MovieChat Forums > Murder, She Wrote (1984) Discussion > Episodes You Never Make it Through

Episodes You Never Make it Through

posted 9 years ago by tooclosetothetv
37 replies | jump to latest

I have never made it through the one with Eileen Brennan as the advice columnist from San Francisco. (The episode title escapes me now.)Last night it was just because I was tired and fell asleep, but in all the years I've watched MSW I have never made it through that one!

Others in that category are the one about the family department store and the one where a historic building is about to be torn down and her editor is either a victim or an accused killer.

If anyone knows the outcome of the Eileen Brennan one, holla back!

[–] caviar1234 9 years ago

Most later episodes are very hard to go through, especially since Season 10-12. I can't tell why. All I can say is those later seasons lack something from early seasons to keep you interested. I also fall asleep many times while watching later episodes. The most difficult one I can think of is Season 11, Episode 20 "Another Killing in Cork". I tried to watch it 3 times but never got to see the murder occur.
As for the Eileen Brennan one, from what I remember, she killed his lover after finding out he faked his own death.

[–] WeatherViolet 9 years ago

Episodes You Never Make it Through
by tooclosetothetv » 1 day ago (Tue May 26 2015 10:00:07)
IMDb member since April 2007

I have never made it through the one with Eileen Brennan as the advice columnist from San Francisco. (The episode title escapes me now.)Last night it was just because I was tired and fell asleep, but in all the years I've watched MSW I have never made it through that one!

Others in that category are the one about the family department store and the one where a historic building is about to be torn down and her editor is either a victim or an accused killer.

If anyone knows the outcome of the Eileen Brennan one, holla back!

Well, Eileen appears earlier in the series than this as the ambitious wife of the Louisiana politician in "Old Habits Die Hard."

Here, she returns as the veteran San Francisco newspaper columnist in
"Dear Deadly" (Season 11, Episode 5, 1994)

with
Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher
Eileen Brennan as Loretta Lee
Laurence Luckinbill as John Galloway
Daphne Ashbrook as Alexis Hill
Casey Biggs as Max Charles
Kristen Cloke as Emma Kemp
John Rhys-Davies as Harry Mordecai
Rosanna Huffman as Nell Carson
Seth Jaffe as Lt. Evans
Eric Woodall as Troy Higgins
Charles Gunning as T.D.
Mike Barger as Lab Man
Jerry Taft as Guard

Many of these characters (billed after Jessica) harbor career-threatening secrets, which, if exposed, may have them emptying their desks. The victim here holds onto a secret, but also knows about some of the other hidden goings on around the newspaper offices.

The victim would be better off not threatening to expose these secrets, but, naturally, others fear for their careers and their very lives should truths be told.

One major clue for Jessica to uncover would be the series of articles documenting the plight of homeless citizen Nell Carson (Rosanna Huffman in her record-breaking seventh appearance for playing different "MSW" characters by an actress). (This episode also marks the second time which differing "Loretta Lee" character appears in this series).

If Sheridan were here, he'd be appalled.

[–] tooclosetothetv 9 years ago

They had no shortage of suspects, that's for sure.

So when "Loretta Lee" survives a murder attempt and the episode is half over I'm like, murder someone, already!

I'll have to watch the last 10 minutes on Netflix, when they explain what happened.

[–] EtaoinShrdlu001 9 years ago

Ugh!
I fell asleep during your description!

You Fill Me with Inertia

[–] By-TorX-1 9 years ago

I can't really deal with the 'Jessica only in the intro' episodes. That is a bizarre season.

Best films ever:

Snakes on a Plane
Snakes on a Train
Snakes on a Crane
Snakes on Mark Twain

[–] halleberry1 9 years ago

I can't stand the episodes Jessica only intro's. All my favorite episodes take place in Cabot Cove with the earlier cast. All the other MI6 and side stories are too much of a distraction. I love all the episodes with Kate Mulgrew and Jessica Walters. They are awesome.

