Jessica gets involved when her niece, Victoria, is believed to be connected to the murder of her lecherous boss.

Season 3, Episode 5: Corned Beef and Carnage (November 2, 1986)

Jessica’s planned get-together with her niece Victoria (Genie Francis, last seen in season 1’s “Birds of a Feather“) and her husband Howard goes bad when the murder of Victoria’s ex-boss, Larry Kinkaid, happens, and Victoria is the prime suspect.

Who’s in it, outside of Angela Lansbury (and Genie Francis)?

Christine Clifford is played by Susan Anton, Susan Williams from Cliffhangers!

Warren Berlinger — the second actor in this other than Anton to be in a Cannonball Run film — is Jim Ingram.

Kenickie himself, Jeff Conaway, plays Howard Griffin. He was also in  season 1’s “Birds of a Feather.”

Peter Haskell was in Child’s Play 2 and 3. He’s Leland Biddle in this show.

Larry Dallas, is that you? Yes. It’s Richard Kline from Three’s Company as Larry Kinkaid.

As for Myron Kinkaid, that’s Maude’s husband, Bill Macy.

The law in this story, Lt. Spoletti, is James Sloyan. 

David Ogden Stiers was in three episodes of this show and one TV movie. All different roles; this time, he’s Aubrey Thornton.

Grover Barth is a wild name. That character is Ken Swofford.

Polly Barth is played by The Simpsons voice and Bob Newhart Show cast member Marcia Wallace.

Smaller roles are played by Ted Smile, Paul King, Marleta Giles, David Starwalt, Russ Fega and Phil Rubenstein.

What happens?

Howard and Victoria both work for Mr. Kinkaid and hate it. They haven’t told one another, because they want the best for their spouses. But when Kinkaid wants Victoria to sleep with a client, she decides enough is enough. Soon, Kinkaid is killed with an award — one he didn’t earn, but his employees did –, and she’s the top suspect.

Jessica Fletcher visits you and people die.

But hey — I’ve worked in advertising. I’ve had bosses like Kinkaid. So I’m not surprised someone takes him out. But who?

Who did it?

Aubrey Thornton, who does what everyone else really wanted to do.

Who made it?

This was directed by John Llewellyn Moxey and written by Robert E. Swanson.

Does Jessica dress up and act stupid?

No. This makes me upset, as how is she going to get some if she doesn’t put on her drunk outfit or do an accent?

Was it any good?

It’s alright. A bad Murder, She Wrote is like pizza. No matter what, it’s still pizza.

Any trivia?

David Ogden Stiers and Angela Lansbury worked together in Beauty and the Beast as Cogsworth and Mrs. Potts.

This case is mentioned in S4 E3 “Witness for the Defense.”

Give me a reasonable quote:

Lt. Spoletti: Why is it I always figure gorgeous blondes are lying to me?

What’s next?

A group of young treasure hunters comes to Cabot Cove looking for sunken treasure, and one of them ends up dead. Also: Leslie Neisen comes back, and the sexual tension between him and Angela Lansbury is volcanic. Will they finally pound it out? Come back next week.

Thanks to everyone who voted on what horror anthology I should get to next. I only finished the first season of Tales from the Darkside, so that seems to be a good one to cover. 

Let’s just say that the U.S. government has taken Hoffgosh (Claudia Templeton, whose career is a mix of acting in low-budget movies and being an accountant on them), an alien who holds the secret to nuclear fusion and can’t communicate with him. Who would you get? How about nightclub impressionist Spiffy Remo (Chuck McCann)?

The interesting part of this episode is that, after failing so many times to impersonate the alien’s language and build a bond, Spiffy finally does. That comes at the cost of caring about his stage material, as after you meet an alien and pull off a miracle, doing hack jokes for drunk gamblers just isn’t the same.

Jack Andreozzi, Tony from Lady In White, is in this as nightclub owner Pudgy; Bobby Di Cicco and Gene Borkan play the government scientists. This was directed by Armand Mastroianni (The Clairvoyant, He Knows You’re Alone, The Supernaturals) and written by Haskell Barkin (who was on this, Monsters and the 1980s Twilight Zone) and was based on a story by M. Coleman Easton.

