Cluedo (Australian game show)

Did You Know?

• No DVD or digital release has been made; only bootleg copies are known to exist.
• Televised episodes and scripts are housed at the National Film and Sound Archive in Canberra.
• The show offered audience participation, unlike its British predecessor.

Background

In 1991, Crawford Productions partnered with British production company Action Time and Channel Nine to produce an Australian version of the Cluedo franchise, adapted from the British TV game show Cluedo (1990–3) and loosely based on the board game. The original 1949 board game, invented by Anthony E. Pratt and manufactured by Waddington Games and Parker Brothers, had players control six colour-named guests moving through a country house to deduce who murdered the host, in which room, and with which weapon.

By the 1990s it was described as the world's second most popular board game. The concept of a whodunnit game show had earlier been developed by writer Kit Denton in the late 1960s, though that project never progressed beyond outlines. In 1972, Jeremy Lloyd and Lance Percival created Whodunnit?, a panel show hosted by Jon Pertwee that collected clues and interrogated suspects, considered an obvious forerunner to Cluedo. A live-action adaptation of Cluedo was first attempted in 1985 with the US theatrical film Clue, which became a cult film despite mixed reviews.

Development

In the early 1990s, British producers began setting fees for programme concepts to markets such as Australia. At that time, the Nine Network owned 50% of the television market while Seven and Ten were in receivership. In 1989, Oberon Broadcasters, parent company of Nine affiliate WIN Television, had acquired Crawfords, a dominant industry player with state-of-the-art facilities. The show came into development as part of Crawfords' strategy to diversify into co-productions, triggered by the international success of The Flying Doctors.

On 7 October 1991, The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Nine was producing pilots, with Nikki Paul and Peter Sumner confirmed and Frank Gallagher and George Mallaby mentioned as possibilities; Simon Rogers was touted as host. After unsuccessful pilots, Nine remained unsatisfied until an employee suggested Ian McFadyen, who had recently wrapped The Comedy Company and formed a joint venture with Crawfords called Crawfords Media International.

Design

Two drafts were written per episode, followed by a release script, with script editing by Vicki Madden in series one and Graeme Farmer in series two. Drafts included extensive annotations, cast lists, motives, background notes on guest characters, lists of possible weapons, approximate timings, the script running order, and confession scenes called 'The Denouncement'. Farmer wrote two episodes of the 13-part series one. A quirk of the writing process required that a stranger always be killed, not a member of the cast, and relationship stresses gave the six suspects reasons to lash out at outsiders.

Character motives were designed not to be too vicious or unpleasant. The show fleshed out the previously one-dimensional board game characters by adding motives, personalities, and life histories. Scarlett actress Koo Stark noted that the role was a caricature but had to be believed. Leslie Grantham, who played Colonel Mustard in the British version, commented on bringing asexual, inanimate characters to life.

The Age agreed the show brought the board-game characters to life, while The Sydney Morning Herald saw it as a sophisticated interpretation of the board game.

Filming

A pilot was produced in 1991, and series production began on Tuesday, 14 January 1992, consisting of 13 episodes including a reshoot of the pilot, continuing through February. TV Week suggested that Palms of an Architect, featuring Andrew Daddo's real-life brother Cameron, was the first episode filmed. Brindabella Homestead's stately exteriors were filmed at Billilla Historic Mansion in Brighton, Melbourne, while interiors were shot at Crawford Production's Studio 2 in Box Hill, Melbourne.

The murder house's rooms were coloured based on the six main characters' names. The murder had to take place in one of six rooms: Living Room, Dining Room, Lounge, Study, Billiard Room, or Kitchen. Plot-advancing indoor locations included Peacock, Scarlet, Plum's, or the guest bedroom, the vestibule, main or kitchen corridors, and kitchen exterior. Every room had to be visited at least once, and the six weapons had to be identified and shown.

Each episode had six drama segments totalling 24–30 minutes. The first segment introduced the guest and set up motives; the murder was announced at the end of the second segment and could not occur in one of the six suspected rooms, but could occur outdoors or in corridors. The first two segments were kept to a maximum of eight minutes each. The sixth segment contained the confession and reenactment of the murder.