Good-Bye Charlie

This was shot as one of the shows that where shot to allow Angela Landsbury a break from the fast pace of doing a series. Well if she was going to be absent from an episode this was the one to do it! It was shot as a pilot for an incompetant private eye (Bill Maher) and his girlfriend. Dreadful story telling, dreadful acting except on the part of the "guest" stars. You'd think Levinson/Link with their success with tv shows could have written one successful pilot to try out during these special Jessica episodes. Only the Law and Harry McGraw got a nod and (sadly for fans of Jerry Orbach and his character Harry McGraw) made it to full series albiet shortlived. Just skip this episode and don't look back.

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.

This may be a very broad statement for "Good-Bye Charlie", and one that not everybody is going to agree with, but that is just my feeling. That is not to say that 'Murder She Wrote' didn't have disappointing episodes before then, it certainly did (every season had at least one average, some barely, episode, even Seasons 2, 4 and 5, three of the show's better seasons). Many of them were lifted though by a good cast and a couple (like "Truck Stop") being visually unique.

"Good-Bye Charlie" did have good things, but they come too far and between and not particularly noticeable. It is one of my least favourites of the bookend episodes (coming from someone who doesn't have a bias against them, not all of them are bad) and, while not the worst 'Murder She Wrote' episodes, it is one of my least favourites of the show as well. It just doesn't feel like 'Murder She Wrote', and not just because Jessica isn't the star but mainly because the general spirit of the show isn't here. It doesn't work as a standalone episode. And it would struggle to pass muster as an introduction for a show of its own.

Not even a very young Bryan Cranston can save this. The cast do do their best, but they are ill-served by bland, ill-drawn characters (some not adding anything to the story and instead pad or confuse it, and the lead character is less than compelling) and a dreary script that has far too heavy a tone for a usually light-hearted show.

Crippling "Good-Bye Charlie" is the story and the pacing. On first viewing, this stood out as very hard to follow. Now, two viewings later (for fairness sake), it still is, the worst of it borderline incoherent and does nothing with the somewhat distasteful premise that is far too removed (even for doing something different) to usual. And no, this is coming from somebody who has no problem with stories that aren't simple (actually love the more complex, twisty stories more in fact) and comprehension is usually not an issue either. Still to this day, "Good-Bye Charlie" is in the top 5 of the most confusing 'Murder She Wrote' episodes.

Also have no problem with episodes/films that don't move quickly. There are examples of both that have slow pacing and still manage to be great and more. "Good-Bye Charlie" crawls along at a snail pace, dragging on and on, and dramatically is as inert as one can get. That the story is also hard to follow and never attention-grabbing makes the episode fall in the top 10 dullest 'Murder She Wrote' episodes. It's too between this and the Dennis Stanton bookend with the (if remembered correctly) Mark Twain manuscript as the dreariest.

For all these numerous criticisms, there are good things with "Good-Bye Charlie". Production values as ever are slick and stylish, with a nice location. 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.

Angela Lansbury bookends the episode well. There are parts where the writing is thought-provoking.

On the whole, one of my least favourites from 'Murder She Wrote'. 4/10 Bethany Cox

This episode has Angela Lansbury telling us viewers the plot of her latest mystery masterpiece. This particular episode tends heavily toward the comic and it should with married couple Bill Maher and Faith Ford as stars.

Maher is a private detective, but hardly any Dashiell Hammett or Raymond Chandler type hero. He's from the snap and trap school of detective with his ever present camera working divorce cases hoping to find an errant spouse cheating.

But one day a lawyer drops in and tells him that he could be a secondary heir as he is trying to locate his Uncle Charlie who was a real sponge of a relation while he was alive. But now some woman has left him a seven figure estate and it goes to Maher if he can prove his uncle is also no longer among the living. As he was last heard from near Reno, Nevada, they decide to head there and claim a body which was found near railroad tracks 30 miles west of Reno as dear old Uncle Charlie.

Maher and Ford work a good con. But two others made the same claim that this mangled corpse is one of their relatives.

I can't say much more other than in the process Maher helps Sheriff David Huddleston solve another murder. And there's a delicious double ironic twist involving Maher and Huddleston as a climax.

Lots of humor is laced into this Murder She Wrote.

Jessica introduces the viewers to her latest story, a tale of inheritance and lies. If this is the standard of Jessica's writing, I'd sooner stick to the books of Eudora. Joking aside, this is an incredibly poor episode, and once again proves the point that the series should have been made shorter to allow Lansbury to enjoy a well deserved break. This just isn't up to much as a story, it's one of those that should it have featured Jessica, you'd have said, it wasn't good, but at least it featured Lansbury, who elevated it somewhat, without that the only thing of interest we have here is the leading man's mullet. Almost everyone is a caricature, each character is utterly over the top, and impossible to take seriously. If you're a casual viewer, this is one to avoid. 4/10.

During the run of "Murder, She Wrote", the series aired a few so-called 'bookend' episodes. In these, Angela Lansbury introduces the show and in some cases narrates, but she does NOT star in the show. Instead some other amateur detective does the sleuthing. Most of these are, at best, okay. However, while they only did one such episode in the prior five seasons, in season six, "Good-Bye Charlie" is the fourth bookend THAT season....and considering this is only episode 12 I wonder how many more will occur this season. Was Angela Lansbury ill or have some other commitment this year? All I know is that they aren't generally welcome shows.

Frank Albertson (Bill Maher) is a down and out private detective who is one step away from bankruptcy. However, he sees a possible way out when he learns that his old Uncle Charlie has a fortune. But there's a hitch...no one knows where Charlie is. So Frank concocts a plan...to have Charlie declared dead. But when he learns that they need to wait seven years until such a declaration can be made, he comes up with a plan....to claim the body of ANYONE who might conceivably be Charlie. So he and his wife (Faith Ford) do some research....trying to find a town where a horribly disfigured man was discovered dead. Then, they'll claim the body...and Charlie's fortune. Once they find the perfect body, there's a hitch...two other folks have also claimed the body is their loved one! What's next?

This comedy episode is very different in style than other "Murder, She Wrote" installments...too different for my taste. It wasn't so much bad as...different. And, unlike other bookend episodes, I cannot imagine this one being made in to a regular series. Overall, a bit below average but enjoyable.