Directed by Peter MacDonald (The Extreme Adventures of Super Dave, Legionnaire, The NeverEnding Story III, Rambo III) and written by Gilbert Adler and AL Katz, this story finds a World War II traitor trapped in a prison camp, soon to be discovered by one of the men that he betrayed.

“Fall in! Did you hear me, maggot? I said fall in! I swear, you must be the sorriest bunch of sad sacks I ever did see. You’re a disgrace to the uniform, all of you! And you call yourself a scare force? What’s your problem soldier? You some kind of mummy’s boy?! That it? Hmm. I guess you think you’re like the man in tonight’s tale. He’s not much of a soldier either. It’s a nasty little shriek and destroy mission I call “Escape.””

Martin Kemp from Spandau Ballet plays the turncoat, Lt. Luger. Commander Major Nicholson (Roy Dotrice) puts him in with the German soldier to see if he’ll show his true colors. He just may, unless he can kill the soldier who knows all about him, Krupp (Nick Reding).

As you can see, the British episodes are more suspense and less horror.

This is based on “Escape” from Vault of Horror #16. It was written by William Gaines and Al Feldstein, who also drew it. That story has a man named Luger trying to switch places with a dead man to escape prison.

When Jessica’s recently widowed niece takes a cruise to get away from it all, a would-be murderer follows her.

Season 1, Episode 13: My Johnny Lies Over the Ocean (February 10, 1985)

Tonight on Murder, She Wrote…

Jessica’s niece Pamela has just gotten out of a mental hospital after her husband, Johnny, killed himself. Maybe a cruise will help get her mind right. Or maybe someone will die, seeing as how Jessica is there.

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

Jessica’s niece, Pamela Crane, is Belinda Montgomery. She starred in the TV movie The Devil’s Daughter and the slasher film Silent Madness.

Her father — and Jessica’s brother — Dr. Marshall MacGill is Jason Evers from Claws and The Brain That Wouldn’t Die.

Wacky singles Phoebe Carroll and Carla Raymond are Vicki Lawrence (Mama!) and Jo Anne Worley.

Paul Carafotes plays Ramon, the steward.

Dr. Andrea Jeffreys Reed is Rosemary Forsyth, who was in What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice.

Diane Shelley? That’s Lynda Day George! Christopher George’s wife, she’s in Pieces, Mortuary, Beyond Evil, Day of the Animals and the original Mission: Impossible.

Captain Daniels is Leslie Neilsen. Perhaps you’ve heard of him.

In smaller roles, Andrew Parks plays Russell Tompkins, Lawrence Pressman plays George Reed, Don Dubbins plays Dr. Carmichael, Byron Webster plays the maitre d, Michael G. Hawkins plays Dr. Ross, Don Matheson plays a cowboy, Kay Freeman plays a nurse and Mark Pilon and George Marshall Ruge play ship officers. Passengers are played by John Arndy, Lyle Howry, Linda and Shirley Lang and Steve Wagner.

What happens?

Pamela isn’t over her husband, who had money troubles and was adopted. But it gets worse — she keeps hearing someone calling her name, using the nickname that only her husband knew: Pepper.

Yes, we have a giallo on Murder, She Wrote.

Things get weirder because Pamela is even served a dish her husband invented that no one else should know about. Meanwhile, Jessica keeps trying to set her up with someone new. There’s also the Reeds, who seem to be trying to use the cruise to fix their marriage.

Then, someone with her husband’s voice shoves Pamela down the steps.

Luckily, the captain steps in and he’s Leslie Nielsen. Jessica is also on the case, learning that Johnny’s birth mother made contact with him before he died.

Speaking of death, Mrs. Reed is now dead and her husband seems like the suspect. Or maybe she just loved drinking and sleeping pills together. Lots of them.

Who did it?

Of course, as you guessed, George Reed killed his wife, who was really Johnny’s mother. I guess he learned all the secrets about her son from her? We never get that answer, so the entire ghost stalking of Pamela seems like all red herrings.

Who made it?

Seymour Robbie was the director. His career included TV shows, including Father Dowling Mysteries, Matlock, which had 21 episodes, and plenty more examples of episodic TV. The series was written by series creator Peter S. Fischer.