While attending a concert in Washington, D.C., Jessica gets involved with two East German defectors and a murder.

Season 3, Episode 4: One White Rose for Death (October 19, 1986)

This is the second of seven appearances of the character Michael Hagarty (Len Cariou), an Irish spy who is 100% letting his fingers do the walking right into JB’s granny panties.

Who’s in it, outside of Angela Lansbury (and Len Carious)?

Margo Claymore is played by Jenny Agutter, who was in I Start Counting, An American Werewolf In London (which explains my nurse fetish) and Logan’s Run. 

Michael Anderson Jr. — who was also in Logan’s Run — is Dr. Lynch.

First Secretary Henry Claymore is played by Tony Bonner, who was in Dead Sleep with Linda Blair. 

Col. Gerhardt Brunner is played by Eric Braeden, Victor Newman to your grandmother.

Andrew Wyckham? That’s Bernard Fox from Hogan’s Heroes.

Franz Mueller is John Glover, one of my favorite character actors.

Grea Mueller is Maria Mayenzet.

In minor roles, Warwick Sims is Jack Kendall; Julian Barnes is a British sergeant; and Larry Carr, Dan Cotter, Laura Gile, Kathryn Janssen, and George Sasaki play theatergoers; Walter Smith is a driver; and Jim Painter is a security guard.

What happens?

Jessica goes to the concert of violinist Greta and pianist Franz Mueller, along with so many of the upper crust, including the former prime minister of England. Franz is kind of a jerk, but Greta tells Jessica that she learned English from her books.

Meanwhile, Michael Hagarty is acting like a reporter and bringing Jessica in on his assignment. You can only imagine how moist she is, a writer from New England untouched by a man in years, now working alongside this rogue. 

It turns out that the Muellers were about to defect, and Michael was there to help. As it goes badly, he’s shot in the arm, which has to make Jessica’s plumbing go into overdrive, a dangerous man spending so much time with her.

When they go to the embassy to regroup, Michael’s partner, Jack Kendall, is stabbed. So they say. Jessica knows the truth. He was poisoned. And it turns out that the white rose he’s holding refers to a spy caper they engaged in years ago.

Who did it?

Wyckham. He’s the one who screwed up Michael and Jack’s mission all those years ago. He also murdered Geoffrey, the man who was supposed to go to the theater with Jessica, so he could get close enough to the Prime Minister. When he saw Jack, he decided to kill him before he could be spotted.

Oh yeah, I forgot. Great goes back to Communism, and her brother stays in America.

Who made it?

This was directed by Peter Crane and written by series creator Peter S. Fischer.

Does Jessica dress up and act stupid?

No, but she does dress up for the concert.

Was it any good?

Sure! I enjoy the Michael Hagarty episodes.

Any trivia?

Larry Carr, a background character in this, appeared in 13 episodes of the show and in minor parts in nearly every major TV detective show of the 1970s. In the early 60s, he went to Brazil to make movies and played Bond in 007 1/2 no Carnaval.

After Angela Lansbury’s death, Len Cariou said, “She was a great artist. I know she’s with Peter now, her husband, who I think she missed terribly. She said to me on her last birthday, a year ago, “It’s just silly being this old.””

Give me a reasonable quote:

Jessica Fletcher: Michael, you are going to help her, aren’t you?

Michael Hagarty: A sweet young thing like that, Jessica? We’re already working on it.

What’s next?

Jessica gets involved when her niece, Victoria, is believed to be connected to the murder of her lecherous boss. Susan Anton is in this one.

A retired policeman decides to re-examine an old case and returns to the lakeside cabins where the murder occurred, gathering all the old suspects together.

Season 3, Episode 3: Unfinished Business (October 12, 1986)

Lt. Kale keeps trying to retire, and crime keeps bringing him back. Now, he wants to solve one last crime, the death of his partner Lowell Dixon, before he retires forever.

Who’s in it, outside of Angela Lansbury?

Dr. Terence Mayhew is played by Lloyd Bochner, one of the few stars on this show who was also in Mr. No Legs. 

