Nero Wolfe

[ortega76]

And besides, your parents will enjoy watching Season One. You can loan them the Season Two discs from the Mega-Set after you've watched them.

I recommended the series to my mother and she caught an episode. She enjoyed the music and the costumes but thought the stories were a bit odd. I'll send her Season 1 and see if she likes it.

 

[Godfrey]

Soundtrack?

More on the Nero Wolfe series. Does anyone know if there was a soundtrack CD put out. Love the music on the A&E production!

 

[Peter Truett]

Re: Soundtrack

More on the Nero Wolfe series. Does anyone know if there was a soundtrack CD put out. Love the music on the A&E production!

Alas, no CD with the soundtrack. And I agree with you that the music was wonderful.

If you're in the mood to roll your own here is a list of the music complied by the fans active on the "Nero Wolfe" boards during the show's far too short run:


FAQ: MUSIC FOR NERO WOLFE

THE GOLDEN SPIDERS
Original Music by Michael Small

THE SERIES
Original Music by Michael Small
Music Editor: Kevin Banks

FIRST SEASON

The Doorbell Rang:
- La donna e mobile from Rigoletto by Verdi

Champagne for One:
- Nulla in mundo pax sincera by Antonio Vivaldi [Dinner
Music}
- Jazz Suite No. 2 (Suite for Promenade Orch.): VI Waltz 2
by Shostakovich [Opening Sequence and Dance Music}

Prisoner's Base:
- Waltz in A Flat by Johannes Brahms

Eeny Meeny Murder Moe:
- String Quintet in E, Op. 13 No. 5: Minuet by Boccherini
- Spring Song Op. 62, No. 6 by Mendelssohn

Disguise for Murder:
- Zoot suit blues (Koka Media) [During the card game.] "The
singer would have been a session guy. Not sure if the CD
would list the singer or not." - Kevin Banks.

Door to Death:
- La Cumparsita [Opening sequence tango at The Flamingo}

Christmas Party:
- Medley:
- - Good King Wenceslas
- - Deck the Halls
- - The Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah
- Minuet in G by Beethoven

Over My Dead Body:
- Waltz in A Flat by Johannes Brahms
- Les Oiseaux Dans La Charmille (The Doll's Song) from Les
Contes D'Hoffmann (Tales of Hoffmann) by Offenbach


SECOND SEASON

Death of a Doxy
- Humoresque, Op. 101, No. 7 by Dvorak

The Next Witness:
- Hungarian Dance No. 5 by Brahms.

Die Like a Dog:
- Humoresque, Op. 101, No. 7 by Dvorak [Title Music}

Murder Is Corny:
- Dance of the Hours from the opera La Gioconda by
Ponchielli [Wolfe waits for his corn.}

The Mother Hunt:
- Valse No.6 in D flat Op.64 No.1 (Minute Waltz) by Chopin
- Nocturne in E flat, Op.9 No.2 by Chopin
- Suite Number One for Unaccompanied Cello in G Major, BWV
1007, (Prelude) by Bach
- Humoresque, Op. 101, No. 7 by Dvorak [Lucy & Archie on
the veranda.}

Poison a la Carte:
- St Louis Blues [Titles}
- Rondo Alla Turca from Sonata No. 11 in A Major by Mozart
- "Pathos" by Dick Walter. [Wolfe in the kitchen with
Fritz.] "It can be be found at apmmusic.com on CD KPM369.
There are two 1 minute versions. Nice tune for a great
scene. Enjoyed doing that one. - Kevin Banks

Too Many Clients:
- Caramba - APM piece [Title music}
- El Choclo (Kiss of Fire)--traditional

Help Wanted, Male:


Before I Die:

The Silent Speaker:
- Melody in F Op. 3/1 by Anton Rubinstein [Intro music}

The Cop Killer:
- Overture to the Barber of Seville by Rossini [Opening
Sequence}
- Piano Quintet in A major op. 114 "The Trout" 4th mov: Tema
con variazioni (Andante) by Franz Schubert

Immune to Murder:
- "Just thought you would want to know about ITM's title
music. Long story short, It was originally written by M.
Small for the title in "Over My Dead Body". The opening
music had not yet been selected when the unfortunate news
came down the pipe, and it seemed fitting to play something
very Nero and unheard for the season finale." - Kevin Banks

r. 2002-Aug-24

 

[K-K-K-Katie]

BAH, Flummery!

