And now the episode is continued!
We open with Giles attempting to romance JF (again) and she puts him off with a New England folksy saying about early blooms and early frosts. JF then goes to see Captain Caleb. As an aside, we've seen Brian Keith for about 30 mins and he has yet to be without a hat, either a deer stalker or a captain's hat; it makes me suspect that Brian Keith was balding? He tells JF that he and his wife have a pre-nup: if he dies, his wife gets nothing. This seems like the weirdest/worst pre-nup ever! Aren't most pre-ups more divorce protection rather than a last will and testament? Captain Caleb sounds like he is super paranoid...maybe had no life insurance? Does a pre-nup supersede a will? Is there a lawyer in the house?
We move forward to JF perpetrating some light B&E in Captain Caleb's office. Immediately, of course, she almost gets caught. Fortunately, she over hears Ashley (the secretary) on a phone call with her co-conspirators. When Ashley leaves the office, JF runs after her (Ashley) and sees her jump on a bus. JF runs out into the street, and almost gets hit by other cars before the next bus (on the same route) screeches to a halt in front of her. Next, we see Angela Lansbury, screen and stage treasure, ball up her fist and beat on the door of a bus like a stereotypical drunk demanding to be let on the bus. We now know that Cabot Cove clearly doesn't have public transportation, because JF doesn't know that she must have exact change! Thankfully, she gets quarters from a bus rider (played by Anne Ramsey, who was the leader of the adults looking for the treasure in Goonies.). Within 20 seconds, JF wants to both get off the bus and learns the bus driver's name (it was George). JF is then harassed, nearly mugged, and then threatened with bodily harm by "white thugs" (this is how they are billed in the credits). One of the thugs is Andy Garcia, with an earring! This must have been one of his earliest roles; The Untouchables was made in the mid-80s, no? (Did you notice that The Untouchables has been mentioned in 2/3s of these posts?) This interaction leads into an Action Set Piece that is basically a fellow bus patron (billed as "black youth") saving JF because he recognized her and loved her book. This is like the 50th time that someone recognizes JF (and loves her book). How is this possible? I guess I don't remember Donahue's reach in 1984. But the scene ends with Angela Lansbury laughing, so I'm fine with it!
Giles and nephew Grady anxiously await JF's return at the hotel. She tells them that she has figured out who stole the confidential information from Captain Caleb. This was assumed to be the motive for Grady killing the PI. We head to a theater to see the worst fake piano playing by Bert Conway. Seriously, his hands are nowhere near the keys when the music comes out of the piano. Peter and Ashley admit to stealing the confidential info from Captain Caleb. But that wouldn't bother the captain since he is now DEAD, his corpse wrapped in the sail of his boat. Sheriff Ned Beatty heads back to his little town of New Holvang, but tells JF that he'd welcome her involvement in any of his investigations. I assume that JF takes this to mean any police investigation, not just his!
Giles takes another run at JF to love him?/marry him? but she heads back to the train station. In an exposition from Kit, PR person and Grady's girlfriend, we learn that JF was interviewed by Barbara Wawa, the movie rights for her book have been purchased (this will actually come back in a few episodes), and that Yale loves her! The same porter from JF's previous attempts to get on a train, meets her again and places her luggage on the train. JF is reading the paper, has an epiphany, jumps off the train, and tells the porter to send her luggage to Boston, where she will retrieve it later (remember when people could do this?). She then cabs it to Giles' house and investigates outside (which features a scene from the opening credits). Giles arrives in time to see JF attempt to open a padlock with a nail file (anyone know if this will work?). JF figures out that the lights near the pool come on automatically at 8pm which means that no one could mistake Captain Caleb for the PI. This means that the PI was the intended victim, not Caleb. Giles then admits/JF figures out that Giles was indeed similar to the Count of Monte Cristo. He had been sent to jail for a crime he didn't commit, and had managed to escape (this could be done in the 50s/60s, I guess). He was determined to ruin the men who sent him to jail. The PI had worked on the initial case and never believed that Giles was dead, as it was assumed. So the PI wanted to blackmail Giles. After killing the PI, Giles killed Captain Caleb to misdirect the investigation, making us suspect that Caleb was always the intended victim. There is a moment when we think that Giles might physically harm JF, but instead he allows her to accompany him to the police.
