Death by Television Returns!

Patron Saint of TV

I love TV. I love talking about TV. My friends come to me for TV suggestions and look forward to my Facebook posts about TV. I am a TV Addict.
I'm just super lame about writing about it on this blog. I haven't written anything in months but I get 20-30 views a day! Imagine how many views I will get when I actually get off my ass and actually post something regularly...so that's what I'm going to do. I promise to post something at least twice a week from now on.
Television is in a golden age right now, some people say it's a platinum age. So, there will be a lot for me to write about. I have strong opinions on TV, I don't rate The Wire but love Murder, She Wrote. I watch almost all the Real Housewives like modern soap operas. I talk about the drag queens on RuPaul's Drag Race like other people talk about athletes. I binge watch shows on Netflix and Amazon Prime...and other online arenas.
I'm going to post about new shows, shows that are streaming online, TV classics, popular TV, not so popular TV, trash TV...I'm also going to continue with my original plan, which was to go through my favorite TV shows in alphabetical order. And 'live' blogging some of my favorite shows past and present; Murder, She Wrote, Friday the 13th: The TV Show and I think I'm going to do The Avengers too, it's such an odd show.
Oh yeah...and the Judge Judy or Judge Milian quote of the day!

Recently watched:
Preacher
Stranger Things
Suspects
The Avengers
Real Housewives
Holby City

Started watching:
Bates Motel

Murder, She Wrote episode 5...It's a Dog's Life

Image by Getty Images via @daylife'A fox hunter dies when his normally placid horse goes wild, and suspicion falls on the heir to his estate: his dog' Murder, She Wrote Definitive Guide

During the opening title sequence someone is seen giving a grey horse a pill of some sort.

Jessica is visiting her cousin Abigail Benton Freestone, played by Lynn Redgrave, and ends up at a fox hunt. She is surrounded by a rich spoiled family, the Langleys. They are bitching and sniping with each other. Abigail is the horse trainer for the Langleys.

During the fox hunt, the head of the family, Denton Langley's horse is spooked and Denton dies in a fall.

Jessica's cousin Abigail is distraught...she 'admired him greatly'...she's also pissed off with his 'selfish family' who 'only wanted his money.'

Time for the reading of the will! The lawyer is Marcus Boswell, Dean Jones from the Herbie films! The is on a VHS tape...'the latest in will technology!' and 'it's legal as hell!' Denton basically disses all of his family members...the art work goes to the 'national gallery' and the rest of it $15 million dollars goes to his faithful dog Teddy! And if Teddy dies of anything besides natural causes then the money goes to the RSPCA.

So of course, someone is trying to make Teddy look mentally unstable so the money is taken away from him. He bites this guy Isaiah Potts...'a notorious liar'.

Abigail and Jessica go to see Boswell, Morganna Cramer ne Langley, is there disputing the will. Saying that Teddy is of 'unsound mind'. Boswell keeps getting calls from his broker...he wants his money! He bought some stock recommended by Spencer Langley, who in debt up to his elbows.

Teddy is hanging out with the security guard, Barnes, when Trish Langley, drunkenly, pulls up in her car to the front gate. The guard runs down there to help her just in time to see her crushed by the gate...ewwwww.

There's a paw print on the gate button in the security room! Teddy killed Trish!

Jessica goes down the crime scene and 'helps' the deputy...by breaking the chain of custody by touching Trish's fur coat.

Boswell comes into the kitchen whilst Jessica and Abigail are having tea...he has a mysterious oil stain on his suit.

They then figure out how Teddy could have been trained to push the button.

OMG...a really long complicated explanation of how Trish was murdered...I can't even go into it.

They tell everyone it was with a whistle...the sheriff has happened to find a whistle with Abigail's initials...so she and the dog are jailed for murder!

A lot more crazy stuff happens but it's all too ridiculous that I can't even get into it.

So, we're at the inquest now and of course Jessica is the expert witness and explains the thing...
The murderer is...MARCUS BOSWELL! The incriminating piece of evidence...a bike clip!

Murder, She Wrote episode 4...Hooray for Homicide

                         Image via Wikipedia'Jessica becomes a murder suspect when she threatens a film producer who has plans to glamorize one of her novels' Murder, She Wrote Definitive Episode Guide

A Hollwood producer Jerry Lydecker, played by genre actor John Saxon most famous for the 'Nightmare on Elm Street' films, buys one of Jessica's book and tranforms it into an entirely different movie. So she flies out to L.A. to confront him.