Tom Bosley, as is normal, plays Sheriff Amos Tupper.

Sheriff McCoy is played by J.D. Cannon.

Jake Sanford is played by Don DeFore.

Lt. Kale is Pat Hingle, who was Commissioner Gordon in the Burton Batman movies.

Hayley Mills! Wow! She’s Cynthia Tate.

Erin Moran, too! She plays Maggie Roberts.

Dr. Seth is, as always, played by William Windom.

Gary Roberts is Erich Anderson, Rob in Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter. Yes, the guy who yells, “He’s killing me!”

In minor roles, Phillip Clark is a deputy, William Mims plays the mayor, and James Bartz is another deputy. Connie Sawyer is Ethel, Armand Cerami is a searcher, Conrad Hurtt is a cop, and Ken Clayton, Dan Cotter, Len Fleber, Betty Jeanna Glennie, Robert Hitchcock, Sam Nickens and Monty O’Grady are party goers.

What happens?

After Lowell Dixon’s case is reopened, one of the suspects from years ago — DR. SETH WHAT IS HAPPENING!?! — disappears. When Jessica talks Sheriff Tupper into looking for him, just as Tupper is probably glad that there’s one less dick in glass out of his way of pruning JB’s secret garden. Then, another man. Mr. Roberts is killed as well.

Just as Kale decides to retire, he wants to prove that his partner was killed, and he keeps blaming Seth. But could Seth have drowned a man? They call Kale Supercop, yet Jessica starts seeing through him pretty quickly. 

Who did it?

Kale. But why did he reopen a case when he knew he was the murderer? We never find out. 

Who made it?

This was directed by Walter Grauman and written by Jackson Gillis, who wrote plenty of Columbo TV movies and episodes, as well as episodes of Superman, The Millionaire, Perry Mason and more.

Does Jessica dress up and act stupid?

No. She doesn’t get any either. If Seth had been taken out, however, she would have been pursued even more by Amos.

Was it any good?

Yes. I like when the people of the town we know and love get accused. After Harry Pierce ended up being a murderer, it feels like anything can happen.

Any trivia?

Tom Bosley and Erin Moran were father and daughter on Happy Days. 

Give me a reasonable quote:

Ret. Lt. Det. Barney Kale: Lowell Dixon was a sanctimonious do-gooder. He caught me doing a few favors for the wrong people. I’d been operating like that for years. Nothing serious, you know. Just a little you-do-for-me, I-do-for-you. It got results, but it violated his Puritan sensibilities. He was gonna bring charges against me. I would have been dismissed. And ten years ago, Mrs. Fletcher, I was not ready to be dismissed. Dixon was a very religious man. Always talking about getting to heaven. And I just simply helped him on his way.

What’s next?

While attending a concert in Washington, D.C., Jessica gets involved with two East German defectors and a murder. Jenny Agutter is in it!

One murder leads to another as Jessica finds herself chasing down false alibis and the employees of a rival circus.

Season 3, Episode 2: Death Stalks the Big Top: Part 2 (October 5, 1986)

Jessica’s long-missing brother-in-law, Neil Fletcher, who has been working under an alias with the Carmody Circus, has confessed to the murder of circus manager Hank Sutter. Jessica is convinced that Neil is innocent and that he is covering up for somebody else.

Who’s in it, outside of Angela Lansbury?

The same cast as the first part!

Martin Balsam plays Edgar Carmody, circus owner.

Jackie Cooper as Carl Schulman or Neil Fletcher.

Alex Cord plays Preston Bartholomew. Maybe you know him from Airwolf.

Carol, JB’s niece, is a pre-Friends Courtney Cox.

Charlie McCallum is played by Joey Cramer, star of Flight of the Navigator. Not Joey Kramer from Aerosmith.

Mayor Powers? It’s Ronny Cox! The Old Man from OCP!

Constance Fletcher, JB’s sister-in-law, is played by Larraine Day.

BJ and the Bear star Greg Evigan is Brad Kaneally.

Florence Henserson shows up as Maria Morgana.

Sheriff Lynn Childs, the law around these parts, is played by Gregg Henry (Body Double).