Mr. Chaykin was a charlatan as the esteemed Mr. Wolfe. William Conrad did a much better, albeit still reprehensible, job of acting Mr. Stout's masterwork. I did, however, think Mr. Hutton did a workmanly job of portraying Archie. Ms Matchett was a delight, and certainly proved her worth as both a dramatic and comedic actress.

As for the Sidney Greenstreet portrayal of Mr. Wolfe as a giggling idiot - the less said the better.

The unfortunate A&E series reflects some of the longevity of Mr. Stout's career. His Wolfe stories are set from the late 20s through the early 60s. The shows I saw did seem to accurately capture the era of the original tale.

Read the originals as soon as may be. One would be well served and entertained to do so. Should one choose to listen to Mr. Wolfe's adventures, I recommend the Books on Tape unabridged recordings as read by Michael J. Prichard. His reading and portrayals of the principals are flawless.

Remember, 'contact' is NEVER used as a verb!

 

[Godfrey]

Peter - thanks for the list. I'll review the DVD's (darn it! That means I'll have to watch them over again! :eusa_doh: - lifes just hard that way! ) and work out which tracks I'll... track down.

Thanks again!

 

[Brian Sheridan]

Mr. Chaykin was a charlatan as the esteemed Mr. Wolfe. William Conrad did a much better, albeit still reprehensible, job of acting Mr. Stout's masterwork.

I really have to disagree with that assesment. Conrad's Wolfe smiled, belly laughed, and walked around way to much.

For perfection, check out David Thayer in the 1977 telemovie "The Doorbell Rang." Thayer struck the perfect tone for Wolfe, though not fat enough. Unfortuatly, Thayer died before the series could go into production. The film ran on ABC and is hardly ever seen in syndication. It is not available on DVD or tape which is a crime worthy of the talents of Wolfe and Archie.

 

[Peter Truett]

Re: Soundtrack

Peter - thanks for the list. I'll review the DVD's (darn it! That means I'll have to watch them over again! :eusa_doh: - lifes just hard that way! ) and work out which tracks I'll... track down.

Thanks again!

You're most welcome, Godfrey. And please don't try to convince me that watching the DVDs again is an onerous chore. lol

I've seen the Thayer David and the William Conrad versions of "Nero Wolfe" but the Maury Chaykin/Timothy Hutton version surpasses them hands down. There's no comparison. Chaykin and Hutton, and the entire cast and crew brought the Nero Wolfe stories to life on the screen. These shows brought Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe series to the top of the used book selling charts for a number of years during and after it's run on A&E, and it made Wolfe fans out of high school kids, baby boomers, and seniors, and everything in between. It's a shame that the nincompoops at A&E canceled the show after two short seasons. Jaffe, and Hutton, and Chaykin, and Sharon Doyle (Head Screenwriter) got it right. The Jaffe Braunstein Production is perfection.

Best regards,

Peter

 

[deadpandiva]

I only ever caught two episodes of this but I really enjoyed them. That megaset sounds like a great deal. Much better than buying season's on and two seperatly.

 

[Kermez]

A Nero Wolfe Mystery is my Favorite TV Show of All-Time.

 

[Brian Sheridan]

From the wikipedia entry: The entire second season was shot in HD, with 15 one hour programs and three two hours.

GRRRRRR!!!! A&E is apparently not only irresponsible in canceling the series (for crap like Dog, the Bounty Hunter) but also in the DVD release.

At first, they accidentally put out edited versions of the show. Now, I read that the 2nd season has been shot in HD and the best A&E could do is put only one episode (The Silent Speaker) in letterbox on the DVD set. An outrage!

