The dying clue that Manners left still doesn't hold, like most on the series so far. He was lying in a pool of his own blood, shot, dying... and he still managed to reach up and hit the elevator buttons? Wouldn't the blood splatters show he had crawled over and reached up? Where's Dexter where you need him?
Other than that, the episode is pretty good. There are some veiled comments about retiring and women in charge. And I like Ruth McDevittt in her brief upstaging role as Zelda. It's Miss Emily from Kolchak! We also get Ken Swofford as Flannigan, and he's as entertaining as he was in his first appearance an episode ago. I like how he's brash and unapologetic about how he's in it for the story. Flannigan reminds me of Carl Kolchak, particularly when he puts on a bogus accent to try and fool the Queens. It seems like the kind of goofy "disguise" that Kolchak often used.
David Wayne doesn't have much to do except be irascible. However, it's David Wayne so he does it well. Ellery seems to do some actual sleuthing, or at least talking to suspects. So Jim Hutton gets a little more to do and in previous episodes. How much of Ellery's absent-mindedness and clumsiness is an act is the real mystery. Does he fake it like Columbo, or are both of them actually faking it? Judging from the opening apartment scene, Ellery is really that dopey.
The guest cast is forgettable.
The episode is a reflection of the times, and the newspaper and elevator seems somewhat anachronistic. Like it was a 40s murder mystery. Which I suppose is what it's supposed to be. But in 2021 it seems dated. Newspapers, what are those? :)
"Express" also strikes me as the first mystery on the show that played fair. Ellery mentions that the killer studied as an electrical engineer, we see Ellery go to the basement via elevator, and there's a brief scene of the killer's office number that makes the dying clue... solvable. So everything is there, the viewer just has to put it together.
Overall, "Express" is the first good story of the series. But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?
Other than that, the episode is pretty good. There are some veiled comments about retiring and women in charge. And I like Ruth McDevittt in her brief upstaging role as Zelda. It's Miss Emily from Kolchak! We also get Ken Swofford as Flannigan, and he's as entertaining as he was in his first appearance an episode ago. I like how he's brash and unapologetic about how he's in it for the story. Flannigan reminds me of Carl Kolchak, particularly when he puts on a bogus accent to try and fool the Queens. It seems like the kind of goofy "disguise" that Kolchak often used.
David Wayne doesn't have much to do except be irascible. However, it's David Wayne so he does it well. Ellery seems to do some actual sleuthing, or at least talking to suspects. So Jim Hutton gets a little more to do and in previous episodes. How much of Ellery's absent-mindedness and clumsiness is an act is the real mystery. Does he fake it like Columbo, or are both of them actually faking it? Judging from the opening apartment scene, Ellery is really that dopey.
The guest cast is forgettable.
The episode is a reflection of the times, and the newspaper and elevator seems somewhat anachronistic. Like it was a 40s murder mystery. Which I suppose is what it's supposed to be. But in 2021 it seems dated. Newspapers, what are those? :)
"Express" also strikes me as the first mystery on the show that played fair. Ellery mentions that the killer studied as an electrical engineer, we see Ellery go to the basement via elevator, and there's a brief scene of the killer's office number that makes the dying clue... solvable. So everything is there, the viewer just has to put it together.
Overall, "Express" is the first good story of the series. But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?