Murder at a Discount

Jessica is sued when her latest bestseller bears strong similarities to an actual case. George Segal plays a character who was acquitted of murdering his wife and sues Jessica for allegedly making his story into fiction. Jessica, of course, disputes this, but her fiction book turns out to be uncannily similar to Segal's case. Later, though, Segal phones Jessica telling her that he's going to drop the case and wants to meet her regarding the real killer of his wife. As you can guess, Segal gets bumped off. This is a good episode, with sufficient mystery and drama to keep you captivated.

This episode of Murder She Wrote has Angela Lansbury being sued by George Segal. He contends that the real life case of the murder of his wife for which he was tried and acquitted is the basis of her book. That is wife number one, wife number 2 is Morgan Fairchild and he's already working up to wife 3 with current secretary Elaine Joyce.

Julianna Margulies is his lawyer and she's daddy's little girl as well and the lawsuit is a crusade against this woman who has defamed dear old dad. That all changes when Segal himself is murdered.

This episode is one of the New York based stories and has semi- regular Herb Edelman as the NYPD homicide cop always grateful for the assistance of Jessica Fletcher. He's got a running vaudeville act with his assistant Det. Leonard Lightfoot. They're great together as the comic relief.

A good one to catch.

Jessica lands up in serious legal trouble, her book, The Uncaught, is almost identical in every detail to an actual murder that happened some five years back, in which David Novaro got away with his wife's murder.

Without a shadow of a doubt, Murder at a Discount has been my favourite episode so far from series 10, I loved the plot, the characters and the sense of antagonism that ran through it.

There's a real sense of mystery, is the redoubtable JB Fletcher lying, after all these years, are we encouraged to actively doubt her word, how on Earth could such a series of events be possible, surely JB Fletcher is mistaken?

There's a mystery within a mystery, it's a Russian Doll of a story. It's a very intriguing watch.

More evidence of the development of Jessica's character, she's definitely thicker skinned, and a little harder.

A fantastic cast assembled here George Segal is great as Dave, Sam Anderson and Morgan Fairchild are excellent, and of course it's great to see more of Her Edelman.

Excellent episode.

9/10.

This episode marks the most recent acting appearances to date by Jenny Burgess, Sylvia Sage and Darnell Harrison. Herb Edelman and Sandy Ward have since passed.

Inside an office in New York City, Publisher Ted Hartley (Bruce Gray) and his assistant, Jed Collins (John Allsopp), unveil the artwork of the cover of the forthcoming paperback edition of a best-selling Mystery, "The Uncaught," by Jessica "J.B." Fletcher (Angela Lansbury).

Meanwhile, at Daffy Dave's Video-Rama shoppe, Dave Novaro (George Segal) is interrupted from a commercial shoot from tension caused from the publicity of "The Uncaught," which has disrupted his life, as well as the lives of those around him because its plot parallels a five-year-old murder case, in which Dave was released on a technicality, after being tried for murdering his wife, Janet Trent Novaro.

Neil Fraser (Sam Anderson), Dave's mild-mannered business partner, and Lillian Conway (Elaine Joyce), Dave and Neil's loyal assistant, had both been life-long friends with Dave, but now the business and the association have grown strained because the cold case has been receiving much publicity.

Iris Novaro (Morgan Fairchild) had served as Dave's secretary until the time of the murder, after which she and Dave had married. But now, she claims that the tension has caused a rift in the marriage, telling Dave that she wants out, but not mentioning her fling with toy-boy Randy Konig (John Enos III), who holds ulterior motives of his own where Iris is concerned.

Jessica now discovers that she must delay her vacation plans for Hawaii, by facing a court deposition as Novaro sues Hartley and the company, in addition to Jessica, who may be sued by the company for presenting fact for fiction even though she never heard of the Novaro murder case. Young Attorney Aaron Woodman (Spencer Garrett) is retained by Ted Hartley to defend Jessica and himself, while Jessica intends to learn as much about the case as possible.

Reviewing archive information, Jessica spots her old associate NYPD Lieutenant Artie Gelber (Herb Edelman) in news coverage, and decides to enlist his assistance in the matter, by checking police files, with the assistance of Artie and Detective Henderson (Leonard Lightfoot).

Jessica then receives a visit from Norman Trent (Sandy Ward), the father of Janet Novaro, and the grandfather of Rachel Novaro (Julianna Margulies), who, against Norman's advice, represents her father, Dave, against the author and publishers of "The Uncaught."

When Norman and Jessica discuss differing reasons for the same purpose of stopping the lawsuit, she notices Norman's golden falcon-handled cane, which is later found at the scene of a murder, when Jessica, Artie and Henderson stumble across a body which has been bludgeoned, in cut-rate fashion, for "Murder at a Discount."

The cast is rounded out by Hilda the Bag Lady (Sylvia Sage), Receptionist (Jenny Burgess), Man (John Petlock), Marcel, the Maitre d' (Robert Rigamonti), Eli the Video Director (Darnell Harrison) and Minister (James Daughton).

Have always been quite fond of 'Murder She Wrote'. It is a fun and relaxing watch that makes you think as you try to unwind in the evening. If one wants more complex, twisty mysteries with lots of tension and suspense 'Murder She Wrote' may not be for you, but if you want something light-hearted and entertaining but still provide good mysteries 'Murder She Wrote' fits the bill just fine.

Despite the premise of the episode bears small similarities to that of Season 5's "The Sins of Castle Cove", with notable differences (such as a lawsuit thrown into the mix), "Murder at a Discount" is still very entertaining. It has a mystery that keeps one guessing and grabs the attention throughout. The ending is not a shocking one but it is still well-executed. It is also a lot of fun wondering whether Jessica is guilty of what she has been accused of, the outcome doesn't surprise (am fond of the show but it can be formulaic) but the episode does make a good case.

Angela Lansbury is terrific as always, while Herb Edelman and their chemistry together bring lots of charm and tension. Gelber and Lightfoot's rapport too entertains. George Segal and Sandy Ward are especially good of the supporting cast, and Sam Anderson and Julianna Marguiles are also solid. Morgan Fairchild was a little flat for my tastes but that is probably just me, she looks great though.

Production values are slick, stylish and suitably cosy. The music has energy and has presence but also not making the mistake of over-scoring, while it is hard to forget or resist the theme tune.

Writing is thoughtful and amiable.

Overall, another very enjoyable episode and one of Season 10's better ones, regardless of questions concerning originality being raised. 8/10 Bethany Cox