Hank and Maylene Sutter? That’s Charles Napier and Lee Purcell! YEAH!

Mark Shera from Barnaby Jones is in this role as Raymond Carmody.

Pamela Susan Shoop from Halloween 2! She is Katie McCallum in this episode. Let’s all praise her.

Daniella Morgana Carmody? That’s Barbara Stock from I, Desire.

In more minor roles, Harry Kingman plays Joe Dorsey, Audrey and Howard Bannister are played by Dennis Howard and Susan Brown, Ken Sansom is Bert, Robin Bach is Mark John Alvin is Mr. Tucker, James R. Parkes is cop, Virginia Peters is a ticket seller, Rob Monroe is Alex, Michael Dunnagan is Clyde, T. Lee Griffin is a townsman, Bill Baker is a circus worker, Robert Cole is a townsman, Conrad Hurtt is a polie officer, Sam Nickens is a circus worker, Greg Norberg is another officer, Harry Stephens is Neal and Harry Woolf plays Maria’s driver.

What happens?

We learn a lot about the characters in this. Daniela and Raymond would rather stay at the circus than be rich. Carl (or Neil Fletcher) would rather be a clown than live under the thumb of his wife. Edgar Carmody still runs a circus because he only has one year to live. The Mayor wants to be the Mayor more than solve the case.

Young Charlie’s bat was used, so Neil thinks he has to take the rap, not realizing that the bat was stolen by Hank. Neil sees a lot of himself in the kid and wants to protect his mom and himself. In fact, he’s willing to go to jail or the chair for them.

Oh man, this is all over the place, and all Jessica wants to do is go to a wedding. But she wants to save Neil, inform her niece that he’s still alive and do it all without someone trying to kill her with a tiger or fire.

Who did it?

The reason Hank was killed was that he saw Preston committing an act of sabotage. Preston ends up being the killer.

Who made it?

Just like the first episode, it was directed by Seymour Robbie and written by Paul Savage, based on a story by series creator Peter S. Fischer.

Does Jessica dress up and act stupid?

No, Jessica did all her stupid dress-up in the first episode. If this were in a later season, she totally would have been dressed as a clown. And despite her remarking that Neil looks like her dead husband, they don’t hook up.

Was it any good?

Yes!

Any trivia?

There were four two-parters: “The Murder of Sherlock Holmes,””Mirror, Mirror on the Wall,” and “Nan’s Ghost.”

Give me a reasonable quote:

Jessica Fletcher: I’m sorry, but you have about as much right to conduct a police investigation as… Jack the Ripper.

What’s next?

A retired policeman decides to re-examine an old case and returns to the lakeside cabins where the murder occurred, gathering all the old suspects together. They include Hayley Mills, Erin Moran and Lloyd Bochner!

Directed by Dick McDonough (who also produced similar specials for Ronald Reagan, John Wayne, Elizabeth Taylor, Lucille Ball, Joan Collins, Clint Eastwood, Frank Sinatra, Carol Burnett and Ingrid Bergman) and written by Paul Keyes, this originally aired on December 13, 1981 on CBS.

Burt has been voted Variety Club’s Man of the Year, and that means that all of Hollywood — old and new, as well as several country stars — have gathered to pay tribute. In 1981, Burt was on top of the world, between Cannonball Run and Sharky’s Machine. We won’t mention Paternity.

Dolly Parton shows up to sing a song she wrote for Burt, just after they appeared in The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas together. Old Hollywood appears, as Jimmy Stewart and Jack Lemmon give touching speeches. Jackie Gleason appears as Sheriff Buford T. Justice. Jerry Reed sings “Eastbound and Down” while saying hello to people in the audience; no lip synch, he’s actually singing and pausing to have conversations. Also: Everyone else is in black tie formal. Jerry is all denim.

At the end, Burt looks into the audience and sees Dinah Shore, his one-time love, and asks her to sing for him. With Jack Lemmon on piano, she performs “The Glory of Love,” and it’s a moment of raw authenticity in a moment where celebrity culture was all fawning. This is real.

