The Gambini family winery is the target of an organized crime takeover, and it’s up to Jessica to uncover who is behind the murder of a mafia hitman.
Season 4, Episode 17: A Very Good Year for Murder (February 28, 1988)
What happens?
In this episode, Jessica is visiting the Gambini family winery for the Gambini Patriarch’s 75th birthday compleanno. Don’t be fooled by all the Italian-ness in this episode: it actually takes place in California, where Jessica once spent a summer tutoring young Paul Gambini.
Who’s in it, outside of Angela Lansbury?
Eli Wallach plays Salvatore Gambini: The legendary screen veteran needs little introduction, bringing immense gravitas as the family patriarch. Horror and cult fans will fondly remember him as Detective Lou Beradino in The Sentinel as well as iconic turns in westerns like The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
Ina Balin plays Stella Gambini: Best known for her dramatic television work and film roles such as From the Terrace alongside Paul Newman, and genre television appearances including The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and Night Gallery.
Billy Zane plays Tony Gambini: Long before he was the ultimate cinematic villain Cal Hockley in Titanic or playing The Phantom, Zane was cutting his teeth on TV. Genre buffs know him well from cult classics like Demon Knight and Dead Calm.
Thomas Byrd plays Paul Gambini: A familiar face on 1980s television, Byrd appeared in various prime-time dramas.
Kristian Alfonso plays Michele Gambini: A true soap opera royalty, Alfonso is best known for playing Hope Williams in close to 4,000 episodes of Days of Our Lives.
John Saxon plays Marco Gambini: A legendary cult cinema icon! Saxon starred in countless horror, action, and sci-fi masterpieces, including Bob Clark’s Black Christmas, Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street, Cannibal Apocalypse, Tenebrae and Bruce Lee’s Enter the Dragon.
Bibi Besch plays Fiona Gambini: A powerhouse character actress who appeared in numerous 1980s staples like Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, The Lonely Lady and The Beast Within.
Grant Goodeve plays Ben Skyler (a.k.a. Benito Soriano): Best known for playing oldest brother David Bradford on Eight Is Enough.
Arlen Dean Snyder as Police Chief Thaddius Kyle: A ubiquitous 1980s character actor whose genre credentials include being in Marked for Death.
Robert O’Reilly as Stephen Ridgely: Future cult royalty! While he plays a normal human here, O’Reilly is forever immortalized in science fiction history as the fan-favorite, wild-eyed Klingon Chancellor Gowron in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
Smaller roles are played by John Mooney, Paul Luell, Jeff Albery and Rob Zapple.
What happens?
Jessica heads out to Sonoma County for wine, sun and Salvatore Gambini’s 75th birthday. Things take a dark turn when a trap meant to kill the old man accidentally injures his grandson Tony instead. Yes, turns out that someone sawed right through the wine cellar steps.
Soon, granddaughter Michele’s smooth-talking boyfriend Ben Skyler turns up dead in the cellar, poisoned with some very good wine. What a way to go, right?
Jessica starts sniffing around the corks and barrels, realizing the mob might be involved, but the truth leads right back to the head of the table.
Who did it?
Ben was killed by the Gambini family patriarch, Salvatore himself! The young lover was actually a contract killer sent to take out Salvatore. Salvatore, terminally ill and playing a dangerous Thanatos Gambit, originally invited him there, but when the hitman nearly killed his grandson instead, Papa Wolf snapped and poisoned the guy.
Who made it?
This episode was directed by Seymour Robbie and written by Wendy Graf and Lisa Stotsky.
Does Jessica dress up and act stupid? Does she get some?
She sports some fantastic casual California winery wear—like a cowgirl—but she certainly doesn’t act stupid. That said, she does play dumb at the end when she decides to wipe her memory clean of a confession! As for getting some? Jessica only has eyes for a fine glass of vintage and the sweet taste of vigilante-adjacent justice.
Was it any good?
It’s a fascinating character study masquerading as a cozy mystery. It gives us a rare glimpse into Jessica’s flexible morality. She’s totally fine with covering up a murder and letting a dying old man walk free with the local police chief’s complicity. Plus, getting to see a young Billy Zane and a pre-Klingon Robert O’Reilly mingling with Eli Wallach is top-tier guest-star casting.
Any trivia?
The P.D. James novel Jessica refers to in this episode is A Taste of Death. Fitting for being at a winery/Italian birthday party.
Give me a reasonable quote:
Salvatore Gambini: Everybody dies. It’s what you do before you die that’s important.
What’s next?
The death of a hoarder shut-in brings the burden of executing her will to Jessica. How does the legend that Benedict Arnold once lived in the woman’s house and a possible treasure fit into the puzzle?
