Armchair Detective
{{Short description|American TV game series (1949)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox television
| image =
| country = United States
| language = English
| network = CBS
| first_aired = {{Start date|1949|07|06}}
| last_aired = {{End date|1949|09|28}}
}}
Armchair Detective is an American television game show that was broadcast on CBS from July 6, 1949, through September 28, 1949.{{Cite book |last=McNeil |first=Alex |title=Total Television: the Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present |date=1996 |publisher=Penguin Books USA, Inc. |isbn=0-14-02-4916-8 |edition=4th |location=New York, New York |page=56}} It was the first CBS TV program to originate on the West Coast and be shown in the East and Midwest via kinescope recordings,{{Cite news |date=June 25, 1949 |title=Radio and Television: 'One Man's Family' to Be Feature on Video Over NBC Starting July 25 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1949/06/25/archives/radio-and-television-one-mans-family-to-be-feature-on-video-over.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=April 12, 2024 |work=The New York Times |page=28}} and it was nominated for the Most Popular Television Program Emmy Award in 1949.{{Cite web |title=Armchair Detective |url=https://www.emmys.com/shows/armchair-detective |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140608041705/http://www.emmys.com/shows/armchair-detective |archive-date=June 8, 2014 |access-date=April 13, 2024 |website=Emmy Awards |publisher=Television Academy}}
Overview
Production
Armchair Detective originated from KTLA-TV in Los Angeles. The sponsor was Whitehall Pharmacal Company. Mike Stokey was the producer.{{Cite news |date=September 13, 2003 |title=Mike Stokey, 84, a Producer in Early TV |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/13/arts/mike-stokey-84-a-producer-in-early-tv.html?searchResultPosition=1 |url-access=subscription |access-date=April 12, 2024 |work=The New York Times |page=B 7}} It was broadcast on Wednesdays from 9 to 9:30 p.m. Eastern Time.{{Cite book |last=Brooks |first=Tim |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w8KztFy6QYwC&dq=%22Armchair%20Detective%20Detective%20Drama%22&pg=PA76 |title=The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present |last2=Marsh |first2=Earle F. |date=June 24, 2009 |publisher=Random House Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-307-48320-1 |page=76 |language=en |access-date=April 12, 2024}}
Critical response
A review of the premiere episode in the trade publication Variety found the kinescope flawed in comparison to live transmissions, which had been customary for many viewers on the East Coast. "Kine," the review said, "as was to be expected, came out on the losing end of the deal."{{Cite magazine |date=July 13, 1949 |title=Armchair Detective |url=https://archive.org/details/variety175-1949-07/page/n84/mode/1up?view=theater |magazine=Variety |page=30 |accessdate=April 16, 2024}} Specifically the review mentioned "considerable haze" on the kinescope and excessive brightness that "at times washed out the action on the screen fringes". Beyond that problem, the review said that Armchair Detective "was as good as many eastern programs", holding interest for fans of mystery shows. It said that the cast was "capable".
A review in the trade publication Billboard said that the show's basic concept was sound, but "Even an armchair detective would have trouble finding a clue to any sort of entertainment in the program".{{cite magazine |last=Franken |first=Jerry |date=July 23, 1949 |page=14 |title=Armchair Detective |magazine=Billboard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QA4EAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PT13&dq=%22Four%20Star%20Playhouse%22%20intitle%3ABillboard&pg=PT13#v=onepage&q=%22Four%20Star%20Playhouse%22%20intitle:Billboard&f=true |accessdate=December 30, 2024 }} In addition to having "two utterly trite and transparent stories", the review said , "the entire presentation ... acting, staging, lighting, script — was so dreadful as to be acutely embarrassing."
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title}}
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Category:1949 American television series debuts
Category:1949 American television series endings