I'm watching "Murder, She Wrote" from the beginning

Cesar Romero starts it off, right?

I'm happy for anyone who gets to see "Jessica Behind Bars" for the first time. Report back on whether you skip the dreaded Jessica-free episodes.

I'm currently up to "Paint Me a Murder" (Episode 15 in Season 1) which has Cesar Romero in it, r1.

Part of the fun is recognizing all the random stars. Previously was Vicky Lawrence, Lorna Luft, Leslie Nielsen, and a handful of others.

Wait until you find out who is petting Eve Simpson's cat...every Tuesday evening!

Miss Bruce Jenner makes an appearance in episode 18 as the parent of a deaf child, driving some sort of helmet vehicle!

This episode has a lot of hot 80's beefcake in it, too! Jessica's at a sexy party where an entire football team is shirtless.

Wonder if Ms. Lansbury ever did more than just "solve mysteries" 🤔

That old battleaxe butted her nose in where it didn't belong. I kept waiting for someone to tell her to mind her own fucking business.

I keep thinking "she sure is brave" because she apparently NEEDS to confront the murderer directly at the end, usually by herself, and more lately with other people listening in. It's good that they always confess at the end too and explain their deeds to Mrs. Fletcher!

She's like a Crime Nun, or something. Confess and she won't judge you TOO badly.

Your know your goose is cooked when she hauls out the old "I couldn't help but notice..."

I love it when people insult her books. She always has a good response.

"Well, that's your privilege".

"I never claimed to be Hemingway!"

The June Havoc episode is worthwhile, r2.

THAT’S ALL SHE WROTE: 20 ‘MURDER, SHE WROTE’ SWAN SONGS

R7 Beah Richards basically tells her that in a season 4 episode.

Who’s the biggest former A-list superstar to appear on M,SW as a guest star? Besides Cesar Romero.

[quote]I keep thinking "she sure is brave" because she apparently NEEDS to confront the murderer directly at the end, usually by herself, and more lately with other people listening in. It's good that they always confess at the end too and explain their deeds to Mrs. Fletcher!

And a lot of the time they're a bit too calm, upbeat even. "But Jessica how did you [italic]know[/italic]?". It's like the thought of going to jail for a really long time hasn't crossed their minds.

"I guess after I shot him, I.....Oh, wait!"

I am now to the season two opener, where she pretends to be a wealthy widow to uncover the secret of her incredibly wealthy best friend's death!

I'm wondering if Angela Lansbury was acting like Jessica Fletcher would act if she was acting like a wealthy widow, or if she was actually trying to act like a wealthy widow, because her upper crust attitude wasn't that convincing.

One other thing I noticed, when she goes to a foreign place like Texas, the way they show that is by having everyone be as southern as possible, drawls, etc. I thought it was wryly amusing that the mansion of the wealthy Texas tycoon who was murdered was a Mediterranean-style house, set against a backdrop of a very large hill, the likes of which they don't really have in Dallas but are common in Los Angeles.

I'm watching "Jessica Behind Bars".

Is that Eve Plumb?? Damn, she's butch.

All of them, OP? I thought it was just a few seasons. There were 12 and 4 movies. Peacock has all 12 seasons. Amazon Prime has the films.

And Adrienne Barbeau?

R18 The films are after the series ended, right?

I've kept this old MSW thread in my watchlist for years, to refer to when I finally get around to watching the show.

I wonder if any of the locals noticed the spike in murders after the Fletcher broad rolled into town.

Jessica certainly has a lot of cousins and nieces and nephews!

The episode where she plays her British actress/showgirl cousin was hilarious. "it's remarkable how much alike you two look!"

"Jessica Behind Bars," with Eve Plumb, Shug Avery, Adrienne Barbeau, and fucking Vera Miles. That's just great television.

R24 Also Mary Woronov, Yvonne De Carlo, Linda Kelsey, Barbara Baxley, Janet McLachlan and lookalikes Diana Bellamy and Susan Peretz .

If DL did an episode of Murder She Wrote, this would be the one.

R3 how could you not mention Capucine?

[quote]If DL did an episode of Murder She Wrote, this would be the one.

That, or "Who Killed JB Fletcher" a veritable elephants graveyard of the Golden Age of Hollywood.

OP Sounds like torture horror to me. 12 years of Jessica Fletcher?

Or, of course, one of the few good Jessica Lite episodes, "Murder, According to Maggie."

R6 Which episode is that?

Yes, the films were after the show ended.

"Sudden Death" was the episode, r30!

Jonathan Harris (or was it Sam Wanamaker) started off the series as her publisher. The first episode/movie is the best one.

Angela with Grady (Michael Horton), Brian Keith, Bert Convy, Ned Beatty, Anne Francis, Herb Edelman, and Jonathan Harris/Sam Wanamaker.

Jessica Behind Bars is a camp hoot

10-year-old Joaquin Phoenix was in the Season 1 episode "Off to Kill the Wizard." He played Jessica's great-nephew.

I started watching the series when it was on Netflix back in 2016. I enjoyed the first five seasons although I did have to take breaks every now and then, because the fact that someone was murdered in each episode (and it was usually a likable/innocent person) got to be too much. Not recommended for binge-watching! However, after AL/JF began appearing less and less, which was around the 5th season, I stopped watching altogether.

The thing that always confused me about Jessica Behind Bars was why the jail looked like an office building.

I always loved when they did episodes out of America, because they would just throw in a couple of standard scenic shots while they clearly still shot in LA.

I haven't watched the NY years in ages, but I can't remember if they actually shot in NY or not.

Jessica came back soon thereafter, R36. You should have just skipped to the following season.

R32 Thank you!

Their version of 12 Angry Men (Persons) was good! I like how at the end Jessica MAKES SURE that the evil husband knows she was the one that figured him out.

"Oh, I expect you will remember me."

I love the judgemental look she gives him when he's being arrested for a different murder (not the one he was acquitted for).

Season three opener and we have cousin Carol (played by Courtney Cox - forgot how old she was) and another Cox, assuming it's her father?

OP call yourself a DLer? You’re only doing this now?

And now Florence Henderson appears, as a snotty fashion designer!

Oh, the circus episodes. Where Jessica went undercover as a hayseed.

Almost as good as the one where she went undercover as a slutty barfly.

OP: where can I stream them? I want to embark on this journey as well.

They're on Peacock, R45.

R45 IMDb TV, it's a free app and I think you can use their website too.

And now there's a Magnum P. I. crossover episode, which is starting in media res with a "previously on ..." - I guess the first part was shown on Magnum P. I.

And a resurrected Jessica Walter in a different role, who was in an earlier episode of Murder, She Wrote in Season 2, where she was killed.

Thinking I might stop this one and go hunt for the Magnum P. I. episode "Novel Connection" and watch that first.

The Magnum P.I. episodes were painful.

Fast forward several more in season three and there's an episode where Jessica is bedbound the entire time, and then after that an episode where she's presenting the mystery by all new actors from a cozy fire in her living room, and she's the narrator.