You get Madeline Kahn, Kris Kristofferson, Dom DeLuise, Jim Neighbors, Loni Anderson, Hal Needham, Charles Nelson Reilly, Monty Hall and so many others. A magical evening that would have been the dream of 9-year-old me, the highlight is when Burt mentions rumors of an affair between himself and Charles Bronson, then the camera cuts to Bronson, looking unamused and not wanting to be there, stuck in a suit while Jill Ireland shines, looking gorgeous. Magical! Topped only by Brian Keith drunkenly getting up for a toast and Henry Silva looking like a movie bad guy, speaking from the heart.

The only downer is that almost everyone on this is dead. I used to watch old movies and think that. Now I’m watching TV specials from when I was a kid and man, now this all star party would be in whatever happens after this thing called life.

You can watch this on YouTube.

As a kid, Orson Welles was, to me, someone who showed up on talk shows. I had no idea why he was famous, that he was a genius, that Hollywood had taken him down, and he kept on making movies. 

This show would have made me think he was a magician. 

Originally airing on Showtime in 1978, this was conceived by Abb Dickson. A former President of IBM, he also had tons of Houdini’s original props. The son of a funeral home owner father and a personal secretary to Presidents Roosevelt and Truman mother, Dickson loved the trick The Disembodied Princess, which he first saw Orson Welles perform with his then-wife, Rita Hayworth, on a USO show. When Welles was making a TV special—unfinished—The Magic Show, he reached out to Dickson to get his Disembodied Princess prop. This led to a friendship that would last the rest of Welles’ life. There was one rule: “… the parameters of Welles’ friendship with Dickson included the unspoken rule that they were never to discuss his film career or, indeed, movies in general. It seems obvious that one of the reasons Welles surrounded himself with so many magicians late in his life is because their company provided a respite from the struggles he encountered in trying to put together film projects.”

I wish The Magic Show would be finished, as it has Welles performing a bullet trick that killed its original magician, and Welles does it alongside Angie Dickinson. You can learn more in this article. You can watch some of it here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TdKiH4_xhs&msockid=08a1089ad1a511f08d57a41bbcc532ca

As for Dickson, he also shows up in two Andy Sidaris movies, Malibu Express and Picasso Trigger. When it came to this show — you know, the one I started writing about several hundred words back there — the producers wanted a star to introduce it. Dickson said, “Well, how about Orson Welles?” He said, “You couldn’t get Orson Welles to do this!” I said, “Give me your phone.” I picked up the phone, I called Orson, I said, “Look, I’ve written this Magic Castle special…” Joe Butt is standing there with his mouth open. I said, “I need for you to do the introduction and the in-and-out. It will probably be one day of shooting, at the most two, and I’ve only got, I think, $25,000. Will you shoot this?” And he said, “Sure! But I get the extra film.” I said, “Okay, great.” I hung up the phone and said, “Okay, we got him.” Joe Butt was truly amazed.”

In the Senses of Cinema article I’ve referenced, the main reason Orson did this was to get tails of film to make his own movies. 

Disckson said, “One of Orson’s jobs – as he said – was making nickel and dime money doing all these commercials and little things so he could get the tail footage from the films. In other words, if you’re going to shoot a commercial and you order 500 feet of stock, he could do it in 100 feet. Then he would have 400 feet to deal with on his own.”

This special, directed by Tom Trbovich (who also directed the “We Are the World” video and Playboy’s Roller Disco & Pajama Party), features the following magicians:

Kuda Bux: Also known as Professor K.B. Duke, he was known for fire walking and the trick he does here: seeing with his eyes covered with paste and wrapped with cloth. Sadly, he eventually lost his eyesight to glaucoma.

Albert Goshman: A bagel baker from Brooklyn, he eventually became one of the world’s foremost makers of foam balls for magic. His coins-in-the-purse routine in this is incredible.

Peter Pit: This Dutch magician was a consultant to Siegfried and Roy and the booker of talent at the Magic Castle.

Ger Copper: The founder of the Dutch School of Magic.

Jay Marshall: The Dean of American Magicians and the first person to open for Frank Sinatra in Vegas.

