Zeck trilogy for a feature film and approached Henry Jaffe, who traveled to New York to negotiate with the agent for Rex Stout's estate but lost out to Paramount Television.
"We finally got this opportunity," said Michael Jaffe. "I had chased the rights numerous times. One of the reasons that I never actually tried to make it as a series was that I didn't believe a network would ever let us make it the right way. Then A&E came along, and Allen Sabinson. I've known him for years and years. He swore he'd let me make it the right way."[12]: 88 [d][e]
The source material for the two seasons of Nero Wolfe was written between 1939 (Over My Dead Body) and 1966 (Death of a Doxy), with most stories written in the 1950s. Jaffe said he chose to stick with the era for the adaptations "because I thought there was so much style that people could identify with and that we could play off. Ultimately, the most important thing is that the audience remain removed from the show by three or four decades. You can't do what Paramount did and update it and make the language modern. The whole thing doesn't make sense, because the tonal idiom doesn't play in the modern world. You have to separate it; you have to create that proscenium arch; you have to create poetic distance—otherwise there's no art in it."[1]: 37
When the series was announced in June 2000, Variety reported that A&E had been licensed to own Nero Wolfe in the U.S. and Canada for an undisclosed fee. Jaffe/Braunstein Films, which retained ownership of the series in the rest of the world, licensed distribution outside the U.S. to Pearson International Television (now FremantleMedia, Ltd.). Producer Michael Jaffe told Variety that the Nero Wolfe episodes would cost $1 million each; sources said the full production cost would be covered by A&E's and Pearson's licensing fees.[13]
Writing
editAdapting the stories
edit"It was a screenwriting assignment unlike any other that my writing partner, William Rabkin, and I had ever been involved with," wrote screenwriter Lee Goldberg, who adapted four Stout stories for the series. "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. ... 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."[14]
The filmmakers have remained as scrupulously faithful to the original stories as possible, even to the point of retaining the different time settings — this season's episodes have jumped from the 1940s to the 1960s and back without a care. ... What a stunner it is to find them translated so effectively to television.
— S. T. Karnick, National Review[15]
"It's amazing how many writers got it wrong," said head writer Sharon Elizabeth Doyle.
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.[14]
Consulting producer for Nero Wolfe, Doyle was the show's only full-time writer — overseeing the work of freelance screenwriters and writing 11 of the teleplays herself. She devoted most of her attention to the dialogue:
What Stout writes actually sounds good when you say it out loud, but the stuff that makes you laugh out loud and fall on the floor in the books doesn't work most of the time when you transpose it directly into actors' mouths. Frequently I end up moving words — tenderly and respectfully — but retaining as much of the language as possible. I feel a great belief in Rex Stout. I see the script process as writing his second draft.[1]: 76
Relationship to literary source
editIn the preface to the second edition of his book At Wolfe's Door: The Nero Wolfe Novels of Rex Stout, J. Kenneth Van Dover assessed the fidelity of the show to its literary source:
A quarter century after his death, the Nero Wolfe books remain in print ... and, as a result of a very popular A&E television series which premiered in 2000, their continuing presence seems assured. ... The success of the series is significant especially because the scripts remained remarkably faithful to the novels. The programs are set in the period, and much of the dialogue is lifted directly from the novel. Effective novelistic dialogue is not usually effective screen dialogue, as Raymond Chandler discovered when he worked on the script for the 1944 film of James M. Cain's Double Indemnity. The A&E series was able to adopt verbatim both the sharp exchanges between Wolfe and Archie, and as well Archie's narration in voiceover. Credit certainly goes to the skills of the repertory actors who played the roles, and especially to Maury Chaykin and Timothy Hutton; but it was Stout who supplied the language and the characters who speak it. And it was Stout who created in words the real pleasures of the novels: the voices and ideas, the rooms and the routines. Producer Michael Jaffe realized this, and with great care recreated those pleasures on film.[16]: vii
"That Nero Wolfe should be so pleasing has at least as much to do with the casting as the scripts," wrote author and cultural critic Terry Teachout in the National Review:
Timothy Hutton plays Archie Goodwin, and I can't see how anyone could do a better job. Not only does he catch Archie's snap-brim Thirties tone with sharp-eared precision, but he also bears an uncanny physical resemblance to the dapper detective-narrator I've been envisioning all these years. No sooner did Hutton make his first entrance in The Golden Spiders than he melded completely with the Archie of my mind's eye. I can no longer read a Stout novel without seeing him, or hearing his voice. Still, Archie could have wandered out of any number of screwball comedies; Nero Wolfe is a far more complicated proposition. ... Maury Chaykin has doubtless immersed himself in the Wolfe novels, for he brings to his interpretation of the part both a detailed knowledge of what Stout wrote and an unexpectedly personal touch of insight. He plays Wolfe as a fearful genius, an aesthete turned hermit who has withdrawn from the world (and from the opposite sex) in order to shield himself — against what? Stout never answers that question, giving Chaykin plenty of room to maneuver, which he uses with enviable skill.[17]
Production of Nero Wolfe coincided with Rex Stout's becoming a top-selling author some 30 years after his death.[18] BookFinder.com, a web-search service that reports the most-sought out-of-print titles, reported in March 2003 that the top four most-wanted mysteries were Nero Wolfe novels: Where There's a Will (1940), The Rubber Band (1936), The Red Box (1937) and The League of Frightened Men (1935).[19][20] The Red Box was the most-searched mystery title in August 2003,[21] and the novel remained as number two on the list in 2004. In 2006, Too Many Women (1947) was fifth on BookFinder.com's list of most-sought out-of-print thrillers, whodunits, classics and modern mystery titles. In 2007, The Black Mountain was in the number five position.[22]
Most of the stories adapted for Nero Wolfe became available through Bantam's Rex Stout Library, a series of paperbacks that featured new introductions and memorabilia. Some of these, including The Doorbell Rang and Prisoner's Base, are emblazoned with the words, "as seen on TV."[23][24] The Audio Partners Publishing Corporation promoted its bestselling line of Rex Stout audiobooks, unabridged on CD and audiocassette, "as seen on A&E TV."
Production design
editThey have a wonderful set in Toronto, a wonderful library (for Wolfe). My gosh, it's good. Last year, I spent a very late evening reading a very valuable edition of the Koran.
On the eve of the premiere of Nero Wolfe, The Hollywood Reporter credited "the incredible attention to detail paid by production designer Lindsey Hermer-Bell and set decorator Odetta Stoddard, who not only re-create the world Stout so carefully described but also impart an overall feeling of stylishness and taste."[26]
Before building the sets Hermer-Bell read all of Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe stories and the companion volumes by William S. Baring-Gould and Ken Darby,[27] and she created a complete floor plan to match the detailed descriptions of the brownstone found in the Nero Wolfe corpus.