Does Jessica get some?

Oh yes. Not only does Ramon offer to teach her several dances and pretty much tell her that he’s there to give her her groove back, but Leslie Nielsen at the end tells her that he has some time off after this voyage is done and that he knows plenty of incredible places to eat. Oh man, he’s totally hot dipping the meat flute and inspiring several more books.

Does Jessica dress up and act stupid?

Yes! She pretends that she’s drunk and it’s so fake that you have to wonder how anyone else would believe it. No one has ever been this drunk or acted this way. You’ll forget that Angela Lansbury could act! She did the same thing in Death On the Nile, so there’s that.

Was it any good?

I mean, look at the cast. This is one of my top episodes, even if it doesn’t make sense in the end. Who cares! Lynda Day George is in it!

Any trivia?

This was filmed on the RMS Queen Mary.

Much of this is based on Gaslight, Angela Lansbury’s first acting role.

This is the first episode in which we learn that Jessica’s maiden name is MacGill, which is based on her mother’s stage name, Moyna MacGill.

Give me a reasonable quote:

Captain Daniels: And to make amends, I would, uh, I happen to know of a magnificent little restaurant here in port, and, uh, would you, uh… would you do me the honor of dining with me this evening?

Jessica Fletcher: Well, uh, that depends. Uh, you’re not planning to show me your hootchy-kootchy, are you?

Captain Daniels: Definitely not… Oh!

What’s next?

The birthday celebration for a renowned Mediterranean artist is cut short when the guest of honor winds up dead.

Directed and written by Brian Helgeland (A Knight’s Tale, 976-EVIL), this Tales from the Crypt is about Sharon Bannister (Francesca Annis, the Widow of the Web in Krull), a mystery writer, who is accused by her ex-husband Larry (Christopher Cazenove, Edward from Three Men and a Little Lady) of sleeping with next door neighbor Mrs. Trask’s (Elizabeth Spriggs) son Joey (Patrick Barlow).

“It looks like Neptomb has just moved from Virghoul to late Capricorn, which would mean you should avoid any serious romantic enstranglements for awhile, at least until the end of the month when Mercury turns retrograde. Hmm. Something about your horrorscope isn’t making sense. Let me see your hand. Yes, interesting. I’m not much at bleeding palms, but your future seems rather cloudy. Kind of like the woman in tonight’s tale. She’s been contemplating her scar sign, too, in a nasty nugget I call “A Slight Case of Murder.””

This is another episode from the final British season, so many fans don’t enjoy these ones as much. Unlike the supernatural stories, this is a simple murder mystery.

It’s based on “A Slight Case of Murder!” from Vault of Horror #33, which was written by Al Feldstein and William Gaines and drawn by George Evans. That story is insane, as it has a child inside the body of a cop being responsible for murders. You can read it inside the collection A Slight Case Of Murder and Other Stories.

A trip to New Orleans gets off to an eventful start when the leader of a popular jazz band is poisoned during a performance.

Season 1, Episode 12: Murder to a Jazz Beat (February 3, 1985)

Tonight on Murder, She Wrote…

Jessica comes to New Orleans to promote a book and her appearance is just before the death of jazz musician Ben Coleman (Glynn Turman).

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

Glynn Turman, the victim, was in Gremlins, Super 8, John Dies at the End and many more. He’s also in two more episodes of the show.

Callie Coleman, wife of the deceased, is Olivia Cole, who was in Roots and two other episodes of Murder, She Wrote.

The lawman in this, Det. Lt. Simeon Kershaw, is Bradford Dillman. And what hasn’t he been in? Here are a few of his best films: Guyana Cult of the Damned, Piranha, The Swarm, The Lincoln Conspiracy, Bug, Moon of the Wolf and so many more. He was also in seven more episodes of this show.

Eubie Sherwin is George Kirby.

Dr. Aaron Kramer is Cameron Mitchell and man, I don’t have enough space to list every great role he did, but let’s go with Blood and Black Lace, The Toolbox Murders and The Demon.

Cab driver Lafayette Duquesne is played by original Saturday Night Live cast member Garrett Morris.

Carl Turnball is Ed Nelson, who was in 193 roles and did effects for Attack of the Crab Monsters.

