"Blood Red Ink" was a solid story, but lacked any suspense or excitement. And as far as a "Fear you can Hear," there was nothing of the sort.

I liked this because Fred Gwynne is probably my favorite Mystery Theater voice actor. I figured it out about half way through, but I'm sure most everyone else did also. I really never got why the Fred Gwynne character couldn't pass the detective test when he knew the answers and helped his friend prepare. I kind of got the impression he didn't fit in as a detective, but that really wasn't made clear. Overall, though, it was a good story.

I rate this episode ★★★☆☆ for AVERAGE. Sidney Sloan wrote a good Drama-Mystery where the suspense was building up in ACT-1 and in ACT-2, but not in ACT-3 though. There was character development and intriguing plot points, only the climax & resolution were both predictable. I enjoy a good mystery with a surprise ending or even a plot twist, but the happy ending was predictable. Tammy Grimes was okay; so-so as Host. In her Prologue, she mentions that people have the need for recognition, but mentioning war lords and fiendish killers of history as examples? In ACT-1, she introduces us to our main character and leaves it at that. In ACT-2, our hero gets mixed up in the plot, but wants to see it through. In ACT-3, she informs us that it's the night before the day of the crime. Then later, she narrates the resolution, followed by her Epilogue where there's a happy ending involving recognition. It seems to me that Tammy Grimes spent more time on explaining the story instead of adding suspense to the mix. When E.G. Marshall was the host, he would start the CBSRMT episodes off by saying, "Welcome to the sound of suspense. The fear…you can hear." Or even, "Welcome once again to another adventurous journey across the mysterious and terrified terrain of the human imagination" (and that's from Ep. #0111-YESTERDAY'S MURDER). Tammy Grimes didn't use those words at all! We had a good cast in this: Fred Gwynne (as Bert Gilbert), Teri Keane (as Helen Gilbert), Lloyd Battista (as Mike Culligan), and Robert Kaliban (as Harry Blass). Their characters were likeable, but not lovable. What I liked the most were the sound effects & music. The sounds of tableware clinking, letter opening, rotary phone, the pay phone being dialed on a busy street, clock ticking followed by the bell tolls, music at the pub, doorbell buzzing, car engine running, jazz music in the background, police sirens near the crime scene, footsteps, and the echoing of a gun being fired were effective. The music in ACT-1 made the story go from average day to moments of suspense and tension. In ACT-2, there was this serene/mellow track at the 22-minute 57-second mark that soothed the mystery down and that was effective as well. In ACT-3 at the 32-minute 16-second mark, there was this suspenseful tune mixed with disco or some sort. Different, but useful. And then they go back to the classic mysterious tunes to finish the story off. For all those fans of Fred Gwynne, check this episode out. Until next time…pleasant dreams. =0]

This is an average episode. Good cop looks to be gong bad but in the end goes good I suppose.

Very good episode. Will be putting this on my favorites list.

Second listen and it's still a good episode. Why not, since Fred Gwynne's in it. :)

Great play! I only half expected the twist at the end, but there were too many possible outcomes for me to decide! BRAVO FRED GWINN!