I'm guessing some real life issues were happening around this time which is why her appearances were spotty or sparse?

Currently I'm halfway through the boxing episode with Geordie LaForge and his fro all Soul-Glo'd up, Adam West playing the victim, and it is a SLOG. I will pick it up tomorrow because I'm a completionist, but damn it's hard to get through.

I've never really liked Tom Bosley much in anything but he's grown on me as the clueless sheriff, with his accent and everything (occasionally Angela Lansbury will have the accent too, but I don't know the name for it, Maine or New England accent?)

I'm not sure when it happened but all of the ugly actors that make up the bulk of the shows back then in the 80s were replaced over time with the much more attractive actors we have today. Sure occasionally you'd have a standout handsome guy but more often than not the men are ugly. The women, too. Different beauty standards I guess.

I wonder what all the ugly actors are doing now so they can get more work, getting plastic surgery?

No need to be jealous. I have already seen all of them in order. I was a huge fan of the show. Happy Viewing... Bitch! 😜

I can't imagine torturing myself with all this Jessica Fletcher. the later seasons had more nobodies which took away from the fun of seeing who wasn't dead yet.

Almost to season 4!

Where's the episode where she's an undercover hooker in Amish country?

I can barely tolerate MSW. After the fifth season, it is unwatchable. Plus, watching it with commercials? No thanks.

There's a fan theory, that Jessica is actually the murderer, in every episode. I thought it was interesting when I read it, and kind of stunned too. There are some interesting fan theories about other shows too, but this one was pretty good.

R55 That would make sense. She is almost always in the vicinity of the murder scene (and without an alibi). Why do so many murders happen around her? She probably was fucking that Sheriff (Richie Cunningham's father) which is why she was never a suspect. She needs to be arrested pronto!

I remember the hypnotist episode as a kid. It's seered into my brain.

I condole you, OP.

I watched all of 'Murder, She Wrote' and its subsequent films a few years ago, as part of a months-long binge. While I enjoyed the series, what happened as a result is that I'm through with it, and feel no inclination to ever watch any of it again.

That has happened to me with several series that I've pursued and watched in their entirety: House, The Mentalist, The Closer, Major Crimes, Monk, etc. I simply can no longer bring myself to watch of of their episodes again. I'm burnt out on them.

That isn't true of certain other series - Star Trek, Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, The Prisoner, Night Gallery, The Sixth Sense, Ghost Story/Circle of Fear. I can never get enough of these; they're always a joy to watch.

Ive watched a couple of them. They are watered down Agatha Christie for the feeble minded.

R58 you watch far too much television.

I absolutely love Murder, She Wrote. It’s comfort food. Angela Lansbury is a treasure.

I remember when the show ended, the NYT did a whole piece that included the official murder tally. It was astronomical.

The Telegraph concluded that the place with as many murders as Cabot Cove was in Afghanistan. lol They used actual statistics.

R59, it’s just entertainment. Get a grip.

Grant Goodeve in a speedo is my everything.

I remember that!

This season four episode where Lansbury is playing her red-haired London-accented British cousin involved in a murder plot of a Viscount is great 😁

She sings this song in that episode:

The first season is the best

[Quote] I remember when the show ended, the NYT did a whole piece that included the official murder tally. It was astronomical.

I wished the last episode would show that she committed all then murders

No! She's far too nice and sweet 🥰

I wonder if Frank had a big dick.

How did Jessica have such an extended family but was always alone, unless she needed a niece or nephew or something. She always seemed to have a bunch of those.

R72 because she didn't have a husband or children it gave her the freedom to travel and be free. You don't have the same responsibility to your nephews, nieces or cousins.

She also didn't drive so they could use the scenes where she gets a lift to further the plot or provide a valuable clue.

Okay I got to the episode where she's pretending to be someone's sister and ends up a madam in a brothel (temporarily, anyway). That wasn't bad!

It's funny how she's super famous and recognized everywhere in some episodes, but in other episodes she's unknown to entire towns and can fool everybody.

And I watched the episode where Jessica's favorite nephew Grady is framed for murder AGAIN. He's just so cute and lovable! And one of her few relatives that hasn't met an untimely Denise.

^ demise

I think a lot of people only recognise her when they hear the name.

I find it funny when she's introduced as "Jessica Fletcher" yet someone goes "Hey, aren't you that mystery writer?". No, that's J. B. FLETCHER!

R76 but J is the initial for Jessica.

Is Jessica ever shown having sex?

I think she's widowed.

So? She has needs

There's some tongue-in-cheek inside jokes in some episodes about how her novels don't have sex scenes and salacious things in them (besides the murders).

If you read between the lines Irish spy Michael Haggairty had the pleasure of getting into Jessica's knickers. Seth is secretly wearing her knickers when he's "watering the plants"

She snagged an Emmy nomination every year and they couldn't be bothered to give one to her.

I get the years that Sharon and Tyne were in conention, because they were on a whole other level, but they couldn't have slipped one to her in the last few seasons?

I believe she's still Emmy-less.

R83 yes, I don't begrudge Gless and Daly but Dana Delany and Patricia Wettig both won twice over Angela and someone called Kathy Baker won three times over Dame Angie!!

[quote]Who’s the biggest former A-list superstar to appear on M,SW as a guest star? Besides Cesar Romero.

R14, I don’t your definition of “A-list superstar” but here are a few big(ish) names that I remember:

Van Johnson, June Allyson, Lynn Redgrave, Martha Raye, Jose Ferer, Jean Simmons, Roddy McDowall, Marsha Hunt, Leslie Nielsen, Lee Meriwether

[quote]* Van Johnson as the inventor of a driverless car that’s mowing people down all over Cabot Cove and June Allyson as the woman who pines for him. Patti D’Arbanville is there too.

[quote]* Jean Simmons as Eudora McVeigh, a mystery writer jealous of Jessica. Eudora is married to Hank Shipton (Ken Howard) who is having an affair with Shelley Fabares who is married to David Hedison. This was a two part episode.

[quote]* Roddy McDowall as the author of a book about a witch burned at the stake in Cabot Cove some odd years ago, Dee Wallace Stone is a librarian distantly related to the witch and Bill Maher is something like a PR agent for McDowall. McDowall was also in another episode that I don’t like very much.

[quote]* Leslie Nielsen was in two episodes, in one he’s a shady ex-boyfriend of Jessicas searching for sunken treasure in Cabot Cove, in the other he’s a cruise ship captain and Jessica pretends to be drunk.

[quote]* Martha Raye and Eddie Bracken as patients at the Texas hospital Jessica is sent to after she’s knocked over at the airport, Kevin McCarthy is a lawyer who wants her to sue the airport.

[quote]* Lynn Redgrave as Jessica’s cousin who trains horses for a man who dies and leaves everything to his dog. Cathryn Damon is one of the deceased’s flaky daughters and Dean Jones is an estate lawyer who rides a bicycle.