Jonathan Hawley is Clive Revill, the original voice of The Emperor in Empire Strikes Back.

Eddie Walter is Stan Shaw, Detective Sapir from Monster Squad.

Jimmy Firth is Bobby Sherman, who hosted the show Shindig!

Hec Tattersal is David Whitfield, who was in Hot Resort.

In the smaller roles, Doctor Alan Collyer is Michael Canavan, Lisa is Elaine Hobson, Robert Clarke (The Hideous Sun Demon, Man from Planet X) plays an actor, Jackie Joseph (the original Audry in Little Shop of Horrors) is an actress, Mario Machado (all three RoboCop movies)is a TV announcer, Wally K. Berns (the writer of Speak of the Devil) is a proprieter, Bruce Marchiano is an assistant director and there are uncredited roles for John Arndt, Joey Banks, Michael J. Grayson, Paul Le Clair, Eric Mansker and Sam Nickens.

What happens?

Jessica has screwed up her calendar and is two days off as she heads to New Orleans to talk about her new book. Both cab driver Lafayette Duquesne and talk show host Jonathan Hawley offer to take her out on the town; she chooses the older white man.

Their date takes them to a jazz bar, where Ben Coleman is about to play. This is the Murder, She Wrote trick where the victim is the worst individual ever — he’s moving to Vegas without his band, he abuses his assistant Eddie, he’s cheating on his wife Callie with Lisa and he’s a jerk to anyone else.

Ben plays a clarinet on stage and dies. Jessica is in the audience. She is the Angel of Death. Thanks to her book Murder on the Amazon, she knows that he’s been poisoned. Everyone wanted him dead. But who would actually do it?

Jessica tries to explain the poison to Lt. Kershaw and he’s one of those TV lawmen that want no help at all. Sure, he later apologizes, but he’s always seen the jazz star as a criminal, as he arrested him and his brother years ago.

Who did it?

Ben was trying to kill his wife with poison, but Eddie saved her and killed Ben, who wanted to be free but his wife Callie was his alibi for the case that Lt. Kershaw arrested him for all those years ago.

Who made it?

This is another episode directed by Walter Grauman.

It was written by Paul Savage (who wrote six other episodes of this show, as well as 110 of Gunsmoke) and David Abramowitz.

This was set in New Orleans but no actual filming took place there.

Does Jessica get some?

No. She was on her way and someone got killed.

Does Jessica dress up and act stupid?

No.

Was it any good?

Yes and it’s an dark episode with a sad ending.

Give me a reasonable quote:

Lafayette Duquesne: Where to first?

Jessica Fletcher: Oh, the St. Charles Cemetery, please.

Lafayette Duquesne: Ma’am, with all of the beautiful places in New Orleans? Ma’am, that place is dead.

What’s next?

When Jessica’s recently widowed niece takes a cruise to get away from it all, a would-be murderer follows her.

Wow! This episode is directed by Freddie Francis, who knows something about horror! He also directed Trog, The Psychopath, Legend of the Werewolf and most importantly, the original Tales from the Crypt. This episode was written by Scott Nimerfro.

“Greetings infesters! I’ll be with you in a moment. I was just putting these gross profits away for safekeeping. You see, boils and ghouls, at Crypt Keeper Financial, we can help you get morgue for your money. Whether it’s mutual fiends you want or cold, horrid cash, we can guarantee you’ll coroner the market. Hmm. I bet you’d be the type who’s interested in boo chips, like tonight’s tale. It’s about three girls who are chopping around for a tax fright-off of their own in a nasty shock option I call “Last Respects.”:

Yvonne, Dolores, and Marlys Finger (Emma Samms, Kerry Fox and Julie Cox) are three sisters who work at the House of Curios and hate one another, although only Marlys is the owner. Then they find a monkey’s paw — the actual one the story was based on — and it does what the paw always does. People die and no one can outsmart the thing. Only one of the sisters can get the shop and all the money that somehow it suddenly starts making.

The original owners of the paw, Mr. and Mrs. Wilder, are played by Michael Denison and Dulcie Gray in their last roles. Married for nearly sixty years, they always appeared together. Dulcie was also a short story writer with several of her stories showing up in the Pan Book of Horror Stories. 