I doubt it will ever happen but how amazing would it be to see the 2nd season in HD (on cable or sat) or in BluRay? Hutton's suit and hats were incredible!!!

 

[Kermez]

You know about all the "missing minutes" as well, right?

The versions of the episodes shown overseas have extra footage (some a little, some a lot) not shown or released here.

I would have no problem re-buying the complete series if it was COMPLETE (with the missing minutes) and ALL in W I D E S C R E E N!

 

[Wally_Hood]

Big fan of the video Nero Wolfe. Was hooked on the books for many years before I saw the show. Currently working through the dvds. While Maury Chakin seems to shout and throw tantrums more than the literary Wolfe, he seems to do better than the previous film and television attempts.

The series seems to spring from a genuine admiration of the world created by Stout. I personally like the fact that the show tries to accurately replicate the decade in which the story is set. Is it perfect? With an unlimited budget maybe they could have achieved a thorough-going accuracy, but for me, I liked what they did.

And, while Orson Welles will always be the Wolfe I see when I read the stories, Archie will now be imagined as Tim Hutton.

 

[The Wolf]

It did have a good feeling for the time periods. I could tell when the story took place by clothing, props, etc. It threw me off at first because the episodes are filmed chronologically from the books.

Sincerely,
The Wolfe

 

[kiltie]

Box Set

Anyone interested, I just picked up the box set of the complete series at Barnes and Noble and it's 50% off: Fifty bones before tax.

 

[Brian Sheridan]

I would sell my soul for a Blu-Ray, uncut set of both Nero Wolfe seasons. It is unlikely to ever happen though. But I can dream.

 

[LordBest]

I thought the A&E series was rather good, though I haven't read any of the books as yet.
I do enjoy the "Nero Wolfe Cookbook", of which I have an electronic copy. The recipes are suitably gourmand without being fussy. Well, not by my definition of fussy.

 

[Tiller]

I had seen a couple of episodes. I thought it was well cast and looked swell. Unfortunately, I was somewhat thrown off by it looking 40s one episode and 50s another. I eschew the 1950s but I'll save that for another post.

That's because they did cases in the era they where suppose to be in. Although Archie and Nero always acted like it was the 1930s-40s and hardly changed, (not to mention never aged) the world around them did. There where cases in the 30's, 40's, 50's, 60's, and 70's. That's why the style and era's change all the time different stories are set in different times, and Archie and Nero have found the fountain of youth and refuse to age at all in forty years.

 

[LordJohnRoxton]

Alas, no CD with the soundtrack. And I agree with you that the music was wonderful.

If you're in the mood to roll your own here is a list of the music complied by the fans active on the "Nero Wolfe" boards during the show's far too short run:


FAQ: MUSIC FOR NERO WOLFE

THE GOLDEN SPIDERS
Original Music by Michael Small

THE SERIES
Original Music by Michael Small
Music Editor: Kevin Banks

Does anybody know if the Original music tracks are available anywhere?

 

[Chasseur]

Rented the complete boxset from my local library.

There is something about that makes it hard for me "to get into" this series. I guess its too campy or the acting is off or something. Not sure I'll make it through many episodes...

 

[Benzadmiral]

Rented the complete boxset from my local library.

There is something about that makes it hard for me "to get into" this series. I guess its too campy or the acting is off or something. Not sure I'll make it through many episodes...

Stout's special world was well-represented on the series, I thought. Wolfe's world is an alternate universe that was very similar to ours -- Stout made up his own brand names for cars and guns and rugs.

Chaykin was a little too tantrum-y to match with the literary Wolfe; I liked William Conrad's voice much much better; but Tim Hutton was a grand Archie. There's a moment in the first episode where he comes into a building, consults the directory, finds the name he wants, and taps it, sort of like saying "Bingo!", before hurrying up the stairs. Perfect touch.

Of the episodes' originals, "Disguise for Murder," "Die Like a Dog," and The Doorbell Rang are all superb reads. Some of the novelettes, like "Christmas Party," are poor mysteries; maybe they made better TV (I didn't get to see all the episodes in 2001-2002).