"There are people who know all the books, and they know all these specifics, and if you screw up, you know, they get really upset ... so everything is as per written", Hermer-Bell said.[28]
When A&E cancelled Nero Wolfe in 2002, executive producer Michael Jaffe estimated the value of the sets at $800,000.[f][29]
Cinematography
editDerek Rogers was the director of photography for the first season of Nero Wolfe. John Berrie was director of photography for the second season,[30] which was shot in high-definition video.
"Jaffe/Braunstein was one of the first to experiment with HD for television," reported the industry publication HiDef Magazine:
Their landmark series 100 Centre Street ... was one of the first hour dramas to use HDCam as the capture medium. ... Jaffe/Braunstein was also producing the A&E series Nero Wolfe with Timothy Hutton in 35mm film. After the success with HD, Michael [Jaffe] decided that he'd like to try it on the single camera hour drama. At first Hutton was a little nervous about it, but after Jaffe brought experienced DP John Berrie to the program, Hutton was convinced. The entire second season was shot in HD ...[31]
Costume design
editNero Wolfe features costume design by Christopher Hargadon. Many costumes were found at vintage shops or in Hargadon's personal collection; some clothes were taken apart and reconstructed with new fabrics to capture the color required. For Wolfe, Hargadon said, "I tried to find fabrics that were thick, to sort of even enhance his size more, things that would be structured to hold a big shape."[32] Hargadon estimated that he and his team created at least 1,000 costumes for each season.[33]
Title design
editIllustrator Aurore Giscard d'Estaing designed title sequences unique to each episode.[34] The main title for the series is an illustration of Queensboro Bridge.
Music
editMichael Small wrote the series theme — "Boss Boogie", first heard in the titles for "The Doorbell Rang" — and composed the original music heard in Nero Wolfe. Music producer Richard Martinez was scoring editor for Michael Small's compositions. Kevin Banks was music editor and also handled the production music.[35] Martinez and Banks were nominated for a Golden Reel Award (Best Sound Editing in Television Long Form — Music) for the second-season premiere, "Death of a Doxy".[36]
Cancellation
editWhen A&E announced the cancellation of Nero Wolfe in August 2002, the network took the unusual step of posting an "Important Message" on its website: "We at A&E remain extremely proud of Nero Wolfe. It is a high quality, beautifully produced and entertaining show, unlike anything else currently on the television landscape. Although it performed moderately well amongst tough competition for two seasons, it simply did not do well enough for us to be able to go on making it, given the current television climate."[37]
The New York Times recalled that television climate, and A&E's response to it, in June 2004:
Two years ago Nick Davatzes, president and chief executive of A&E Television Networks, called his executives to a retreat, to "wallow in the mud," as he described the exercise. From that wallowing emerged an overhaul in management and outlook, including the conclusion that reality television could not be ignored if the network wanted younger viewers.[38]
"I do know A&E's decision not to continue didn't have anything to do with ratings; it was their highest-rated series," Timothy Hutton told columnist Marilyn Beck in November 2002. Beck reported that Hutton would be happy to make one or two Nero Wolfe TV movies a year.[39]
Maury Chaykin reflected on the cancellation of Nero Wolfe in a 2008 interview. "I'm a bit jaded and cynical about which shows succeed on television. I worked on a fantastic show once called Nero Wolfe, but at the time A&E was transforming from the premier intellectual cable network in America to one that airs Dog the Bounty Hunter on repeat, so it was never promoted and eventually went off the air."[40][g]
Episodes
editThe weekly series was preceded by the television film, The Golden Spiders: A Nero Wolfe Mystery, first broadcast March 5, 2000.
Season 1: 2001
editNo. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Teleplay | Original air date | |
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1 2 | 1 2 | "The Doorbell Rang" | Timothy Hutton | Michael Jaffe | 1965 novel | April 22, 2001 | |
A wealthy woman hires Wolfe to stop the FBI hounding her, leading Wolfe and Archie to investigate the murder of a journalist apparently working on an exposé of illegal FBI practices. | |||||||
3 | 3 | "Champagne for One: Part 1" | Timothy Hutton | William Rabkin & Lee Goldberg | 1958 novel | April 29, 2001 | |
During a party hosting unwed mothers, one of the guests dies suddenly of cyanide poisoning -- leading to controversy and intrigue when Archie, alone of the attendees, insists that she was actually murdered. | |||||||
4 | 4 | "Champagne for One: Part 2" | Timothy Hutton | William Rabkin & Lee Goldberg | 1958 novel | May 6, 2001 | |
During a party hosting unwed mothers, one of the guests dies suddenly of cyanide poisoning -- leading to controversy and intrigue when Archie, alone of the attendees, insists that she was actually murdered. | |||||||
5 | 5 | "Prisoner's Base: Part 1" | Neill Fearnley | William Rabkin & Lee Goldberg | 1952 novel | May 13, 2001 | |
A young heiress creates a stir for Wolfe and Archie when she mysteriously requests to stay in the brownstone for a week before her birthday, only to be murdered soon after Wolfe orders her to leave. | |||||||
6 | 6 | "Prisoner's Base: Part 2" | Neill Fearnley | William Rabkin & Lee Goldberg | 1952 novel | May 20, 2001 | |
A young heiress creates a stir for Wolfe and Archie when she mysteriously requests to stay in the brownstone for a week before her birthday, only to be murdered soon after Wolfe orders her to leave. | |||||||
7 | 7 | "Eeny Meeny Murder Moe" | John L'Ecuyer | Sharon Elizabeth Doyle | 1962 story | June 3, 2001 | |
A secretary for a prominent law firm is strangled in Wolfe's office with his own necktie after coming to him for help, leading a furious Wolfe and Archie to tangle with possibly corrupt lawyers and a seductive actress seeking a divorce to find the killer. | |||||||
8 | 8 | "Disguise for Murder" | John L'Ecuyer | Sharon Elizabeth Doyle | 1950 story | June 17, 2001 | |
Wolfe opens his orchid rooms to the public, but quickly regrets it when a young confidence trickster is murdered in his office moments after revealing to Archie that she has identified a murderer among the visitors. | |||||||
9 | 9 | "Door to Death" | Holly Dale | Sharon Elizabeth Doyle | 1949 story | June 24, 2001 | |
Wolfe's hunt for a temporary replacement for his gardener leads him and Archie to a remote mansion where, in the greenhouse, a young woman has been gassed to death. | |||||||