This story was based on “Last Respects!” from Tales from the Crypt #23. It was written by Al Feldstein and William Gaines and drawn by Graham Ingels. That story is very different, as a man gets locked inside a mausoleum and survives nearly a month by catching leaking rain water and eating a dead body, but dies because of formaldehyde poisoning.

Former Hollywood star Rita Bristol and her daughter Patti are about to open in a big new Broadway musical, until Patti is gunned down in a bizarre robbery attempt.

Season 1, Episode 11: Broadway Malady (January 13, 1985)

Tonight on Murder, She Wrote…

Broadway legend Rita Bristol (Vivian Blaine) and her daughter Patti (Lorna Luft) are set to star in the Broadway musical Always April, produced by her son Barry (Gregg Henry), but death — and Jessica — are close.

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

Lew Feldman is Milton Berle, who at one point was the biggest star on TV. He also was and had the most enormous cock or so it has been reported.

Rita is Vivian Blaine, perhaps best known for Guys and Dolls, but she was also in Parasite and The Dark.

Lonnie Valerian is Elaine Giftos, who also appeared in Angel, Gas!, Body Chemistry 4, and The Secret Night Caller.

Barry Bristol is played by Gregg Henry, who starts all the problems in Body Double.

This is the second of twelve episodes where Michael Horton plays Grady Fletcher, Jessica’s nephew. If you think Jessica is bad news, Grady causes problems everywhere he goes and is my most hated supporting character, not just on this show, but in history.

The doomed Patti? That’s Liza’s half-sister Lorna Luft. This is her first of two appearances on the show.

Marc Faber is portrayed by Robert Morse, who played Bertram Cooper on Mad Men. He’s also in The Loved One.

Si Parish is Patrick O’Neal, who was in The Stepford Wives and The Stuff.

Gregory Sierra appeared in six Murder, She Wrote episodes but is perhaps best remembered as Detective Sergeant Chano Amenguale on Barney Miller. He’s another cop in this, NYPD Det. Sgt. Moreno.

Gretchen Pasko is played by Barbara, who also portrayed Whinnery and Sister Sara in Hamburger: The Motion Picture, as well as in Crawlspace.

In the smaller roles, Kate Metcalf is Sharee Gregory, Ed Bakey is Monsignor Kelly, Roberto Roman is Taki, Johnny Seven plays “Man,” Irma Garcia is Veronica, Edson Stroll is De. Peter Weber and Victoria Harned is a newscaster.

What happens?

Former star Rita Bristol is returning to the stage, thanks to her kids, Barry and Patti. How does Jessica get involved? Brady, her hated nephew, is in charge of the books. He gets all excited about inviting her, but there are already some problems, as the director, Marc Faber, is really tough on the star. Grady, you should also know, always dates exactly the wrong woman and here he’s with Kate, Patti’s understudy.

After dinner, Barry and Patti are mugged. Patti is shot while Barry returns gunfire and kills their attacker. Jessica sees through everything and thinks that this was a planned murder, but the NYPD is too busy to listen.

Patti survives, but is replaced by Lonnie Valerian. Meanwhile, Jessica sees the mugger on an old TV show and tells the cops again, yet they still have no interest. Soon, mother and son are fighting and Rita is out of the show. Who is going to come now?

Meanwhile, Rita goes all in on unaliving herself, using alcohol, pills and the gas oven, eventually expiring at the hospital. Of course, it’s acting…

Who did it?

Barry, who wanted to be out from under his mother’s shadow. She lives, as does his sister.

Who made it?

Hy Averback was all over TV, but also made Where the Boys Are 1984, The Girl, the Godl Watch & Dynamite, the second Love Boat TV movie, Chamber of Horrors, Where Were You When the Lights Went Out?, I Love You, Alice B. Toklas! and also had 27 acting roles.

This episode was written by Tom Sawyer, who produced 79 episodes of this show and wrote 24, as well as The Carpenters…Space Encounters TV special.

Some facts…

Rita is watching a black-and-white movie that she says is “Moon Over Rio.” It’s really Three Little Girls in Blue and that’s Vivian Blaine singing “Somewhere in the Night.”

