History Series / Whodunnit2013

* TheButlerDidIt: "You don't think ''I'm'' the Killer, do you?" [[spoiler:He wasn't. His employment contract, which the players had to read to prove his innocence, stated [[ReadTheFinePrint he wasn't responsible for any murders in Rue Manor.]]]]

* CluelessDetective: The eventual winner proves to be one, as they never correctly identified the Killer at any point in the show - during the finale, they even named ''Giles'' as the Killer when prompted, as they'd missed Giles' instructions to ReadTheFinePrint of the contract they were to get. The win came mainly came from succeeding at primarily-physical challenges, not any kind of deduction. The finalist that ''did'' suspect the Killer correctly was killed off due to finishing the challenge last. It just goes to show how the show treated the identity of the Killer as essentially an afterthought.

*** Though, to be fair, Ronnie refused to adhere to his end of the deal by deceiving [[spoiler: Geno]] and feeding him false information, when Kam told him to isolate [[spoiler: Geno]] and not reveal anything. This would've allowed Ronnie to rejoin [[spoiler: Geno]] if he figured out the riddle, whereas Kam wanted him to cut off all ties to [[spoiler: Geno]]

* ReadTheFinePrint: In the season finale. In the last part of the puzzle challenge, Giles told the players to read the fine print on his employment contract to prove whether or not he was the Killer. One player didn't listen to that part, but [[spoiler:he ended up winning anyway]].

* FiveSecondForeshadowing: In the finale, [[spoiler:Cris and Kam]] wind up in a room where they watch [[spoiler:Lindsey being killed]] on a screen. When [[spoiler:Kam then accuses Cris of being the Killer, she seemingly denies it -- but her response is suddenly in rhymes, much like the ones the Killer would use in their clues. Sure enough, Cris reveals herself as the Killer moments later and congratulates Kam for winning the show -- all in rhyme.]]

** Possibly a coincidence, but while investigating a fireplace, Adrianna expresses fear that it's going to explode. [[spoiler: At the end of that episode, Adrianna dies in an explosion.]]

* FiveSecondForeshadowing: In the finale, [[spoiler:Cris and Kam]] wind up in a room where they watch [[spoiler:Linds

* JerkassWithAHeartOfGold: As abrasive as Kam was, when he was approached by the opposing team to betray his own at [[spoiler: Ulysses and Lindsey's]] expense, he refused to keep information from them, which would later result in him being [[spoiler:scared instead of their primary target, Lindsey.]] [[spoiler:Also, when his closest ally, Ulysses, was nominated alongside him, he seemed genuinely saddened that Ulysses would have to be eliminated if he wanted to continue in the game.]] Kam was never willing to betray his team, leading to its members [[spoiler:being the final three contestants in the game.]]

* ManOnFire: How the first eliminated player "died". [[spoiler:Dontae was given a different change of pajamas than the other contestants; his pajamas had been sprayed with benzene, and his socks could generate more static electricity than normal. When the Killer sounded the fire alarm, in trying to get to the door, Dontae ran across a shag carpet, unwittingly building up enough electricity that the simple spark of touching the doorknob was enough to make him burst into flames.]]

* RhymesOnADime: In the finale, The Killer speaks to the winner in rhyme. Obviously, it's a habit.

* SublimeRhyme: Most of the Killer's clues are rhymes. The finale is stuffed to the gills with them.

* WhamLine: Naturally, the revelation of the Killer's identity in the finale (although it's [[FiveSecondForeshadowing tipped off moments beforehand]] by them suddenly speaking in rhymes).
-->"I won't be played by your foolish game. The Killer could be you, or me, just the same. Enough of the riddles, the ruckus, the rhymes -- '''I''' committed those murders, 11 straight times."

*** In his congratulatory distinction from the Killer, Kam is said to have given "an [[UsefulNotes/AcademyAward Oscar]]-worthy performance" and is called "the nominee for [[UsefulNotes/AcademyAwardForBestPicture Best Picture]]"[[note]][[FridgeLogic Though it may have made more sense to say "Best Actor"...]][[/note]]. The distinction is topped off with the line [[Film/{{Casablanca}} "Here's looking at you, kid."]]