10 | 10 | "Christmas Party" | Holly Dale | Sharon Elizabeth Doyle | 1957 story | July 1, 2001 | |
When Archie reveals he's getting married as a prank, the resulting tension between him and Wolfe leads to both men becoming involved in a Christmas party where the host is poisoned. | |||||||
11 | 11 | "Over My Dead Body: Part 1" | Timothy Hutton | Janet Roach | 1940 novel | July 8, 2001 | |
A young immigrant claiming to be Wolfe's long-lost adopted daughter approaches him for help in clearing her name of a theft charge, but a murder at the fencing studio where she works uncovers international intrigue that she may be involved in. | |||||||
12 | 12 | "Over My Dead Body: Part 2" | Timothy Hutton | Janet Roach | 1940 novel | July 15, 2001 | |
A young immigrant claiming to be Wolfe's long-lost adopted daughter approaches him for help in clearing her name of a theft charge, but a murder at the fencing studio where she works uncovers international intrigue that she may be involved in. |
Season 2 (2002)
editNo. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Teleplay | Original air date | |
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13 14 | 1 2 | "Death of a Doxy" | Timothy Hutton | Sharon Elizabeth Doyle | 1966 novel | April 14, 2002 | |
When doing a favour for another detective, Archie discovers the murdered body of a young dancer with whom the detective was involved, and the quest to clear his name uncovers a web of blackmail and secrets. | |||||||
15 | 3 | "The Next Witness" | James Tolkan | Sharon Elizabeth Doyle | 1955 story | April 21, 2002 | |
After being summoned to testify in a murder trial, Wolfe hears testimony that makes him realise the defendant has been framed, leading him and Archie to risk arrest to clear the man's name. | |||||||
16 | 4 | "Die Like a Dog" | James Tolkan | Sharon Elizabeth Doyle | 1954 story | April 28, 2002 | |
When Archie is followed home by a stray dog, Wolfe begins to take a liking to the animal -- only to discover that it is a key witness in a murder. | |||||||
17 | 5 | "Murder Is Corny" | George Bloomfield | William Rabkin & Lee Goldberg | 1964 story | May 5, 2002 | |
A late delivery of corn to Wolfe's house turns out to be the least of Archie's problems when he is framed for murdering the delivery man. | |||||||
18 | 6 | "Motherhunt: Part 1" | Alan Smithee | Sharon Elizabeth Doyle | 1963 novel | May 12, 2002 | |
A widow hires Wolfe to determine whether or not a baby left on her doorstep was fathered by her late husband, only for Wolfe to find himself on the run when murder results from the investigation. | |||||||
19 | 7 | "Motherhunt: Part 2" | Alan Smithee | Sharon Elizabeth Doyle | 1963 novel | May 19, 2002 | |
20 | 8 | "Poison à la Carte" | George Bloomfield | William Rabkin & Lee Goldberg | 1960 story | May 26, 2002 | |
Wolfe's chef Fritz is asked to cook for an elite club of epicures, but when one of the guests is poisoned with arsenic suspicion turns to one of the beautiful serving girls. | |||||||
21 | 9 | "Too Many Clients: Part 1" | John L'Ecuyer | Sharon Elizabeth Doyle | 1960 novel | June 2, 2002 | |
A man calling himself Thomas Yeager hires Archie to determine whether he is being followed, only for the real Yeager to be found murdered hours later -- and the investigation will uncover blackmail, hedonism and a deluge of potential clients for Wolfe. | |||||||
22 | 10 | "Too Many Clients: Part 2" | John L'Ecuyer | Sharon Elizabeth Doyle | 1960 novel | June 9, 2002 | |
23 | 11 | "Before I Die" | John L'Ecuyer | Sharon Elizabeth Doyle | 1947 story | June 16, 2002 | |
A ruthless bootlegger hires Wolfe to stop a woman posing as his illegitimate daughter from blackmailing him -- but when she's gunned down in the street, it turns out the bootlegger has enemies from directions that he wasn't expecting. | |||||||
24 | 12 | "Help Wanted, Male" | John L'Ecuyer | Mark Stein | 1945 story | June 30, 2002 | |
When Wolfe receives a threatening letter soon after a previous client -- who received a similar letter -- is murdered, he hires a body double to lure the assassin out. | |||||||
25 | 13 | "The Silent Speaker: Part 1" | Michael Jaffe | Michael Jaffe | 1946 novel | July 14, 2002 | |
A prominent government official is murdered at dinner event hosted by a business organisation he publicly opposed, leading the organisation to hire Wolfe to clear their names. | |||||||
26 | 14 | "The Silent Speaker: Part 2" | Michael Jaffe | Michael Jaffe | 1946 novel | July 21, 2002 | |
27 | 15 | "Cop Killer" | John R. Pepper | Jennifer Salt | 1951 story | August 11, 2002 | |
Two illegal immigrants come to Wolfe and Archie for help after a police officer arrives at the barbershop where they work, only for things to become a lot more complicated when the police officer is murdered soon after they leave. | |||||||
28 | 16 | "Immune to Murder" | John R. Pepper | Stuart Kaminsky | 1955 story | August 18, 2002 | |
As part of a diplomatic negotiation, Wolfe is asked to cook a meal for a recently-arrived foreign ambassador, only for a high-ranking State Department official to be murdered while fishing. |
Broadcast
editUnited States and Canada
editDistributed by the A&E Television Networks in the United States and Canada, Nero Wolfe first aired on the A&E Network April 22, 2001. The second season premiered April 14, 2002. The series ran Sundays at 8 p.m. ET and was rebroadcast at midnight. The last original broadcast was Sunday, August 18, 2002. Nero Wolfe continued to air regularly in repeat through 2002 and sporadically in early 2003 before leaving the A&E schedule altogether.[h][70]
From March 2004 to May 2006, Nero Wolfe appeared Saturdays at 8 p.m. ET on another of the A&E Networks, The Biography Channel.[71]
International
editFremantleMedia, Ltd., distributes the show outside the U.S. and Canada. The series has been broadcast on public and commercial networks, cable television and satellite systems throughout the world, and was presented throughout Europe and Africa on the Hallmark Channel.[i]
- Australia, Australian Broadcasting Corporation[73]
- Australia, Movie Plus
- Estonia, Kanal 2, as Nero Wolfe[74]
- Finland, Yle, as Nero Wolfe[75]
- France, Paris Première, as Les Enquêtes de Nero Wolfe[76]
- Israel, Hot[77]
- Italy, Mediaset (Rete 4), as Nero Wolfe[78]
- Japan, Movie Plus, AXN Mystery
- Japan, WOWOW[79][80]
- Lithuania, Lietuvos Televizija, as Detektyvas Niras Vulfas[81]
- Mexico, Televisa, as Un Misterio de Nero Wolfe[82]
- Poland, Polsat[83]
- Portugal, Rádio e Televisão de Portugal, as Um Mistério de Nero Wolfe[84]
- Romania, Naţional TV[85][86]
- Turkey, Digiturk[87]
- UK, BBC Two, as The Nero Wolfe Mysteries[88]
- UK, Sky Movies[89]
Reception
editRatings
editI do know A&E's decision not to continue didn't have anything to do with ratings; it was their highest-rated series.