[quote]* Marsha Hunt as Elvira, an elderly woman with arthritis who rents a room to a hairy foreigner (Paul Benedict) who only pretends to be foreign. John Astin is a realtor turned sheriff of Cabot Cove and Parker Stevenson is a travel writer who drinks scotch, eats butter and pretends to be drunk.

[quote]* Jose Ferer as a hypnotist at a Lake Tahoe hotel owned by Robert Loggia. Loggia hates Ferer because he slept with his wife (Michelle Phillips) and Ferer ends up dead in a room full of reporters under hypnosis. Diana Canova and the guy who was Jackie’s boyfriend Gary on Roseanne are there too.

[quote]* Tony Dow is a guy allergic to cats and married to Colleen Camp in an episode where a bedridden Jessica hears a plot to kill someone because her phone lines are crossed. Seth gives her a medic alert necklace, Grady brings her soup and a man is murdered.

[quote]* Anne Meara as Seth’s sister Winnie who takes phenobarbital for an ulcer and has just left her husband Elmo, Donnelly Rhodes is the P.I. Elmo hired to follow her. Henry Gibson is Elmo’s pharmacist brother who shows up with Elmo, their half brother and his wife and then someone is murdered. Colleen Camp is a wannabe deputy. This is one of my favorite episodes.

[quote]* Lee Meriwether as an innkeeper on a lake near Cabot Cove with John Astin as the realtor trying to sell her the property, Lauren Tewes as the married woman who's hot for Meriwether’s brother and the guy who was the priest on MASH as a birdwatcher.

[quote]* Rue McClanahan the librarian and her professor husband Larry Linville are on a bus with Jessica, Amos, pregnant Linda Blair, retired mailman David Wayne, a jewelry salesman, a recently released criminal, Linda Blair’s dark haired husband and a sailor - I think I may be forgetting someone. This is one of my favorite episodes.

There are other episodes that feature bigger superstars than the last few people I mentioned but they’re episodes I don’t like. Oh, and formatting on this site sucks so I post lists in quote format because it looks better.

I tried to find the intro for "Murder Takes the Bus" but the best I could do is this quick summary.

When Lansbury thought she was done after the fifth season, they very strongly hinted that Jessica was going to end up with Seth, at least until she agreed to sign again.

[quote]* Tony Dow is a guy allergic to cats and married to Colleen Camp in an episode where a bedridden Jessica hears a plot to kill someone because her phone lines are crossed. Seth gives her a medic alert necklace, Grady brings her soup and a man is murdered.

Crossed Up! The Sorry, Wrong Number pastiche. I love that one.

Correction, Winnie is [italic]Amos’[/italic] sister in "Who Threw the Barbitals in Mrs. Fletcher's Chowder?", not Seth’s.

Because I was bored on a rainy Sunday afternoon… 6 of Vulture’s 15 Essential Episodes are favorites of mine:

[quote]“Death Takes a Curtain Call” (Season 1, Episode 10)

[quote]“Murder Takes the Bus” (Season 1, Episode 18)

[quote]“Keep the Home Fries Burning” (Season 2, Episode 14)

[quote]“Crossed Up” (Season 3, Episode 13)

[quote]“Something Borrowed, Someone Blue” (Season 5, Episode 9)

[quote]“Mirror, Mirror on the Wall Pt. 1 & 2” (Season 5, Episodes 21 & 22)

Also on my list:

[quote][bold]The Murder of Sherlock Holmes" 1.1[/bold] [italic]Pilot episode.[/italic] After the successful publication of her first murder-mystery novel, Jessica is invited to a costume ball at the mansion of her publisher, with whom she happens to be falling in love. When a guest dressed as Sherlock Holmes is murdered, all eyes turn to her to out-sleuth the assassin of the deceased "detective". (Airs as two separate episodes during syndication.)

[quote][bold]"It's a Dog's Life" 1.5[/bold] Man's best friend gets a bad reputation when a fox hunter dies in a riding accident and the authorities try to blame the heir to his estate, his beloved pooch.

[quote][bold]"Death Casts a Spell" 1.10[/bold] Jessica's deductive abilities are in demand when a flamboyant hypnotist turns up dead, behind locked doors, in front of an audience of journalists whom he had put into a trance.

[quote][bold]"Joshua Peabody Died Here... Possibly" 2.2[/bold] Plans for a new hotel in Cabot Cove must be put on hold when a skeleton is discovered at the construction site. Amos and Jessica visit the site to look for clues but instead find a second body.

[quote][bold]"Sticks and Stones" 2.10[/bold] Cabot Cove is flooded with poison pen letters which proves hard for the town to handle as Amos prepares to hand the reins over to a new sheriff, Harry Pierce.

[quote][bold]"Death Stalks the Big Top: Part 1" 3.1[/bold] When Jessica's niece receives a silver Leprechaun from someone who has been presumed dead for years, Jessica decides to hunt down the mysterious gift giver from beyond the grave. Her search leads her to a circus, where unnatural things are happening in and out of the ring.

[quote][bold]"Death Stalks the Big Top: Part 2" 3.2[/bold] One murder leads to another as Jessica finds herself chasing down false alibis and the employees of a rival circus. Just when she thinks she has all the funny business behind her, a stunning confession will throw everyone for a loop.

[quote][bold]“The Corpse Flew First Class" 3.12[/bold] Theft and murder of the courier occur on board a jet bound for London with a plethora of suspects ranging from an older couple to a well-known actress to a former police officer.

[quote][bold]"If It's Thursday, It Must Be Beverly" 4.7[/bold] When Deputy Martin becomes a widower by murder, the investigation turns up some very surprising activity.

[quote][bold]"Who Threw the Barbitals in Mrs. Fletcher's Chowder?" 4.12[/bold] When Amos' sister and her in-laws descend upon Cabot Cove, Jessica hosts a dinner party with homicidal results, leaving the finger pointing at the Sheriff's sister.

[quote][bold]“Benedict Arnold Slipped Here" 4.18[/bold] Someone wants the old historic house enough to kill for it and its supposed hidden treasure and Jessica is executor of the late owner's will.

[quote][bold]"The Sins of Castle Cove" 5.17[/bold] A vindictive, tell-all work of fiction mirroring Cabot Cove sends the townspeople into an uproar, and when a murder occurs following the plot of the book it's up to Jessica to separate fact from fiction.

Cabot Cove is the most dangerous city in America. It’s full of murderers! Don’t go there!

[quote]“Mirror, Mirror on the Wall Pt. 1 & 2” (Season 5, Episodes 21 & 22)

Jean Simmons is just soooooo good in that one. It would have been a good send off had Angela wanted to end things at that point.

Honorable Mention:

[quote][bold]“Deadly Lady” 1.2[/bold] A mysterious man who briefly stops by Jessica's house turns up dead, supposedly swept overboard during a hurricane before Jessica even met him.

The first of many murders in Cabot Cove.

[quote][bold]"Armed Response" 1.20[/bold] Over Jessica's protests, she is taken to a hospital after a minor accident in the airport.