There is a missing scene, as a different ending was shot with choreographer Miriam Nelson featuring dancers on stage, showcasing the final performance. Instead, we get Grady talking on the phone.

Grady was dating Kate when we last saw him in The Murder of Sherlock Holmes.

Does Jessica get some?

No.

Does Jessica dress up and act stupid?

No. Too much Grady.

Was it any good?

Not bad, despite Grady. Seriously, I can’t deal with him and how he just serial dates and gets Jessica into trouble.

Give me a reasonable quote:

Jessica Fletcher: Well, tell me about Kate.

Grady Fletcher: There’s not much to tell, Aunt Jess. She ran off with some TV weatherman from Pittsburgh.

Jessica Fletcher: Oh, Grady, I’m so sorry.

Grady Fletcher: Oh, she was okay. We didn’t have that much in common. But wait till you meet Francesca. Aunt Jess, she’s beyond belief. Now look, how soon can you get down here?

What’s next?

A trip to New Orleans gets off to an eventful start when the leader of a popular jazz band is poisoned during a performance.

There are just thirteen episodes left of this show. Here’s the first episode of season 7.

“Fatal Caper” was directed by and stars Bob Hoskins, who I miss. He was a fantastic actor, and this is an entertaining episode. It was written by regulars, Steven Dodd and A.L. Katz.

“Greetings, travel fiends! It’s so exciting being here in London. I’m already feeling right at tomb. Care to join me for a little fright-seeing? Or maybe we could find a nice pub and tuck into some authentic flesh and chips. Or we could go check out my English scare-itage. I bet you didn’t know your pal, the Crypt Keeper, was one of the crowned ghouls, did you creeps? I’ve got all kinds of skeletons in my closet, which is kind of like the family in tonight’s tale. You could call it, ‘Father Knows Beast,’ but I prefer “Fatal Caper.””

Mycroft Amberson (Leslie Phillips) is dying and his money will go to one of his two sons, Justin (Greg Wise) or Evelyn (James), until his will is changed by executor Fiona (Natasha Richardson). There’s a third son, Frank, whom he never acknowledged. If the brothers can find him in six months, they will get to split the money.

Of course, Fiona offers to help both brothers take out the other, depending on who pays her more. But hey — spoilers — Tales from the Crypt was ahead of its time, as Fiona is really Frank and wants all the money.

Most of this season was filmed in England, starting with this story, except for the last episode, which was animated in Canada by Nelvana.

This takes its title from “A Fatal Caper!” from Tales from the Crypt #20, which was written by Al Feldstein and William Gaines and drawn by Jack Kamen. That story is totally different, as teenagers remove a body from a casket to play a prank and all get leprosy.

When a congressman suddenly dies from a heart attack, Jessica is asked to temporarily replace him in Washington.

Season 1, Episode 10: Capital Offense (January 6, 1985)

Tonight on Murder, She Wrote…

Congressman Wendell Joyner (Frank Aletter) has a fatal heart attack at a party arranged by lobbyist Harry Parmel (Nicholas Pryor), so the governor of Maine asks Jessica to fill the seat. Of all people!

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

Kaye Sheppard is played by Edie Adams, who was in The Apartment as well as The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood, Under the Yum Yum Tree and more. Her character also has an incredible cat named Peaches!

Detective Avery Mendelsohn is the lawman in this. His name is Herschel Bernardi. He definitely had police experience, as he was Jacobi on Peter Gunn.

Diana Simms is Linda Kelsey, who was also on Lou Grant.

Congressman Dan Keppner is played by Stephen Macht, Sean’s dad from The Monster Squad. He was also in Amityville: It’s About Time.

Lobbyist Harry Parmel is Nicholas Pryor, who was in The Omen II, Halloween Kills, Brain Dead, The Happy Hooker and two more episodes of Murder, She Wrote.

Ray Dixon is Mitchell Ryan, Dr. Wynn from Halloween 6!

Joe Blinn is Gary Sandy, who was in Troll.

Mark Shera plays Thor Danziger, which is a very metal name. This is Mark’s first of four roles in Murder, She Wrote.

Wendell Joyner is Frank Aletter. Aletter was also in Private School.