— Timothy Hutton[39]
In its debut season on A&E, A Nero Wolfe Mystery averaged a 1.9 rating.[90] The first three weeks (April 14–28, 2002) of the second season of Nero Wolfe averaged a solid 1.9 rating in cable homes.[91] Nero Wolfe had averaged a 1.7 rating for the month of May 2002, while viewing levels for the A&E Network overall were 1.1.[92] In mid-June 2002 Multichannel News wrote, "Nero Wolfe, in its second cycle of episodes, is drawing solid ratings in the 1.5 to 2.0 Nielsen Media Research range".[93] The A&E Network as a whole ended 2002 with a 1.0 rating.[94] A Nero Wolfe Mystery was one of the Top 10 Basic Cable Dramas for 2002.[j][95]
Awards
edit- 2002, Nominee, Edgar Award
Best Television Episode
Lee Goldberg and William Rabkin, "Prisoner's Base"
Mystery Writers of America - 2002, Nominee, DGC Craft Award
Outstanding Achievement in Direction
Holly Dale, "Christmas Party"
Directors Guild of Canada - 2002, Nominee, DGC Craft Award
Outstanding Achievement in Picture Editing
Stephen Lawrence, "The Doorbell Rang"
Directors Guild of Canada - 2003, Nominee, Golden Reel Award
Best Sound Editing in Television Long Form – Music
Kevin Banks and Richard Martinez, "Death of a Doxy"
Motion Picture Sound Editors - 2003, Nominee, ACTRA Toronto Award
Maury Chaykin, Outstanding Performance – Male
Kari Matchett, Outstanding Performance – Female
Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists[96]
Reviews and commentary
edit- John Leonard, New York Magazine (April 16, 2001) — Imperious and mysterious, Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe was always a natural for television. Finally, A&E got him right.[97]
- Diane Holloway, Cox News Service (April 20, 2001) — The music is big-band smooth, the cars are shiny with tail fins and the dialogue is snappy, almost musical. At times conversations sound like fingers rhythmically popping. ... The antithesis of today's gritty cop dramas, A&E's new Nero Wolfe series is slick and classy. Nobody spinning the dial will mistake the lavish sets, fabulous period costumes and moody lighting for NYPD Blue. The camera doesn't jiggle; it glides.
- John Levesque, Seattle Post-Intelligencer (April 20, 2001) — Like so many characters in noir-ish films of the 1940s and 1950s, Wolfe and Goodwin are ebulliently over the top: loud, proud and full of themselves. It's a bit much for anyone expecting the less theatrical performances of today. And yet it fits remarkably well with today's reality programming. Wolfe, after all, is ruder than anyone on Survivor.[98]
- Howard Rosenberg, Los Angeles Times (April 20, 2001) — A witty, beguiling, colorful, pulse-pounding hoot of a weekly series set in the '50s ... The greatest of fun ... From straw hat to natty black-and-white wingtips, Archie is the swaggering, milk-drinking, street-savvy legman of this unequal union, Wolfe the cultured closer who rakes in big fees while rarely venturing outdoors on business. The "oversized genius," as Archie irreverently titles him, is 275 pounds of authoritarian harrumph packed into a custom-made three-piece suit. A derrick couldn't budge him from that ornately furnished brownstone, where he is an antique among antiques, hovering over his personal chef while cultivating his gourmandise ("I must see about those cutlets") as assiduously as he does his beloved orchids in a glassed-in plant room. ... Archie is the only man on TV who wears a snap-brim hat like he means it.[99]
- Julie Salamon, The New York Times (April 20, 2001) — The charming A&E series is an expansion of last year's Nero Wolfe movie special, starring Maury Chaykin as the massive Wolfe and Timothy Hutton as skinny Archie Goodwin, his investigator and sidekick. ... This actor has retained his lanky boyishness. Sometimes his big-shouldered, baggy suits seem to be gliding along by themselves.[100]
- Alan Johnson, The Columbus Dispatch (April 22, 2001) — The series is actually better than the movie—stylish, well-acted and backed by a compelling retro-jazz theme ... What it lacks in shoot'em-up action, Nero Wolfe makes up for in style.
- David Kronke, The Daily News of Los Angeles (April 22, 2001) — Nero Wolfe, alas, is undone by uneven performances and a sense that it's more witty and urbane than it really is. Hutton is too antic — he seems to be playing the sassy newsroom copy boy in a '30s B-picture — and his narration tries far too hard to push jokes that just aren't funny. Maury Chaykin, a normally reliable character actor, is alternately flat or rudderlessly blustery as Wolfe.
- Laura Urbani, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (April 22, 2001) — Hutton has found a series of which he can be proud. Most actors would kill to be a part of such a witty and classy production.[101]
- James Vance, Tulsa World (April 22, 2001) — Stout's books are mysteries, but they're invariably more about the people involved than the mysteries themselves. Hutton, an Academy Award-winning actor (for 1980's Ordinary People), is ideal casting for Archie, and the lesser-known Chaykin is a surprisingly satisfactory choice to flesh out the combination of growls and tics that make up Nero Wolfe. To that mix Hutton and his partners in production have added the concept of repertory casting that will see the same nucleus of performers returning in different roles each week.[102]
- Frazier Moore, Associated Press (May 3, 2001) — Fast-paced and stylish, there's no mystery why it's so much fun to watch. ... The series' look is bright and plushly appointed. The music swings like a night at the Stork Club.
- Gene Amole, Rocky Mountain News (May 11, 2001) — Maury Chaykin is perfect as Wolfe, and Timothy Hutton, who also produces and directs the series, is the ideal Archie. Somehow, they have reproduced with unerring accuracy Wolfe's four-story brownstone mansion ... What wonderful, campy scripts!