Not the best episode but I like the cast and Jessica & Bo Hopkins make a good team.

[quote][bold]"Murder at the Oasis" 1.21[/bold] An unpopular show-business personality discovers that elaborate security systems are no guarantee of safety.

Another one that isn’t the greatest but I love it. Ed Ames is Johnny, a music mogul who walks around his house with his suit jacket draped over his shoulders like a cape, his ex-wife Piper Laurie was Jessica’s college roommate. Their daughter is revenge dating Joseph Cali, a hot-head tennis player who thinks he’s John McEnroe. Johnny’s assistant Joey Bishop brings him his nightly glass of milk but Johnny is dead! Detective Ken Howard investigates. Joey Bishop wasn’t the best actor but there’s something about him that I like.

[quote][bold]"Dead Man's Gold" 3.6[/bold] A group of young treasure hunters come to Cabot Cove looking for sunken treasure but after one dies and the other is arrested for her murder, Jessica gets involved both to clear a young man she believes is innocent and to help an old friend she knows tends not to be.

One of Leslie Nielsen’s episodes.

[quote][bold]"Simon Says, Color Me Dead" 3.17[/bold] An artist is murdered and his prized painting is missing, Jessica investigates.

Dick Sargent’s wife cheats on him with an artist she’s posing for but Tess Harper is modeling for him too!

[quote][bold]“Town Father” 6.11[/bold] Cabot Cove gets a shock when bachelor Mayor Sam is confronted on the speaker's platform by a young woman claiming he is the father of her five children.

Eve Simpson runs for mayor and flirts with Holland Taylor’s husband. Ideal Molloy is hot for Sheriff Metzger. Someone is murdered.

—

I’ve only watched 3 episodes from season 6 and none from seasons 7-12 but I see “Who Killed J.B. Fletcher?” S7.E14 is on best a couple of lists so maybe I’ll give it a watch.

I really like the first season finale, "Funeral at Fifty-Mile." For some reason, instead of Seth, we get his identical cousin, and the denouement is a take on an Agatha Christie story, although I won't say which one.

I also have a fondness for "Murder By Appointment Only" where Jessica goes undercover as a sales agent for a Mary Kay-type pyramid scheme. The mystery itself isn't that great, but Jayne Meadows plays the head of the company, and she's a dead ringer for Mary Kay Ash.

"Curse of the Daanav" in season 4 has Jane Badler, aka Diana from "V" in it. Surely she is the murderess!

I always thought Jessica was fag-hag adjacent for Seth.

If they were to remake it today, either Seth or Grady would absolutely be gay.

R96 ^ Grady would make a cute bottom for the Sheriff

r94, Jane Badler and (hot) Doug Barr are sadly wasted in Curse of the Daanav (which is a campy episode, despite Badler not being given enough to do).

That old cunt Jessica was always up in everyone’s business. I wish that she was offed.

R99 ^ Especially in Grady’s sex life. He could never have been a gay and get away with anything with that busybody.

The actor who played Grady was married to the actress that played his wife on the show, she was very much an off-brand Georgia Engel.

Lovers and Other Killers, season 1 ep7. Jessica acquires a male assistant, who claims to be attracted to her. Is he dangerous or just a gold digger? The ending is quite dark and ambiguous.

R102 is that the one that pushed her down the stairs? That part used to bother me. And of course they showed it in the opening credits.

R103 Yes, it is. The whole tone of that episode was weird and dark.

The funniest part of Paint Me A Murder is the hideous artwork by Diego (Cesar Romero) and the fact that the house guests were willing to kill for it.

Lovers And Other Killers was actually the first episode filmed, following the Pilot. Its one of the rare times where the final shot isn't of Jessica.

SPOILER: The cute gigola who wanted to seduce Jessica wasn't the killer but when she bids him a cold goodbye in the final scene he gives her a deadly glare.

Also, the first scene is weird too, Jessica arrives at the Seattle airport carrying a baby she hands to some nuns. It's never mentioned what that was about!

The episode also gives us the shot where Jess fires a gun and it goes "BANG", plus the shot of her writing on the chalkboard then pointing to the class.

Lovers and Other Killers ended in such a way that you might think there would be a sequel, but I don't think there was.

Never a follow up R107 but if Jess ever wound up murdered I would list him as a suspect!

Deadly Lady (Cabot Cove episode with a storm and murdered man no one believes Jessica could have met) was actually a much better choice for the first official episode. Although Lovers And Other Killers was filmed first it was too dark and didn't really represent the MSW tone they were going for.

One thing I loved about those early episodes was how they shot on location (or at least did a much more believable job of pretending they did). Seattle in Lovers and Other Killers, San Francisco in Birds of a Feather (with those shots right below/near the Golden Gate Bridge). All the Mendocino shoots standing in for Cabot Cove. It didn't take long for everything to seem more like backlots or studio shoots, but in that first season especially some of the locations felt much more real.

Gasp! A young Billy Zane, before he went totally nuts with the eyebrow tweezing, and presumably before he got hair transplants because his receding hairline is pretty noticable, in "A Very Good Year for Murder" in season 4.

R109 it seemed like the earlier episodes depended more on studio sets in California, but not sure - in season four it seems like their budget was bigger and the ocean shots they took in Cabot Cove may have actually been shot on the east coast. Or at least it seemed like it

Billy Zane also looks very handsome in that episode.

I'm going to blaspheme, but...I kind of preferred Mort to Amos. Yes, Tom Bosley was great and all, but Amos was a bumbling idiot that never listened to Jessica, and Mort was just a fish-out-of-water who knew to go for her for help.

Angela got Emmy noms because that tends to happen to movie stars who do tv. If Patricia Wettig got an Emmy for her cancer arc, then she definitely deserved it more than Angela.

I much prefer Mort to Amos in no small part because Tom Bosley's acting indicated he thought himself a co-lead, and Ron Masak kept in his own lane.

Plus, Mort always made it clear that he respected Jessica and Seth. Amos seemed exasperated by them.

r114, Yes, Patricia Wetting won for her cancer arc, and I still would have given it to Angela, who submitted Thursday's Child that year, which was probably her best shot. No cancer gimmicks, just an honest, emotional performance based entirely in character. Guess they should have stooped to giving her cancer for a more awards-baiting role.

The other big star in that episode with Capucine (R26) was Stewart Granger. I felt ashamed for them in that they were appearing in such a poorly-written show filmed on laughably-fake sets in the LA studio backlot.

[quote]If they were to remake it today, either Seth or Grady would absolutely be gay.

I always wondered about the mayor, R96.

R118: they made lots of backlot schlock in their better days.

R116 Why were you ashamed for them? MSW was a huge hit, consistently in the Top 10 in the Nielsen ratings for most of its 12 seasons.

I hope OP is watching it commercial free, and sped up by at least 40%.

I recall that even when new and "fresh" it was torturously boring.

Yes Angela deserved it for Thursday's Child, it's one of the rare times she plays Jessica's emotions. Vera Miles tells Jess that she had an affair with beloved Frank Fletcher and he's the father of her son!