As for The Magic Castle itself, it’s a performance venue, restaurant and clubhouse for the Academy of Magical Arts for magicians and magic enthusiasts.  Today, we may think of magic as silly, but as a kid, I dreamed of going there. Specials like this and TV movies like A Night at the Magic Castle are why. 70s TV culture was a different, less cynical thing for me, a place where I’d love to get to meet Dai Vernon and explore the secret areas of the Magic Castle.

You can watch this on YouTube.

When JB’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.

Season 3, Episode 1: Death Stalks the Big Top: Part 1 (September 26, 1986)

Jessica arrives three days before the wedding of her niece Carol Bannister, who is so sure that the silver leprechaun she receives among the wedding gifts is from her grandfather, Jessica’s late husband Frank’s brother Neil Fletcher, who is presumed dead. Got all that?

Who’s in it, outside of Angela Lansbury?

Oh wow — Martin Balsam plays Edgar Carmody!

Jackie Cooper as Carl Schulman!

Alex Cord plays Preston Bartholomew. Maybe you know him from Airwolf.

Carol, JB’s niece, is a pre-Friends Courtney Cox.

Charlie McCallum is played by Joey Cramer, star of Flight of the Navigator.

Mayor Powers? It’s Ronny Cox!

Constance Fletcher, JB’s sister-in-law, is played by Larraine Day.

BJ and the Bear star Greg Evigan is Brad Kaneally.

Star power? That’s what you get when you make it to three seasons and have a first episode two-part story. And that’s when Florence Henserson shows up as Maria Morgana.

Sheriff Lynn Childs, the law around these parts, is played by Gregg Henry (Body Double).

Hank and Maylene Sutter? That’s Charles Napier and Lee Purcell!

Mark Shera from Barnaby Jones is in this role as Raymond Carmody.

Pamela Susan Shoop from Halloween 2! She is Katie McCallum in this episode.

Daniella Morgana Carmody? That’s Barbara Stock from I, Desire.

In more minor roles, Harry Kingman plays Joe Dorsey, Audrey and Howard Bannister are played by Dennis Howard and Susan Brown, Ken Sansom is Bert, Robin Bach is Mark John Alvin is Mr. Tucker, James R. Parkes is cop, Virginia Peters is a ticket seller, Rob Monroe is Alex, Michael Dunnagan is Clyde, T. Lee Griffin is a townsman, Bill Baker is a circus worker, Robert Cole is a townsman, Conrad Hurtt is a polie officer, Sam Nickens is a circus worker, Greg Norberg is another officer, Harry Stephens is Neal and Harry Woolf plays Maria’s driver.

What happens?

It’s been five years since Jessica’s husband died, and five years before that, Frank’s brother Neil was killed in a car accident. Before that, at some point, Frank’s other brother also died in a car crash, which put Grady into his home to be raised. One imagines that he killed himself to stay away from Grady.

At the rich Bannister estate in Washington, D.C., JB is attending the wedding of her niece Carol Bannister. She’s also dealing with Neil’s widow, Constance, who makes everything about her. That’s why Carol asked JB to visit, because as we all know, the Fletcher family, other than Jessica, are all complete assholes.

Then a package arrives from Catlinburg, Arkansas. It’s a leprechaun, a message from Neil to Carol on the day of her wedding. Jessica does what any of us would. She takes a bus to the circus to see if Neil is there. I mean, of course, he is, and he’s Jackie Cooper, bringing more Old Hollywood to the show.

There, she meets high-wire act Katie, equestrian Maylene and her husband, Hank Sutter, who is a total carny scumbag. Everyone else is just a carny. He wants to get with Katie, while his son Charlie intends to set him up with hot guy, Brad. And then there’s this fashion heiress Danielle, who runs the circus with her husband, Raymond, and she’s been sleeping with Hank as well.

If you’ve been watching this show, you know that Hank has to die.

In between all that, we learn that yes, Neil did fake his death, and he’s now Blinky the Clown. Jessica decides to sneak in to find Neil. And then, as you can guess, Hank is stomped to death by an elephant (or beaten with a baseball bat). So many people hated Hank, and now, one of them has killed him. But why does Neil take the fall? Who is he protecting?

Who did it?

We won’t find out this week.

