Sticks and Stones

Amos retires from the role of Sheriff, handing the role on to Estate Agent Harry. Harry's first day is eventful, poison pen letters swamp Cabot Cove, but more serious is the supposedly accidental death of Beverley. Even Jessica is accused of inappropriate relations in a letter.

This is one of my favourite episodes, some silliness and gentle humour mask a rather sinister plot. We get to meet more of the residents of Cabot Cove, the scene where Edna clouts Jessica with her handbag is hilarious.

Harry proves that there is a Sheriff out there that's even more silly the Amos, but he did have some degree of charm. It's well made, nicely filmed, and makes use of the beautiful location.

I really liked this episode, 9/10

Woman is in tub watching a small television sitting on a wooden stool standing next to the bathroom vanity about 12 feet away from the tub. The power istemporarily cut by someone wearing gloves in the basement. The woman gets out of the tub and walks across the bathroom floor to the stool where the tv sits; she jiggles the power cord in the outlet on the wall to see if it is just loose; as she grabbed the plug it is clear that the shielding on the tv cord is cut with wires exposed right where the plug is. At the same as she is jiggling the plug in the outlet, the gloved individual in the basement throws the main back on in the basement, sending electricity through the frayed wires into the hand of the woman. Next the camera returns to the hand of the gloved individual, but the sound heard is of something making a huge SPLASH. The camera is suddenly back on the woman and she is miraculously in the bathtub again, electrocuted. There is no way she could end up 12 feet away after being electrocuted by the frayed cord. On a side-note, when the gloved individual cuts the main power, the TV goes out but the lights stay on! Another goof. If it wasn't important enough for the director and editor to correct these inconsistencies...then it's not important for me to waste another second watching. Sad!

This episode marks the final appearance of Ceil Cabot, who has been acting in film and on television since 1963. Evelyn Keyes, acting since 1938, Paul Benedict, acting since 1965, and Christopher Stone, acting since 1968, have also unfortunately since passed. This also marks the third of only three acting roles thus far for Kristy Syverson.

Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) really has her hands filled with problems this time around, as she struggles to complete a manuscript, when a preppy travelogue writer appears on her doorstep, three development agents convene in Cabot Cove, the local Sheriff announces his sudden decision to retire from his post, many local residents begin to receive scathing letters, causing much animosity around the community, and bodies begin to surface in a bathtub, and dangling by a rope suspended from the limb of a tree.

Let's begin with the recurring Cabot Cove residents Doctor Seth Hazlitt (William Windom), who resists any notion of developing land around Cabot Cove for industrial purposes, and certainly communicates his feelings with Jessica and Sheriff Amos Tupper (Tom Bosley), who has finally had enough and plans an early retirement, to lounge about his yard, to enjoy the simple pleasures of life for a change of pace.

While Amos retains Deputy Willard (Philip Brown) to continue in his position, he appoints Real Estate Agent Harry Pierce (John Astin) to serve as Cabot Cove Sheriff. Harry Pierce has appeared in the two earlier Cabot Cove episodes of Season Two, and now he accepts his promotion proudly.

Michael Digby (Parker Stevenson), attempting to forge a career as an author, accepts a non-fiction writing position from a travel company to research an article about J.B. Fletcher's hometown, to to put Cabot Cove on the map. He manages an open-ended invitation to visit her residence, which Jessica reluctantly accepts, while explaining that she hasn't much leisure time to serve as hostess, to Michael's understanding and appreciation.

Meanwhile, a set of developers arrives in Cabot Cove, to become known by locals as "The Three." Lila Norris (Betsy Palmer), George Knapp (Joseph Campanella) and Bart Nelson (Howard Witt) scout around the vicinity to bargain with locals for land purchases to develop a possible industrial park.

While locals Beverly Garreth (Kristy Syverson) and Elvira Tree (Marsha Hunt) resist any offer to sell their property, Friedrich Hoffman (Paul Benedict) jumps at the opportunity to deal with the agents over the matter of a parcel of nearby land which he owns.

One resident watches television, set upon a stand, away from her tub, while bathing. After the electricity is disconnected, the emerging from the water, and handling the frayed cord of the appliance causes electrocution when the power is suddenly restored.