I believe Thursday's Child lost to Patty Wettig's cancer juggernaut on Thirtysomething.

Her best chance was in one of the later seasons, when Sela Ward unexpectedly won for Sisters; it's long been rumored that was a very close race, and it was the "weakest" competition she'd had (Sela, Swoosie Kurtz, Kathy Baker, and Jane Seymour). She submitted A Killing In Cork, which wasn't exactly a big episode for her.

The Emmys must really hate Angela Lansbury... or something. On top of her 12 nods for the entire run of MSW, she was also nominated for the miniseries LITTLE GLORIA... HAPPY AT LAST, for the recording of SWEENEY TODD, and for twice hosting the Tonys. After MSW, she was nominated for the miniseries THE BLACKWATER LIGHTSHIP, and for guest-starring on LAW & ORDER; SVU. Still, she went home empty-handed. The woman has won five Tonys, six Golden Globes, and an honorary Oscar, SAG, and BAFTA, but the Emmy still eludes her.

BTW: How come the Emmys nominated Angela for every season of MSW but not for any of the four TV movies?

Her 1987 loss for hosting the Tonys was particularly awful, as they gave it to Robin Williams for being Robin Williams in a Carol Burnett special. She was particularly beguiling that year, and the Tonys themselves won the Variety/Special Tony. If they can give that Emmy to Bette Midler for one song on the Johnny Carson goodbye, they could have given it to Angela just for her duet with Bea Arthur.

Tom Bosley's southern accent is the worst. And keep a running tab on how many call Jessica "Aunt Jess" ... it's about 100.

I don't think I've ever seen an episode of this show, though of course know of it just due to its fame. Is it really as hilarious as it sounds in this thread, because if so, I gotta watch it, haha!

Oh, thinking of it... was there ever an episode where there was a murder on a cruise ship or something? I have a vague memory being a kid and seeing the beginning of an episode of some murder mystery on a cruise ship, but then my grandmother came in and made me go to bed. I feel like this could've been Murder, She Wrote, but not sure.

R127 when she was nominated for SWEENEY TODD and for hosting the Tonys twice, she was also nominated for MSW. I can't imagine what it's like to be doubly nominated for a prestigious award -- not once but THRICE -- and still go home empty-handed.

Yes, there are at least 2 episodes where someone is murdered on a cruise ship Jessica just happens to be on.

^It sounds like if I saw Jessica Fletcher anywhere in real life, I would RUN in the other direction. Like being at a fancy house party for the weekend and seeing Poirot turn up. I'm outta there!

R130 she was doubly-nominated three times, never three on the same night. It was especially galling she lost for the live TV version of Sweeney Todd as she stole the show plus it was the first season of MSW, which was already a huge hit. Perfect time for her to win.

Her co-star from Sweeney Todd won - George Hearn, who was nowhere near her match, as Len Cariou had been on Broadway.

She probably didn't have much push from CBS for the TV movies, they also weren't that great. The TV movies could have been more exciting.

I was surprised she wasn't nominated for playing Aunt March in Little Women a few years ago, she got strong reviews.

Also, the very twee Mrs 'arris Goes to Paris. But she was great in it.

R134

R134 you are right, she did some good TV movies during the MSW summer breaks but got little recognition for them

[quote]Oh, thinking of it... was there ever an episode where there was a murder on a cruise ship or something? I have a vague memory being a kid and seeing the beginning of an episode of some murder mystery on a cruise ship, but then my grandmother came in and made me go to bed. I feel like this could've been Murder, She Wrote, but not sure.

R129, here's a recap of one of the cruise ship episodes, this one had Leslie Nielsen and Vicki Lawrence as guest stars.

R121 I supposeI I felt embarrassed rather than 'ashamed'.

I didn't care too much about Capucine because I knew she was just Charles K. Feldman's attempt at getting cheap version of Audrey Hepburn.

But Capucine starred with Stewart Granger in a big-budget western 25 years earlier. But his career nose-dived and at this time in 1985 he'd already made some terrible interviews about him being a drunken has been. And I bet Granger wouldn't have been paid much for want I same was a few days work on the backlot and at the 'Dynasty' set at Arden Villa at1145 Arden Road, Pasadena.

Does an honorary Oscar count for EGOT purposes?

Incidentally, Lynn Redgrave (who guest-starred in the Season 1 episode "It's a Dog's Life") was the worst EGOT loser of all time! She was nominated for one Emmy, one Grammy, two Oscars, and three Tonys and lost every single time. I don't believe anyone else has accomplished that 'feat.'

R139 no they're not usually counted.

I was inspired to watch some of my favorites (many mentioned here) on Peacock.

In addition to "Jessica Behind Bars" being the DL equivalent of fantasy baseball in terms of casting, it's an incredibly action-packed episode by MSW standards.

Also, it would have been very popular at MichFest. There's not a single man in the episode.

Lynn Redgrave really deserved the Oscar as Ian McKellen's disapproving but endearing housekeeper in GODS & MONSTERS instead of Judi Dench's Old Elizabeth I cameo in SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE.

R142 which others have you re-watched?

I've been skipping around the seasons as things strike my fancy but "The Murder of Sherlock Holmes," "Capitol Offense" (Jess serves in Congress briefly), "Murder Takes the Bus," "The Perfect Foil" (Jess is in New Orleans for Mardi Gras; if it was only Southern Decadence), "Death Stalks the Big Top," and "The Corpse Flew First Class" (Kate Mulgrew, bitches!).

Next up are "The Days Dwindle Down" (solves an old film noir called Strange Bargain) and "Murder, She Spoke."

But "JBB," the MSW equivalent to "Angels in Chains" is still probably my favorite. Even the performances that are completely over-the-top are thoroughly entertaining, Nobody has mentioned Susan Oliver yet, but she's fantastic.

And Darlene Conley being as butch as hell.

"Murder Takes The Bus" has such a cosy feel, right down to the Hitchcock music and stock thunderstorm imagery. I also love older Cabot Cove episodes such as "Keep The Home Fries Burning" and "If A Body Meets A Body". Also enjoy rewatches of "Lady In The Lake" and "Widow, Weep For Me"

I've seen that stock thunderstorm a few times in the series so far and on other shows! The lightning strike, and of course the standard thunder sounds.

One thing I love about shows from this era is when they have the old prop furniture and other ornate decor from who-knows-when that's so ornate and beautiful in the background. It'd cost a fortune today. I wonder if it's still in the prop warehouses, being reused occasionally.

I unfortunately had to skip a bunch of the season six episodes because there were so many that didn't have Jessica. Apparently these are "bookend" episodes and were because she was negotiating for her contract after it expired at the end of season five. The only episode I stopped to watch fully was the one with her nephew Brady. I just didn't want to deal with all the new characters and random situations. I might go back and watch the episodes with the known characters like the British spy but the others - meh!

I read that the ratings for the show slumped a lot during this time period too, then they fixed the contract issues and the subsequent seasons still have bookend episodes, just much fewer.

