Worst episodes?
So, I posted a best episodes thread. And appreciated the responses. What are the worst episodes (are there any that I should avoid at all costs)? Are there any bad seasons I should avoid? Thanks in advance?
shareYou can skip all episodes from Season 9-12 and bookend episodes from Season 3/6/7.
shareI respectfully disagree. I find the bookend episodes to be quite good. I think people don't give them a chance because they refuse to accept Angela Lansbury not in the episode. The Dennis Stanton episodes were great - some bookend ones like "Jack and Bill" "Class Act" and "Murder According to Maggie" were also pretty great and they work.
I do agree that starting from season 9 the series is hard to watch. Cabot Cove lost its small town feel and the episodes felt more like vehicles for young new actors vs Jessica solving a crime. Quite a few episodes don't have have a murder and solution until the last 15 minutes.
That's all right. I also find some bookend episodes are quite well-done, such as Grand Old Lady, OMalley's Luck and some Dennis Stanton episodes. Those stories would be great for a new show, but to me, that's just not "Murder, She Wrote".
shareI tended to hate a lot of the Grady Fletcher episodes. The one where his girlfriend kills in self defense, where they got married, the Szechuan dragon one.
Awful, IMO.
I have all the seasons, and the four movies -- and really don't mind the bookend episodes, especially the ones with Dennis Stanton. (and yes, Grand Old Lady was great -- it was a re-tooled Ellery Queen episode that didn't get made because the show was cancelled) but the ones I avoid are mostly in the 12th season. They really should have quit after the eleventh season.
Also wasn't too fond of the two part one they did with Jean Simmons.
How sad, that you were not born in my time, nor I, in yours.
Can't stand any of the episodes from the later seasons.......except Nan's Ghost Pts 1 and 2, which is one of my favourites!
shareThe Jean Simmons episode had so many weird twists - I guess because it was a 2 parter and they wanted to give everyone a motive.
I have had the complete series box set for months now and have watched many episodes over and over again but have yet to watch Season 12 once. I also cringe at the season 10 and 11 Cabot Cove episodes. It's amazing how much a small fishing town of 3500 people grew in 10 years!!
WORST EPISODE ALERT:
SEASON 5 EPISODE 19 "Double Exposure"
(ok not the worst but one I have problems with. See below)
Jessica bumps into an old friend who pretends not to know her and then she goes on a quest to find out why - including calling his wife in Chicago and later flying in unannounced. Just the whole premise of this episode drives me crazy. You say hello to someone and they say you are mistaken and you become OBSESSED with getting to the bottom of it? All of a sudden Jessica - who usually has publisher deadlines etc has all this free time to track down people who obviously don't want anything to do with her. The couple was "very close friends" of hers and Frank for years - but I think the man's wife says something like it's been 8 years since they saw one another. EIGHT YEARS. That's a long time. You obviously aren't close anymore. She said if the man was in any kind of trouble she wanted to help. It was bs and the premise of the whole episode actually makes her look very annoying as well as what happens as a result of it.
Flaxy - I know this reply is extremely late, and I am not even sure if you will see it, but I laughed to myself when I read your post. Jessica is a doll and I love the show, yet the way you describe her obsession is so true. After eight years of not seeing these people, she became almost possessed with this case, haha.
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