I watched the series premiere of Whodunnit? on ABC. I am not quite sure how to sum up my feelings except to say it was odd. I used to watch ABC’s The Mole when it Anderson Cooper and Ahmad Rashad hosted-show aired intermittingly from 2001-2008. This show has a very similar concept with a murder mystery twist. One of the contestants is the murderer and is presumably trying to foil the solving of the mystery. The contestants try and solve the murder mystery and the contestant with the lowest score is then “murdered”.
The show begins with the first contestant, ex-NFL cheerleader Sheri Marsh, being murdered as she broke a glass at the welcome reception. The contestants then go down and split up between the morgue, the crime scene, and the last known whereabouts. The contestants keep discussing the crime as a murder even though they know it is part of the game. (I hope they realize it is just a game or they really should be arrested for not calling law enforcement). While I know there is very little reality in reality-TV, it is a bit unsettling to see all these folks talking as if a real murder has taken place, but then treating it like it is a game.
I did enjoy the investigation piece. It was fun to solve the crime from my own home. However is this any different than a scripted murder mystery show? It should be noted that Anthony Zuiker, who also created the CSI franchise for CBS, created this show. So for this to be a success, we need to care about the contestants. At this point, I don’t. They all seem pretty bland. But perhaps as they are murdered and each contestant gets more screen time, I might care more. (But I doubt it).
The most interesting part of this franchise is that Hyperion has e-published a line of companion books with the first being, Whodunnit?: Murder in Mystery Manor. These books might be more entertaining since they don’t require ex-beauty queens and bar trivia hosts to keep our attention.
But not let it be said, that I only criticize. I am offering ABC the way to fix the show. First step: have the contestants be teenagers. Second step: add a dog. Third step: make it animated. Now that would be a show I would watch.
I give the show 2 out of 5 Scooby-snacks.