Nero Wolfe
Nero Wolfe
| 24 December 1981 (USA)
SEASON & EPISODES
  • 1
  • Season 1 : 1981 | 14 Episodes

    EP1 The Golden Spiders Dec 24, 1981

    A boy is injured in his attempt to tell Nero about an abduction he's witnessed, to which the only clue is a pair of golden spider earrings worn by the victim.

    EP2 Death on the Doorstep Dec 24, 1981

    Nero becomes involved when Archie's college football teammate Barney is found dead on his doorstep.

    EP3 Before I Die Dec 24, 1981

    Nero must narrow down the suspects when a beautiful girl is killed after being hired by a mobster to act as a decoy for his daughter.

    EP4 Wolfe at the Door Dec 24, 1981

    Nero leaves his brownstone when called to identify Archie's body at the morgue, only to find that it was an impostor and Archie is accused of his murder.

    EP5 Might As Well Be Dead Dec 24, 1981

    Nero locates a young man who has been missing for nine years, only to find that he is on trial for murder.

    EP6 To Catch a Dead Man Dec 24, 1981

    Nero and Archie's lives are in danger because someone does not want them to locate the missing CEO of a large shipping firm.

    EP7 In the Best of Families Dec 24, 1981

    Nero is hired by a wealthy socialite to learn the source of the large sums of money her playboy husband has been throwing around.

    EP8 Murder by the Book Dec 24, 1981

    Nero and Archie use a computer to figure out the connection among three murders, an apparent suicide, and a missing manuscript.

    EP9 What Happened to April? Dec 24, 1981

    Nero suspects it was no accident when the dead body of a woman who specialized in an underwater striptease is found floating in the East River.

    EP10 Gambit Dec 24, 1981

    A brilliant criminal with a grudge booby-traps Nero's apartment.

    EP11 Death and the Dolls Dec 24, 1981

    The daughter of a wealthy sportsman urges Nero to investigate her father's death.

    EP12 The Murder in Question Dec 24, 1981

    A former prosecutor's wife and then his secretary are killed in apparent attempts on his life.

    EP13 Blue Ribbon Hostage Dec 24, 1981

    A hood kidnaps one of Nero's priceless orchids in order to force Nero to prove his innocence in a murder.

    EP14 Sweet Revenge Dec 24, 1981

    Two paid killers track Nero and Archie.
    Reviews
    loza-1

    I had never come across the character Nero Wolfe before, and I had never read any of Rex Stout's books. Then I saw this.I had seen William Conrad before in Canon. Here he is playing a different role. He is more selfish and testy than Canon, and barks out orders to the three people who work for him, and is rude to everybody else. Yet he still has a streak of affability that makes him likable.To me, this seemed strange. A man who is a private detective, but is obese to the point of invalidity, so he never leaves the house, and travels about the brownstone in an elevator. He hires a younger, fitter man to do all the legwork for him. He has a greenhouse on top of his brownstone, where, with the help of an ex-employee of a British botanical garden, he keeps and cultivates rare orchids. He also employs a chef to cook rich food for him. I must have seen all manner of TV detectives, but I had never seen anything like this before.I thought William Conrad was brilliant. He was genuinely funny. As well as a case that had to be solved, there were also the interchanges between Wolfe and the wisecracking Archie. The arguments between Wolfe and Theodore in the greenhouse; and between Wolfe and Fritz in the kitchen are hilarious. The row between Wolfe and Fritz about which portions of garlic and saffron to put into the marinade for the shish kebab is classic. In one episode Wolfe pours a bottle of Dutch beer into a pint mug, then drinks the lot down in one draught. In another episode, Archie tells the police that Wolfe takes his exercise by throwing darts from his bedside, then walks round the bed to collect the darts from the dartboard.Sadly they only made one series of this, so maybe the show didn't catch on, or maybe they stopped it because George Voskovec, who played Fritz, sadly died.Watch this series. It will change your life!

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    oxie_h

    I thought Lee Horsley was the definitive Archie Goodwin, and I'd like to know if this series will ever be released on DVD. Although I like Timothy Hutton (in the AE version), he's a little too polished for the role of AG and Maury Chaykin a little too vehement for Nero Wolfe. I had not seen the AE version of Nero Wolfe until recently when I checked the DVDs out of our local library. I enjoyed them, but I'm a real fan of the Nero Wolfe books; and the characterizations of Wolfe and Goodwin were just a little "off." I remember the 1981 series set me to reading the books, and I had no difficulty visualizing Lee Horsley as the wise-cracking Archie. I would love to see this older series again.

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    eiffler123

    Lee Horsley was the perfect Archie Goodwin. I'm a big fan of the books & when I read them I can see only Horsley as that character. He can come & rescue me anytime!!! William Conrad was also very good as Wolfe. I wish that they still showed them on tv so I would have a chance to tape them .

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    Fiona G.

    It is beyond understanding why this show was canceled so quickly. The appearance and attitude William Conrad gave his Wolfe was just about perfect. He was the "seventh-of-a-ton" detective thousands of readers of the novels probably imagined. But not only Conrad was superb, the rest of the cast was as well, from George Voskovec's Fritz to Allan Miller's Inspector Cramer, with whose fits anyone could feel along.Some edges of the characters were taken out, which is especially true for Archie Goodwin, and was most probably done to assure mass compatibility. Both Goodwin and Wolfe are described as chauvinists par excellence in the books. But besides that, there wasn't much more an avid fan of the novels could have asked for.Very noteworthy is the great care about every little detail of the "old brownstone." That was marvelous work and the production crew should be applauded for that. Probably they had a number of Wolfe fans among them.

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