Anyway, an early episode in Season 7 has this totally gorgeous man David Oliver in it, playing a clueless sensitive lovesick writer "Jeff Ogden". I was curious enough to Google him and found he died in 1992, less than two years after the episode aired, at the age of 30 from complications of AIDS! One of the genuinely handsome men I've seen on this show, and he doesn't live much longer beyond it. I guess this is the time period in Hollywood when they stopped using the uglier actors for the bulk of the shows and started replacing them with more attractive ones.

Apparently he was in Star Trek the Next Generation, too. Not surprised to learn he was a bottom.

Here's his obituary, his partner isn't listed in his obituary but it is in his

David Oliver, 30, Dies; A TV and Stage Actor

Published: November 19, 1992

David Oliver, who played the role of Sam Gardner in the television drama "A Year in the Life," died last Thursday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 30 years old.

Mr. Oliver's career also included performances on the stage.

"A Year in the Life," which had its premiere on NBC in 1986, traced the lives of a fictitious Seattle family for a year. He played a 23-year-old business-school student who was about to settle into a safe marriage when his life was suddenly disrupted by another woman. Mr. Oliver also appeared for two years in the NBC soap opera "Another World" and in the television movie "Miracle in the Wilderness."

His stage performances included many roles with the San Diego Civic Light Opera, including parts in "L'il Abner" and "The Unsinkable Molly Brown." He also performed regularly at the Edinburgh Theater Festival, and was seen recently in "Elegies," a play about AIDS, at the Canon Theater in Beverly Hills.

He is survived by his companion, Terry Houlihan; his mother and stepfather, Pat and Gordon Hingle; his father, William Oliver, and seven brothers and sisters.

Correction it is listed in his obituary just at the bottom.

[quote] I've seen that stock thunderstorm a few times in the series so far and on other shows!

Who filmed these storms? Is there any research out there? Did the studios pay people to catch them for later use?

R149 the contract Angela signed in 1989, averting the end of MSW, agreed that there would be bookend episodes in order to give her a break.

These were unpopular and led to complaints. Angela assumed control of the show starting in season 8, her company started to produce it. Ratings improved and there were no more bookend episodes as Angela and her family had a financial stake in the success of the show.

Season 8 sees Jess get an apartment in NYC and start to teach there.

Some sassbag named Rob Faunce reviewed and ranked every ep. There's a blog about it. Jessica has an affair with Leslie Nielson in one hot ep'

She didn't have an affair with Leslie Nielson, he kissed her and flirted. The Irish Spy Michael is the one she had real sexual chemistry with. The jewel thief and Doc Hazlitt were more like her gay BFFs.

The only hint of romance was in the 2 part pilot episode, with Jessica’s first book publisher, who is the murderer.

I came across a channel that does recaps of the weirder or more interesting Murder She Wrote episodes (actually I dunno, maybe her intention is to review them all eventually?). Anyway, the one I saw was on one of the cruise ship ones mentioned above ("My Johnny Lies Over the Ocean"). This was definitely not the episode I saw that night as a kid, so maybe it was the other one. The other possibility is that it was a different murder mystery show that I got confused with MSW.

Oh, and here's a link to the recap, I mentioned:

who did more guest appeareances in different roles?

Barbara Babcock ? I remember BB in at least 3 episodes

The New Orleans one

One where she was the killer

One about a gentrification project in NY that led to a murder

and maybe one more

R156 there were a few more romantic liasons, like the Irish spy and the jewel thief. They didn't seem to scream "sex" to me but I think it was clearly romantic. Lots of chemistry between Jessica and those two!

R159 I'm only to season seven but there's been quite a few double episodes in different roles. More so in the early seasons. Don't recall three but it could be actors I haven't noticed.

A VERY hot fitness instructor is in "A Body to Die For". Hot body and super cute handsome face.

Jason Beghe, playing Wayne Bennett.

Looks like he went on to bigger and better things too! Still handsome and seems to have done some nude work as well 😏

Jason Beghe was a well-known Scientologist until the 2000s when he started publicly speaking out against the so-called church waaay long before Leah Remini.

That's good! Glad he saw the error of his ways. I wonder if he got any work due to being a Scientologist. For that matter I wonder how much Scientology was going on in the background of Murder, She Wrote 😳

More of his earlier hotness -

A theory on Murder She Wrote, remember all the jokes about how no one would ever invite Jessica Fletcher to a party because someone would end up dead, what if none of the murders or the people were real, and it was Jessica imagining it all while writing her books.

Amazingly, they still continue to publish one or two of the spin-off novels a year.

Jessica still can't drive, but she has a pilot's license.

[quote]there were a few more romantic liasons, like the Irish spy and the jewel thief. They didn't seem to scream "sex" to me but I think it was clearly romantic. Lots of chemistry between Jessica and those two!

There was also a spark between Jessica and NYPD Lt. Timothy Hanratty (Barney Martin with a bad Irish accent) when he investigated a murder at Grady's accounting firm.

I liked the episode where Jessica’s musty old snatch got eaten out.

"Beware the Bandersnatch, My Son"?

Did you see the one where Eudora McVeigh tries to steal Jessica's next novel?

That's such a good one. Jean Simmons gnaws into the scenery like a beaver, and it's great.

I love the end of a lot of the episodes where Jessica does that disapproving grimace and head shake 😔

R170 yeah that was the two part end of season five, and was (according to what I read) was going to be the series finale if they couldn't get Jessica to do more.

Was she bangin' Seth or not???

That old Queen?

I could have sworne there were some allusions to sex with guest star Gordon Jump as Irish counterspy, Gerard McWhelan in the season 8 episode, 'Death of a Crim-ANAL'

i love amos tupppppah

[quote]That old queen?

That's a good point. She seems to be friends with at least a few "confirmed bachelors" such as the Mayor and Dr. Seth Haslett. The last episode I watched involved she and Seth on a multi-day trip to NYC where they were swept into mafia business. He seems like her best friend, and I don't remember seeing her with any close female friends in Cabot Cove.

She was friends with town bike Eve Simpson who stayed with Jessica when her house became a murder scene!

Seth was married to Ruth and had at least one daughter so he was straight (on paper). William Windom gleefully played him as a grumpy old Queen.

R176 the red headed sheriff deputy in season six is growing on me with his country bumpkin voice and simpleton demeanor.

[quote]That's a good point. She seems to be friends with at least a few "confirmed bachelors" such as the Mayor and Dr. Seth Haslett. The last episode I watched involved she and Seth on a multi-day trip to NYC where they were swept into mafia business. He seems like her best friend, and I don't remember seeing her with any close female friends in Cabot Cove.

When it looked like the show might end after the fifth season and they wrote the episode with Jean Simmons as a possible finale, they were dropping hints that Jessica and Seth would take up together.

It actually seemed like it would have been a shitty note to go out on. The running subplot is that Jessica is stressed and under deadline to finish a book, and Seth makes some kind of comment that writing was good when she was mourning Frank, but now it's about time she moved on. And the end of the episode, where she gets away from her typewriter to go fishing with Seth, makes it seem like it's going to happen.