At last, our heroine is back at the train station, vowing to never deal with murder or write about it again. Then Kit arrives with a crazy case from the police: two dead Mexican wrestlers (found in the wrestling ring), and one was drowned! JF is pulled back in just when she thought she was out!
Show Stats:
Famous Guest Stars: Ned Beatty (from Richard Donner's Superman), Brian Keith (the dad in the original Parent Trap), Bert Convey (a regular guest on Match Game),
Relative Count: 1 Nephew
Body location: Wrapped in a sail
Remaining Episode Count: 257
Saturday, October 31, 2015
Monday, October 26, 2015
Season 1, Episode 1: The Murder of Sherlock Holmes
Lets start with how awesome the opening credits are for this show. The theme song is really great and the shots of Jessica Fletcher (whom I will refer to as JF in the future) makes (in the words of my cousin Lindy) a person want to be an active senior. And be prepared to hear that theme a lot!
And now, I am going to try to unpack this episode, emphasis on try! The show opens by illustrating that JF is a great detective. She has figured out the ending of a (somehow) original play presented by the local community theater. And may I add, the refreshment committee was planning on serving macaroons (I assume the classic coconut macaroon, not the recently trendy French style macaroon). We soon learn that JF jogs at 6:35 in the morning (which is a continuing theme, at least during this episode). And why do we know she jogs so early? Because she is answering a phone call from her nephew, Grady. He had submitted her book to a publisher and it had been accepted . As a side note, it is still really weird to see the Twin Towers in shots from NYC. Before JF goes off for her press junket (which includes Donahue, Letterman, and the Today Show) in NYC, JF must undergo a makeover montage, of course. We learn that pectin is good for the complexion (I have not idea is this is true). We also learn that her first book is called "The Corpse Dances at Midnightt" and it is revealed that the killer is a pregnant ballerina (please tell me someone wrote this book). Her endless press interviews make her want to depart New York immediately and she is served a subpoena personally by the woman accusing her of plagiarism (I don't think that is how subpoenas work)! Her publisher, Giles (also the first of what will be a string of would-be suitors) convinces her to stay in New York and invites her to his country house (in upstate New York maybe?, it is not clear). Of course, the stay begins with a guy (Captain Caleb) shooting a shotgun and (with a nod to Chekov), you know that guns will be going off later in the episode. We also learn that a nearby airport (where?) has jets taking off that cause sonic booms (so the airport that the Concorde uses?). The publisher is having a costume party and the guests are supposed to dress like their favorite literary character. When JF is asked how she is going to pull together a costume, she says that she could go as Lady Godiva, before offering a wink and hip thrust to Giles. During the party, a private detective is found in the house and, in a heavily foreshadowing scene, the PI tells Giles that he (Giles) is dressed as the Count of Monte Cristo, while standing next to a Statue of Lady Justice. My favorite detail in this section is that JF has a secret spot remover that (unfortunately) is not soy sauce (hey, Mrs. Mears)! The next morning, a body is discovered in the pool with a shotgun shot to the face, dressed as Sherlock Holmes, Captain Caleb's costume. It is assumed that he was the victim. But is turns out it wasn't Captain Caleb but rather the PI (again shotgun blast to the face)? It is now that we get to meet the sheriff who is a giant buffoon,played by Ned Beatty. You know that scene in the Untouchables when Malone talks to a recruit who can't answer a question and Malone says "meet the new county sheriff". That is Ned Beatty, who leans pretty heavily on JF to figures out stuff. Anyway, because there were two possible victims, either Captain Caleb or the PI, there are multiple possible motives. JF is getting ready to leave ( somehow the porter at a NEW YORK train station remembers her) when she is fetched by Giles and Grady's girlfriend. Grady has been arrested because the police think he was being blackmailed by the PI! A lawyer gets him released and we learn that the other main suspect, a secretary who is on the outs with Captain Caleb), has a alibi; she was with JF getting a stain out of a dress! TO BE CONTINUED!