*** After the Killer notes that they [[spoiler:incapacitated Dana with chlorophyll]], they say that "at that point, it was [[Literature/AllQuietOnTheWesternFront all quiet on the Western front]]."

*** After the Killer notes that they [[spoiler:incapacitated Dana with chlorophyll]], they say that "at that point, it was Literature/{{all quiet on the Western front}}."

* BigRedButton: One with a bomb on it was on the remote the Killer used to blow a victim ([[spoiler:Ronnie]]) up.

** In one episode, a clue in the murder weapon hunt requires contestants to find a flight of thirteen steps that the victim fled down, and the Killer's note says that in this case thirteen was unlucky for the victim.

* AtLeastIAdmitIt: Part of Kam's MoralMyopia is his insistently calling the others 'lying backstabbers'; he makes no secret of only being out for himself, and claims the others are hypocrites for wanting to hedge their bets as much as possible.

* BigRedButton: One with a bomb on it was on the remote the Killer used to blow a victim up.
* BratsWithSlingshots: [[spoiler:The first murder weapon.]]
* BreakThemByTalking: Melina, being [[spoiler:the last person outside of Kam's alliance still left alive]], turned into a complete badass in the next-to-last episode by single-handedly deducing many of the details of [[spoiler: Ronnie's]] murder, just by how well she knew the victim. She then went and confirmed her suspicions by telling the other alliance nearly every single piece of information they knew that she shouldn't, and stunning them into silence. [[spoiler:Deconstructed in that it ultimately didn't help her, as Team Kam ultimately knew just a little bit more about the murder than she did, causing her elimination.]]

* BunnyEarsLawyer: Don't let Lindsey's AnnoyingLaugh and bubbly personality fool you -- she worked as a chemical engineer, [[spoiler: she knew Cris was the Killer the whole time, and she came within less than a minute of beating Cam and winning the whole thing]].

* CowboyEpisode: The episode in which the victim dies while horse-riding is stuffed with [[TheWestern Western]] clichés and shout-outs.

** The morning after two females are murdered, Giles briefly dances with a maid before reminiscing olden times when he did the same with a British debutante in London; he was, in his words, "a little bit of a lady killer." This provokes less-than-amused reactions from both Melina and Cris.
* DumbBlonde: Subverted. In early episodes Lindsey is perceived by some of the other players as less intelligent, and is often shown stumped by the riddles. However, she [[spoiler: manages to get the best case in episode 3, doesn't get a Scared card until the penultimate episode even in spite of being left out of the loop often, and ends up being the runner-up of the entire game. Oh yeah, and she's the only one who correctly guessed who the killer was every single time.]]

* EstablishingSeriesMoment: The death of [[spoiler:Sheri]] around five minutes into the pilot episode sets the dark tone for the rest of the series.

* FailedASpotCheck: Happens on occasion, such as when the players at the morgue missed the [[spoiler: wooden splinters in Ulysses' wound]]. After the seventh case, the killer calls out the final five for missing a great deal of evidence and how it was unacceptable that late into the game, to the point where the idea of a second double murder may be on the table as a result.

** In one episode's investigation, Cris states that her dad taught her to handle and use guns when the situation ever came where it would be necessary. [[spoiler:It becomes clearer when you find out that she's the killer.]]

* HystericalWoman: Some of the contestants, particularly Melina and Dana, get ''really'' emotional during the Spared or Scared ceremonies. At times they appear to have forgotten that they are playing a game, and seem to actually think they're going to be murdered. Of course, this can also be chalked up to the regular kind of reality show edits.
** Kam implies that some of the women are acting like this. At one point he interrupts Sasha (who's giving Ronnie a WhatTheHellHero speech). When Sasha responds to him unfavourably, he calls her a brat and says he'll always respond to her getting up in his face -- apparently forgetting that he was involving himself in a conversation that had nothing to do with him. In another instance, he calls Sasha entitled for walking up a clique meeting and asking him for information, despite the fact that she left when asked.
* IDidWhatIHadToDo: [[spoiler:Ronnie]] justifies his betrayal of [[spoiler:Geno, which ended in his death]] this way.

