Today on Murder, She Wrote...Double Jeopardy

A slumlord is poisoned in the confessional as he seeks absolution from the priest – his estranged son.
(from http://jesmaine.tripod.com/mswseason9.html)

Jessica's back in NYC teaching writing classes again, she hops around doesn't she? Of course, one of her students will be involved with the mystery.

Commander Chakotay from Star Trek: Voyager is in this one. He's a priest; Father Michael, but a cool one, down with the kids cuz he's playing basketball in the beginning.

Some verdict has come in, some sleazy 'slum lord', Frank Fernandez, has been found innocent in the murder of Roberto Galvan, because there's no body. Is he the future murder victim?

Father Michael is going to run for city council to replace the guy who was murdered. Better be careful!

Of course, he goes to Jessica for advice...the slum lord comes in and threatens him, tells him to give it up and not to run. Oh my god! Frank Fernandez is Father Michael's dad! Oh the irony.

Frank's other son, Raymond, is selling crack in the slums they own. Frank is not happy about that.

Roberto Galvan's body was just found because of some flooding.

The police ask Jessica to go with him to tell the family, for moral support. Fernandez can't be charged again because of double jeopardy. The Galvan family are pissed!

Jose Galvan's girlfriend, Ruth, is freaking out because she's worried Jose is gonna do something stupid. But he's not the one who's wants to do something, it's Tony Galvan.

Raymond breaks into there plant shop and threatens the family. Mrs. Galvan tells him 'If you go after my boys, I'll kill you myself.'

Looks like Raymond is the future murder victim! Drugs, family honor, slum lording...

Frank calls Father Mike and says he wants to confess his sins to his priest. He feels bad for all the things he's done. He tells Raymond that he wants him out of his life and home because he's ashamed of him.

Frank goes into the confessional. Someone throws some kind of powder in his face, POISON! They run out, they're wearing a 'St. Julian' hoodie. Frank stumbles out into Father Mike's arms. His last words are 'Forgive father, for I have sinned.' Father Mike blesses him and then he dies.

Oh yeah...Jose's girlfriend was lurking in the shadows and she knows about plants and poisons.

Jose has a 'St. Julian' hoodie. But Tony was wearing it.

The tests come back and it's poison from Jamaica. Ruth's been to the Caribbean and works at the Galvan's plant store which sells the plants that make the poison. Dun, dun, duhhhh...

Raymond gives Father Mike $25,000 dollars but he won't take it because it's dirty money. Jessica sees the whole thing.

Jose checked out a book called 'The Toxic Handbook'. Mrs. Galvan tried to confess that it was her.

Jessica goes to the library to check on something.

Ruth confesses to Jessica that she was in the church when Frank was murdered...she was everything. She says Jose did it.

But she never saw his face just the hoodie.

Tony says he wanted to kill him but wanted to shoot him and couldn't get bullets.

Jessica's figured it out! Her and the police go to talk to Raymond Fernandez. He did it!

Raymond dated one of Jessica's just to find out what was happening in the class. He killed his father because he knew that Raymond was the one who actually killed Roberto Galvan.

 My favorite line: 'Put a sock in it Raymond. She's just getting started.' - Det. Sgt. Bob Davis

Today on Murder, She Wrote...Final Curtain

Jessica is back in Cabot Cove.

Some 'famous' retired actor, David North who is from Cabot Cove, rents the local community center to put on a play before taking it off Broadway. They hold auditions and some bloke, Lyman Taggart, who 'drove all the way from Bangor!' goes all aggro because he sucks and doesn't get in the play.

David North was really good friends with Seth, the doctor, growing up in Cabot Cove. Even 'dating the same girls'...um, okay.

Lyman shows up at the restaurant that they're having dinner at and threatens Mr. North. Seth steps in, even though he's old and been drinking. Seth's recovers from his hangover at Jessica's and gets a call there that David's in trouble. He drives into town with Jessica.

Lyman Taggart goes all postal on Jessica in town...totally unbalanced...so obviously the murderer...or is he!?!

David is in the dressing room drinking cuz he's not feeling confident. Sam gives him a pep talk and than he's okay.

Jessica and the sheriff are watching the table read through and some annoying couple starts gabbing away. The sheriff yells 'DO YOU MIND!?!' at them and ends ups getting cast in the play.

The director and producer are talking about David's lame manager, Eric Benderson, and how he's suddenly getting 15% of the gross from the play.

It's the cast party and crazy ol' Lyman has shown up again and makes a scene. Seth is driving Jessica home and remembers he's forgotten his eye glasses, so they head back to the theater and find Eric Benderson with a massive head wound and ultra violet paint spillt all over. He dies at the hospital. Who killed him?

Turns out Lyman is nuts and is a celebrity stalker. They go to the Lighthouse Motel, randomly Lyman is there , he sees them and runs off. One of the rooms is on fire, it turns out to be Eric Benderson's room. Lyman is arrested. He says that he saw David North go into the motel...did he start the fire? Did he murder Eric?

The sheriff and Jessica go to the house that David North is staying at, they smell gas, breakdown the door and find him passed out on the bed. David claims that someone knocked him out from behind. Seth examines him and says that's impossible. Jessica says that the door was locked an n signs of a break-in...was he trying to commit suicide!?!

They found pictures under the bed in Eric Benderson's room. There is a picture of a car that David's friend, Vincent, had died in, in a car accident. Jessica's figured it out again!

