Cluedo (UK game show)
| Cluedo | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Game show |
| Presented by | James Bellini (1990) Chris Tarrant (1991) Richard Madeley (1992-3) |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 25 (inc. 1 Xmas special) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes (inc. adverts) 50 minutes (Xmas special) |
| Production company(s) | Granada in association with Waddingtons Games and Action Time |
| Distributor | ITV Studios |
| Release | |
| Original network | ITV |
| Picture format | 4:3 |
| Original release | 25 July 1990 – 24 May 1993 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Cluedo (Australian version) |
Cluedo is a British game show based on the board game of the same name. Each week, a reenactment of the murder at the stately home Arlington Grange of a visiting guest was played and, through a combination of interrogating the suspects (of whom only the murderer could lie) and deduction, celebrity guests had to discover who committed the murder, which of six weapons (not usually the original six from the board game) and in which room it was committed, whilst viewers were invited to play along at home.
Encyclopedia of Television suggests the Australian version came into development as part of a strategy by production company Crawfords to diversify into coproductions with overseas properties - in this case the British gameshow. The TV show essentially followed in the footsteps of an earlier detective fiction program named Whodunnit?, where audience members had to guess the identity of the culprit after viewing prerecorded footage and interrogating suspects.The Doctors Who's Who describes Whodunnit? as a celebrity quiz show "not unlike Cluedo...where the panel would see some visual clues and a piece of film and decide who killed whom and in what capacity".Dalek I Loved You described Whodunnit? as "an earlier version of Cluedo". David McCallum, who played Professor Plum in season 2, said "This is not the Royal Shakespeare Company but it still requires technique. It's not overacting and it's not underacting. it's just slightly over the top". Series three's Colonel Mustard Lewis Collins said in an interview with This Morning: "Cluedo is the most nerve-racking thing I've ever done...", despite one magazine saying he was "tailor-made" for the role. Lysette Anthony, who played Miss Scarlett in series 3, said "Cluedo is fun to play because it's camp and it's the complete opposite of what I'm about". Leslie Grantham, series four's Colonel Mustard, said "I'm the last person you'd expect to play [him]. That's why I was so flattered to be offered the role", and added that "Cluedo is great fun to do. It's fascinating to watch these asexual, inanimate characters brought to life". Despite the notion that the Colonel's prior occupation would make him the obvious suspect for every murder, it is stressed that "everyone has equally good reasons for bumping off the victim".
The gameshow was imported in various countries, most notably to Australia where it ran for two seasons (1992-3).
The German version lasted for one season in 1993. The series is set in Schloss Leonberg (Castle Leonberg), while the gameplay is based on Australia's instead of Britain's, where the audience interviews the suspects instead of celebrity teams, and are playing for a holiday if they solve the case. Later in the scenario after the murder has occurred, the Inspector (Hauptkommissar Rolf Taller) appears to investigate the murder, thereby revealing more information. Each episode is 50 minutes long.
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Wikipedia