Show Stats:
Famous Guest Stars: Ned Beatty (from Richard Donner's Superman), Brian Keith (the dad in the original Parent Trap), Bert Convey (a regular guest on Match Game), Anne Francis (Riptide! Black Sheep Squadron, and Hardcastle and McCormick which also starred Brian Keith)
Relative Count: 1 Nephew
Body location: In a pool!
Remaining Episode Count: 258
And now, I am going to try to unpack this episode, emphasis on try! The show opens by illustrating that JF is a great detective. She has figured out the ending of a (somehow) original play presented by the local community theater. And may I add, the refreshment committee was planning on serving macaroons (I assume the classic coconut macaroon, not the recently trendy French style macaroon). We soon learn that JF jogs at 6:35 in the morning (which is a continuing theme, at least during this episode). And why do we know she jogs so early? Because she is answering a phone call from her nephew, Grady. He had submitted her book to a publisher and it had been accepted . As a side note, it is still really weird to see the Twin Towers in shots from NYC. Before JF goes off for her press junket (which includes Donahue, Letterman, and the Today Show) in NYC, JF must undergo a makeover montage, of course. We learn that pectin is good for the complexion (I have not idea is this is true). We also learn that her first book is called "The Corpse Dances at Midnightt" and it is revealed that the killer is a pregnant ballerina (please tell me someone wrote this book). Her endless press interviews make her want to depart New York immediately and she is served a subpoena personally by the woman accusing her of plagiarism (I don't think that is how subpoenas work)! Her publisher, Giles (also the first of what will be a string of would-be suitors) convinces her to stay in New York and invites her to his country house (in upstate New York maybe?, it is not clear). Of course, the stay begins with a guy (Captain Caleb) shooting a shotgun and (with a nod to Chekov), you know that guns will be going off later in the episode. We also learn that a nearby airport (where?) has jets taking off that cause sonic booms (so the airport that the Concorde uses?). The publisher is having a costume party and the guests are supposed to dress like their favorite literary character. When JF is asked how she is going to pull together a costume, she says that she could go as Lady Godiva, before offering a wink and hip thrust to Giles. During the party, a private detective is found in the house and, in a heavily foreshadowing scene, the PI tells Giles that he (Giles) is dressed as the Count of Monte Cristo, while standing next to a Statue of Lady Justice. My favorite detail in this section is that JF has a secret spot remover that (unfortunately) is not soy sauce (hey, Mrs. Mears)! The next morning, a body is discovered in the pool with a shotgun shot to the face, dressed as Sherlock Holmes, Captain Caleb's costume. It is assumed that he was the victim. But is turns out it wasn't Captain Caleb but rather the PI (again shotgun blast to the face)? It is now that we get to meet the sheriff who is a giant buffoon,played by Ned Beatty. You know that scene in the Untouchables when Malone talks to a recruit who can't answer a question and Malone says "meet the new county sheriff". That is Ned Beatty, who leans pretty heavily on JF to figures out stuff. Anyway, because there were two possible victims, either Captain Caleb or the PI, there are multiple possible motives. JF is getting ready to leave ( somehow the porter at a NEW YORK train station remembers her) when she is fetched by Giles and Grady's girlfriend. Grady has been arrested because the police think he was being blackmailed by the PI! A lawyer gets him released and we learn that the other main suspect, a secretary who is on the outs with Captain Caleb), has a alibi; she was with JF getting a stain out of a dress! TO BE CONTINUED!
Show Stats:
Famous Guest Stars: Ned Beatty (from Richard Donner's Superman), Brian Keith (the dad in the original Parent Trap), Bert Convey (a regular guest on Match Game), Anne Francis (Riptide! Black Sheep Squadron, and Hardcastle and McCormick which also starred Brian Keith)
Relative Count: 1 Nephew
Body location: In a pool!
Remaining Episode Count: 258
Monday, October 19, 2015
Welcome
This blog was inspired by attempting to watch a few episodes of the mid-80s to mid-90s classic Murder, She Wrote and discovering how insane some of the episodes are/were as well as trying to figure out where/how I recognized some of the guest stars. Twice a week, I'll watch an episode, write a brief synopsis, identify why you might recognize the guest stars, and the crazy scene of each episode. Please join as I re-discover (for the first time), the show that all our grandmas loved, Murder She, Wrote.
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