Murder -- According to Maggie

During the run of "Murder, She Wrote", there were quite a few episodes which did not feature Jessica Fletcher in the lead. Instead, the character introduces the episode but otherwise isn't present in the show. Why? Well, I read that Angela Lansbury needed a break from the rigors of a weekly show....but I also suspect they were trying to create spinoff shows. But, in the end, these shows never resulted in a series.

In "Murder--According to Maggie", Jessica tells the audience that the show is about one of her old talented students who is now a writer for television....and the show follows Maggie (Diana Canova) through the ups and downs (and murders) of working on TV. In this case, she acts like an amateur sleuth simply to prevent her show from being canceled!

The episode was decent...not great but also enjoyable. What I couldn't get past was the feeling that the show was meant as a commentary about the business....sort of like the writer airing their complaints about sleazy and two-faced network execs, actors and agents. This does make for an interesting story! Worth seeing.

Every time I settle in for my nightly Murder She Wrote and JB Fletcher starts talking directly to the camera I am so disappointed.

I do not care for these episodes where she introduces a show without her.

I have speculated that either Angela Lansbury was doing a Broadway show, needed a break, or they were throwing these characters on the wall to see what stuck to possibly start a spin-off.

Whatever the reason, I can barely watch.

I DO like many of the actors that appear in these type of episodes, like in this one, Diana Canova, great, Gary Sandy, also pretty good (although I felt he was a tad over-the-top).

I watch the show to see JB Fletcher, and in particular, the Cabot Cove cast of characters.

A show cancellation coincides with a network executive's murder, and in order to save her cop show Beat Cop she has to find the murderer. This is an entertaining non-Jessica episode because of humour and an interesting look at TV shows, network politics and diva-type actors. The mystery comes in a bit late and it's just adequate but it's the aforementioned elements that make this episode good.

Angela Lansbury provides introduction to this episode where she describes the success of former pupil Diane Canova who has taken up writing but she writes for television.

Her successful cop show is about to be cancelled and before that happens a network vice president.is gunned down. Canova proves to be as resourceful as JB Fletcher in solving real crimes.

Acting honors go to Dwayne Hickman as a sneaky TV executive and Tim Thomerson as an outrageous overacting star of Canova's show who is the one first suspected.

We meet quite of few of Jessica Fletcher's (Angela Lansbury) promising veteran ninth-grade English pupils throughout the series, but here Mrs. Fletcher decides that Mary Margaret "Maggie" McCauley (Diana Canova) is the brightest of them all even though she refers to Maggie as both "Mary Margaret" and "Margaret Mary" when she introduces this "Book-end" episode set in Hollywood, California, on a television production set of Monolith Studio, as well in the offices of the FBS Network.

(Perhaps Jessica alludes a subtle reference here to the supporting Nun trio in "Old Habits Die Hard (#4.04).")

Anyway, the first reviewer is correct to comment that this Peter S. Fischer-penned episode has a wealth of wise-crack-enhanced Comedy elements, effectively executed by Tim Thomerson, Leann Hunley, Diana Canova, Dwayne Hickman, Paul Kreppel and, of course, Ann Morgan Guilbert. I agree that its weakness lies in the repetitive references to that pencil, that pencil, that pencil, that pencil, that pencil.

Maggie McCauley serves as head writer for the television series "Beat Cop," starring Bert Rodgers (Tim Thomerson) as Ben Hollister, and Dana Darren (Leann Hunley), with Andy Butler (Bruce Kirby) in a regular role.

Brian Thursdan (Dwayne Hickman) serves as President of Monolith Studio, which also employs Vi (Miriam Flynn) as Maggie's secretary, and "Beat Cop" Director (Tom Troupe), Stage-hand Burnsie (Ben Slack), and Prop Manager Phil Dooley (Greg Norberg).

Keith Carmody (Gary Sandy) serves as FBS Network Executive, with Julie Pritzer (Talia Balsam) as second in command. While Julie admonishes Carmody not to scratch "Beat Cop" from its Network schedule, Keith Carmody says that he never watched the program and plans to axe it anyway, in order to present Dana Darren with her own starring vehicle.

(Note: While there are various characters throughout the series who share the name "Carmody" and pronounce it "CAR-mo-dy," Gary Sandy pronounces it "Car-MO-dy."

Harriet De Vol (Ann Morgan Guilbert) intercedes on behalf of Brian Thursday to warn Keith Carmody not to cancel "Beat Cop," as Harriet not only serves as Chairperson of the Board at Monolith, but she also owns a controlling majority of stocks at FBS Network.

Leo Kaplan (Paul Kreppel), however, plays both ends against the middle, as he serves as wise-cracking Talent Agent for Maggie McCauley, Dana Darren, Bert Rodgers and, for some reason, Keith Carmody, so, while Maggie and Bert wish to retain series production, Dana expresses an interest to be free to leave the series, as is usually the case in these "MSW Shows-within-a show," but in this case, any way the chips land would serve Leo's interests.

Lieutenant Vincent Palermo (Denis Arndt), a divorcée or, perhaps a widower, has two (unseen) children, for whom Maggie expresses fondness should Vincent ever feel ready to see Maggie socially. But all of that would have to wait for a while because Maggie is very busy with her re-writes, and Vincent has his hands full once a body pops up in the projection room, the victim of a gunshot wound, during a screening of "Beat Cop."

Bert Rodgers' fingerprints are immediately identified upon the murder weapon, and when he is arrested, Maggie faces additional rewrites. But whose fingerprints will be found upon the missing pencil, and can they be identified in time to rescue Maggie from a perpetrator who chases her through a secret corridor and into the projection room? After all, even though she claims that she's not a detective, she still calls this "Murder -- According to Maggie."

This episode represents the most recent acting credit to date by Greg Norberg, as well as the first of two "MSW" appearances each for Bruce Kirby and Ben Slack, the second of two each for Talia Balsam, Paul Ganus, Gary Sandy and Tim Thomerson, the second of three each for Diana Canova and Leann Hunley, the fourth of four for Greg Norberg, and the third of five "MSW's" for Vince Howard.

Ben Slack, acting in film and on television since 1973, has unfortunately since passed.