Critic Reviews

We know the body convulsing on the floor of the grand foyer isn't really being electrocuted. And yet we get sucked into the suspense and the gore as the players express fear, anxiety and tearful protests against being the next to die. ABC's amalgam of drama, murder mystery, parlor game and elimination competition for money is a curious mishmash.

Maybe this will prove to be a bit more interesting as the contestants dwindle. But based on Sunday night’s premiere, that seems like a long slog toward the show’s eventual payoff.

The problem with shows like this is that even if the game is diverting, it's all so patently phony that it's hard to muster up much of a rooting interest in who solves or even wins the game.

The cast seems no better, or worse, than any reality TV assemblage, but the clues are delivered to the group in such a way that much of the pilot is spent watching them troop, mostly en masse, from one room to the other. It's not terribly exciting.

Whodunnit? asks its contestants to become actors when they are chosen to be killed off, which gives this show a cheesy vibe that's accentuated by contestants screaming at the top of their lungs when they find a body that they obviously know is just someone playing dead. Add in pacing problems and reality show cliches and Whodunnit? may prompt a big "Who cares?" from discerning viewers.

Though Whodunnit? wants to give ordinary people the ability to step up and use their brains to solve a crime, the results (as of the first episode) are either painful or unintentionally funny.

Frankly, if you’re going to waste time on something this silly, why not put it to more community-minded use and support your local dinner theater?