Murder a la Mode

I love MSW, and this review does not reflect my usual adoration for the star, Dame Lansbury.

As a younger person, I never took interest in this show; thanks to syndication, I really enjoy watching and trying to pay close attention to the subtle clues of each murder.

As much as I wanted to love this episode, it was just not very captivating. The motive of the murder was not very clear, and it was an implausible clue (why I titled my review 'ridiculous') that preceded the solution of the murder.

In addition, Elia Thompson exuded annoyance and a smug expression the entire episode. Also, she was a poor choice for a high-fashion runway model, and the whole runway portion was a little embarrassing to watch.

The inclusion of the smuggling, and Huan's character, made it all seem like too much to squeeze into one episode. There was enough potential material within the "fashion" triangle of characters, as I saw it.

The unlikable characters were too many for me to enjoy watching this episode, in addition to the silly plot and embarrassing fashion details. 4 Stars are for our mystery heroine, who never fails to deliver.

While I love the Cabot Cove episodes with the Dr. and the sheriff, It is fun to see Jessica get out and about to exotic locations. Set in the world of French fashion, it is harder to guess the murderer than some other episodes.

Like many episodes of "Murder, She Wrote", this one is set abroad...though it was actually filmed in California. And, like many of these 'traveling' episodes, the accents of some of the locals seem to come and go...particularly with the police inspector.

Jessica is in Paris for some book tour and she just happens to have a friend who is there because she's a top fashion model. Not surprisingly, someone soon is murdered...and Jessica decides to investigate.

This is a decent episode despite few in the cast having French accents as well as those who did, it seemed to come and go. The mystery itself is decent and the show is mildly interesting.

This episode begins with a pre-title Prologue, containing footage of a clothing factory's destruction by fire by dark of night, in Paris, France, with Cambodian Kim Huan (Yuji Okumoto) vowing to Kim Huan's Wife (Candace Kita) to avenge the injuries and mistreatment of the factory's exploited employees.

Later in the week, Publisher's Press Agent Dan Morgan (David Garrison) welcome Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) on her second visit into Paris, to promote a French language version of her latest Murder Mystery, while she revisits Hotel Inter-Continental, and again attends a fashion show, and again must deal with a manipulative, philandering mogul who strings along a chain of overlapping romances.

Jessica's dear young American friend Carrie Quinn (Ellia Thompson) models for Faragere Fashions, and for some reason has dumped her still-devoted-to-her-for-another-reason Photographer, Rick Evans (Daniel Markel), while he was shooting in Milan, for her overbearing, underhanded, jewel-smuggling employer, Edmond Faragere (François Guétary), of whom she relates as her "true love" in conversation with Mrs. Fletcher.

Faragere's also employs Fashion Designing spouses Paul Vaughn (James Sutorius) and Thea Vaughn (Maureen Mueller), but while Paul conducts his operation, Thea professes her devotion to her true love, Edmond Faragere and plays both ends against the middle, as she intends to join his new operation.

Denise Naveau (Natalia Nogulich) assists in designing and tailoring at Faragere's even though she and Edmond have been an item of the past. Still, Edmond strings Denise along to control her career and affections, as he does with Thea and Carrie.

Claude Faragere (Clifford David), the step-father of Edmond, and a veteran Fashion mogul, who founded Faragere's, befriends Jessica and confides his disappointment with Edmond's behavior toward his employees, as well as to his step-son's operating the now-gutted factory, at which several lives have been lost earlier in the week as a result of conditions too poor to withstand the ravage of flames.

Invitation Checker (Bettina Spier) welcomes Jessica and Dan to the fashion reception, as they arrive behind Kim Huan, who enters the gathering to enact his revenge against fashion industry powers-that-be.

But when Kim Huan aims a pistol at the crowd, the nearby Jessica douses him with her goblet of champagne, causing him to reverse direction, and to dart through the factory, dropping his pistol, while being pursued.

Inspector Marc Gautier (François-Eric Gendron) responds to the thwarted attack, with Detective (Frank Bruynbroek) on hand for a minute, and applauds Jessica's reaction, as do others around her, including Dan, who suggests this quick response as a good publicity stunt to promote Jessica's book, a notion to which Jessica objects modestly.

Jessica then discovers Kim Huan inside her Hotel Inter-Continental room later that night. After he expresses his gratitude for preventing him from shooting anyone, she, subsequently, believe his story, especially when Inspector Gautier arrests Kim Huan after a body is discovered in an automobile, a victim of Kim Huan's pistol.

And then, after secrets come to light, various individuals involved with the fashion show make resolutions of their own, while Jessica, watching Carrie's modeling her sleek teal gown, suddenly realizes the motive behind "Murder a la Mode."

This episode represents the second of two "MSW" guest roles each for Maureen Mueller, Natalia Nogulich and Ellia Thompson, and the fifth of five "MSW's" for James Sutorius.

(Extra points for the performances by Natalia Nogulich with her plausible French accent, Maureen Mueller with her understated Noir Fem Fatale behavior, and Yuji Okumoto for his avenger-with-a-heart delivery, and also for the presences of David Garrison, Daniel Markel, Frank Bruynbroek and James Sutorius for fitting in nicely into five very different "MSW" predicaments.)

Jessica arrives in Paris to work on her latest book, whilst there she meets up with friend Carrie, who's making her way in Paris as a model, but Jessica naturally ends up embroiled in a murder.

It's not a particularly memorable episode, I'm sorry to say it, but it's like a poor copy of A Fashionable way to die, a strong story from a few years ago.

On the plus side, I didn't quite know who it was until the end, on the down side, when it got to the reveal, I had almost nodded off. Pacing was actually pretty good, a shame the story was just so bland.

Unusual in that there's no 'tonight on Murder, she wrote,' instead we get a little snippet of a story, a sweat shop being burned down, it's different.

James Sutorius and Clifford David are both decent, and both stand out, unfortunately Ellia Thompson is very wooden.

I didn't enjoy this one at all.

5/10.