Doctor Miss Hazlitt, there's only room for one Queen in Cabot Cove, and that's JB Fletcher.

R180 Yeah that was a sweet ending! Then after that it seemed like he just was her very good close friend with absolutely no sexual tension whatsoever.

But I seem to recall an episode in season six or seven where Grady and his fiancee were arguing in Jessica's kitchen and then she comes out of the bathroom and like a minute later Seth comes out of the bathroom, as well and he's sniffing his index finger...

[quote]She seems to be friends with at least a few "confirmed bachelors" such as the Mayor

I mentioned this at R119 but I used to wonder about the Mayor.

In "Town Father" a mystery woman arrives in Cabot Cove claiming to be the mother of his children. Jessica says:

[quote]I mean, Sam just doesn't seem like the sort of person who would lead a double life... Do you know that he's lived in the same house since he was born? I've never even seen him out on a date.

Later in the episode the mayor says

[quote]We did not have a relationship! I've never had a relationship with anybody.

R180 well said! There wasn't that much of a re-write of the proposed ending, I think they planned for Jessica to share a meaningful look with Seth if Angela refused to come back for season 6.

The last shot of the boat pulling out of the harbour would have worked as a fitting series finale, much better than the actual ending to season 12, a nondescript episode set in the West Coast.

Part of the agreement for Angela returning for season 6 was a reduced workload, hence the bookend episodes we suffered through for 2 years...

There's a MSW troll now? Nice :-)

[quote]Part of the agreement for Angela returning for season 6 was a reduced workload, hence the bookend episodes we suffered through for 2 years...

I'll still go to bat for "Murder, According to Maggie." By far the best of them.

The most hilarious one so far was the "Something Borrowed, Someone's Blue" Grady's wedding episode. The writers had fun with that one.

Also it's fun that Grady was marrying his real life wife. I didn't realize he had gone on to have a pretty decent career in other things, too.

Have you gotten to the ridiculously over-the-top "Snow White, Blood Red?"

I wonder why Grady disappears after season 6. He appears once more in season 11 but Donna never shows up again. He was a mainstay in the show since the pilot and the closest thing Jessica had to a child.

R188 I saw that one but it didn't have as many good one-liners and bizarre characters as the wedding episode, in my opinion.

Snow White, Blood Red has the hilarious opener of Angela's stunt double doing some crazy skiing stunts before Jessica reveals herself. It's akin to the double doing Rose's ridiculous dancing on The Golden Girls!

Is Jessica Behind Bars very shouty also in the original version? I only saw it dubbed in Italian and, well, they all shout all the way to the end of the episode.

[quote]The most hilarious one so far was the "Something Borrowed, Someone's Blue" Grady's wedding episode. The writers had fun with that one.

One of my favorite episodes.

[quote]Snow White, Blood Red has the hilarious opener of Angela's stunt double doing some crazy skiing stunts before Jessica reveals herself.

Why is that funny?

R194 because its so improbable. Jessica put her back out putting up her storm windows and now she's an Olympic-level skier?!

Okay at the season seven ender they have Harry back on. I love that Jessica has friends like Harry and the jewel thief, she just accepts them for who they are. You know she'd be the type to have gay friends.

The season seven ended with a fourth-wall breaking "And that's all she wrote" and they look directly at the camera, which you could tell the writers had been dying to say the entire time. I don't know how I feel about that!

Season eight, where she gets a part-time apartment in New York, has started off pretty strong with that opening episode where the man who owned her apartment before her gets murdered. And the hideous old cop person you thought was going to be the series regular ends up being the bad guy, leaving the younger and handsomer cop in place!

I don't know if I like the nosy neighbor who lives across the hall. I recognize the actress, though, didn't she just die?

R196 Don't get to use to them. They disappear and are replaced by a knock off version played by Wayne Rogers

I particularly like the 2-parter about "Sherlock Holmes"; the David Hemmings one aboard an airplane; and all with "Harry McGraw," aka Jerry Orbach.

More heresy, but I'm really glad they introduced New York into the mix. As much as it was less cozy than Cabot Cove, it gave them more story opportunities without inventing yet another niece or nephew.

Plus, you get to look for T-intersections, to confirm it was filmed on the Universal backlot.

Angela became a Producer by season 8, stopped the bookend episodes and made it more of a family affair. She was determine to make Jessica more cosmopolitan, and insisted on the move to NY plus her becoming a Lecturer in Criminology (and creative writing!)

BTW how did Jessica get the qualifications for that?!

I thought this article was fun:

R200 That's when the character loses all of her warmth.

Oh, and this one:

R201 that article is very superficial. And over 40 JB novels are mentioned throughout the series, not 25. What a hack.

Yeah, the second article is better. The first one is too much of a listicle but it had a few good parts.

The NY bit was about getting the younger demographic. That's when Jessica got cases through her students either being framed for murder or them dragging her to murder scenes.

R202 it does lose some of the early charms of the series. Jessica becomes much more comfortable at intruding into investigations in the cities she goes to and much more assertive. Plus, the pantsuits!

R207 I can't see later season Jessica pretending to be the gambling lush in "Weave a Tangled Web" or the local store owner from "Death Stalks the Big Top".

In the move towards courting a younger audience they brought in too many young "actors" and lost a lot of the cosiness

But we also got Jess solving a mystery in Virtual Reality...

I mean, how is this not worth it?

I do remember Nan's Ghost was a good later double-parter. The killer locked Jessica in an Irish dungeon to be eaten by rats!

Jessica was the kiss of death.

I love the S8 E2 where she puts the arrogant cop in his place and then the unbelievably whiny student in HIS place shortly afterwards. Although it was kind of a surprise, guessing this is the new "less nice" Jessica.

R211 lol! That sounds like an interesting episode.

Ok wow, that S8 E2 had a VERY satisfying conclusion.

I know we were supposed to think the creepy whiner was the killer and after the Alpha and Omega stuff showed up I knew it had to be the criminology professor, but given how tense it was watching him embarrassing Jessica in front of her class, and how arrogant and nasty he'd been to her - rather breathtakingly so - it was amazingly satisfying seeing him get railed in the classic "police lurking outside the door" finale.

That might have been a better mystery if it were a two-parter with more characters, but I liked how it threw Jessica to the wolves from the start and she fought her way out.

I see episode three has Jessica Walter again! That's her third time in the series, I think.

Oh, and I'd also like to express my chagrin that they have had Maxwell Caulfield in two episodes but he wasn't shirtless or wearing tight shirts in either of them! Such a waste of a total hot stud, although he had gotten a little older since Grease 2, I'm sure he still has the amazing body.

"Night Fears" is one of the darker episodes, very little light relief and really sinister goings-on.

[quote][R207] I can't see later season Jessica pretending to be the gambling lush in "Weave a Tangled Web"

Me neither, R208. I tried to find a clip of that scene but this was the closest thing I could find.