Harold DeWitt is Colby Chester, who does much voice-over work.

David Hooks, Jensen Collier, Jade McCall, Lyle Howry, Gwen Humble, Kathryn Janssen, Lemuel Perry, George Sasaki, Nick Trisko and Paul Van play smaller roles.

What happens?

Jessica becomes a congresswoman after that aforementioned death, keeping on staff like press agent Joe Blinn and administrative assistant Diana Simms. Detective Mendelsohn believes that Joyner was murdered because there’s blackmail in Washington. But ah—it may all tie into lobbying for a Maine-based cannery. Trust me, I worked for StarKist for a bunch, and nobody spends more on lobbyists than the canned seafood industry.

Can congresspeople be put in office without due process? I know that the government is a total mess these days, but back in 1985?

Who did it?

Joe, who worked for the congressman. He also killed Marta, who was a party girl.

Who made it?

This was directed by John Llewellyn Moxey, one of the greatest TV movie directors ever. Check out Home for the Holidays, The House That Would Not Die, The Night Stalker and 18 episodes of Murder, She Wrote. Series creator Peter S. Fischer wrote it.

Some facts…

Mitchell Ryan also played a cannery owner on Dark Shadows.

IMDB states, “The US Constitution does not allow a governor to appoint a replacement representative, even temporarily, to fill an open seat. The governor can only schedule a special election to pick the new representative. Therefore, this plotline does not match real life. However, if it were a senator who she was replacing, then the governor could have appointed her to fill the seat until the special election to fill the seat.”

Does Jessica get some?

No.

Does Jessica dress up and act stupid?

No. Again, it’s going to happen.

Was it any good?

Three no answers lined up. There are a lot of plot holes in this and the show is still trying to find itself. This is an example of how it is silly and not true to Jessica’s character.

Give me a reasonable quote:

Jessica Fletcher: We’ll get along just fine if you try to remember that I’m not your addlepated great-aunt from East Nowhere.

What’s next?

Former Hollywood star Rita Bristol and her daughter Patti are about to open in a big new Broadway musical, until Patti is gunned down in a bizarre robbery attempt.

Directed by Robert Zemeckis and written A L Katz and Gilbert Adler, this episode is about criminal Lou Spinelli (Robert Sacchi) has gotten plastic surgery from Dr. Oscar Charles (John Lithgow) to look like Humphrey Bogart and has gone legitimate. He’s fallen in love with his assistant Erica (Sherilyn Fenn), but when his ex-wife Betty (Isabella Rossellini) comes back, things get bad all over again.

“Hello. How are you? I’m Fearest Gump. Hi. Care for a shock-olate? You sure? Mummy always said: “Life is like a box of shock-olates. You never know what you’re gonna get. Sometimes you get a fudge-scream, sometimes you get no-guts.” Know what else mummy said? She said: “Scary is as scary does.” Which brings to mind the man in tonight’s terror tale. He’s just dying to get out of the mess he’s in… literally! It’s a little piece of horrid candy I call: “You, Murderer.””

This episode has early CGI to add Bogart’s face.

There are a lot of twists and turns here and Zemeckis comes back from producing to direct an episode as season 6 comes to an end. There are so many twists and turns with Lou comatose and perhaps dead for so much of it.

This story comes from Shock SuspenStories #14. It was written by Otto Binder with and drawn by Bernie Krigstein.

A popular nightclub hypnotist is discovered murdered during a private press conference.

Season 1, Episode 9: Death Casts a Spell (December 30, 1984)

Tonight on Murder, She Wrote…

Hypnotist Cagliastro gets fired from the casino/hotel for sleeping with the owner’s wife. Then, he has an interview with six journalists, claiming that he can hypnotize any of them, but is killed, leaving them in a trance.

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

Cagliastro is played by José Ferrer, the father of Miguel, uncle of George Clooney, and the star of movies such as Stalag 17, Bloodtide, The Evil That Men Do, Battle Creek Brawl, The Being, Airport 79, Dracula’s Dog, The Swarm, The Sentinel, The Caine Mutiny, and many more.

Joan, Jessica’s assistant, is Diana Canova. She was on Soap and in The First Nudie Musical. She’d play two other roles on the show, but not the same character.