* RhymesOnADime: In the finale, The Killer spoke to the winner in rhyme. Obviously, it's a habit.
* RubeGoldbergHatesYourGuts: The Killer's murders are elaborate to the point that one player eventually thought that using a ''trained monkey'' could be a plausible explanation. (For the record, it wasn't, and he was so far off base with the trained monkey idea that he was the next victim.)

* SmallNameBigEgo: At about the mid-point of the first episode, Kam gathers Ulysses and Geno and tells them that they're "the three smartest people here". Although Kam and Geno are strong competitors, [[spoiler:with Kam going on to win,]] there's no noticeable gap in intelligence between them and the others.
* ShoutOut:

** In the double-homicide episode, Kam's congratulatory distinction from the Killer was topped off with the line "[[Film/{{Casablanca}} Here's looking at you, kid.]]"

* TitleDrop: After the Killer is revealed in the finale, Giles tells the winner, "You have unmasked whodunnit." He then gives the winner a pair of golden handcuffs to arrest the Killer; "Golden Cuffs" was the name of the episode.

* TookALevelInBadass: Melina, once [[spoiler:everyone else in her alliance was dead.]]

* WrongGenreSavvy: Don's biggest problem. As an ex-detective, he worries about things like motive and how the crime could have conceivably played out. Neither are very important in a campy TenLittleMurderVictims-style reality show.

''Whodunnit?'' is a murder mystery RealityShow made by the creator of ''Series/{{CSI}}'' that premiered June 23, 2013 on Creator/{{ABC}} and ended on August 18 after a nine-episode season.

* CosmicPlaything: Implied in the tie-in books as to why the games are happening. [[spoiler:[[DesignatedMonkey Giles]] is forever cursed so that whenever job he takes, it turned out to be for/hijacked by [[AristocratsAreEvil a extremely outrageously wealthy, yet also utterly psychotic]] SerialKiller who sets up a DeadlyGame by creating a ClosedCircle in the place he’s currently in, and then forces Giles to [[MouthOfSauron host for them on their behalf]], lest they kill him and/or other staff members that refuse to go along.

* BreakThemByTalking: Melina, being [[spoiler:the last person outside of Kam's alliance still left alive]], turned into a complete badass in the next-to-last episode by single-handedly deducing many of the details of [[spoiler: Ronnie's ]] murder, just by how well she knew the victim. She then went and confirmed her suspicions by telling the other alliance nearly every single piece of information they knew that she shouldn't, and stunning them into silence.

* CosmicPlaything: Implied in the tie-in books as to why the games are happening. [[spoiler:[[DesignatedMonkey Giles]] is forever cursed so that whenever job he takes, it turned out to be for/hijacked by [[AristocratsAreEvil a extremely outrageously wealthy, yet also utterly psychotic SerialKiller]] who sets up a DeadlyGame by creating a ClosedCircle in the place he’s currently in, and then forces Giles to [[MouthOfSauron host for them on their behalf]], lest they kill him and/or other staff members that refuse to go along]].

!!Examples:

* ArtShift: The murder scenes are shot more cinematically compared to the rest of the show.

* AsTheGoodBookSays: A riddle in the first episode refers to 2 Kings 13:17, a passage about "shoot through the east window" as a clue to the murder. (The contestants looked at Ezekiel 13:17 first because they missed the "2 Kings" part and that's what the Bible in the house was open to, but it didn't seem to mean anything.)

* BunnyEarsLawyer: Do NOT let Lindsey's AnnoyingLaugh and bubbly personality fool you, she's worked as a chemical engineer, [[spoiler: she knew Cris was the Killer the whole time, and she came within less than a minute of beating Cam and winning the whole thing]].

