As far as board games that can get the “let’s bolt a plot onto this thing and try to make a TV show” treatment go, Clue (or Cluedo, if you’re feeling British) is pretty hard to beat. Not only is the basic premise—color-coded weirdos solve a murder through simple deduction—cribbed liberally from classic detective fiction, but the brand even has a proven track record, in so far as “We can’t stop quoting Madeline Kahn doing the ‘Flames” bit from the Clue movie every damn day of our lives” constitutes a track record of sorts.
Hence, presumably, why Fox has announced that it’s teaming up with the perversely determined hustlers over at Hasbro’s entertainment division to make a new Clue animated series. Featuring animation from Bento Box—the studio that handles most of the network’s in-house cartooning these days, including Bob’s Burgers and the upcoming The Great North—the series will adapt the board game’s hot rope-and-candlestick action for the screen. And that’s kind of it for extant details at the moment—including questions of who’ll be writing it, how it’ll be structured, and whether the central mystery will be serialized, or whether there will be a different murder for the cast to commit/solve every week. We did laugh out-loud at this one tidbit from the press release, though: The helpful note informing readers that the original Clue board game “has 324 different plots for players to solve,” which we guess is, yes, technically true.
People have been taking stabs (shots, strangles) at Clue adaptations for a while now, of course. There’s the movie, obviously, but also Ryan Reynolds’ attempts to talk up a possible new film, and Jason Bateman’s, and The Muppets director James Bobin’s (some or all of which might be the same project at different points in time), plus a series of surprisingly successful comic book spins on the franchise, and a truly bizarre-looking British game show from the early ’90s in which celebrities would watch filmed murder mysteries and try to guess who, well, dunnit. (There’s also the YA book series that Scholastic Press published the paperback versions of back in the 1990s, where you had to try to solve the crimes yourself, but as we appear to be the only lonely children who were totally obsessed with these particular books, we’ll humbly just move on.)
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This is just a red herring.
Communism was a red herring.
To make a long story short-
TOO LATE!!!
Are you trying to make me look stupid in front of the other guests?
You don’t need any help from me, sir.
That’s right!!!
No, this is.
No. No no no no no. There are certain things that the internet can let slide. Organizing the overthrow of government. Grown men playing with Mario plushies. Somebody’s dad doing a Borat impression in response to “WAP.” But we cannot – we must not – allow “A Pup Named Scooby Doo” to ever be mentioned again. Like “The Pebbles and Bamm Bamm Show” and Dan Quayle, history has relegated it to its proper place, and we will all suffer if we disturb its rest.
Well…I enjoyed the show for what it was. It was silly, it was fun. I was also in the age bracket they were aiming for, so there’s that.
As a kid I never could stand A Pup Named Scooby Doo (or any of those kids adaptations from that time except Muppet Babies), but I’ll always appreciate Red Herring. I wish they’d bring the character back for modern SD series.
It’ll never pass Mustard.
There’s still one thing I don’t understand!
One thing?
I think I know who’s going to kill this show: The Nielson Viewer – with the Remote Control!
“We can’t stop quoting Madeline Kahn doing the ‘Flames” bit from the every damn day of our lives”
I will never understand the fascination with this line. It is the least funny bit in a movie that is chock full of razor-sharp zingers.
I hate this comment so much. It, it, it… flames. Flames on the side of my face. Breathing…. breathing breaths.(I just love the misdirect of you think she’s going to have a dramatic moment but instead gives a weird incoherent speech.)
I see it used as a reaction image a lot, that’s probably why.
I think it’s because it’s so different from most of the (excellent) dialogue in the film, so it stands out. The story I always heard is that she forgot her lines.
As a kid I really loved the Clue VCR game, an edition which I don’t think gets enough love (though it did get a sequel.)
Back in 1993 I used my weekly video game rental allowance to get the SNES version of Clue. I played against the computer. The computer solved every game after three moves, without fail. The game had customized animations for each murder weapon, but it was the rope more than 50% of the time. The experience was memorable, I’ll admit.
There was also a special ending screen if you solved the murder but the killer was the character you were playing.
I have vague memories of playing it with relatives as a kid, but I hadn’t thought about it in years till you just mentioned it.
…the brand even has a proven track record, in so far as “We can’t stop quoting Madeline Kahn doing the ‘Flames” bit from the every damn day of our lives” constitutes a track record of sorts.The thing that gets me about that bit is that it’s locked behind one of the endings, meaning in its theatrical run, you had a 67% chance of not seeing it.
And it all stems from what’s really not a very good board game. Crazy.
I hope for Jane Wiedlin to have a more significant role
I am your singing telegram….BANG!!!
I had two of those Clue YA books as a kid and I also loved them. I remember it always come up with a reason why Mr Boddy didn’t actually die at the start of the next book. One time I remember it said he was shot by “rainbow bullets” not real bullets and I have spent literally my entire life wondering what rainbow bullets are.If you know, this is your chance to tell me.
They are the special bullets Fox News keeps talking about that make you turn gay after being shot.
13 Dead End Drive punches its straw boater.
Clue is cool but it would be cooler if it was set in a space prison and Vin Diesel did all the murders.
Among Us the movie?
Don’t you have a movie to promote, mr. Anderson?
What if the Clue cartoon is written by Bryan Fuller & voiced by the casts of Hannibal & Pushing Daisies?
It’s unlikely to happen but a Bryan Fuller-run Clue series is all I ever want now.
Take them away, chief. I’m going to go home and sleep with my wife.
I’m glad the article mentioned the “Clue: Candlestick” comic because it was really clever and the art was beautiful. Since this is animated, maybe they can try to imitate that style a bit, though I’m guessing it’ll just look like “Bob’s Burgers” with Clue makeovers, which I’m ok with.
My youngest daughter (just turned 8) absolutely adores the movie, to the point where I bought her a custom-made shirt online for her birthday. Suffice to say this news will GREATLY excite her.
this makes me very very happyWhat’s on the shirt?
Cartoon versions of the cast. It’s really cute.
No. The Clue movie is perfection. It’s not possible to make another version that’ll be as good.