This series is out on DVD and this pilot entry is delightful. It takes the time to create a 1940's atmosphere The cast is loaded. It begins with that great NBC Mystery Movie theme music. It has the teaser in the beginning about who dun it.
We have Ray Milland who does some good acting early on in this one. John Hillerman plays Ellery Queens arch rival Simon Brimmer throughout the series. Monte Markham is in the guest cast which is loaded. A woman fashion designer who plays word games with her fashion lines is murdered. When Ellery figures out that she names her lines after the men she is romantically involved with in her life (so does Simon Brimmer), he gets a lot closer to figuring out who did it. Still it takes longer.
That is the thing which is a bit of a draw back here. The rest of the series is in one hour chunks. The hours do not drag. This one at 90 minutes drags a bit as the length makes the investigation go into slow motion. Still this one is worth the effort and you can check on how well you can deduce the killers id. Because of the length, there are more suspects here than the shorter shows.
Unlike Columbo, this show does not reveal the killer until the end.
We have Ray Milland who does some good acting early on in this one. John Hillerman plays Ellery Queens arch rival Simon Brimmer throughout the series. Monte Markham is in the guest cast which is loaded. A woman fashion designer who plays word games with her fashion lines is murdered. When Ellery figures out that she names her lines after the men she is romantically involved with in her life (so does Simon Brimmer), he gets a lot closer to figuring out who did it. Still it takes longer.
That is the thing which is a bit of a draw back here. The rest of the series is in one hour chunks. The hours do not drag. This one at 90 minutes drags a bit as the length makes the investigation go into slow motion. Still this one is worth the effort and you can check on how well you can deduce the killers id. Because of the length, there are more suspects here than the shorter shows.
Unlike Columbo, this show does not reveal the killer until the end.