David's rehearssing and Jessica just happens to stand in. Someone flips the switch and David's got UV paint all over him. He did it! Eric Benderson was blackmailing him! David was the one driving the car in the accident not his friend, Vincent! He was drunk as a skunk. David also started the fire to get rid of evidence.

Lyman was a total red herring, of course.

Seth is upset of course but stands by his old childhood friend.

For once the end shot isn't of Jessica smiling or laughing but falling asleep in front of her computer.

My favorite line: 'She's making sounds only a squirrel can hear.'

Today on Murder, She Wrote...The Sound of Murder

Jessica is in NYC. She's giving a writing seminar and some girl who looks like Janet Jackson is talking to Jessica about a record company, Road Jam Records, and some 'music mogul'.

Cut to a 'trendy' restaurant and the mogul Freddie, is making a deal some other guy. They are being wire tapped out in the alley. See Murder, She Wrote was way ahead of The Wire!

Jessica is making an audio recording for one of her books and overhears some 'upsetting' conversations.

Janet Jackson look-a-like takes Jessica to a heavy metal concert!

Ohh, there's some insider trading going on too, in a parking garage.

Jessica is at a music video shoot now, for a song called 'Bullet Proof. There's spandex clad girls in cages and the gayest male dancers ever. Oh my god, the male dancers are doing something like out of the end bit of the Queen's 'I Want To Break Free' video. There's actual bullet sound FX in the song...so of course somebody really gets shot...it's Freddie Major, the record mogul guy!

This time the bullet was taken to ballistics, unlike on Diagnosis Murder, the NYPD know how to do there jobs.

Jessica just made a bet with a police detective over the size of her squash.

Wow, Jessica can read music and use a sequencer.

Oh, the Janet Jackson look-a-like is called Holly.

There's a midget! His name is Giorgi Pappavasilopoulos but Jessica calls him Mr. P.

The whole business about the record company buyout is boring and confusing at the same time but I guess it's supposed to be important to the plot.

Jessica just figured out the murder with 'Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge', she's a genius.

Now she's messing around with a keyboard and the murderer has come into the VIP room. He's threatening Jessica with a gun now but Jessica is smarter than him. Of course the police detective from earlier busts in and saves the day!

A - The Adventures of Pete & Pete

The Adventures of Pete & Pete is the best live action kids T.V. show...ever! It is the surreal story of small town America through the eyes of the brothers Pete Wrigleys...yes, both of them are named Pete. Big Pete is the voice of reason...usually and Little Pete is the anarchic voice of chaos...and he has two tattoos.

I of course did not watch 'Pete & Pete' as a kid...I was 20 when it started and I had just graduated from FIDM and had moved back home. I remember watching over the summer and that's what it reminded me of...the lost summers of youth. But 'Pete & Pete' was like a memory, surreal and a bit weird and how you wanted your childhood to be like but wasn't actually like.

Adults were like another race or aliens. They were usually weirder than the kids. The Wrigley brothers' Mom had a metal plate in her head that could pick up radio signals and even got it's own opening credit. And then there's Artie 'The Strongest Man in the World', Little Pete's best friend and superhero.
'Pete & Pete' was the most indie show on T.V. not only was Iggy Pop on it, so was Kate Pierson from the B-52', Juliana Hatfield, Syd Straw form the Golden Palominos, Michael Stipe, Debbie Harry, Luscious Jackson and Gordon Gano from the Violent Femmes. Also on 'Pete & Pete' were some of our great indie actors; Steve Buscemi, Martin Donovan, Janeane Garofalo, Ann Magnuson, Bebe Neuwirth the list is long and revered.

The Pete's world was somewhere we all wanted to visit...if not live in. It was an escape from our boring lives but also a reminder of how some of the shenanigans we got up to as a kid; staying up all night, a trip to the seaside, trying to remember that song you only heard once, were at the time the biggest most important adventures of our lives!

Today on Murder, She Wrote...'Corned Beef & Carnage'

Jessica enters the world of New York City ad men...but this is not Mad Men...it's the 80's, remember!
She's in New York visiting one of her many nieces, Victoria...who of course is the main suspect in the murder of her boss, Larry, from 3 's Company.

Victoria's husband is Kenickie from Grease.

He's a struggling actor. But back to Murder, She Wrote. DOH!

Favorite line: 'I don't want to give you the short stroke.'

Today on Murder, She Wrote...'Christopher Bundy - Died on Sunday'

One of Jessica's short stories was going to be print in 'Leopard' magazine, a 'Playboy/Penthouse kinda nudie mag, and she was not happy about it! She goes with her nephew Grady to talk with the publisher, Mr. Bundy as played by Bert Convey of'Win, Lose or Draw' fame, at his Playboy-esque mansion.

It's the typical Agatha Christie several people stuck in one location cliche.
Robert Stack from 'Unsolved Mysteries' was the main suspect. He was the publisher of this magazine 'Literary Lines' that was bought by Mr. Bundy.
For once Grady is not actually a suspect but Jessica is a suspect. No, she's doesn't suspect herself silly! Detective Lt. Greco does!

Favorite line:
Jessica - 'No need to get all Russian miserablist.'

The 26 Best T.V. Shows of All Time

I'm going to go through the alphabet and write 26 reviews of my favorite T.V. shows past and present. One letter per week. Some letters will be easier than others, hopefully a really good T.V. that starts with "Z" comes a long by the time I get to it! Some letters will be hard because of too much choice...here we go!