While on a book tour, Jessica agrees to guest on a local radio talk show that has feuding co-owners. When a murder takes place, Jessica helps sort out the tangled webs of confusion to bring ... Read allWhile on a book tour, Jessica agrees to guest on a local radio talk show that has feuding co-owners. When a murder takes place, Jessica helps sort out the tangled webs of confusion to bring the killer to justice.While on a book tour, Jessica agrees to guest on a local radio talk show that has feuding co-owners. When a murder takes place, Jessica helps sort out the tangled webs of confusion to bring the killer to justice.
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaMarcus' "what's his name" quote early in the episode comes from H.L. Mencken: "No one... has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people."
- GoofsJessica tells the radio talk show host that Dostoevsky "wrote about a man who reminds me a great deal of yourself." However, "yourself" is a reflexive pronoun, such as "do it yourself," and the sentence calls for an object pronoun, in this case, the pronoun "you." Just before she walks out, she tells him, " I thought we made some rather good radio together, you and me." She should have said " you and I," because they are both the subject of the sentence. A former English teacher is unlikely to make these grammatical mistakes.
- Quotes
Jessica Fletcher: To show that there's no hard feelings, although you did mention that you don't find it necessary to read books, there's one that I'm going to send you one anyway.
Marcus Rule: Yeah, well thanks but I educate myself through electronic media osmosis.
Jessica Fletcher: Ah, extraordinary. But surely you've heard of Dostoyevsky?
Marcus Rule: [Unconvincingly] Hey, who hasn't?
Jessica Fletcher: Well, he wrote about a man who reminds me a great deal of yourself. A man who sees clearly through the hypocrisy of his society.
Marcus Rule: Really?
[pause]
Marcus Rule: Well maybe I'll have to touch base with his publisher, get him to swing by on his next book tour.
Jessica Fletcher: Oh, that would be quite a coup Mr. Rule. You see, he happens to have been dead for over a hundred years.
Marcus Rule: [Averts his gaze, disconcertedly] Anyway, what's the name of the book?
Jessica Fletcher: It's called, The Idiot.
- SoundtracksMurder She Wrote Theme
Written by John Addison
This starts with many establishing shots of a idyllic, small, rural farming community in the Mid-West. The characters make frequent references to the small town they live in. Yet we see them functioning at jobs that could only exist in a large city, if they could exist at all.
There's the large, slick, 2 story offices of a talk radio station. Multiple studios, massive front desk area, the place bustling with a non-stop flow of people running fast. The manger discusses how competitive they are in the ratings - with all the other stations that would be in the area I guess?
There's also the large campaign office for the local mayor elections. This room is pretty much the same size and set up as the police station on any cop show based in NYC. And it's filled with the same number of employees. Jessica then checks in to a mid-sized fancy hotel. As always, bustling with people.
All the while, you keep being told we are in a small farming town and we're shown more exteriors of a small farming town. Think Corner Gas or even Roseanne, or Hee Haw, by the music they play. But the characters would have to be somewhere like Indianapolis or Dallas. At one time they say the radio is expanding to 2 million new listeners by getting a new transmitter. States like Wyoming don't even have a population of half that. And somehow there's also a local horse racing track? Pick a lane, writers. It really puts you off.
By far though, the worst thing is the DJ. Wow. Every time he started talking, I wanted to turn off the show. I needed to stop the show. He's that bad. He hates absolutely everything and everyone. He tells everyone in his audience they are disgusting and stupid. Yet we are told he's number one in the ratings in this idyllic, small farming town and on track for national success? His voice and characteristics are mainly based on Rush Limbaugh, who was massively successful at this time. But we're told he's a shock jock and could be the next Howard Stern? This makes me laugh. It's so ludicrous. On the one hand, Rush might rant for long periods about politics, like this guy does. (Seriously, I think he has a 12 hour shift.) But Rush didn't turn around and also tell his own fans they were idiots all day and everyday.
At one point, Jessica sits down for an interview with him and he immediately starts in with non-stop insults to her face. Commercial, and we're told Jessica sat there for a full hour tolerating his attacks. Jessica. Right. No one would sit for it and no one would listen to it. He would have no listeners. It's supposed to all be worth it though because we get to hear Jessica eventually tell him off.
I just think the writers this week were on autopilot combined with zero knowledge of small towns or talk radio. The cast is full of people I've liked elsewhere and the acting is on the usual par for the show. I feel a good cast was wasted on this script. Well, the one guy with a Brooklyn accent was miscast and his storyline was out of place. There was no skimping on the usual budget for costumes and sets. None of that is to blame. The writing is the problem. Once the murder finally happens, the show briefly turns into the usual tropy "Jessica is visiting people who live on wealthy Western-style ranch" episode. It's like whiplash.
Did they have portions of leftover scripts that they spliced together to make this? Each scene, with its setting and characters seem cut from different, unmade episodes. I get how so many others can be able to put all this aside and like this episode. As a nearly lifelong Howard Stern fan, and Murder She Wrote fan, it really didn't work for me.
- xbatgirl-30029
- Sep 3, 2022
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Filming locations
- Blackie, Alberta, Canada(Aerial prairie scenes and ground-level grain elevator)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro