Murder, She Wrote: Complete Series 10/1/13 (1 Viewer)

[jimmyjet]

in stage struck - julian killed barbara because she was blackmailing him.

but i could not figure out what for ?

btw, donny most was fine in happy days, but i dont think he has any real acting ability.

like sellleck, they tend to stick out like a sore thumb, instead of blending into the character they are supposed to be portraying.

 

[Matt Hough]

in stage struck - julian killed barbara because she was blackmailing him.

but i could not figure out what for ?

I rewatched this episode at lunchtime today. Barbara was blackmailing Julian to do the play with her or she'd reveal the existence of the love child he and his former wife had and gave away before they were married (she had the birth certificate and was using that as leverage).

As with many of the episodes from the early seasons, the ending was bittersweet for Jessica. Quite different in the later seasons when every single episode ended on a freeze frame of Jessica with a huge, happy grin on her face.

 

[jimmyjet]

thanks matt,

that's right - she did have the birth certificate.

they never did reveal who the child was - thought sure that was gonna come to bear, in some way.

 

[jimmyjet]

captain janeway appeared before she boarded voyager !!

the only thing i did not like about this is that if you were paying attention, it was obvious that the guy pick-pocketed something.

sorta giving away too much too early.

however the worse part is that the look that i saw in jessica, was that she was aware that it happened.

i was expecting her to alert one of the crew at that point that a possible theft had occurred. and wondered why she did not ?

it simply did not seem correct to me.

also, it stretched my imagination too far that janeway would have been romantically interested in the guy that she killed.

 

[jimmyjet]

wally cleaver was in this one, and even got arrested !!

i could not tell about his acting, as his part wasnt big enough.

jessica was in bed throughout the show - i am guessing she had some small physical problem that kept her from walking around.

could have been something as silly as a sprained ankle ?

 

[Matt Hough]

I remember that episode - sort of a variation on Sorry, Wrong Number.

 

[Ron1973]

wally cleaver was in this one, and even got arrested !!

i could not tell about his acting, as his part wasnt big enough.

jessica was in bed throughout the show - i am guessing she had some small physical problem that kept her from walking around.

could have been something as silly as a sprained ankle ?

Tony Dow was also on a S1 episode of Emergency! playing a looter.

 

[Matt Hough]

captain janeway appeared before she boarded voyager !!

the only thing i did not like about this is that if you were paying attention, it was obvious that the guy pick-pocketed something.

sorta giving away too much too early.

however the worse part is that the look that i saw in jessica, was that she was aware that it happened.

i was expecting her to alert one of the crew at that point that a possible theft had occurred. and wondered why she did not ?

it simply did not seem correct to me.

also, it stretched my imagination too far that janeway would have been romantically interested in the guy that she killed.

I rewatched this tonight. I liked it far more than you did. I found it devilishly clever for two different crimes to be committed and that Jessica inevitably had to solve especially the jewel robbery and its TWO perpetrators. I didn't think the pickpocketing was THAT obvious, but remember that Murder, She Wrote always plays fair with clues. Sharp-eyed viewers are always a step ahead of everyone else. Why not congratulate yourself for noticing instead of condemning the show for offering a clue for viewers. I didn't notice Jessica noticing the lifting of the jewel case. I saw her watching the heiress at the stairwell going back and forth that did seem overly suspicious.

As for the heiress falling for the chauffeur/bodyguard, he was nice looking and a reasonably husky guy and was probably very good in bed (seemed to be a gigolo so bedroom skills would have been his forte). I'm not sure love or romance mattered to her as much as possessiveness: he was hers bought and paid for and when he started messing around with someone else to further his career, she wasn't about to be two-timed by the likes of him.

 

[jimmyjet]

hi matt,

i am not condemning the episode - LOL. i enjoyed it.

my first impression was that jessica saw the pickpocket - this was my biggest complaint about this episode. followed closely by its apparency.

but i disagree that msw is quick at giving out clues. in fact, this is about the first time that i can recall it so.

like any good detective show, they deliberately give out "clues" that are supposed to misdirect us. and they do that well.

i always figure that whatever they want me to think, i better think something else !!

i understand why she killed him. that comes as no surprise, once you find out what sort of person she is.

but i just dont see her being interested in him, in the first place.

anyways, that is just my two cents on this particular episode.

