Murder Digs Deep

Jessica arrives in New Mexico at the request of Seth, to help on an archaeological dig. The dig is headed up by the wealthy, if grumpy Gideon Armstrong. As the team sit down to eat, they witness a native on the mountain top who chants duly every night. Gideon's wife Cynthia, drunk, decides to take a pot shot at the figure, and hits him. However, when the body is found, there are unexpected complications.

I quite like this episode, it is rather silly in parts it's fair to say, but it has plenty of strengths. Primarily its production values, it looks fantastic, really making use of the location filming, which is wonderful. A good storyline, well acted, particularly by Robert Vaughn, who is wonderfully grumpy as Gideon.

I wouldn't say it's a series high point, but it's light, watchable, and satisfying. 8/10

While doing research for a book, Jessica comes out to an archaeological dig in New Mexico, a potential site for the lost golden city of Coronado. However, she finds more troubling issues than the desert sun. When local Indian guide Raymond Two Crows is found dead at the top of a cliff, almost everyone concedes it was an accident and the head of the diggings, Gideon Armstrong, determines not to let the story leak out before he's found what he's looking for.

Archaeological venture, hunting for treasure, Indian in cloak warning off the archaeologists and murder. What's there not to like? The mystery of the dead body and it had fallen off the ledge, however he had died from drowning. In a desert? What a puzzle, what an episode. There's a myriad of characters like Robert Vaughan's tyrant expedition leader, his glamorous and drink loving wife, a writer who wants Jessica to write his Autobiography and others. Great setting, grand denouement- classic MSW episode.

In this episode, Jessica Fletcher joins her friend, Dr. Hazlitt (William Windom), on an archaeological dig in New Mexico. Yes, this is unusual...but this is "Murder, She Wrote"! Not surprisingly, there's a death that appears to be accidental but soon it turns out that it was murder...and Jessica is determined to solve it since they are in the middle of no where. The problem is a rich jerk (Robert Vaughn) and a self-aggrandizing professor (George Grizzard) are major impediments in her investigation.

This is a decent episode with a decent puzzle for Jessica Fletcher to solve. The solution to the murderer's accomplice, well, that seems to come from out of left field. But otherwise quite enjoyable.

I enjoyed the lessons in archaeology and heritage, and the episode kept me guessing longer than usual. Jessica's friendship with Seth is always a fun one.

This episode of Murder She Wrote has both Jessica Fletcher and Doctor Seth Hazlitt on an archaeological dig in New Mexico. It's one of the few episodes that William Windom is away from Cabot Cove and we learn he's got an interest in archaeology.

The expedition is financed by tycoon Robert Vaughn who is hoping to uncover one of Coronado's fabled seven cities of gold. As Coronado never managed to find one of them even though he mapped for Spain most of the Southwest USA what do you think Vaughn's chances are?

But he's got celebrity archaeologist George Grizzard along and another archaeologist David Groh as well along with some students of Groh's as well. And a bored wife in Connie Stevens who wishes she was anywhere else but in the desert heat.

It's the murder of the Indian guide Randolph Mantooth that makes a pair of murderers wish that Dr. Hazlitt hadn't brought his good friend Jessica Fletcher along.

Highlight of the story is that Angela Lansbury gathers the cast in Poirot style for her conclusions. During the course she explains how the arrogant Mr. Vaughn has been made a fool of.

Viewers will enjoy that.