Murder, He Wrote! (Season 3, Episodes 1-6)

Episodes 1 and 2 - "Death Stalks the Big Top, Parts 1 and 2"

Wow, this is a helluva season opener - circuses! Lecherous sadists, carnies, a grandfather who may have faked his death, a bullied kid, possibly murderous elephants, and - of couse - our beloved Jessica Fletcher right in the middle of it. 

Jessica's niece Carol is about to get married in three days, when she receives a secret gift in the mail - a gift that indicates her dead grandfather may be less than dead. Jessica tracks the gift to a nearby pawn shop, who indicates the purchaser originated in the local circus (!). Of course he did. 

Murder, He Wrote! (Second Season Wrap-Up)

Time for some quick odds and ends in summary of the second season!

Murder, He Wrote! (Season 2, Episodes 18-22)

Episode 18 - "If a Body Meet a Body"

We're on the final stretch of Season 2, and boy do they start bringing out the big guns. This one opens with the funeral of Henry Burning, a respected Cabot Cove businessman - but he's been cremated surprisingly quickly after dying on vacation with his wife. Wife claims it was a middle-of-the-night heart attack, but Henry's mistress storms into the funeral, accuses the wife of murder, and then topples the casket (!!). 

Murder, He Wrote! (Season 2, Episodes 15-17)

Episode 15 - "Powder Keg"

What a nasty, nasty episode! Damn if this isn't the most unpleasant episode I've seen so far - vicious rednecks, cruel rednecks, stupid rednecks, virulent racism, a lynch mob (!), a murder victim who THOROUGHLY deserved it, and women who are thought of as possessions if they are thought of at all. 

Murder, He Wrote! (Season 2, Episodes 10-14)

Episode 10 - "Sticks and Stones"

This is a pretty good one - Sheriff Amos retires (with gusto) and hands the badge over the former realtor Harry Pierce (seen in several recent episodes). At the same time, the lovely Bev Gareth is electrocuted in her bath when he tries to adjust her TV that has a badly (and intentionally?) frayed cord - and with her death, the way is clear for hundreds of condos to spring up on a beautiful Atlantic bluff in Cabot Cove. Hmmmmm.

Murder, He Wrote! (Season 2, Episodes 7-9)

Episode 7 - "A Lady in the Lake"

This is a pretty good one - Jessica takes a retreat at a remote inn to do research for a new novel, and joins an eccentric cast of characters that includes two couples, a bird watcher, a nature lover, a womanizing boat guy, and more. Meanwhile, the inn owner is pressured by Harry Pierce (Cabot Cove realtor) into buying (?) the property; I guess the implication is she's renting now? That subplot was never very clear. 

Murder, He Wrote! (Season 2, Episodes 1-6)

Episode 1 - "Widow, Weep For Me"

The second season has a strong opening when Jessica gets a letter from her friend Antoinette, who dies just after mailing it. Jessica travels to the Caribbean to investigate at a luxurious hotel resort. 

Things get interesting quickly with a jewel thief, another murder, and a cast of interesting and dissolute scums who are living high and fancy free. Things also get interesting when Jessica butts heads with hotel security, and takes on a mentor-type role to a cute Iowan schoolteacher. There is also a great car chase scene. All in all, a pretty colorful start to the season. 

Murder, He Wrote! (First Season Wrap-Up)

Time for some quick odds and ends in summary of the first season!

Murder, He Wrote! (Season 1, Episodes 18-22)

Episode 18 - "Footnote to Murder"

This is a fun one - a group of writers gather at an awards show and their comically outsized egos ensure lots of conflict and, eventually, murder.

Jessica and her poet friend Horace (!) go to the awards together; Horace is a real character and I wish he was in every episode - he's funny, sarcastic in a self-deprecating way, clever, perceptive, and sensitive. He makes a ton of jokes about drinking a lot, but never crosses the line into bad behavior - probably why Jessica takes a shine to him. 

Murder, He Wrote! (Season 1, Episodes 12-17)

Episode 12 - "Broadway Malady"

I was prepared not to like this one, but it won me over. Jessica comes to visit her nephew Grady on the Great White Way. Jessica gets embroiled in a super dysfunctional Broadway production - abusive directors, has-been starlets making a last-gasp comeback, the has-been's talented daughter's debut, a shady producer... the works. 

Murder, He Wrote! (Season 1, Episodes 8-11)

Episode 8 - "We're Off to Kill the Wizard"

This is a great one - a real mix of a Agatha Christie locked-room mystery and an '80s me-decade capitalist story of greed. Jessica goes to Kansas to visit her relatives, and is invited by theme park operator Horatio Baldwin to come visit his macabre/medievil show (her nephew loves it, however). Horatio wants to license her books for a new ultra gory horror show. Jessica says no to the slimeball, who seemingly commits suicide in his locked office shortly afterward... except it's revealed he was hit from behind by something heavy before he was shot. Uh oh. 

Murder, He Wrote! (Season 1, Episodes 2-7)

A series of encapsulations and accompanying thoughts for these episodes:

Episode 2 - "Deadly Lady" 

A hurricane hits Cabot Cove, and a yacht is caught in the maelstrom. At the same time, a strange man claiming to be a drifter appears in Jessica's garden, offering to do repairs and odd jobs in return for a place to stay. Jessica quickly sees through his bogus hobo story, but before she can get any more answers he is found murdered, face down in the ocean. 

Murder, He Wrote! (The Allure of the Show)

Lately I've been thinking - what's the appeal, exactly, of Murder, She Wrote? I mean, if you were part of its target audience in 1984 (presumably women of the same age as Angela Lansbury), why did you watch? 

Murder, He Wrote! (Season 1, Episodes 1, Parts I and II)

Growing up, few things were more cherished by me and my sister than Sunday nights at our grandparents. We had ice cream and sat in the living room and watched Murder, She Wrote with almost religious fervor. There are a few shows that bring that kind of instant nostalgia related to my grandparents - All in the Family, Magnum P.I., Father Dowling Mysteries, Diagnosis Murder, Matlock, The Three Stooges, Golden Girls - but Murder, She Wrote is the one we all watched as a family.