Murray Hamilton plays Bud, who we all know as Mayor Vaughn in Jaws and Jaws 2. Yet he was in 160 other movies and shows, including Too Scared to Scream, The Amityville Horror, Seconds and The Graduate.

The law in this, Lt. Bergkamp, is Robert Hogan, a vet of 158 roles, including three other Murder, She Wrote appearances.

Dr. Yambert is Conrad Janis, who directed and starred in the 2012 horror movie Bad Blood.

Elaine Joyce plays Sheri Diamond. She has quite the horror resume, showing up in Trick or Treat, Motel Hell and one sort of exploitation movie, The Christine Jorgensen Story.

Andy Townsend is played by Brian Kerwin, a TV vet who also shows up in King Kong Lives.

Joe Kellijian plays the owner of the hotel/casino, Robert Loggia. If I need to tell you who he is, you’re reading the wrong site.

Michelle Phillips plays his wife, Regina. Yes, from The Mamas and the Papas and Knots Landing. She’s also in some absolute junk that I love, including Bloodline, The Last Movie, and No One Would Tell, in which Fred Savage gets on steroids and abuses Candace Cameron.

Zack Bernard is Mayf Nutter, who was in Hunter’s Blood.

In the smaller roles, we have Elvia Allman as “elderly lady,” Rance Howard as Fillmore, Ritchie Montgomery as a busboy, Alex Rebar — THE INCREDIBLE MELTING MAN HIMSELF, as well as the writer of Demented, Terror On Tour and To All a Goodnight — as a hypnotist, Dianne Travis as Helsema, Marylou Kenworthy as Liz, Lee Duncan as a policeman, Kathy Karges, Gay Hagen, Joy Ellison, Hartley Silver, Bill Shick and Robert Balderson as hypnotized people and Bob Tzudiker as a clerk.

What happens?

Jessica is in Lake Tahoe, which is Vegas Lite. That’s where The Amazing Cagliostro performs, commanding audience members to act like animals. As he performs, we see Bud and Andy, two reporters, who bet the hypnotist is a phoney. Meanwhile, Joe, the hotel owner, is fighting with his wife, Regina, who is having an affair with Cagliostro, but claims that it’s because he’s using his powers on her. He fires Cagliostro, who still gets a million dollars. And then Joan pitches Jessica the idea of using the cucking wizard in her next book.

As Jessica sits in the bar and turns this down, Cagliostro gets into a fight with the reporters and sets up a demonstration of his abilities in his room. As he hypnotizes everyone, he reveals his past, just in time for him to get stabbed and leave everyone stuck in a hypnotized state.

They figure out that a tape of one of his shows will bring them back, and Jessica deals with all of this as only she can. She puts on her jogging suit and starts shuffling around. Also: a towel around her neck as if she were Bobby “The Brain” Heenan.

Nearly anyone could have killed the magician, as he was blackmailing everyone, even his assistant, who started her career as a naked trapeze star, which I did not know was a thing.

Who did it?

There’s a red herring that was the assistant, but then we learn that Andy had earplugs and wasn’t hypnotized. An article his father wrote about Cagliostro ruined his career, his dad killed himself, and now, he got his revenge.

Who made it?

Allen Reisner directed, and Steven Hensley and J. Miyoko Hensley wrote the screenplay. They also wrote the Remo Williams TV pilot.

Some facts…

José Ferrer played a hypnotist in Whirlpool. He was also in The Greatest Story Ever Told, where he played Herod and Lansberry played Claudia.

The story of this episode comes from a 1937 Bela Lugosi movie, The Thirteenth Chair.

Does Jessica get some?

No. I’m as upset as you.

Does Jessica dress up and act stupid?

Jessica also gets hypnotized and does impressions of Bette Davis and Mae West. Also, there’s no way Angela Lansberry is on the back of that motorcycle.

Was it any good?

Two shows with death in the name in a row, but hey — Jessica is a friend of the Grim Reaper.

Give me a reasonable quote:

Cagliostro: Ladies and gentlemen, observe the power of hypnosis! Now, volunteers, when I clap my hands, you will each become your favorite animal.

What’s next?

Jessica becomes a member of Congress. Yes. I wrote it. It happens.