Who made it?

This was directed by Seymour Robbie. It was written by Paul Savage, based on a story by series creator Peter S. Fischer.

Does Jessica dress up and act stupid?

Yes. Oh yes, JB dresses as Emmaline Polsby of Polsby’s General Store and Dry Goods in Pullman City, with a watermelon straw hat and giant sunglasses. Plus, she has a southern accent!

Was it any good?

Yes. I’m excited for part two.

Any trivia?

The same circus tents were used for Big Top Pee-Wee.

Give me a reasonable quote:

Maria Morgana: Love and loyalty. How admirable. A sentiment that certainly has its place… embroidered on a throw pillow.

What’s next?

Part two! One murder leads to another as Jessica finds herself chasing down false alibis and the employees of a rival circus.

Jessica is spending her holidays with an old friend, Lloyd Marcus. His daughter is found murdered in her house, and her husband, Donald, becomes the prime suspect.

Season 2, Episode 22: If the Frame Fits (April 13, 1986)

Jessica stops by the house of a friend, Lloyd Marcus, to review a manuscript for him. However, the murder of Lloyd’s daughter Julia takes place immediately, as JB is the angel of death, or at least knows him.

Who’s in it, outside of Angela Lansbury?

Ellen Davis is played by Deborah Adair, who was in The Rift.

Donald Granger is Christopher Allport, who was in Invaders from Mars and Jack Frost. 

Binky Holborn? That’s John de Lancie, the Q!

Police Chief Cooper is Cliff Gorman, Lt. Andrews in Angel. 

Frank Tilley is Gordon Jump! WKRP is all over Murder, She Wrote. And Mildred Tilley? That’s Audrey Meadows!

Lloyd Marcus, who started this trouble, is Norman Lloyd, who was in Jaws of Satan and Amityville: The Evil Escapes and directed several episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

Sabrina Marcus is played by Andra Millian.

In more minor roles, Forbes is Aubrey Morris (who was in The Wicker Man), Anne Schedeen (Kate Tanner from ALF) is Julia Granger, Michael Morgan plays a young man, Russell is a waiter, and Lorenzo Gaspar is a doctor.

What happens?

Lloyd Marcus quit advertising to be a mystery writer. I get it, Lloyd. He needs Jessica’s help, and just when she’s ready to tell him to go back to working in the ad biz, one of his expensive paintings gets stolen. While Jessica is in town, she’s taken to the country club, which is filled with snobs.

Lloyd has a rough life. His daughters, Julia and Sabrina, continue to fight over Julia’s husband, Donald, while Julia drinks through brunch. Then there’s the wild Binky Holborn, who everyone thinks is with Ellen Davis, who is really with Donald. All these rich people! JB can’t wait to get back to Cabbot Cove.

Jessica does like Binky, though, and the two make fun of Lloyd’s script together. Oh Lloyd. The fun stops when he gets home and finds his daughter Julia dead, holding a button with the letter D. Lloyd is sure it’s Donald who did it.

Who did it?

Lloyd changed the crime scene to implicate Donald, but he didn’t do it.

Binky is the art thief, but he didn’t do it.

So yes, it was Donald, even though Lloyd set him up. He really did it. And Sabrina thought that she could finally be with him, not knowing that he had killed her sister.

Who made it?

Director Paul Lynch also made Humongous and Prom Night. Writer Philip Gerson wrote 37 episodes of the show.

Does Jessica get some?

Nope. I think she was happy to get a new queer friend in Binky, who is delightful.

Does Jessica dress up and act stupid?

No. Come on!

Was it any good?

Yes, this is a fun episode!

Any trivia?

This is the second time Audrey Meadows has been on the show.

Give me a reasonable quote:

Jessica Fletcher: And do you remember The Horror of Harrow House, with the lurid bloodstains on the doormat?

Lloyd Marcus: Don’t knock it. It sold half a million copies in paperback. Schlock, pure and simple, but very effective.

What’s next?

Season 3 starts with a two-part episode. When Jessica’s niece receives a silver leprechaun from someone who has been presumed dead for years, our heroine looks for the mysterious gift giver, who should be dead.