 

[jimmyjet]

murder in a minor key -

i found the format to be very interesting - jessica narrating.

something must be keeping her from being physically active ?

hi matt,

now the extremely obvious (at the beginning) suspect was odo. had he turned out to be the guilty party, i would have been disappointed.

but as typical, he was not guilty. and without knowing that a phone call was never placed, one could not come up with any sort of good guess about the actual murderer, which is what i have seen typical of the show.

it keeps you thinking, which i think is imperative in a "who done it" type of show.

never heard of jennifer holmes, but i thought she had a very pretty face.

 

[jimmyjet]

star trek is getting its fair share of representation.

janeway, odo, and now sulu

the voice of the policeman was so distinctive, but i could not recall him

and then it occurred to me - the coach of the basketball team in one tree hill

he was so much younger looking on msw.

 

[Matt Hough]

star trek is getting its fair share of representation.

janeway, odo, and now sulu

the voice of the policeman was so distinctive, but i could not recall him

and then it occurred to me - the coach of the basketball team in one tree hill

he was so much younger looking on msw.

Twenty-five years has a way of doing that to you.

That was a pretty good episode with a nice array of guest stars.

Over the course of its twelve seasons and four TV-movies, there are lots of actors from the worlds of the various Treks who guest-starred.

 

[jimmyjet]

yea, there are just tons of guest stars.

this show is different in that there are not many regulars. so most of the actors in any episode are guest stars.

and grady, seth, and amos are not in lots of the episodes, which only leaves jessica.

 

[jimmyjet]

death takes a dive

geordi was in this one. now that i think about it, janeway and odo had not yet come alive when they guest starred !!

i was liking this show quite a bit, and then realized it was longer than usual. but it ended with 71 minutes. the usual show lasts 40-45 minutes, i think ?

so it was not long enough to make up 2 shows.

and no mention of it being anything other than 1 episode.

just like with the twilight zone, i liked this longer episode. if well written, it allows for more to be done.

in any case, i think jerry orbach is a very good actor. no matter where i see him, he always seems to do well. although he does tend to play a particular type of personality most often.

i also see the police captain in lots of character roles - and always seem to like him.

 

[FanCollector]

It was aired on CBS as a 90-minute episode. The producers were looking ahead to a possible spinoff for Orbach's character and the additional running time allowed them to give him more character moments in the show. It seemed to work, as CBS picked up The Law and Harry McGraw for the following season.

 

[Matt Hough]

Yes, this was the show's one ninety-minute episode. In syndication, to get it to a 50-minute running time, they cut out some scenes that, while not making complete hash of the plotting and clues, greatly reduces this episode's effectiveness.

Angela must have liked the actor who played Geordi because he shows up in various guest star roles several more times during the run of the show.

 

[jimmyjet]

i guess others must also think orbach is a good actor. i see he has a lot of credits, both movie and tv.

i think levar burton did a good job with geordi, and others that i have seen.

and i do not think it was a coincidence that levar burton and john amos were together again !!

i think roots was the first time i can recall seeing burton.

 

[jimmyjet]

Simon Says, Color Me Dead

a couple of may-december marriages in this one !!

this is one of my favorite ones, so far.

i dont know that the "who done it" was any better than typical.

but the story tended to pull at the heartstrings more, at least for me.

i especially liked the acting of irene rutledge.

btw, with the very last sentence of jessica, i did take it that cash was indeed the father ?

they sorta left that a bit open-ended.

 

[Matt Hough]

No question that Cash was the father even if he only suggested it MIGHT be the case. Jessica's advice to Amos pretty much made it clear that this was the case.

Lots of famous faces in this episode: Diane Baker, Leonard Frey, Dick Sargent, Foster Brooks, Tess Harper, and one of the few times Jessica almost names the wrong murderer.

 

[jimmyjet]

i dont often know the names of some of these actors.

but this episode had a Geoffrey Lewis in it.

i have seen him so many times.

and he always cracks me up.

i think he is a wonderful actor.

is he considered good by the acting industry ?

i cant recall anything specific, but he must be in lots of stuff ?