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.
Guest actors here include Len Cariou, as Irishman Michael Hagarty; he is known for a wide variety of television roles including the current Blue Bloods, and seven different roles on Murder, She Wrote (!). Also here is famous dancer Cyd Charisse, known to me especially for her hypnotizing dance number in Singing in the Rain (1952), and Bridadoon (1954). Finally, Mel Ferrer appears here as well as Eric; known for his role of Phillip Erikson on Falcon Crest, as well as his movie roles in Lili (1953) and War and Peace (1956).
Episode 2 - "Joshua Peabody Died Here... Possibly"
We're back in Cabot Cove for the second episode of the season, where a developer is attempting to ruin Cabot Cove's quaint atmosphere by buiding a huge high-rise hotel. But local protestors have other ideas, and attempt to hinder the construction workers and prevent the building from going up. Their job is made even easier when the construction equipment uncovers a very old skeleton where the foundation is supposed to go. Uh oh.
Sheriff Amos is convinced the skeleton belongs to Cabot Cove patriot and founder Joshua Peabody, and there are several others private theories entertained, but ultimately it doesn't matter since a fresh body is soon deposited where the skeleton used to be. Double uh oh. Jessica investigates, of course, and after her usual round of questioning and evidence gathering she comes to the correct conclusion.
John Astin makes his second appearance (first showing up as a Hollywood producer back in Season 1). A notable guest is granite-faced Chuck Connors, one-time professional baseball player and later an actor, perhaps most famous for the starring role of Lucas McCain on The Rifleman television show in 1958. Also notable here is Meg Foster, whose ice-blue eyes have to be seen to be believed. It's like they glow with an unearthly light - I actually paused the episode and looked up more photos of her to see if they were contacts or something.
Episode 3 - "Murder in the Afternoon"
I liked this one a lot - murder on a soap opera set. Joyce Holleran, new producer of a soap, is writing out characters left and right, and the actors live in constant fear of having their careers axed according to her merest whim. She belittles her husband, and refuses to cut an actor whose career is about to take off. Guess who gets murdered?
If you guessed "Joyce Holleran," you're right - go have a slice of pie and celebrate. Jessica comes to visit her niece Nita (great name! short for Anita?) Better still is that the murderer wore the costume of "The Avenger," the mysterious killer on the soap opera. And what's more, The Avenger isn't done killing yet. It's up to Jessica to sort out the whole mess and figure out who is donning The Avenger costume to commit murder. And of course, the solution is more complicated than it first appears.
William Atherton, known as the villainous professor in Real Genius (1985), appears here as Joyce's husband. Nita is played by South African actress Alice Krige, who I recognized as the Borg Queen in Star Trek: First Contact; she's been in a lot of TV shows. Lloyd Nolan also appears here, a veteran actor of many accomplishments, who I recognized instantly as the patriarch in Woody Allen's Hannah and Her Sisters (1986). Finally, Mackenzie Phillips is here too! Famous for her role as Carol in American Graffiti, she is also named Carol here. Coincidence?
Episode 4 - "School for Scandal"
I particularly liked this one, as it is a pretty forceful satire of academia, particularly English departments. Jessica is invited to receive an honorary degree and give the commencement speech at (fictional) Crenshaw College. A party in her honor is hosted by faculty member Jocelyn Laird... whose WILD daughter Daphne, a successful romance novelist, crashes the party with her lowlife neanderthal boyfriend. She flashes the entire party not once but *twice*, and generally acts like an idiot. Meanwhile, all kinds of departmental and marital politics play out among the other guests.
When Neanderthal Man is found murdered, Jessica helpfully steps in to help the local police detective (who moonlights as a criminalogy professor) solve the crime. The truth in this one is actually quite interesting, and has not one but two false solutions. My only complaint is that the murder itself is rather boring - guy is hit with a blunt object straight out of Clue, and then dumped out a window. Yawnsville, as far as this show is concerned. His vile personality should have earned him a Grade III exploding, followed by a Level IV stab frenzy.
Roddy McDowell appears here, much to my delight. As a child actor he was amazing, especially in How Green Was My Valley (1941), and he went on to many famous roles like Planet of the Apes (1968), The Poseidon Adventure (1972), and just a ton more. Jocelyn is played by Polly Bergen, who appeared in Desperate Housewives and many other television and film roles. Wild daughter Daphne is played by Mary Kate McGeehan, who was in Falcon Crest and several other television roles.
Episode 5 - "Sing a Song of Murder"
My least favorite episode so far, I think, although it's probably the most ambitious. Jessica gets all a call from London that her cousin has died, and her will insists that Jessica attend the funeral. But before that, we are "treated" to a very lengthy opening at a London music hall with a rather unfunny actor telling flat jokes and then Angela Lansbury playing the cousin doing a song routine.
This is one of those episodes that features one actor playing two parts off of each other, but there are a few problems. First, only Jessica is interesting here, and then only a little. The British cousin Emma (Lansbury using her native English accent!) is boring and given only one good scene, where she slams a thuggish extorter over the head with a vase of flowers. But she exists mostly off-screen. The main plot involves ownership of a London theater, and the attempted murder of Jessica's cousin and actual murder of another woman. Ultimately, the plot is very underwhelming, which is a shame because London is a great backdrop.
Actors here include Olivia Hussey, Barrie Ingham, Glynis Johns, Patrick Macnee, and Gregory Paul Martin.
Episode 6 - "Reflections of the Mind"
This is a pretty good one, one of the more psychological episodes. Jessica answers a letter from her friend Francesca, who is teetering on the very edge of sanity, and travels to Cincinnati to help. Francesca is being tortured by insinuations that the ghost of her first husband is visiting her - it's very similar to the first season episode on the cruise liner. She hears voices, gets calls, hears music, doors open, close, lights come on, birds die and come back to life. All kinds of spooky goings-on occur. Jessica decides to figure out who is driving her friend crazy piece by piece, and discovers some very interesting secrets. It's a good one.
Esther Rolle is in this! I loved her growing up, as the mom Florida Evans on Good Times. She is underused here, but I was happy to see her nonetheless. Francesca is Ann Blyth, in her final screen appearance; her career goes back to the '40s, in such classics as Mildred Pierce, and also on some television as well. Carl is played by Wings Hauser, character actor who appears in three more Murder, She Wrotes.
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