* CosmicPlaything: Implied in the tie in books as to why the games are happening: [[DesignatedMonkey Giles]] is forever cursed [[spoiler: so that whenever job he takes, it turned out to be for/hijacked by [[AristocratsAreEvil a extremely outrageously wealthy, yet also utterly psychotic Serial Killer]], who sets up a DeadlyGame by creating a ClosedCircle in the place he’s currently in, and then forces Giles to [[MouthofSauron host for him/her on their behalf]], lest they kill him and/or other staff members that refuse to go along]].

* GoshDangItToHeck: Cris' CatchPhrase is, "Son of a biscuit!"

* SpiritualSuccessor: To classic early 2000s reality shows like ''Series/TheMole'' and ''Series/MurderInSmallTownX'', although those programs played things much more straight.
** ''WebVideo/EscapeTheNight'' is this to the show itself, as it features a similar scenario. Hell, it even features a grey-haired host!

* TitleDrop: After the Killer is revealed in the finale, Giles tells the winner, "You have unmasked whodunnit." He then gives the winner a pair of golden handcuffs to arrest the Killer; "Golden Cuffs" was the name of the season finale.

Thirteen contestants are invited to a mansion called Rue Manor. Each week, at least one of them is "killed"[[note]]through staged events by production[[/note]], and the others must solve the mystery of the murder while trying to figure out [[TenLittleMurderVictims who among them]] [[TheMole is the Killer]], being guided by the mansion's butler Giles, who also serves as the show's host. The last contestant alive, earning the title of "the Killer's most worthy adversary", gets to unmask the Killer and wins $250,000.

After collecting evidence, the contestants stand one at a time in Rue Manor's library and reconstruct the murder as best they can by talking through what they believe unfolded[[note]]However, they're actually assessed based on their performances on an unaired written quiz with 12-15 questions[[/note]]. Giles then presents a message from the Killer during dinner that fully explains the murder and spotlights the contestant whose theory was closest to the truth. Cards with the words "Spared" and "Scared" are respectively distributed to the best-performing and worst-performing contestants, designating them as either safe to advance or at risk of elimination. The person whose theory is farthest from the truth becomes the next victim.

* EstablishingSeriesMoment: The death of [[spoiler:Sheri]] around five minutes into the pilot episode sets the morbid tone for the rest of the series.
* EliminationStatement: At the end of each episode after the first, the eliminated player whose "murder" was the focus of that episode delivers an elimination statement from the morgue (or equivalent, as in the case of the victim whose corpse spent the episode up a tree) while wearing their death scene makeup and costume.

** At the third case's end, it seems the two potential targets are gonna see another day... [[spoiler:Then Don goes to cook his steak, and a mountain lion is released from a hidden passage...]]

* ImprobableAimingSkills: {{Lampshaded}} in the first episode, when one of the contestants compliments the Killer in making a heck of a shot in their first murder: [[spoiler:yards away, through an open window, hitting square in the back of the neck, and with a slingshot]].

* LightsOffSomebodyDies: During the luau at the end of the sixth case. When the lights came back on, everyone saw that [[spoiler:Geno had been crushed by a [[FallingChandelierOfDoom chandelier]]]].

* CosmicPlaything: Implied in the tie in books as to why the games are happening: [[DesignatedMonkey Giles]] is forced cursed [[spoiler: so that whenever job he takes, it turned out to be for/hijacked by [[AristocratsAreEvil a extremely outrageously wealthy, yet also utterly psychotic Serial Killer]], who sets up a DeadlyGame by creating a ClosedCircle in the place he’s currently in, and then forces Giles to [[MouthofSauron host for him/her on their behalf]], lest they kill him and/or other staff members that refuse to go along]].

* CosmicPlaything: Implied in the books as to why the games are happening: [[DesignatedMonkey Giles]] is cursed by the first killer [[spoiler: so that whenever job he takes, it turned out to be for/hijacked by a extremely wealthy, yet also psychotic Serial Killer, who sets up a DeadlyGame by creating a ClosedCircle in the place he’s currently in, and then forces Giles to [[MouthofSauron host for him/her on their behalf]], lest they kill him and/or other staff members that refuse to go along]].

