As I've noted in previous reviews, the show seems somewhat dated. Yes, it's a 40s period piece. But the idea of the story being focused on a 40s radio soap opera, presented without a hint if irony, is both refreshing and hard to relate to. There are some shots at stardom and network sponsorship, what with Pearl offering 13 weeks guaranteed on the air, but it's all kind of feeble.
The dying clue against doesn't make much sense. Mostly because Vera refused to let anyone take the bracelet _before_ she was murdered. Did she know Louise was going to kill her, before Louise killed her? Generally, the dying clues so far have been mildly sloppy, not up to Link and Levinson's precision work on 'Columbo'.
Speaking of 'Columbo', he never required a rival, but Ellery gets two: Brimmer and Flannigan. We know the rivals aren't going to "win", but at least Flannigan has more of a friendly competition with the Queens going on than outright rivalry. Which is why I prefer him to Hillerman's Simon Brimmer. Brimmer is petty (he cuts his show off rather than let Ellery solve the case on the air), superciliousness (sucking up to Pearl), and generally a sore loser. Yes, he overlooks something that Ellery catches, but a) that doesn't speak well for his intelligence, and b) Simon tends to overlook the vital clue more because of his thinly-disguised contempt for Ellery than poor circumstance.
Part of the problem is the show's format, which no actor can address. As they say, a hero is only as good at his opponent. So far the victims have been mostly louses: Tom Bosley as Bud in "Comic Book Crusader". He belittles his staff and is a sexual harasser, and we're support to sympathize with him in any way? Even Vera in this episode is a scene-stealing "Hollywood phony" who insults her fellow cast members and poisons herself in a grab for public sympathy. The killers seem sympathetic in comparison, which makes Ellery out to be a bad guy for bringing them to justice when it often seems like they should be getting a medal.
Also, since the format disguises the killer until after the last commercial break, there's no "player on the other side" for Ellery to match wits against. The killers are clever, but mostly are "good actors (like Eugene Roche in "Chinese Dog", and here with Betty White) who to make their characters more sympathetic and caught in a web of circumstances beyond their control. But that's just after the first six episodes and pilot: maybe it will change. As I recall from watching the show's first run, it doesn't, though.
The mystery isn't bad despite the set-up. Beatrice Colen, whose character can't bear to look people in the eye and narrates her tale of woe with organ music and soap-operaish narration, is a hoot. But none of the other characters stand out other than Vera. Actress Eve Arden hams it up. A lot.
As for the regulars, Velie doesn't get much to do even though the episode is set in NYC. There's a subplot with Richard on a diet that resolves by the end of the episode. Jim Hutton as Ellery doesn't have much to do. He's the sympathetic, vaguely befuddled character who gets locked in a closet.
Overall, the episode is okay, and the acting by Hutton, Wayne, and Cohen bumps it up a notch. But it's nothing to write home about.
But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?
The dying clue against doesn't make much sense. Mostly because Vera refused to let anyone take the bracelet _before_ she was murdered. Did she know Louise was going to kill her, before Louise killed her? Generally, the dying clues so far have been mildly sloppy, not up to Link and Levinson's precision work on 'Columbo'.
Speaking of 'Columbo', he never required a rival, but Ellery gets two: Brimmer and Flannigan. We know the rivals aren't going to "win", but at least Flannigan has more of a friendly competition with the Queens going on than outright rivalry. Which is why I prefer him to Hillerman's Simon Brimmer. Brimmer is petty (he cuts his show off rather than let Ellery solve the case on the air), superciliousness (sucking up to Pearl), and generally a sore loser. Yes, he overlooks something that Ellery catches, but a) that doesn't speak well for his intelligence, and b) Simon tends to overlook the vital clue more because of his thinly-disguised contempt for Ellery than poor circumstance.
Part of the problem is the show's format, which no actor can address. As they say, a hero is only as good at his opponent. So far the victims have been mostly louses: Tom Bosley as Bud in "Comic Book Crusader". He belittles his staff and is a sexual harasser, and we're support to sympathize with him in any way? Even Vera in this episode is a scene-stealing "Hollywood phony" who insults her fellow cast members and poisons herself in a grab for public sympathy. The killers seem sympathetic in comparison, which makes Ellery out to be a bad guy for bringing them to justice when it often seems like they should be getting a medal.
Also, since the format disguises the killer until after the last commercial break, there's no "player on the other side" for Ellery to match wits against. The killers are clever, but mostly are "good actors (like Eugene Roche in "Chinese Dog", and here with Betty White) who to make their characters more sympathetic and caught in a web of circumstances beyond their control. But that's just after the first six episodes and pilot: maybe it will change. As I recall from watching the show's first run, it doesn't, though.
The mystery isn't bad despite the set-up. Beatrice Colen, whose character can't bear to look people in the eye and narrates her tale of woe with organ music and soap-operaish narration, is a hoot. But none of the other characters stand out other than Vera. Actress Eve Arden hams it up. A lot.
As for the regulars, Velie doesn't get much to do even though the episode is set in NYC. There's a subplot with Richard on a diet that resolves by the end of the episode. Jim Hutton as Ellery doesn't have much to do. He's the sympathetic, vaguely befuddled character who gets locked in a closet.
Overall, the episode is okay, and the acting by Hutton, Wayne, and Cohen bumps it up a notch. But it's nothing to write home about.
But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?