Some things I wonder


I bought the entire series on DVD this weekend. It's going to take me forever to get through it.

Was there ever an episode where nobody got killed?

Was there ever an episode where Jessica was accused of murder?

Was there ever an episode where Jessica accused the wrong person?

Was there ever an episode where we the viewers were shown who the killer was before Jessica found out?

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I recently watched a bunch episodes and was wondering about some of those questions myself, in particular— was she ever wrong?

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Was there ever an episode where nobody got killed?
*** I don't believe so. I can't recall one, and I can even recall the show where Perry Mason's client was actually guilty. LOL

Was there ever an episode where Jessica was accused of murder?
*** Not so much accused as suspected for a time. But yes, that did happen.

Was there ever an episode where Jessica accused the wrong person?
*** Absolutely. She did suspect the wrong person a few times, then at the end would find the clue that led her to the correct conclusion.

Was there ever an episode where we the viewers were shown who the killer was before Jessica found out?
*** I'm not sure if this counts, but there are two circumstances to ponder here.

First, there were a few shows where she dropped a clue that would cause the real killer to reveal themself, before knowing for sure who it was. So we saw the killer show up as she did.

Second, not all shows were what I call "fair mysteries", where we get the damning clues at the same time Jessica does, but some of those shows did exist. Sometimes we would notice that clue and figure out the murderer before the script allowed Jessica to have her epiphany.

I promised two, but will add number three. Often the identity of the murderer was obvious just from the list of guest stars and their contribution to the story otherwise. If I ever wondered why a particular big name actor was being wasted in what seemed a minor role ... that was the killer. :-)

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My recollection is that there were more of the "fair mysteries" (similar to the Ellery Queen episodes) earlier in the series, and I enjoyed those because I could sometimes spot the baddie (like the fellow who said no, he wasn't from Down East, he was from Maine).

But then later on they started being more coy about showing the clues and/or the clues became more obscure. I think those are the episodes that inspired "The Formula for an Episode of Murder She Wrote" (https://www.pentadact.com/2014-08-08-the-formula-for-an-episode-of-murder-she-wrote/).

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