* CosmicPlaything: Implied in the books as to why the games are happening: [[DesignatedMonkey Giles]] is cursed by the first killer [[spoiler: so that whenever job he takes, it turned out to be for/hijacked by a serial killer who sets up a DeadlyGame by creating a ClosedCircle in the place he’s currently in, and then forces Giles to [[MouthofSauron host for him/her on their behalf]], lest they kill him and/or other staff members that refuse to go along]].

Thirteen contestants are invited to a cursed mansion called Rue Manor. Each week, at least one of them is "killed"[[note]]through staged events by production[[/note]], and the others must solve the mystery of the murder while trying to figure out [[TenLittleMurderVictims who among them]] [[TheMole is the Killer]], being guided by the mansion's butler Giles, who also serves as the show's host. The last contestant alive, earning the title of "the Killer's most worthy adversary", gets to unmask the Killer and wins $250,000.

After collecting evidence, the contestants stand one at a time in Rue Manor's library and reconstruct the murder as best they can by talking through what they believe unfolded[[note]]However, they're actually assessed based on their performances on an unaired written quiz with 12-15 questions.[[/note]]. Giles then presents a message from the Killer during dinner that fully explains the murder and spotlights the contestant whose theory was closest to the truth. Cards with the words "Spared" and "Scared" are respectively distributed to the best-performing and worst-performing contestants, designating them as either safe to advance or at risk of elimination. The person whose theory is farthest from the truth becomes the next victim.

Thirteen contestants are invited to a cursed mansion called Rue Manor. Each week, at least one of them is "killed"[[note]]through staged events by production[[/note]], and the others must solve the mystery of the murder while trying to figure out [[TenLittleMurderVictims who among them]] [[TheMole is the Killer]], being guided by the mansion's butler Giles, who also serves as the show's host. The last contestant alive gets to unmask the Killer and wins $250,000.

* TitleDrop: The finale contains the line "You have unmasked whodunnit." Giles then gives the winner a pair of golden handcuffs to arrest the Killer; "Golden Cuffs" was the name of the season finale.

Made by the creator of ''Series/{{CSI}}'', ''Whodunnit?'' is a murder mystery RealityShow that premiered June 23, 2013 on Creator/{{ABC}} and ended on August 18.

Thirteen contestants are invited to a cursed mansion called Rue Manor. Each week, at least one of them is "killed," and the others must solve the mystery while trying to figure out [[TenLittleMurderVictims who among them]] [[TheMole is the Killer]]. After collecting evidence, the contestants stand one at a time in the library and reconstruct the murder as best they can. The person whose theory is farthest from the truth becomes the next victim.

The evidence-collection phase of each episode has two stages. In the first stage, the contestants gather clues by examining the room where the body was found, the body itself in the morgue, or a relevant third location (usually somewhere the victim had been shortly before the murder) -- but each contestant may visit only one of the three locations.

The second stage is a treasure hunt: the contestants are given a clue which leads to another clue and so on; the first person to follow the chain of clues to its end finds the murder weapon and gains an insight into the murder method -- and ends the hunt before anyone else gets to complete it. Thus, it is not possible for any one person to find all the available clues, and strategies for gaining truthful information from other contestants can be key to a successful solution. The last contestant alive gets to unmask the Killer and wins $250,000.

* EstablishingSeriesMoment: The death of [[spoiler:Sheri]] around ''five minutes'' into the pilot episode sets the morbid tone for the rest of the series.

* CosmicPlaything: Implied in the books as to why the games are happening: [[DesignatedMonkey Giles]] is cursed by the first killer [[spoiler: so that whenever job he takes, it turned out to be for/hijacked by a serial killer who sets up a DeadlyGame and forces Giles to host for him/her]].

''For the {{Pinball}} game from Bally, [[Pinball/{{WHO Dunnit}} click here.]]''