- Don Dale, Style Weekly (May 21, 2001) — Maury Chaykin makes an excellent Nero Wolfe in A&E's new series based on Stout's books. And Timothy Hutton is nicely cast as Goodwin. ... The soundtrack of the series gets an A+: It's full of hot '30s and '40s club jazz. So do the writers, especially for capturing the exquisite subtleties of the complex relationship between Wolfe and Goodwin, most often expressed in the conversational games they're so fond of—and so good at.[103]
- Molly Haskell, The New York Observer (December 23, 2001) — The A&E television show based on Rex Stout's mystery novels, with Timothy Hutton and Maury Chaykin, is a class act, a witty and playful take on the 30s that never overdoes it.[104]
- Martin Sieff, United Press International (December 25, 2001) — The great veteran actor Maury Chaykin was born to play Nero. And Timothy Hutton is equally perfect as his leg-man and always squabbling employee/amanuensis/Dr. Watson/Captain Hastings sidekick, Archie Goodwin. ... Hutton, an Oscar winner, and Chaykin are at the heart of it all. They have done many prestigious things in their careers and no doubt will do many more. But it is clear they know they will never have more fun than doing this.[10]
- Robert Bianco, USA Today (April 12, 2002) — For reasons I can't explain, A&E is dedicated to preserving Nero Wolfe, its thuddingly mediocre series starring Timothy Hutton and Maury Chaykin as Rex Stout's famed detective team. The stars are miscast, the production is chintzy and the books defy adaptation, but A&E keeps plugging.
- S. T. Karnick, National Review (May 10, 2002) — Timothy Hutton, who also serves as executive producer for the show, is just brilliant as Archie Goodwin, managing to express the gumshoe's toughness (which I had been rather skeptical of his ability to do) as effectively as he shows his moral strength and emotional complexity. ... Chaykin quite simply is Nero Wolfe, playing the role with impressive confidence and subtlety.[105]
- Jonathan Storm, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (June 11, 2002) — One of TV's most stylish shows.
- John Doyle, The Globe and Mail (July 12, 2002) — An absolute delight ... What's fun here is that everybody is having a great time with the arch dialogue, fabulous clothes and general silliness. It's all done with such flair and good humour that you can't help being absorbed. Most of the guys are "saps," all of the women are "dames" and, as Archie Goodwin, Timothy Hutton obviously adores saying things like, "The hell of it was, she was beautiful."
- Terry Teachout, National Review (August 12, 2002) — Chaykin and Hutton are as good in tandem as they are separately, for they understand that the Wolfe books are less mystery stories than domestic comedies, the continuing saga of two iron-willed codependents engaged in an endless game of one-upmanship. ... At least half the fun of the Wolfe books comes from the way in which Stout plays this struggle for laughs, and Chaykin and Hutton make the most of it, sniping at each other with naughty glee.[17]
- Carey Henderson, Speakeasy (November 5, 2002) — Timothy Hutton, along with the ever pompous Maury Chaykin, stars in—and directs—this amazing weekly 'who done it' on A&E. ... Wolfe takes us back to a time (or maybe just transports us to a new one) where television could be good. The bad guys lose, the good guys win, and the suits are sharper than a razor.[106]
- Robert Fidgeon, Herald Sun (November 12, 2003) — For those who enjoy stylish, well-written and superbly performed television, you won't get much better than this series.
- Tom Keogh, Amazon.com (2004) — The Complete First Season includes all the pleasures and surprises of the show's first mysteries, above all the tempestuous, symbiotic, and highly entertaining relationship between Wolfe (Maury Chaykin), a corpulent recluse who grows orchids and analyzes clues from a distance, and the acerbic knight-errant, Goodwin (Timothy Hutton, also an executive producer on the series), Wolfe's underpaid eyes and ears on the world. Hutton also directs the two-part "Champagne for One" with a snap and verve reminiscent of old Howard Hawks comedies, but it is on "Prisoner's Base" that all of the series' best elements are firing at once ... All in all, Nero Wolfe refreshes the television detective genre.[107]
- Stephen Lackey, Cinegeek (2004) — Take one part Crime Story, one part Sherlock Holmes, and a lot of smart quick-witted and sarcastic humor and you have A&E's gone-before-its-time television adaptation of Nero Wolfe. I can't recommend this series enough.[108]
- Michael Rogers, Library Journal (December 2004) — A&E's Nero Wolfe is so good, it's criminal. Highly recommended.
- Stuart Kaminsky, Publishers Weekly (December 19, 2005) — I ended up writing the last episode, "Immune to Murder," based on one of Rex Stout's short stories. I thought it was a terrific series, by the way. I don't know for sure why it didn't continue.
- Steve Lewis, Mystery*File (February 5, 2009) — The finest TV series ever based on the works of an American mystery writer.[109]
Media information
editUnited States and Canada
edit"Nero Wolfe is a beautifully shot series, and its release on DVD is frequently stunning," wrote DVD Talk's Adam Tyner in his comprehensive review of A&E Home Video's "Nero Wolfe: The Complete Classic Whodunit Series":
I didn't feel at all as if I'd been watching a television show. For one, a number of the adaptations are feature-length, and the eye-catching cinematography, set design, and period costuming lean more towards a feature film than a basic cable television series. ... I didn't watch Nero Wolfe so much as devour it, and that this is such a rewatchable series makes it especially worth owning on DVD. ... It's worth mentioning that these DVDs present the episodes as they appeared on A&E, and although longer versions aired overseas (several were literally twice as long), none of that additional footage is offered here. ... Expertly crafted, masterfully acted, and unlike much of anything else on television, this collection of the entire two season run of Nero Wolfe is very highly recommended.[8]
The feature-length series pilot, The Golden Spiders, was included on two of A&E's DVD box sets — "Nero Wolfe: The Complete Classic Whodunit Series" and "Nero Wolfe: The Complete Second Season." These two box sets also included a 22-minute behind-the-scenes film, "The Making of Nero Wolfe," as well as a bonus 16:9 widescreen version[8] of "The Silent Speaker," written and directed by Michael Jaffe. All of the other episodes were offered in 4:3 pan and scan format. There were no foreign language subtitles, but the releases included English closed captions.
"The episodes look excellent — clear and colorful — in their broadcast full-frame presentation," wrote Scarlet Street magazine. "The extras are skimpy to the point of frustration, however. ... For that matter, why is "The Silent Speaker" the only episode presented in widescreen format?"[110][k]
In 2014 the first season of Nero Wolfe was reissued by A&E's new distribution partner, Lions Gate Entertainment. Previous releases via New Video Group are out of print. The series is not yet available for streaming in North America.