Basically, he bought it for the title. Jessica is not happy with the way the story has been changed in the film. Her name and reputation are stake...Jessica tells him she going to 'do whatever it takes to stop this picture from being made.' right in front of his secretary...that's going to come back and bight her in the butt.
Jessica finds the body of Jerry Lydecker on the graveyard set and of course is now a suspect in his murder.
John Astin aka Gomez Addams is the director of the movie, Ross Hayley. He tells Lt. Hernandez that pretty much everyone wanted Lydecker dead.
Lt. Hernandez 'volunteers' Jessica to go tell the 'leading lady', Eve Crystal (Melissa Sue Anderson...aka Mary Ingalls in 'The Little House on the Prairie') that Lydecker has been murdered...she finds her at his beach house, drunk.
The film company decide to they want to continue with making the movie. Ross Hayley is now the producer and director of 'The Corpse Dances at Midnight'.
Lt. Hernandez dramatically arrests Jessica on the set of the movie...but he knows that she'll find the real killer. But she's been barred from the lot as a 'disruptive influence'..so how is she going to solve the murder!
Somehow, she gets to watch some of the rushes and sees something that peaks her interest. Crystal Eve and her co-star Scott Bennett are an 'item'.

Image via Wikipedia

Jessica goes to the Wardrobe Department and talks to the head Wardrobe Mistress, Elinor, played by screen legend Virginia Mayo!
She goes to check Crystal Eve's dressing room when Hayley runs out and knocks her over. Lt. Hernandez arrests him for Lydecker's murder and when he pats him down he finds the button that Jessica was looking for earlier.
Jessica throws a party as she's about to head back to Cabot Cove...but the party is a classic mystery move...she's going to confront the real murderer!
She does a toast to Ross Hayley 'Wrongfully accused of murder.' and then everybody suddenly leaves accept for Crystal.
Ross did take the button from the murder scene but only to protect Crystal...she's the one who murdered Lydecker because he was going to fire her lover Scott Bennett.
Jessica figured it out because 'real drinkers' don't mix whiskey and diet cola...Crystal is a diabetic and can't drink...she was faking it.

Murder, She Wrote episode 2...Deadly Lady

Sheriff Amos Tupper

"A multimillionaire is swept off his yacht during a hurricane near Cabot Cove, but his four daughters aren’t exactly drowning in sorrow." from the Murder, She Wrote Definitive Episode Guide

This is the episode we are introduced to Sheriff Amos Tupper (Tom Bosley aka Mr. Cunnigham from Happy Days) of Cabot Cove.
Jessica helps out a 'hobo' Ralph by cooking him breakfast for weeding her garden. But she soon figures out that he is not actually a hobo, just some retired businessman who wants to see America from another prespective.
Jessica gets called down to the docks...a wealthy millionaire, Stephen Earl, has been swept overboard and presumed dead by his four daughters...did one of them do it?
Jessica returns to her house to find Raplh still there. She gives him her deceased husband, Frank's pipe.
Jessica figures out that the yacht would've been in the eye of the storm and the sea would have been calm.
One of the dughter's freaks out and says that she shot him on deck. Sheriff Tupper arrests her there and then.
Jessica sees a picture of Stephen/Ralph in the local paper and rushes back to her house with her good friend Ethan...but he's gone! At the same time a body is found on the beach it's Stephen Earl/Ralph!
Jessica is well pissed off.
When they confront the daughter, Maggie Earl, that claimed to have shot Stephen/Ralph she breaks down and tells them that the two of them had actually planned his 'death' to prove that one of the daughter's boyfriends is a golddigger but now he is actually dead.
Jessica says that there's no way the body was in the water for three days.
Looks like half of Cabot Cove are searching the beach for clues...a pair of shoes are found with a broken heel. They are Nan Earl's shoes...did she kill her father!? They make her try them on and they fit.
They take her to the policde station so her goldigging boyfriend can make an idiot of himself with her hiding in the other room.
Jessica confronts the rest of the sisters about the shoes, saying sisters often borrow each others clothes and shoes.
The daughter who claimed to have planned their father's death breaks into Jessica's house...she killed him in the end! She confesses to everything and then threatens to kill Jessica...but of course Jessica had called Sheriff Tupper and he was listening to the whole conversation.
With the murder sovlved Jessica goes sea bass fishing eith Ethan.

Outfit of the Show: Jessica wore a fluffy white cardigan with black fish on it that looked nice and warm.