[–] elvisforever-633-689384 9 years ago

Yes I hato those too and love Cabot Cove episodes with the earlier cast

[–] elvisforever-633-689384 9 years ago

Yes I hate those too and love Cabot Cove episodes with the earlier cast also

[–] kalanix 9 years ago

I hate those, too. I've never seen a complete episode of any of those.

[–] 9 years ago

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[–] ccorraliza 9 years ago

I like Bill Maher in that MSW episode "Goodbye Charlie" It was one of those Jessica intro.

[–] SaliceMcD 9 years ago

I liked "Goodbye Charlie," too. Bill Maher was a good comedy actor. (I remember his having a dramatic role in another episode - the one about the witch "returning" to Cabot Cove.) As I recall, Jessica chimed in a couple of times during it, so it wasn't what I've seen referred to here as a "bookend" episode, per se.

[–] SaliceMcD 9 years ago

I think the oddest re-casting has to be of William Windom, who played a lawyer out west somewhere in a Season One (I believe) episode.

[–] caviar1234 9 years ago

Ron Másak also played two different chracters in S1's Footnote to Murder and S3's No Accounting for Murder before becoming Sheriff Mort Metzger in S5.

[–] btdroflet38 9 years ago

My disappointment is that all the later season murders happened in the first 30 minutes and Jessica had only 15 or so minutes to get her "visual brainstorm" - I so loved it when the murder occurred in the FIRST 15 minutes leaving Jessica with oodles of time to get acquainted and then draw her own conclusion....

"Live long and prosper"

[–] slackersmom 9 years ago

Well, tell us how you REALLY feel!!   

Other than being puzzled at why you would bother visiting a message board for a show you obviously abhor, I must admit your stellar comment is quite irrelevant to me.

[–] SaliceMcD 9 years ago

I *barely* made it through the episode in which Jessica is in Moscow solving a murder "for" the KGB. At the absurd ending she cheerfully boards a plane home after realizing she's had a canister of microfilm - what else? - damaging to the nefarious "bad guys" in charge slipped to her. Ye gods.

[–] isajademarilyn 9 years ago

Just also seen the kgb one and it was hard to follow. I highly prefer the Cabot Cove ones.

[–] yunie1281 9 years ago

I did think that episode was interesting for how it showed the show's (and thus presumably the country's) changing view of the Soviet Union. It's like a history lesson or something. All the ones involving Cold War stuff kind of go over my head because it all seems so bizarre.

[–] 9 years ago

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[–] gideonk 9 years ago

I couldn't make it through the several episodes located in NYC that were obvious attempts to appeal to a younger audience, such as those with rock music, youthful bands, etc.
Jessica just seemed like a fish out of water in those. They totally missed the mark and her audience. Like others before me stated, my favorites were the ones that took place in Cabot Cove before she started teaching in NYC.

[–] caviar1234 9 years ago

I couldn't make it through the several episodes located in NYC that were obvious attempts to appeal to a younger audience, such as those with rock music, youthful bands, etc.
Jessica just seemed like a fish out of water in those. They totally missed the mark and her audience.

Can't agree more!!!

[–] katfairy1 9 years ago

Any episode where Tom Bosley speaks. That accent is an affront to bad accents everywhere.

[–] uber_geek 9 years ago

I also hate the ones Angela was only doing the introduction. It seemed to me they were trying out spin-off series that failed to work.

But I REALLY hated when Landsbury played her British cousin, Emma MacGill, complete with cockney accent. She showed up twice, the first time in "It Runs in the Family" and then with Landsbury playing both Jessica and Emma in "Sing a Song of Murder".

[–] yunie1281 9 years ago

The first of those episodes I sat through the whole thing but I was on my computer so much I remember very little about it. Very boring. I've seen two Emma episodes so far and while the first was okay (though I kept waiting to see if they'd be in the same shot!), I felt like they completely changed Emma's personality for the second one. I did feel sorry for her lost love so acting kudos there but she just felt like a completely different person. And I kind of liked the first Emma better.