Title | Media Type | Release Date | Approximate Length | ISBN |
---|---|---|---|---|
The Golden Spiders: A Nero Wolfe Mystery |
VHS videotape (NTSC) |
May 30, 2000 | 94 minutes | ISBN 0-7670-2551-2 |
The Doorbell Rang: A Nero Wolfe Mystery |
VHS videotape (NTSC) |
August 20, 2001 | 100 minutes | ISBN 0-7670-3766-9 |
Nero Wolfe: The Complete First Season |
Region 1 DVD Three-disc box set[l] |
July 27, 2004[m] | 10 hours | ISBN 0-7670-5499-7 |
The Golden Spiders: A Nero Wolfe Mystery |
Region 1 DVD+R (A&E Store exclusive) |
October 2004 | 94 minutes | ISBN 0-7670-6719-3 |
The Doorbell Rang: A Nero Wolfe Mystery |
Region 1 DVD+R (A&E Store exclusive) |
October 2004 | 100 minutes | ISBN 0-7670-6721-5 |
Nero Wolfe: The Complete Second Season |
Region 1 DVD Five-disc box set[n] |
June 28, 2005[o] | 13 hours, 20 minutes |
ISBN 0-7670-5508-X |
Nero Wolfe: The Complete Classic Whodunit Series |
Region 1 DVD Eight-disc box set[p] |
April 25, 2006 | 24 hours, 56 minutes + extras |
ISBN 0-7670-8893-X |
Nero Wolfe: The Complete First Season |
Region 1 DVD Three-disc set in keep case |
2014[q] | 10 hours | ASIN B00029NKS8 |
International
editAs DVD Talk's 2006 review of Nero Wolfe reported, "longer versions aired overseas (several were literally twice as long)."[8] Nero Wolfe saw its first international DVD release in August 2008, when "Nero Wolfe – Collection One" was offered for sale in Australia by FremantleMedia Enterprises. Distributed by Magna Pacific, "Nero Wolfe — Collection Two" (December 2008) was the first release of an episode containing scenes not available on the A&E Home Video release. The Pearson Television International version presents "Prisoner's Base" as a 90-minute film with a single set of titles and credits, and it 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.[112]
The show began to be released on Region 2 DVD in December 2009, marketed in the Netherlands by Just Entertainment.[113] Like the collections that were sold in Australia, these DVD sets presented the episodes in 4:3 pan and scan rather than their 16:9 aspect ratio for widescreen viewing. The third collection released in April 2010 made the 90-minute features "Wolfe Goes Out" and "Wolfe Stays In" available on home video for the first time; until then, the linked episodes "Door to Death"/ "Christmas Party" and "Eeny Meeny Murder Moe"/"Disguise for Murder" were available only in the abbreviated form sold by A&E Home Video.
In October 2012 a region-free limited-edition box set of the complete series in 4:3 format was released by independent Australian DVD distributor Shock Entertainment,[114] which also made the series available through Australian iTunes.[115] It is a clone of A&E Home Video's "Complete Classic Whodunit Series", with the shorter North American versions of the episodes, the first-season films split into two parts as broadcast by A&E, and A&E's brief "making of" documentary. On December 18, 2020, another set in region-free/NTSC format for American and Australian DVD players was issued as "Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe:The Complete Series" by Australia's Via Vision Entertainment.[116]
Title | Media Type | Release Date | Approximate Length | Numeric Identifier |
---|---|---|---|---|
Nero Wolfe — Collection One | Region 4 DVD (PAL) Three-disc set[117] |
August 13, 2008 | 276 minutes | UPC 9316797427038 |
Nero Wolfe — Collection Two | Region 4 DVD (PAL) Two-disc set[r] |
December 5, 2008 | 178 minutes | UPC 9315842036140 |
A Nero Wolfe Mystery — Serie 1 | Region 2 DVD (PAL) Three-disc set[119] |
December 11, 2009 | 270 minutes | EAN 8717344739221 |
A Nero Wolfe Mystery — Serie 2 | Region 2 DVD (PAL) Two-disc set[120] |
February 11, 2010 | 180 minutes | EAN 8717344739801 |
A Nero Wolfe Mystery — Serie 3 | Region 2 DVD (PAL) Two-disc set[121] |
April 13, 2010 | 180 minutes | EAN 8717344739481 |
Nero Wolfe — The Complete Series | Region 0 DVD (NTSC) Eight-disc box set[114] |
October 3, 2012 | 1,496 minutes | 5 021456 188062 |
Nero Wolfe: The Complete Series | Region 0 DVD (NTSC) Eight-disc box set[122] |
December 18, 2020 | 1,496 minutes | UPC 9337369024097 |
Notes
edit- ^ The exception is the second-season premiere directed by Timothy Hutton. "For Death of a Doxy, Tim decided to play it in the early sixties," producer Michael Jaffe said. "If you look at that episode, it's really fun, because everything—the wardrobe, the art direction—is different, since it's a different generation. It breaks our mold."[1]: 37
- ^ "And Hutton, bless him, took pains to make sure that the stoop, meticulously recreated in a freezing Ontario warehouse soundstage really did have seven steps."[10]
- ^ WireImage (image numbers 253302 – 253308) and Getty Images (image number 1302172) document the location photography directed by Timothy Hutton on October 15, 2000, also seen in the A&E documentary, "The Making of Nero Wolfe".
- ^ Allen Sabinson became a programming consultant for A&E in 1999, and was named the network's senior vice president for programming in spring 2001.
- ^ Jaffe/Braunstein Films, Ltd., secured the rights to the Nero Wolfe stories in 1998. (U.S. Copyright Office Document Number V3412D882, recorded March 13, 1998.)
- ^ "This week we tore down $800,000 in sets", Michael Jaffe told Scarlet Street magazine.[29]
- ^ "After some initial advertising for the April second season premiere, A&E stopped publicizing the show," reported Scarlet Street magazine.[29]
- ^ "The Doorbell Rang" aired Sunday, December 29, 2002. In 2003, A&E presented "The Golden Spiders" February 23, and "Death of a Doxy" February 20 and April 13.
- ^ Hallmark Channel international sites in April 2003 recorded episodes of both seasons of the show airing in 36 countries: Angola, Belgium, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Czech Republic, Denmark, Equatorial Guinea, Finland, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Iceland, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Mozambique, Netherlands, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Rwanda, Sao Tome & Principe, Slovakia, South Africa, Swaziland, Sweden, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.[72]
- ^ In rank order, the top 10 basic cable dramas for 2002 were Monk, The Dead Zone, The Shield, Strong Medicine, The Division, Any Day Now, Witchblade, For the People, Stargate, and Nero Wolfe.[95]
- ^ "There isn't anything collected in this box set besides the episodes themselves, plus bios and filmographies for Hutton and Chaykin," Vitaris wrote in her earlier review of the first-season DVD set. "No commentaries, no interviews, no behind-the-scenes footage, no info about Rex Stout and his work. Nothing."[111]
- ^ Features of Nero Wolfe: The Complete First Season include the following. Disc 1: "The Doorbell Rang," "Champagne for One" parts 1 + 2. Disc 2: "Prisoner's Base" parts 1 + 2, "Eeny Meeny Murder Moe," "Disguise for Murder." Disc 3: "Door to Death," "Christmas Party," "Over My Dead Body" parts 1 + 2.
