As far as I know, the concept of a TV game show that's half a filmed murder mystery and half the actors in the studio, still in character, being interrogated by guest panelists is quite unique: it has only been done twice, by "Whodunnit?" (1972-1978) and by "Cluedo" (1990-1993). Having now seen both in their entirety, "Whodunnit?" is the far superior show. The chief reason for that: it demands genuine brainwork (composition, deduction and obervation), whereas "Cluedo" favors pure guesswork. Apart from the 1st episode, and maybe a couple of others, "Cluedo"'s idea of creating suspects is having a shot of each character holding each of the possible murder weapons, and that's it; the place of the murder seems to be chosen even more randomly. If I were more of a conspiracy theorist, I would say it's even suspicious that the panelists ALWAYS arrive at the correct conclusions with such scant clues in such a limited amount of time (25 minutes as opposed to "Whodunnit?"'s 40). The actors playing the suspects change in every season: ultimately every role gets nailed by an actor - just not necessarily in the same season! As for the panelists, they are supposed to be British celebrities of the early 1990s, but you probably have never heard of them, with a few exceptions (Jenny Agutter, Edward Fox). As "Whodunnit?"'s only companion piece "Cluedo" is still fun if you loved that show - it's just a pity it isn't better. **1/2 out of 4.
5 Reviews
A classic piece of British TV... with murder.
Chris-Moyse6 July 2003
This show was great, A cast of some of Britain's best stars camping it up and running amok inside an old country manor, An entertaining game show which was really enjoyable in that "play along at home" sort of way. Never got too heavy despite the murderous plotlines and came across frequently as black comedy. Its just a shame each series only lasted six episodes (I believe the Australian version had many more) The show enjoyed a sucessful four series run, it has not yet been repeated, but I, and i'm sure many other cluedo fans would love to see it again. A classic piece of British televisual nostalgia. Oh, England, Tea with teacakes, sherry before dinner.. One simply has to maintain ones standards.
Lost Treasure.
Sleepin_Dragon20 November 2015
An absolute corker of a series, one which I would love to see back on our screens, I've been fortunate enough to get my hands on all four series, and they're largely as good as I remember. The main issue as I always remember is there were six episodes and six suspects, with one murderer per episode you knew full well who the killer was on week 6.
I think the cast on series 2 was the pick of the bunch, Richard Wilson, Mollie Sugden, Rula Lenska and Michael Jayston were brilliant. June Whitfield and Tom Baker shone in other series as well.
The Gameshow format was great, Chris Tarrant was perhaps the better presenter, the theme music was fun too.
Bring it back!! 8/10
I think the cast on series 2 was the pick of the bunch, Richard Wilson, Mollie Sugden, Rula Lenska and Michael Jayston were brilliant. June Whitfield and Tom Baker shone in other series as well.
The Gameshow format was great, Chris Tarrant was perhaps the better presenter, the theme music was fun too.
Bring it back!! 8/10
Your favorite board game comes to life!
parkguy50512 April 2005
You are invited to a murder.. There are six suspects, but which one is the killer? This was a very creative and fun mystery series with the six infamous Clue(do) characters in the form of real life people. This show had a little bit of everything- from comedy (mrs. white being the main comedian of the bunch), drama, and a poison bottle full of mystery! The show flourished due to its creativity and all star cast including Stephanie Beacham (series 1 Peacock), Joan Sims (christmas special white), Joanna Lumley (series 4 Peacock), June Whitfield (series 1 white), Ian Lavendar (christmas special plum), Lewis Collins (series 3 mustard), Lysette Anthony (series 3 scarlet) and many more. A great show for mystery lovers and fans of fun!
Board Game ? Bored Game More Like
Theo Robertson10 December 2002
It smacks of desperation when a tv company does a quiz / contest based around a board game . CLUEDO uses the format of the well known detective game with a host of well known British television faces enacting a scenario with a couple of contestants trying to guess who commited the murder in which part of the house . There is a bit of a flaw in this however , a series is composed of six episodes with there being six suspects so if you`ve been watching the previous five episodes it will be somewhat obvious as to who the murderer will be in the final episode .
For a far better " Let`s work who the murderer is " quiz show try WHODUNNIT presented by the late and great Jon Pertwee
For a far better " Let`s work who the murderer is " quiz show try WHODUNNIT presented by the late and great Jon Pertwee
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