Jessica goes to visit relatives and ends up mixed up with a nasty scheme involving a theme park creator.

Season 1, Episode 7: We’re Off to Kill the Wizard (December 9, 1984)

Tonight on Murder, She Wrote…

Horatio Baldwin, the inventor of a theme park, invites Jessica, her niece and her nicce’s children to see his latest rides. He wants to make an entire park of Jessica’s books, but then gets murdered.

Who’s in it, outside of Angela Lansbury, and were they in any exploitation movies?

Horatio Baldwin is played by James Coco, whose acting career had led to an Emmy Award, a Drama Desk Award, a Cable ACE Award and three Obie Awards, as well as nominations for a Tony Award, an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards.

His wife Erica is played by Christine Belford, who was also in Christine, tons of TV and three other episodes of this show.

Laurie Bascomb was played by Kim Darby, who you should have seen in Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark and gotten killed by The Shape in Halloween VI. She also says a line in Better Off Dead that I repeat all the time: “French fries, French dressing, French bread and to drink — ta-da! — Peru!”

Michael Gardner is George DiCenzo, who was the voice of Hordak and Captain Lou Albano in cartoons.

Nils Highlander is Gene Evans, Papa Doc from Devil Times Five.

Arnold Megrin is Richard Sanders, better known as Less Nessman from WKRP In Cincinati.

The cops, Captain Davis and Detective Donovan, are played by John Schuck from McMilan and Wife and James Stephens, who was Father Philip Prestwick on Father Dowling Mysteries. 

Kristoffer Tabori, who played Phillip Tabori, is the son of Viveca Lindfors and director Don Siegel. He’s also directed a series of movies called Murder, She Baked.

Smaller parts include Carol Donovan as Anne Kerry Ford, Eric Server as Ned O’Brien, two of the Phoenix siblings — Joaquin and Summer — show up, Harry G. Sanders from Killer of Sheep and Child’s Play 3 is a skycap, Vince Howard is in the first of five extra roles on the show, Laura Leyva is a clerk and Ivan Saric, Jack Molina from The Howling, is in the cast.

What happens?

Jess is in Chicago, visiting her niece, when Horrible Horatio shows up. He owns several theme parks and he wants her to design a haunted house and then to make an entire park around her books. She turns him down and he treats his employees badly, ending when he locks himself in his office and is soon killed.

In normal Murder, She Wrote murder fashion, a gun goes off, someone hears it and shows up to discover what looks like a suicide.

As you can already figure out, everyone wanted Horatio dead. Michael Gardner, an assistant, and his wife Erica, were having an affair. He was horrible to Laurie the secretary, who at least has Jessica as an alibi, but he was also blackmailing Laurie, so the police have a motive.

Who did it?

Philip Carlson, who had an argument and accidentally killed his boss. That said, he killed a bunch of other people to cover it up.

Who made it?

Walter Grauman directed tons of TV, including The Old Man Who Cried Wolf, V and 50+ episodes of this show.

Series creator Peter S. Fischer and Gerald K. Siegel wrote the story and Fischer wrote the screenplay.

Some facts…

James Coco and Angela Lansbury made their respective Broadway debuts in playwright George Feydeau’s Hotel Paradiso.

Yes, that is future star Jocquin Phoenix along with his sister.

Does Jessica get some?

No.

Does Jessica dress up and act stupid?

No.

Was it any good?

This establishes something that we will know by the of this series: Jessica has relative everywhere and when she shows up, someone dies.

Give me a reasonable quote:

Horatio Baldwin: My dear Mrs. Fletcher, how good of you to come.

Jessica Fletcher: How could I refuse? I had two loaded children pointed at my head.

What’s next?

Jessica goes to the ballet and someone dies.