I am not a prolific connoisseur of reality television media, but there is ONE reality show that captured my attention and whom I think about often: Whodunnit.
Whodunnit only ran for one season, although I wish it ran forever. The show focuses on a group of contestants, as any reality show does, and places them in a mansion in California. However, Whodunnit is a unique reality show in that when guests are eliminated, they are REALLY eliminated. They’re ‘killed’ by the show’s killer, who is unknown. The objective of the show is to find out who the killer is, essentially.
The show is hosted by an English butler named Giles, who has an ankle monitor so he can’t leave the premises. Giles sends messages and clues to the participants about their cases. Each episode, a contestant is killed, and the others have to decipher what happened and guess who the killer is.
Now that the show has been explained, let me explain the aspects I love most about Whodunnit. The first aspect is that during the time of the show’s airing, the character ‘deaths’ were so convincing people actually believed people were dying.
This is interesting to me, because why would ABC air on screen deaths as part of a reality show? In what way is that legal or moral? Regardless, it got so bad that the characters who died had to record videos after saying they were alive and well. Some of the deaths are so outlandish, such as death by cougar, exploding golf cart, an exploding hot tub; explosions were common as a means of execution.
Additionally, Whodunnit has a very diverse cast for a reality show. In most reality shows, contestants are young, beautiful and relatable. In this show, contestants range from 27 to 62. Professions are varied and intriguing; bar trivia host, ex-homicide detective, insurance investigator; some of the most interesting professions ever seen on television.
Of course, the individuals with the jobs that relate most to the field of murder and forensic science are eliminated early on. This is because the cases themselves are reminiscent of murder mystery escape rooms. The clues are outlandish, the references making no sense, with biblical riddles being common. The murders are elaborate, being at least 10 steps. One murder, the most outlandish, involved the following.
“In the foyer, the killer had used green fluorescent paint to highlight the Rue Manor crest on the dance floor. A timer was also placed in the socket and was set to short circuit the lights at midnight during the luau. A special kukui nutshell lei was designed for Geno, painted with an invisible fluorescent paint; the killer used the bobby pin to break into Geno’s room to both leave the lei on his bed and also to write the note to steal Giles’s phone. “Plan A” was for Geno to wear the lei to the luau; once the lights went out, the killer would strangle Geno.
Instead, Geno took the note, left the lei behind, and headed to the luau. As instructed, while Giles did the limbo, Geno pocketed Giles’ phone (according to the killer, this “dishonesty” gave more reason for the subsequent murder). Moving onto “Plan B,” after the lights went out, the killer put on the night vision goggles, and used the silenced gun to fire a contact into Geno’s stomach, lethally wounding him. Then as planned, the killer dragged Geno to the illuminated crest on the dance floor. This served as a target for the chandelier, which the killer then dropped using the lever hidden behind the curtains. Finally, the killer hid the night vision goggles and gun in a nearby drawer” (Source: Wikipedia).
Why not just go with a good old fashioned stabbing? Either way, the murders are extremely detailed.
The acting is all over the place. The man that plays Giles, the butler, seems to be a classically trained Shakespearean actor. This is in contrast with the rest of the cast, who are all everyday people. This puts an interesting discrepancy between his serious manner and the awkward delivery given by the rest of the guests. People will die in the show, and responses can range from full-on crying, acting like they really died … to a very lackluster ‘Oh wow.’ My favorite responses are when someone jumps back in disgust to a dead body because the dead bodies are actually played by the contestants themselves. I can’t imagine it’s very ego-boosting to have someone recoil in disgust at your form.
Also interesting is the show can’t seem to decide if they want the actors to pretend the murders are real, or fake. Sometimes, people say “I know it’s not a real body, but it seems real.” Other times, they seem to act like their lives are truly at stake. I think the inability to decide whether or not to go all-in or not increases the show’s funniness. Especially because when you view the show through the lens that yes, everything is real, the contestants’ decision to stay at the manor just to win money no longer makes sense. They could die! Nothing in the show ever hints that the contestants are prevented from leaving. You can’t tell me that if this situation was real, there wouldn’t at least be a few people that left the second the first person died. Especially because, how do you know the killer will give you money? Who’s to say he won’t just kill you?
The last fascinating thing about Whodunnit is that they thought they could actually make a reality tv show that cost $750,000 a day to film. That’s far over the daily budget. It was popular enough when it aired, but it just cost too much.
Of course, that doesn’t prevent the show’s fanbase from wanting a second season. In fact, I discovered a page all about trying to bring the show back for 2020. Some of the comments are very entertaining.
“My name is Vickie Emery I’m 62 and i love this show, watched it many times and was hoping it would come back so I could be on it and win or be the killer. I think I should be on it because I love to solve mysteries, I am a good judge of people, and I’m in it to win it or to kill it.HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA”
“My name is jerome i like music art and mystery im 27 and bring this on im not afraid.”
“Hello. My name is Joe (or Joseph if you’re fancy), I don’t know if this is an old post or even if I’m in time to leave a message if this article is true and recent. I’d love to see this show brought back. If your feeling generous please considering having me as a contestant. I know I’d be good because I consider myself a “wild card”. I try and think and see things differently; that’s what would give me the edge in “ crime solving”. Also I can pretty good at moving around an not being noticed. I keep giving my coworkers figurative heart attacks because I can sneak up on them (and I’m not even trying to sneak up on them). Like a ninja. Hope to see the show make a return.”
Truly, no show can compete with Whodunnit.