- ^ Actually released in June 2003 for exclusive sale by A&E Store and select outlets
- ^ Features of Nero Wolfe: The Complete Second Season include the following. Disc 1: "Death of a Doxy" double episode (one set of titles and credits), "The Next Witness," "Die Like a Dog." Disc 2: "Murder Is Corny," "Motherhunt" double episode, "Poison à la Carte." Disc 3: "Too Many Clients" double episode, "Before I Die," "Help Wanted, Male." Disc 4: "The Silent Speaker" double episode, "Cop Killer," "Immune to Murder." Disc 8: "The Golden Spiders," "The Making of Nero Wolfe," "The Silent Speaker" double episode in 16:9 letterbox format.
- ^ Actually released in June 2004 for exclusive sale by A&E Store and select outlets
- ^ Features of Nero Wolfe: The Complete Classic Whodunit Series include the following. Disc 1: "The Doorbell Rang," "Champagne for One" parts 1 + 2. Disc 2: "Prisoner's Base" parts 1 + 2, "Eeny Meeny Murder Moe," "Disguise for Murder." Disc 3: "Door to Death," "Christmas Party," "Over My Dead Body" parts 1 + 2. Disc 4: "Death of a Doxy" double episode (one set of titles and credits), "The Next Witness," "Die Like a Dog." Disc 5: "Murder Is Corny," "Motherhunt" double episode, "Poison à la Carte." Disc 6: "Too Many Clients" double episode, "Before I Die," "Help Wanted, Male." Disc 7: "The Silent Speaker" double episode, "Cop Killer," "Immune to Murder." Disc 8: "The Golden Spiders," "The Making of Nero Wolfe," "The Silent Speaker" double episode in 16:9 letterbox format.
- ^ Reissue of out-of-print box set by new distributor Lionsgate
- ^ Features include "Prisoner's Base" (presented as a 90-minute film with a single set of titles and credits), "Eeny Meeny Murder Moe" and "Disguise for Murder." Screen format is 4:3 full frame. Rated PG (mild violence) by the Commonwealth of Australia[118]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e Vitaris, Paula (2002). "Miracle on 35th Street: Nero Wolfe on Television". Scarlet Street (45): 28–30, 34, 36–37, 76–77.
- ^ Gorman, Brian (August 17, 2002). "Series revives classic gumshoe style". Winnipeg Free Press (Tribune Media Services).
- ^ Dempsey, John (January 15, 1999). "A&E embarks on ambitious mystery plan". Daily Variety. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
- ^ Dempsey, John (June 26, 2000). "Wolfe series at the door for A&E". Variety. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
- ^ Stark, Steven J. (June 22, 2000). "A&E cries for more 'Wolfe': 1-hour series". The Hollywood Reporter.
- ^ "character makeups | multiplicity | Kari Matchett in 'The Nero Wolfe Mysteries' | themakeupgallery". www.themakeupgallery.info. Archived from the original on May 13, 2008.
- ^ Cutler, Jacqueline (April 28, 2001). "Former wunderkind Hutton stays busy with Wolfe series". Casa Grande Dispatch.
- ^ a b c d Tyner, Adam (April 25, 2006). "Nero Wolfe: The Complete Classic Whodunit Series". DVD Talk. Archived from the original on December 6, 2015. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
- ^ "A&E TV Series, Cast of Characters from the Show". The Wolfe Pack, February 25, 2007, archived from the original at the Internet Archive December 19, 2008. Archived from the original on December 19, 2008. Retrieved January 4, 2014.
- ^ a b Sieff, Martin (December 25, 2001). "Happy Christmas, Santa Wolfe". United Press International. Archived from the original on October 7, 2016. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
- ^
Landman Keil, Beth (October 30, 2000). "Timothy Hutton Directs, Traffic Stops". New York: 14.
Hutton's new A&E series, Nero Wolfe ... obtained permission to film on West 76th Street for Saturday, October 14, and Sunday, October 15.
- ^ Jaffe, Michael (December 2001). "A Labor of Love: The Nero Wolfe Television Series". In Kaye, Marvin (ed.). The Nero Wolfe Files. Maryland: Wildside Press (published 2005). pp. 86–91. ISBN 0-8095-4494-6.
- ^ Dempsey, John (June 22, 2000). "A&E packs 'Wolfe'". Variety. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
- ^ a b Goldberg, Lee (November 2002). "Writing Nero Wolfe". Mystery Scene (77): 27–28, 30. Archived from the original on May 7, 2015. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
- ^ Karnick, S. T. (May 10, 2002). "Wolfe a la Tube: An A&E series loyal to its source". National Review. Archived from the original on July 9, 2007. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
- ^ Van Dover, J. Kenneth (2003) [1991]. At Wolfe's Door: The Nero Wolfe Novels of Rex Stout (2nd ed.). Rockville, Maryland: James A. Rock & Company. ISBN 0-918736-51-X. OCLC 53094148.
- ^ a b Teachout, Terry (August 12, 2002). "A Nero as Hero". National Review. 54 (15): 51. Archived from the original on July 9, 2013. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
- ^ "Current Best Selling Authors". Used Book Central. Archived from the original on June 5, 2002. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
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- ^ "Books". The Seattle Times. September 14, 2003. Archived from the original on May 16, 2015. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
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- ^ "The Doorbell Rang by Rex Stout". The Curtis Brown Group. Archived from the original on June 27, 2024. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
- ^ "Prisoner's Base (1952) by Rex Stout". Tipping My Fedora. (blog). August 15, 2014. Archived from the original on September 27, 2014. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
- ^ Hughes, Andrew S. (October 14, 2001). "Plimpton's been there, done that, enjoys doing it". South Bend Tribune.
- ^ Garron, Barry (April 20, 2001). "Nero Wolfe". The Hollywood Reporter.
- ^ "Small screen version of the great man ... Some reflections on a visit to the set of the TV production of The Golden Spiders" (PDF). Winnifred Louis, Merely a Genius at GeoCities, December 2001, archived from the original at Oocities.com. Archived from the original on February 5, 2007. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
- ^ "A Conversation with Lindsey Hermer-Bell". Nero Wolfe, A&E, archived from the original at the Internet Archive August 18, 2001. Archived from the original on August 18, 2001. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
- ^ a b c Vitaris, Paula (2002). "Wolfe at the Door — and Out!". Scarlet Street (46): 20.
- ^ "Full Cast and Crew", A Nero Wolfe Mystery. Archived 2016-03-25 at the Wayback Machine Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2014-01-02.