There was also the time she pretended to be drunk in My Johnny Lies over the ocean

[quote]I can't see later season Jessica pretending to be... the local store owner from "Death Stalks the Big Top".

Emmaline Polsby, Polsby's General Store and Dry Goods in Pullman City.

R221 I hated she just threw that disguise in the trash, it could have come in handy later!

I also never get the feeling that later season Jessica is really friends with the people she visits. I believed she was long time friends with Jane Powell, Anne Blyth, Barbara Rush, etc. There is no warmth with later "friends". I blame the Hillary pantsuits

Any favourite episodes from the later seasons? It seems most people have favourite memories only from the first few years..

I love the one of the virtual game one with the mystery door. Or the one that was about pigeon racing.

[quote]Any favourite episodes from the later seasons? It seems most people have favourite memories only from the first few years..

Two New York episodes:

"The Dead File". Harvey Fierstein plays a straight cartoonist whose strips start predicting crimes.

"Threshold of Fear." A young Cynthia Nixon plays Jessica's agoraphobic neighbor. With Margot Kidder as her psychiatrist.

R36 here. Because of this thread, I decided to watch an episode from the latter seasons. I chose one called "Film Flam" because it deals with backstage Hollywood stuff, which I always find intriguing.

Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised to discover a very young and very gorgeous Jim Caviezel. He had an Anthony Perkins thing going on. I didn't know his career went that far back, I first discovered him in a J.Lo rom-com in the early 2000s.

At any rate, the episode was just okay. Caviezel's beauty was the saving grace for me.

Forgot the cracked out late episode "Something Foul in Flappieville" which involves a murder on the set of a children's puppet program.

It was great. They clearly didn't give a fuck by this point.

I’m working my way through all the seasons….currently on season 8 watching Jessica mixed up with MI5 in Tinker Tailor Liar Thief…..the accents are hysterical!

Highly recommend’Ever After’ in Season 8….great cast, including Kate Mulgrew, fun plot…finding some unexpected gems in the later seasons!

The other day I watched the season 5 episode Fire Burn Cauldron Bubble with Dee Wallace Stone and Christopher Stone. I had never realized that he is playing the same character that he did in season 2's Sticks and Stones. Fun surprise after all these years

I loved the coffee klatch frauen in the salon

Jealous? That's like saying "My foot fell asleep. Jealous much?'

R232 I kept thinking they were trying to spin that off into a new series.

That would have been fun, r234, they missed a trick there.

She's now helping an old College friend who runs "Aunt Edna's" who's being accused of a tax dodge. Edna is actually a bit of a snooty bitch for someone who sells overstuffed pastries.

The 55th Murder, She Wrote book just came out this week. 55 books!

Season 7 is still quite good

Amos Tupper was so befuddled.

R236 Agree, was hoping the bitch would loose her business

Sorry "lose" her business

Seth is such an asshole. Always pulling Jessica’s ponytail.

Remember when Jessica was declared dead after that lady posed as her in Texas? When Jess called Seth to wire her some money he actually asked "Are you good for it?!"

Probably remembering all the times she's skipped out in him to "nail the killer", leaving him with the dinner bill!

[quote] Part of the fun is recognizing all the random stars.

The only big star I've seen is Stewart Granger.

You need to watch more R244!

Leslie Nielsen was just in one this afternoon as an old beau of Jessica's.

R244 The women’s prison episode has Yvonne De Carlo and Vera Miles.

Vera Miles also plays the strumpet who pretends Frank fooked her in the 50s!

Abe Vigoda was on the show, too. He was a weird looking dude.

Her 1944 co-star made 3 appearances on her show.

One of my favorite episodes is in a later season - Season Nine's 'A Christmas Secret'.

Lots of twists and turns.

I love in the denouement, the cosy way Jessica says "that's not for me to say... but... I don't think it will be a secret for much longer", and 'The First Noel' starts playing.

May seem random, but that's my favorite little moment in the whole series.

[quote]Her 1944 co-star made 3 appearances on her show.

I recall an episode in which Angela played a dual role as her cousin, a British music hall performer. At one point, as the cousin, she sang "Goodbye, Little Yellow Bird," which, of course she originally sang in "The Picture of Dorian Gray," which was released in 1945, not 1944.

Angela's wedding dress for her second marriage is still my favorite. Gorgeous!

I'm watching 'Class Act' of 1989 which is one of those "Bookend" guest sleuth episodes where Jessica Fletcher hardly appears.

It's disconcerting.

Who are everyone's favourite regular companions? I feel like this should be a poll, but didn't want to start a new thread!

Grouchy Seth Hazlitt Cynical Mort Metzger Secretive Michael Hagarty (a personal favourite of mine) Bumbling Amos Tupper Sweet Grady Fletcher Gruff Harry McGraw Sketchy Dennis Stanton (another character I love) Flirty Eve Simpson Innocent Donna Mayberry Hapless Charlie Garrett

Sorry, the formatting went to shit - it didn't look like that when I was writing it!

I have a soft spot for Grady the goober.

And I've always enjoyed his episodes.

I sometime watch it on Cosi TV in the mornings while I prepare for work. It’s amazing how bad the acting was.

What I don't understand is why an Irish man was working for MI6...

It is sweet how how Angela went above and beyond to incorporate her real-life Irish heritage into the show and the character of Jess.

There's one episode where she enters a man's office and, very calmy and politely, tells him: "you'll have to excuse my Irish temper"

... and speaking of which, I'm reminded of another favorite episode, the Cagney and Lacey pisstake episode that centers on the stolen 'Queen of Tara Tiara'.

It has, for me, the single most hilarious moment in the series and it's completely unintentional - towards the end, Jess is in the jewelry store having her lightbulb moment, she just abandons the conversation she's having and walks over to use to a rotary phone nearby. This moment alone is unintentionally funny enough. Then later when the old dancer is confessing and talking about how she's descended from the Kings of Ireland, Jess just nods a bit and walks over to the exact same rotary phone that is now in this woman's apartment.

Putting it into words it probably doesn't sound funny, it's just the way it's played, Jess in full-fledged busybody mode, helping herself to everyone's phone. I was howling the first time I saw it.

Is Jessica Fletcher a Democrat or a Republican? I'm watching the episode where's appointed by the Governor to fill a Congressional seat after the Congressman died. Jessica said she had been working for the party the voter registration committee. Through the 1980s both of Maine's seats were held by a Republican.

Did she dial the rotary phone with a pencil, R260?

I think Jessica was a democrat, she definitely was influenced by Hilary's power suits of the 90s.

R261 I think she is a Rockefeller Republican with libertarian views.

There wasn't enough sex in it so the teens switched off

I just watched a creaky1985 episode called 'Widow, Weep for Me'.

It's supposed to be located at some tropical resort called Turtle Bay (in Hawaii or the Caribbean?).

Lansbury and some unimportant members of the cast were photographed in some windy locations with palm trees. But the more important guest stars (Cyd Charisse and Mel Ferrer) never left the studio backlot.