If the Shoe Fits

This episode marks one of the last appearances by Kiel Martin, who has acted in film and on television since 1960. John Harkins and Jonathan Brandis have also since passed.

When life-long bully Jack Franzen (Bruce Glover) causes frustration, pain and hardship around Cabot Cove, he goes all the way. His domineering approach, impossible expectations, outrageous demands and condescending attitude alienate the affections of his wife, Gloria Franzen (Bridget Hanley); his tenant at Owen's Shoes factory, Owen Brownwell (John Harkins); plus three of Owen's employees, Patsy Dumont (Lorna Luft), Danny Snow (Kiel Martin) and Marla Bryce (Season Hubley), who also strives to pay increasing rental fees at the residence leased from landlord Jack Franzen.

But it is Marla's preteen son, Kevin Bryce (Jonathan Brandis), who controls the primary focus of this saga with his concerned confidant, Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury), for whom he performs odd jobs, such as assisting with her gardening.

On several occasions during the course of this series, a single mother who can't seem to make ends meet to provide for her preteen son finds herself questioned during a murder investigation without a solid alibi, and so the child becomes "the man of the house" with Jessica's blessing and support.

We may decide that this formula works well here because, after all, a body has been discovered near her residence, her name-engraved shovel is missing, and so has been Marla since the day of the murder.

While Kevin eagerly launches his own investigation to defend his missing mother, it is discovered that he had once been placed in foster care back in Chicago, after he and Marla skipped out of their apartment one night to avoid paying back rent. So, now the plot thickens for Kevin to face the possibility of foster home placement once again.

Jessica assists any way which she sees fit, as she, Doctor Seth Hazlitt (William Windom), Sheriff Mort Metzger (Ron Masak) and Deputy Floyd (Will Nye) conduct the official murder investigation.

Kevin's Third-Grade Schoolteacher Lydia Johansen (Teri Ralston), Social Worker Lee McAdam (Paige Pengra), Nurse at hospital in Portland (Edwina Moore) and Cabot Cove Post Office Clerk (Dane Winters) round out the cast in supporting roles.

Lorna Luft sprinkles a few wisecrack for comic relief along the way before the final curtain, but cleverly avoids the possibly tempting "If the Shoe Fits, I'll sock it to you to boot you right out of here."

In "If the Show Fits", Jessica is a very nice lady and befriends a poor kid and his mother. And, when the mother disappears, she contacts Children's Services and gets them to agree to let her keep the boy until his mother returns. Imagine their surprised when she does disappear....and is soon jailed for murder! Does she get to keep him even when the reasons change?

This episode really emphasizes what a nice person Jessica is...as well as being a crime-solving genius. Not a bad episode at all, but a bit tough to believe that a tough, uncaring bureaucracy would just let Jessica take in a boy in need of a home.

From what we learn about Bruce Glover nobody is likely to mourn for him when he's killed. The guy was a bully, a skinflint, and a womanizer not necessarily in that order. But someone kills him and puts him in his car and tries to make it look like an accident.

Suspicion falls on Season Hubley who skipped town and left her son Jonathan Brandis abandoned. This is where Jessica Fletcher comes in as she and Dr. Hazlett intervene.

When the perpetrator is finally identified and apprehended we actually that the poor soul gets a good lawyer to get him off. The victim had been begging for this for years.

Nice scenes with Angela Lansbury, William Windom and the late and tragic Jonathan Brandis. Jessica Fletcher even becomes a temporary foster mother.

This may be my most favorite episode of MSW in existence. Rather than breaking down the entire plot as others have already done, I will focus on why this episode is great.

The show can often have pretty in-depth plot points; in my opinion, this series has always made the viewer work a little harder to understand the final conclusions. This episode is markedly easier to follow, with no complicated plot lines.

The main characters in the storyline are so endearing; Mrs. Bryce is capably believable in her love and protection of her son, in spite of her life challenges. Jonathan Brandis plays son Kevin, who is absolutely perfect in his role; he is endearingly earnest, while also being a normal (not oddly prodigal) pre-teen. He is truly the young man you may know in your own life, if you are fortunate.

The best aspect is the love and kindness Jessica has for Kevin; she treats him like her own son, and you can feel the safety that she pours out for him. It's like having 45 minutes of respite from a world that is nothing like this bubble of safety at Cabot Cove.

The culture of the early 90s was still able to convincingly depict the ideals of a safe community. In that sense, this episode is a little dated, but it's truly a joy to watch.

In terms of the plot, very little focus is given to the unsavory victim and his behaviors, but it is clear that he exploits his power and treats women poorly. This episode definitely implores the viewer to side with the perpetrator of the murder.

Thematically, it shows the power of community when others are in trouble.

It is hard to accept the loss of some excellent actors, including Jonathan Brandis, but he truly maximized his part in this role.

A bully of a landlord makes himself unpopular by upping rent and forcing his unwanted attentions on the local women, he gets his comeuppance.

It's a very good episode, with a well crafted mystery, and a good set of characters. I'd argue this has been the best Cabot Cove set episode so far in this sixth series, the main regulars are all put to good use. It's an episode where the victim is signposted, but the killer's identity comes as a surprise.

Jessica's talents are once again vast and varied, this time coming to the aid of a kid in need of foster care.

I think the young Jonathan Brandis is actually really good here, so often it was the case that young actors wouldn't exact perform well, he did a great, believable job.

Very good, 8/10.