Suddenly, Cabot Cove residents begin to receive abusive letters containing sensationalized accounts of their alleged misdeeds and caustic accusations by their neighbors, reaping havoc about the community, now rampant with the flinging of "Sticks & Stones."

Friedrich Hoffman begins to fight with his neighbor, Nils Anderson (Denny Miller), while Mabel Bemish (Ceil Cabot) and Mel (Garnett Smith) get into the act, as well as Edna (Evelyn Keyes), who flings her purse to smack Jessica, while she shows Michael Digby around the formerly peaceful haven.

Free-for-all mêlées continue, as Adam Frobisher (Christopher Stone) launches into a fist fight with Larry Burns (John David Carson) on the docks, when Jessica happens by to call a truce long enough for Larry to inspect the wiring in the victim's house, along with Sheriff Harry Pierce and Deputy Willard.

When Jessica visits Amos in his yard, to plead for his return to try to restore law and order to their community, he stalls the decision, explaining that he has received an anonymous letter from out of town, reporting a threatening situation connecting to Real Esate, she considering this may be the one legitimate letter, which has been obfuscated from discovery with the influx of decoys, while Harry, meanwhile files, or rather, pours, incoming poison pen letters in a basket on the desk at the Sheriff's station.

Jessica then decides to enlist Michael Digby's services to investigate "The Three," by joining them for dinner at a local tavern, and feigning imbibition to the point of intoxication, to attempt to finagle information regarding the controversial land deals in the making, by Lila Norris, George Knapp and Bart Nelson.

As Cabot Cove remains abuzz this evening, "Sticks & Stones" continue to fly, as Michael is suddenly unable to reach Jessica, who assigns him to tell "The Three" a little secret, to narrow plethora of suspects, while Jessica slips to the residence of an elderly neighbor, and stumbles across a body suspended from a tree in the yard, with a suicide note hastily typed in the upstairs portion of the residence. Jessica investigates the kitchen, to determine that the cast iron skillets and pans have not been used recently, instead the lighter, stainless steel ones in their place, thus determining that the second victim has also been murdered.

The cast is rounded out by Ken Sansom as Man, Bob Tzudiker as Agent, and Danny McCoy Jr. as Waiter.

Tom Bosley is going to retire as Cabot Cove's chief law enforcement officer, Amos Tupper is giving up the badge. The new sheriff is the untried John Astin who was previously a real estate salesman.

Right off Astin has one suspicious death that of an eccentric old woman was electrocuted while watching television in her bathroom. Then there's a plague of letters descend on Cabot Cove, anonymous letters telling the addressed people nasty tales about someone else in town.

Then another woman Marsha Hunt is found hung and no one suspects the suicide they were supposed to. In the meantime some property that Hunt owned might be developed for condominiums and spoil a magnificent ocean view.

All these things are connected and all I can say is that it's a good thing that Angela Lansbury had former sheriff Tom Bosley around to help her. In fact Bosley has the key to solving the two homicides.

A nice cast of some very familiar faces are in this Murder She Wrote story which makes it good and comfortable viewing.

By the way this episode also has Angela Lansbury when she confronts the killer almost mocking the clumsy attempt to make the first look like a suicide. As close to cynical as I ever saw Jessica Fletcher get.

According to IMDB, this episode of "Murder, She Wrote" was lifted from the British series, "Miss Marple"--in particular, the episode entitled "The Moving Finger".

When the episode begins, a woman in a bathtub leaves it because her TV on the bathroom counter stopped working. When she touched the cord, she got electrocuted! While it looks like a sad mistake, naturally, Jessica determines it was no accident!

At the same time, the townsfolk all start receiving poison pen letters, designed to set neighbor against neighbor. Assisting Jessica is a strange thing....the new Sheriff, Harry Pierce (John Astin), who had been the town's realtor.

Solving the mystery this time wasn't difficult....and my wife and I noticed the BIG clue early on in the show. But the story was still interesting and fun to watch....but I had to deduct a point in my rating because the show was not exactly original.