When Seth’s estranged brother is murdered, Jessica must figure out if a cursed ruby from India is responsible.
Season 4, Episode 14: Curse of the Daanau (February 7, 1988)
It turns out that our favorite Cabot Cove doctor, Dr. Seth Hazlitt, has a brother named Richard whom he’s been estranged from for the past 30 years. Well, maybe not for long.
Who’s in it, outside of Angela Lansbury and William Windom?
Jane Badler as Alice Hazlitt: Richard’s young, devoted wife. Badler is an absolute legend for genre fans, best known globally as the villainous Supreme Leader Diana in the landmark sci-fi television miniseries and series V (1983–1985), as well as her role in the 2009 V reboot.
Richard Bradford as Richard Hazlitt: Seth’s wealthy, estranged brother. Bradford is best remembered as the gritty secret agent McGill in the cult 1960s British espionage series Man in a Suitcase.
Douglas Barr (Mark Hazlitt): Best known to television audiences for his fan-favorite role as stuntman and sidekick Howie Munson in the hit 1980s action series The Fall Guy, as well as playing Colonel Bill Stillfield on Designing Women. Horror fans also recognize him from his feature film debut in Wes Craven’s chilling cult slasher Deadly Blessing.
Kabir Bedi as Vikram Singh: Connected to the ruby’s mysterious history and government acquisition. Bedi is an international screen icon who famously played the villain Gobinda in the James Bond film Octopussy and the Italian pirate hero Sandokan.
J.D. Cannon as Lt. Ames: The local investigator is completely convinced Jessica is a deep-cover federal spy. Cannon was a familiar face on classic television, well-known for his role as Chief Peter Clifford in the long-running crime drama McCloud.
Larry Linville (Lt. Steven Ames): Universally beloved and immortalized by television history for his definitive portrayal of the pompous, neurotic Major Frank Burns on the landmark military comedy M*A*S*H*. Genre fans also spot him popping up in classic anthology and sci-fi series like Night Gallery and Kolchak: The Night Stalker.
Clive Revill (Bert Davies): A prolific stage and screen veteran with an incredible genre footprint, famously providing the original vocal performance of the ultimate cinematic villain Emperor Palpatine in Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back, voicing Kickback in The Transformers: The Movie and appearing in classic horror and fantasy television.
Jane Windsor (Alice Davies Hazlitt): A versatile television actress recognized for her work across popular network dramas and daytime series, including recurring roles on Days of Our Lives as Emma Donovan, alongside guest appearances on 21 Jump Street and Murder, She Wrote.
Smaller roles are played by Kres Mersky, Michael McNab, Michael Blue, Robert Buckingham, Larry Carr, Cindy Cavallero, Marcello Clay, Ken Clayton, Dotty Ertel, Camille, Hagen, Sam Haggin, Kathryn Janssen, Paul LeClair and Walter Smith.
What happens?
The episode starts with Seth and Jessica in Washington, D.C., having made a trip there to confer with their congressman, as you do. And rather than go right back to Cabot Cove, they detour to Maryland, where they’ve been invited to a polo match—of course! The invitation was supposed to have been from Richard, but they soon find out that it was all down to Richard’s new and much younger bride, Alice.
Just as Seth and Richard have finally made amends over the fact that the girl Seth was in love with many years ago had married Richard instead, tragedy strikes involving a legendary Indian ruby known as the Daanav. The cursed jewel is said to bring misfortune to anyone who wears it if they are not of pure heart. Alice nearly suffocates in a running car inside a sealed garage, and hours later, Richard is found murdered in his study with the door locked from the inside.
Jessica must look past the smokescreen of ancient curses and government agents to uncover the truth behind the murder in the Maryland estate.
Who did it?
The killer is Mr. Davies, Richard’s father-in-law, who believed that his daughter Alice would be better off inheriting Richard’s immense wealth rather than living as a trophy wife. The clever mechanical solution to the locked room murder involves using a spent cigarette dipped in or stabilized with tar to hold the door latch open while the killer makes their escape, allowing the cigarette to burn down until the bolt naturally drops into place.
Who made it?
Another episode directed by Walter Grauman and written by Chris Manheim.
Does Jessica dress up and act stupid? Does she get some?
No to all of these, but everyone thinks that Jessica is married to Seth. Seth is not happy about that.
Was it any good?
It’s good!
Any trivia?
Although this episode explicitly establishes Richard Hazlitt, his son Mark, and his daughter Caroline as Seth’s only living relatives, Dr. Hazlitt is later revealed in subsequent seasons to have several cousins living on a plantation down south in Dixie.
A running comedic beat throughout the episode features Lt. Ames being entirely unable to accept that Cabot Cove is a real place, firmly believing that Jessica is an undercover operative. Even when Jessica tries to clarify, Seth accidentally re-fuels the misunderstanding by reminding her about an upcoming meeting with an “agent from Moscow.”
Give me a reasonable quote:
Jessica Fletcher: Seth Hazlitt, you are a monument to mulishness.
What’s next?
Jessica is summoned to Savannah to help a friend with his play and receives an unexpected marriage proposal. Even more surprised are the man’s plotting family.
