a5c7b9f00b Genius detective Nero Wolfe and his right-hand man, Archie Goodwin, solve seemingly impossible crimes. I saw only a couple of episodes of this show when it aired, and I enjoyed it a lot. So I got the DVD and tried watching it, but I have some issues. After getting about halfway into the first season I started thinking it was more of a comedy than a serious show, which Iused to think it was.<br/><br/>There were always little jokes, especially from Archie Goodwin, but that isn&#39;t what I&#39;m talking about. I don&#39;t know what the book was like, I&#39;ve never read it, but the show seemed to almost be making fun of Wolfe all the time. The grotesquely fat guy with all kinds of issues like never being able to leave the house, not liking women being around, etc. Archie actually says in his commentary &quot;he weighs a seventh of a ton…&quot; Making it sound like he was so huuuuge, but that&#39;s not even three hundred pounds. BIG sure, but not extremely obese, not bed ridden. But apparently he is the fattest man they have ever seen. This comes up a lot, like when a lady is telling Wolfe about a very fat man, then says, &quot;he&#39;s not nearlyfatyou&quot;, and he says &quot;I didn&#39;t expect so…&quot; It&#39;s actually a little offensive.<br/><br/>The two main problems I have though are these: Everyone who watches the show knows that there are several actors who are in nearly every episode, but play a different character every time. This became a problem to me after a while. When I first saw the bald FBI guy from the first episode dressed up in some costume serving at a party, I almost thought he was undercover or something. But no, he was just a servant. Then it was happening with others, in every episode, and I was tripped out but tried to ignore it. But it became to hard, every time I was entrenched in the story, and one of these guys popped up acting like someone else, it slammed me right back to reality and pulled me from the story. A story should draw you in, not push you out.<br/><br/>My final problem only happened oncefarI know, but that was more than enough. Archie is in some place investigating, and two crooks pop up and get the jump on him almost. But he is able to get his gun out and point it at them. So they drop whatever blunt objects they had and he&#39;s got them. He&#39;s freaking got them. The he says &quot;alright were going down to the police station.&quot; And one of the bad guys says &quot;what for?&quot; Archie thinks for a second, then says &quot;you got me. Here you go.&quot; And he hands them his gun and lets them tie him up! Then he gets shot by them while tied up, with his gun, and almost dies. Luckily they hit his shoulder. The stupidest thing I&#39;ve ever seen happen in a show that isn&#39;t a comedy.<br/><br/>So I decided the only way the show makes sense isa comedy, and a parody at that, what with all the same stupid characters in different costumes looking almost like Mad TV or something. Except it&#39;s the same gag, over and over again.<br/><br/>Watch ita comedy, don&#39;t take it very seriously, and be prepared to only watch a couple episodes at a time every now and then because every episode is so much like the last it gets tiring fast, and it&#39;s pretty good. Very smart and witty. the intelligence level is one of the shows good points. Others are the acting stars, Archie and Nero. Both great actors and very fun to watch bicker with each other. This is the best of all film and TV attempts to capture the environment and characterizations of the world of Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin that Rex Stout created. Timothy Hutton&#39;s Archie Goodwin is dead on. Fans of the books will delight in the wealth of detail in the environment and in the characters.
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354 weeks ago