In 1959, seven years before he became Captain Kirk, William Shatner played Archie Goodwin, the wise-cracking assistant to the brilliant and corpulent Nero Wolfe.
Nero Wolfe was filmed as a pilot for a possible weekly series. In fact, according to IMDB, one or two additional episodes were filmed as well, though none of them ever aired. As far as I know, only a single episode survives--which has recently been released on DVD.
That one episode is not based on any of the original Rex Stout stories, involving the murder of a rocket scientist at the exact moment a rocket is being launched. Everyone thinks it was a heart attack brought on by the stress of the moment. But Wolfe, after hearing Archie read the first few lines of a newspaper account, realizes that it was actually murder. A few moments later, when Archie points out that their bank account is shrinking, he decides to publicly announce that the death was a murder, then charge the various suspects for finding the real killer and saving them trouble from the police.
Shatner and Kurt Kaszner are both excellent as Archie and Wolfe. The script is superb, cleverly borrowing elements from a number of Rex Stout's stories and novels. For instance, Wolfe researches the personal finances of each of the people involved, then charges each an amount based on what they can afford. He did the same thing in the novel The League of Frightened Men.
The dialogue catches the personalities of both protagonists perfectly as well. Even little touches--such as Archie drinking milk--are there. The writer, veteran scribe Sidney Carroll, obviously knew and respected the source material. The Wolfe adaptation that aired on A&E in the early 2000s is justly considered faithful and excellent, but this series could really have given that one a run for its money in quality.
The only thing I miss was that neither Fritz nor Inspector Cramer put in appearances in this particular story.
It's too bad it didn't catch on. Or is it too bad? What if it had been a hit? What if it ran long enough to keep Shatner from becoming Captain Kirk? What if the absence of one of the key actors kept the Kirk/Spock/McCoy triumvirate from hitting just the right note? What if Star Trek last only a half-season, then disappeared into obscurity?
Consider how influential Star Trek has been, both in pop culture and in inspiring technological advancement. Gee whiz, the history of the entire world might have been altered--and possibly not for the better!
Kurt Kaszner went on to appear in Land of the Giants in 1968, so another TV science fiction show would have suffered. Perhaps not as significant as Star Trek, but maybe that would have been the same as stepping on a butterfly while hunting dinosaurs. (Note: If you don't understand that reference, I'm not speaking to you anymore.)
But that one surviving episode of Nero Wolfe really was superb. It would have been nice if there had been more. But then, perhaps it would have been worth the downfall of civilization to if there had been more.
I guess we'll never know.
No comments:
Post a Comment