The Plot Thickens

I really enjoy seeing TV pilot episodes. Most of them never actually did become a television series--and seeing what might have been is pretty interesting. In the case of "The Plot Thickens", you can clearly see why the program never became a regular show...its concept was poor and it really was a rather dumb show.

The show consisted of a "What's My Line" sort of panel consisting of some detective, some ordinary guy, Jan Sterling (the actress) and, of all people, Groucho Marx. The four watch a re-enactment on the television about a crime and then the four panelists interview four folks from the re-enactment to try to deduce WHO the murderer is.

There were two huge problems with the program. First, the show was incredibly static and lacked energy and fun. As a result, it was awfully dull. Second, some of the acting in the re-enactment was simply god-awful....embarrassingly bad even. These, combined with a dumb game show idea made for a VERY difficult show to even finish...it was THAT bad!