- ^ Denke, Conrad (2005). "Jaffe/Braunstein—HD Reaches the MOW Mainstream" (PDF). Hi Def Magazine. 7 (2): 8–12. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
- ^ "A Conversation with Chris Hargadon". Nero Wolfe, A&E, archived from the original at the Internet Archive August 18, 2001. Archived from the original on August 18, 2001. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
- ^ Zekas, Rita (May 25, 2002). "Nero to Hero: A Total Fabrication". Toronto Star.
- ^ "Gallery". Nero Wolfe, A&E, archived from the original at the Internet Archive August 1, 2001. Archived from the original on August 1, 2001. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
- ^ "The Doorbell Rang" music cue sheetArchived December 30, 2013, at the Wayback Machine and notes on the music Archived 2013-12-30 at the Wayback Machine by Kevin Banks at The Wolfe Pack, official site of the Nero Wolfe Society. Retrieved 2013-12-31.
- ^ "Awards". A Nero Wolfe Mystery at the Internet Movie Database. Archived from the original on February 10, 2018. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
- ^ "Important Message about Nero Wolfe from A&E". Archived from the original on May 20, 2003. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ Salamon, Julie (June 22, 2004). "When Group Therapy Means Coming Clean on TV". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 28, 2015. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
- ^ a b Beck, Marilyn; Smith, Stacy Janel (November 18, 2002). "World of 'Cat in the Hat' the right place for Fanning". Inland Valley Daily Bulletin.
- ^ Farquharson, Vanessa (August 21, 2008). "Whole lot of Chaykin going on". National Post.
- ^ "The Doorbell Rang". Internet Movie Database. April 22, 2001. Archived from the original on September 12, 2015. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
- ^ "Champagne for One". Internet Movie Database. May 6, 2001. Archived from the original on July 23, 2015. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
- ^ "Champagne for One". Internet Movie Database. May 6, 2001. Archived from the original on July 23, 2015. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
- ^ "Prisoner's Base". Internet Movie Database. Archived from the original on August 22, 2015. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
- ^ "Prisoner's Base". Internet Movie Database. Archived from the original on August 22, 2015. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
- ^ "Eeny Meeny Murder Moe". Internet Movie Database. June 3, 2001. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
- ^ a b "Nero Wolfe Mysteries: Wolfe Stays In". BBC Two. Archived from the original on February 10, 2018. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
- ^ "Disguise for Murder". Internet Movie Database. June 17, 2001. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
- ^ "Door to Death". Internet Movie Database. June 24, 2001. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
- ^ a b "Nero Wolfe Mysteries: Wolfe Goes Out". BBC Two. Archived from the original on February 27, 2009. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
- ^ "Christmas Party". Internet Movie Database. July 2001. Archived from the original on August 17, 2014. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
- ^ "Over My Dead Body". Internet Movie Database. July 8, 2001. Archived from the original on April 13, 2015. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
- ^ "Over My Dead Body". Internet Movie Database. July 8, 2001. Archived from the original on April 13, 2015. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
- ^ "Death of a Doxy". Internet Movie Database. April 14, 2002. Archived from the original on January 23, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
- ^ "The Next Witness". Internet Movie Database. April 21, 2002. Archived from the original on March 18, 2014. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
- ^ "Nero Wolfe Mysteries: The Next Witness". BBC Two. Archived from the original on February 10, 2018. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
- ^ "Die Like a Dog". Internet Movie Database. April 28, 2002. Archived from the original on August 27, 2015. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
- ^ "Murder Is Corny". Internet Movie Database. May 5, 2002. Archived from the original on February 8, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
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- ^ The "Prisoner's Base" script is available for PDF download on Lee Goldberg's Web site Archived 2007-04-19 at the Wayback Machine. The three longer scenes are transcribed in an FAQ at the Internet Movie Database, and available in a PDF documentArchived November 14, 2009, at the Wayback Machine on the Wolfe Pack web site.
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- ^ Features include "The Golden Spiders," "The Doorbell Rang" and "Champagne for One." Each 90-minute film is presented with a single set of titles and credits. Screen format is 4:3 full frame. Rated M (mild crime themes and mild violence) by the Commonwealth of Australia.[permanent dead link] (Retrieved April 7, 2012)
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- ^ Features include "The Golden Spiders," "The Doorbell Rang" and "Champagne for One." Screen format is 4:3 full frame. Dutch subtitles. Recommended for age 12 and over. "Op zoek naar a Nero Wolfe Mystery serie 1? | Justwebshop.nl". Archived from the original on July 24, 2011. Retrieved April 14, 2010. "Nero Wolfe Series 1 | DVD | 8717344739221 - Gratis verzending bij Cosmox". Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved April 7, 2010.
- ^ Features include "Over My Dead Body" and "Death of a Doxy." Screen format is 4:3 full frame. Dutch subtitles. Recommended for age 12 and over. "Just Webwinkel". Archived from the original on February 26, 2010. Retrieved April 14, 2010. "Nero Wolfe: Over My.. | DVD | 8717344739801 - Gratis verzending bij Cosmox". Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved April 7, 2010.
- ^ Features include "Wolfe Goes Out" ("Door to Death" and "Christmas Party" linked as a 90-minute feature) and "Wolfe Stays In" ("Eeny Meeny Murder Moe" and "Disguise for Murder" linked as a 90-minute feature). Screen format is 4:3 full frame. Dutch subtitles. Recommended for age 12 and over. "Op zoek naar a Nero Wolfe Mystery serie 3? | Justwebshop.nl". Archived from the original on July 24, 2011. Retrieved April 14, 2010. "Nero Wolfe Series 3 | DVD | 8717344739481 - Gratis verzending bij Cosmox". Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved April 7, 2010.
- ^ "Nero Wolfe: The Complete Series". Via Vision Entertainment. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
External links
edit- Nero Wolfe at IMDb
- Nero Wolfe at AllMovie
- Nero Wolfe at TV Guide
- Nero Wolfe: "In Bad Taste Parts 1 & 2" at The Wolfe Pack, official site of the Nero Wolfe Society
- Writing Nero Wolfe by Lee Goldberg, on Mystery*File
- Small-screen version of the great man, consultant Winnifred Louis' reflections on a visit to the set of The Golden Spiders (September 1999)
- Doorbells Ringing, consultant Winnifred Louis' notes on the A&E TV series and "The Doorbell Rang" (September 2000)
- Three scripts for Nero Wolfe written by Lee Goldberg and William Rabkin:
- "In Bad Taste" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on February 5, 2007. Retrieved October 16, 2013., combining "Poison a la Carte" and "Murder Is Corny"
- "Champagne for One" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 28, 2007. Retrieved September 28, 2007.
- "Prisoner's Base" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 28, 2007. Retrieved September 28, 2007., nominated for an Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America
- "Nero Wolfe: An A&E Original Series". Archived from the original on August 6, 2002. Retrieved April 18, 2017., official site