Murder Takes the Bus

Television shows from this time are famous for very low production value. This episode is remarkable in limited settings. The bus that is to take Fletcher and Sheriff to Portland drives the same curve over and over and over. We never see it on a straight stretch mostly because of the thunder storm. Rain storms are produced for movies and television by using fire trucks to spray massive amounts of water into the air. It is intended to fall like rain on the set. But rarely is rain made that way actually looks like rain. The area to make rain is not large unless many fire trucks are used. This episode uses mostly two sets, the restaurant and the bus interior. MSW has light stories as it is really a show to give audiences the opportunity to enjoy Angela Lansbury.

Amos accompanies Jessica on a bus trip to Portland, where she plans to give a speech. The weather takes a turn for the worse, and a worried looking man boards the bus, headed for Portland. As they continue on their journey they break down. All passengers head into a Cafe, as the bus driver remains outside to fix the engine problem. Jessica returns to the bus to collect a book, where she discovers the worried man, dead, with a screwdriver stuck in his shoulder.

There are many fans of the show that would place this episode top of the pile, for good reason. It is a brilliant mystery, has a true whodunit setup. It's dark, stormy, loaded with suspects, the principle cast are all cut off, and there's a big twist at the end. The music is arguably the best score to feature on the show. There are virtually no flaws to this episode, it's a wonderfully interesting cast, the villain has history, he's not just a bad guy upsetting all and sundry, even Amos Tupper shows a level of intelligence, proving he can observe and think, ahead of Jessica.

Every single thing about this episode is spot on, it's brilliant. 10/10

Jessica Fletcher and Sheriff Amos Tupper take a bus from Cabot Cove bus to Boston and it ends in murder.

The victim is Gilbert Stoner who boarded the bus along the route. He is fresh out of prison for robbery and murder. When the bus develops engine problems, it stops at a diner.

Stoner is found dead on the bus and one of the people on the bus must be the killer. Jessica Fletcher finds out that many of the people who boarded the bus had some kind of link to the victim.

The story is a variant of Murder on the Orient Express with some bluffs and double bluffs. It relies on some clever observation from Jessica Fletcher to figure out the murderer.

There is a cast of well known faces. From Rue McClanahan to Larry Linville and Linda Blair.

John Davis Chandler was one of the scariest actors in Hollywood. He had a wonderful way of playing weasel-like psychopaths...cold, calculating and just plain nuts! Because of this, it's a real same that he's barely in the show. In fact, he barely gets anything to say or do, as he was the murder victim in this episode...and he died VERY early into the show.

As for the show itself, the plot seems very, very familiar...too familiar. I've seen quite a few films and TV shows that were much like this one in many ways.

Jessica and her friend Sheriff Tupper (Tom Bosley) are going on a bus ride to Portland, Maine. The night is very stormy and eventually the storm becomes so bad that the bus is forced to stop...and when everyone gets off the bus to hang out in a cafe, one of them can't...as he's dead. Obviously SOMEONE on the bus was a killer.

The story, as I said above, is filled with story elements I've seen quite a few times already. The stranded bus, the victim who was involved in a robbery where the money was never recovered and more...all stuff that murder mystery fans will remember from other shows and movies. Now that does NOT mean it's a bad episode, the acting is quite nice, but it cannot be a great episode with so little new and unique content.

Murder follows wherever Jessica Fletcher goes, even on a bus that she and Tom Bosley are taking to different destinations.

This story is a homage to Agatha Christie's classic Murder On The Orient Express where John Davis Chandler is murdered on the bus. Turns out Chandler was a career criminal just released from prison who stashed a lot of loot from his last job before he was caught.

And like in the fame Christie classic a whole lot of the bus passengers had some kind of connection to Chandler even to one of them just being an insurance investigator hoping Chandler would lead him to the hidden loot. But greed is not the only motive for killing this man.

I have to say the murderer figured a clever way to give himself an alibi, just not clever enough.

We learn that Tom Bosley before he became sheriff drove a bus for a while. His knowledge of the operation of the vehicle turns out to be valuable.

One of the best of the series.