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The First Episode of Murder, She Wrote...The Murder of Sherlock Holmes

Image via WikipediaIt looks like ITV3 is showing Murder, She Wrote from the beginning, which is the perfect opportunity for me to 'live blog' them!
The pilot episode was a full length TV movie but is now shown as a two parter...Jessica Fletcher, a retired teacher from the small town Cabot Cove in Maine heads to New York City to publicise her first novel. While there she gets invited to a costume ball at her publisher, Preston Giles' mansion; where one of the guests Caleb McCallum (Brian Keith, the dad in The Parent Trap) who is dressed as Sherlock Holmes, is murdered! He's found dead, face down in a pool.
Ned Beatty's the local police detective trying to solve the crime.
Wait a second...Mr. McCallum is dead afterall! So who's dead? It's the private detective Baxendale.
In what will become a recurring trend, Jessica's nephew Grady is the suspect.
I'll finish this tomorrow when I watch part 2...
So, Jessica is following a suspect, Ashley Vickers, on a bus in NYC, of course going through a dodgy bit.
She gets off the bus and is mugged by two thugs...and one of them is Andy Garcia! She gets saved by a black kid, who we're supposed to think might mug her too, but turns out to be a fan.
Ned Beatty's detecive gets called to Captain McCallum's boat...and gets stopped by two police officers, they all find a body in the sail!  It's Caleb McCallum!
Oh my...Jessica's just been kissed by her publisher!
She's now getting a train back to Cabot Cove...btw: nobody actually takes the train in the U.S., it is purely a romantic image used by the film and television industry.
She looks at a newspaper and then suddenly rushes off that train onto another one, for some reason only know to her...at this time.
She ends up going back to Giles' mansion...and her suspicions are correct the first man she's loved since her husband died is the murderer!
And finally, she heads back to Cabot Cove again...telling Grady she's never coming back to New York City and she might not write another book too!
But we all know that whe goes on to write lots of books and solve lots of crimes!

Related articles

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• Murder She Wrote (growingyoungereachday.wordpress.com)
• Murder, She Wrote 2 (product-reviews.net)

Today on Murder, She Wrote...The Big Kill

The murderers of a fisherman and a banker have nearly the same M.O., but are the crimes connected? 

(from http://jesmaine.tripod.com/mswseason9.html)

It was a dark and stormy night in Cabot Cove...The Sheriff, Mort, shows up at the cove and helps fisherman Henry carry something onto his boat, but he is clueless as to what it is, he's just being nice. And then one of the Warriors, Michael Beck, turns up and threatens the other fisherman Al.

Oh yeah...the plot...I was too busy uploading the picture of Michael Beck...money and armaments and smuggling.

Henry the fisherman calls the Sheriff and says he has something important to tell him. He does this after giving his daughter $1,000 from poker games...she doesn't believe him.

There's a traffic jam in Cabot Cove because of an over-sized truck from the evil company that MichaelBeck works for. It's owned by Chad Everett, he used to be famous too. He has a mustache in this.

The Sheriff goes to meet Henry on his boat and finds him dead...carbon monoxide poisoning.

Al has some guy tell him that he can't be 'shipping' the merchandise he has. He calls someone and threatens them.

Eve the local real estate agent is 'in love' with Chad Everett's character, Martin Fraser, and is helping out networking etc for the 'underwater imaging' thing.

 He's in it too. His name is Henry Gregg. You probably recognize him, he's in everything. Usually a bad guy like in this, Carl Ward, he threatens Mr. Fraser. Wants half the money he gets from his contract.

A second body is found on the docks with almost the same wounds as Henry, it's Carl Ward!

Michael Beck's character, Brian Bentall, doesn't seem to be a bad guy, he's super smart.

Henry's daughter gets a package from him that he sent before he was killed. It's his log book and a bunch of other evidence.

Jessica goes to see the Sheriff about something...I've kind of lost track of the comings and goings of the so called plot.

Jessica sees some ropes in some guys truck and of course knows where she's seen it before. They are Mr. Fraser's boat.

AN INTERNATIONAL ARMS DEALER IS IN CABOT COVE!?!

Mr. Fraser has an alibi, he was with Eve...until breakfast both nights. Nudge, nudge. Wink, wink.

Seth the doctor says 'Gossip gets round this town faster than a phone call.' Which triggers Jessica into solving the murders.

They go to see Mr Bentall to drop some hints...oh no! He did it! But Why?

He goes to the docks to get something and they confront him.

A very old cell phone was used in the murder...seriously, it's a brick.

Poor Eve...Mr Fraser is going to jail. But don't feel bad for her, a handsome gentleman needs her to find him a home in Cabot Cove.

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!

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.'