Murders that vex the authorities, classy damsels in distress, classic cars, gourmet dining, and a dose of sleuthing genius. That sums up A&E’s iteration of Rex Stout’s famous portly and genius gourmand private detective, Nero Wolfe. Assisted by his leg man and confidant, Archie Goodwin, Nero Wolfe solves baffling cases too tough for New York City’s finest. It’s a great whodunit period show, and I wish it got more than the two seasons we received, but what we got is still gold, and I revisit this one often.
A&E first introduced Nero Wolfe as a 2-hour TV special “The Golden Spiders: A Nero Wolfe Mystery” (March 5, 2000), where we meet Nero portrayed by the talented character actor Maury Chaykin, and Archie Goodwin played by Oscar winner Timothy Hutton. We’re given the first glance of the dynamic between the two leads.
Nero’s a genius with an ego and high-class taste, and is loath to do any work unless there’s money involved. Despite that, when there’s a case, Nero’s the man with the plan. Helping him to realize those plans is Archie Goodwin, the masculine, street-wise common man with an eye for the ladies and a heart of gold. Ironically, for all that genius and ego, Nero’s no good around women and he relies on Archie to navigate that social structure. Archie knows that for any work to get done to pay for his boss’s lifestyle and his own, he’s got to prod the genius, usually through badgering Nero with pranks and sarcasm that inevitably set off events that lead to a case. Despite the friction between the two, they know they need each other, with Nero’s cooler head tempering and guiding Archie’s hot-headedness, and Archie’s dependability keeping Nero on task.
Sometimes Archie’s heart of gold gets him into trouble, especially when the fairer sex is involved. His soft spot for a damsel in distress often got him into trouble, much to Nero’s dismay. This was especially true in the 2-part episode “Prisoner’s Base,” when Archie felt like his actions caused the death of a would-be client, Priscilla Eads (Shaunna Black). That notwithstanding, it didn’t stop Mr. Goodwin from having a good time with the ladies, especially with his on-and-off-again girlfriend Lily Rowan (Kari Matchett).
As for the other players of law and order, there’s the gruff Inspector Cramer, played by Bill Smitrovich, and he nails the part, right down to the cigar mashed between his teeth. He’s got a rivalry going on with Wolfe and gets quite upset that despite the resources and manpower at his command, the duo still manages to catch the bad guys he can’t. There’s also Sergeant Purley Stebbins (R.D. Reid) who works for Cramer and doesn’t mind giving Nero or Archie a hard time. Despite this, both Nero and Cramer’s department are on the side of justice, and Nero works as best he can with the police, especially when it suits his purposes. Although, they don’t mind stepping on each other’s toes as often as they can.
Supporting Nero and Archie’s operation is a cadre of folks. Fritz Brenner, Nero’s chef and butler, is played by Colin Fox. Fritz and Nero’s interactions are normally a source of comic relief in the show, but I admit I get hungry every time I hear them talk about food. There are other P.I.s that they reach out to such as Saul Panzer (Conrad Dunn), a talented private investigator who Archie thinks is gunning for his job, Fred Durkin (Fulvio Cecere), and Orrie Cather (Trent McMullen).
With the success of “The Golden Spiders,” A&E gave the green light for a series based on Rex Stout’s other stories in mostly a 1-hour format, with some episodes being a little longer or becoming two-part episodes. The settings of the stories aren’t all necessarily in chronological order, so you’ll have some episodes set in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. A keen eye will definitely note the time changes based on the great classic cars used in the show as well as the costumes of the characters. The costume department does a great job here, especially with the flashy suits and great period dress.
One of the great things about this series is the way they handled a repertory cast, just like in theatre. You’ll have, for example, James Tolkan or Kari Matchett playing different characters in different episodes. Sometimes a repertory actor will be the victim, the murderer, or any other supporting character in the show. For me, it gave the show a murder theater feeling. You’ll even spot a young Giancarlo Esposito in an episode doing something he’s known for, playing a great bad guy.
Alas, it’s a shame we didn’t get more of this show. From what I gathered, it was apparently due to high costs, but the show had great ratings. According to a 2008 interview with Maury Chaykin in the National Post, Chaykin suspected it was A&E’s shift towards reality TV. It’s a shame, really.
You can watch A&E’s Nero Wolfe on YouTube, or on Roku with the Prime Video add-on. You can also purchase it on DVD from Amazon. I highly recommend the physical copy, as you never know how fickle YouTube can be.
If you like a good detective period drama, definitely give this one a shot.
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