dbborroughs
Jim Hutton stars as sleuth Ellery Queen in one of TV's great unsung mystery shows. The stories, set in the 1940's, have Queen a mystery writer and son of the police commissioner getting involved in various murders. What was unique about the series was that before the audience was told who done it Queen would address the audience and ask them if they had solved the crime. It was an odd show both because they acknowledged the audience but also because the writers were scrupulously fair in the plotting. All of the clues are there. This is one of my favorite shows and I've seen all of the episodes any number of times and I never tire of seeing them. The best part is that all of the episodes are good. I don't think there is a dog in the bunch. If you ever get a chance to see this series (if we are ever blessed with a real DVD release) you should make an effort to see this.
midnight_raider2001
One of my favorite TV series of all time was this show, a must-watch leading into the NBC Sunday Mystery Movie. Done by the same creative team that had given us "Columbo," "Ellery Queen" did that show one better by giving us a mystery to solve each week while using the same patterns of intricate clues that had made "Columbo" such a hit. I think NBC had high hopes for this show: it looks like they spent big money on it, meticulously re-creating New York City in the 1940s on Hollywood sets, getting the big-name guest stars, hiring a top-notch writing staff, and possibly giving the directors extra time to film and get things right. Maybe the show was too high-class for television, especially 1970s television, when Norman Lear's in-your-face, ultra-modern sitcoms ruled and Garry Marshall's escapist sitcoms were about to head for the top, while the dramas were epitomized by The Six Million Dollar Man (which was Ellery's competition during much of the year). TV networks always try to stay with the trends, although it seems like they always catch the trends at the tail end. Ellery was also Family Viewing Time material, after a programming edict by the networks which never caught on. But it even compares well with the immortal Murder, She Wrote, which came along a few years later (in the same time period) and became a 12-year hit. Catch the predecessor series if you can to see how the production team did it at their best.
Joseph P. Ulibas
Ellery Queen (1975) was another one of those amateur sleuth television shows that were so popular during the seventies. This series was based upon the detective mysteries stories of the fictional sleuth Ellery Queen (a father and son team). The two sleuths would solve seemingly impossible cases. Father and son would solve the cases with seemingly ease. But before they reveal the end of the mystery, the writer son would turn to the camera and quiz the audience if they know the answer.A cheesy crime drama that didn't last as long as it's competitors. I used to watch old episodes of this series on A & E (during the summer time when I was in high school). It was fun playing junior detective. Kind of like a vintage version of I-Detective. Harmless fun.Recommended.
Dvd Avins
The entire casting and pacing are great, and it's one of the rare TV series that of the era that doesn't strive for the dim-witted portion of the potential audience. I'm 95% straight, Hutton/Ellery's brains and charm reminds me why it's only 95%. I hope it comes out on video someday.