Murder, She Wrote (Season 1)

The Murder of Sherlock Holmes (Episode 1) 7.0

Air date: 1984-09-30

Runtime: 90 min

Overview: Former English teacher Jessica Fletcher travels to New York to celebrate the success of her debut novel, but when an unwanted guest is murdered at a costume party, she wishes she'd stayed home.

Deadly Lady (Episode 2) 6.6

Writer: Peter S. Fischer

Air date: 1984-10-07

Runtime: 45 min

Overview: After a terrible storm, Stephen Earl's four daughters tell Sheriff Tupper that their father died while they were out on the boat. Jessica is only midly intrigued; she finds Ralph, the older gentleman who has offered to work for food, much more intriguing, especially since it is obvious he comes from money. The womens' stories about what happened on the boat change constantly, but once Ralph is found dead and later found to be Stephen Earl, Jessica has to help Amos wage through the inconsistencies in the four Earl daughters storylines to determine who killed their father and why.

Birds of a Feather (Episode 3) 6.4

Writer: Robert Swanson

Air date: 1984-10-14

Runtime: 45 min

Overview: Jessica heads to San Francisco for the wedding of her niece, Victoria Brandon, only to learn that Victoria is having second thoughts because she suspects that her fiancé, Howard, is having an affair. Although Jessica and Victoria are relieved to learn that Howard isn't cheating but rather dressing up as a woman to perform at a nightclub, the relief is short lived when Howard is arrested for murdering his boss, Al Drake, who had been refusing to pay him. The police are convinced that Drake was shot during Freddy York's act, which doesn't leave a lot of time, but Jessica is determined to prove Howard's innocence.

Hooray for Homicide (Episode 4) 6.7

Writer: Robert Van Scoyk

Air date: 1984-10-28

Runtime: 45 min

Overview: Jessica's first book, The Corpse Danced at Midnight, is being made into a major Hollywood motion picture, backed by producer Jerry Lydecker. Jessica is furious to see how her book is being butchered by Lydecker and his crew. She heads out to Hollywood to confront Lydecker, but things take a turn when Lydecker is found dead on stage. Jessica ends up being the prime suspect in the murder, but luckily the officer in charge of the investigation believes she's too smart to be the killer and sets her up to find the real murderer.

It's a Dog's Life (Episode 5) 8.8

Writer: Mark Giles

Air date: 1984-11-04

Runtime: 45 min

Overview: While visiting her cousin at Langley Manor, a country estate in the South, a man dies during a fox-hunt under strange circumstances, and Jessica tries to find out what really happened.

Lovers and Other Killers (Episode 6) 8.0

Writer: Peter S. Fischer

Air date: 1984-11-18

Runtime: 45 min

Overview: While in Seattle lecturing at the university, Jessica is convinced that the young man she hired as her secretary is not a killer.

Hit, Run and Homicide (Episode 7) 8.0

Writer: Gerald K. Siegel

Air date: 1984-11-25

Runtime: 45 min

Overview: Jessica helps a most unconventional neighbor who is accused of murdering his former partner with one of his inventions.

We're Off to Kill the Wizard (Episode 8) 7.5

Air date: 1984-12-09

Runtime: 45 min

Overview: Jessica is asked to help solve the "impossible" murder of a wealthy, and much disliked, amusement park owner.

Death Takes a Curtain Call (Episode 9) 7.0

Writer: Paul W. Cooper

Air date: 1984-12-16

Runtime: 45 min

Overview: While attending a special ballet performance, Jessica helps solve the backstage murder of a young dancer by a defecting ballerina.

Death Casts a Spell (Episode 10) 8.0

Writer: Steven Hensley

Air date: 1984-12-30

Runtime: 45 min

Overview: Jessica's deductive abilities are in demand when a flamboyant hypnotist turns up dead, behind locked doors, in front of an audience of journalists whom he had put into a trance.

Capitol Offense (Episode 11) 7.0

Writer: Peter S. Fischer

Air date: 1985-01-06

Runtime: 45 min

Overview: Jessica is assigned to fill the empty seat of a deceased congressman for a brief period of time and finds a great deal of political game-playing in Washington.

Broadway Malady (Episode 12) 7.5

Writer: Tom Sawyer

Air date: 1985-01-13

Runtime: 45 min

Overview: Broadway legend Rita Bristol and her daughter star in a musical produced by her son, not knowing that murder is lurking in the wings.

Murder to a Jazz Beat (Episode 13) 5.0

Air date: 1985-02-03

Runtime: 45 min

Overview: While in New Orleans, Jessica must solve the mysterious murder of a famous musician who died while performing onstage.

My Johnny Lies Over the Ocean (Episode 14) 7.5

Writer: Peter S. Fischer

Air date: 1985-02-10

Runtime: 45 min

Overview: Jessica's niece is terrorized on a cruise intended to take her mind off her husband's recent death...or is he dead?

Paint Me a Murder (Episode 15) 7.5

Writer: Peter S. Fischer

Air date: 1985-02-17

Runtime: 45 min

Overview: The life of a famous artist is threatened on what would be otherwise an idyllic Mediterranean island.

Tough Guys Don't Die (Episode 16) 8.0

Writer: Peter S. Fischer

Air date: 1985-02-24

Runtime: 45 min

Overview: Jessica meets Harry McGraw and they figure out which one of three cases may contain the motive for the death of a private detective. One dates back 25 years.

Sudden Death (Episode 17) 7.0

Writer: Robert Swanson

Air date: 1985-03-03

Runtime: 45 min

Overview: Jessica suddenly must learn all about football when she inherits an interest in a professional team.

Footnote to Murder (Episode 18) 7.0

Writer: Robert Swanson

Air date: 1985-03-10

Runtime: 45 min

Overview: An unpublished manuscript is stolen and its author murdered during an awards convention.

Murder Takes the Bus (Episode 19) 8.0

Writer: Mary Ann Kasica

Air date: 1985-03-17

Runtime: 45 min

Overview: Bus trips are not always as relaxing as they should be. In this case, one passenger had a one-way ticket.

Armed Response (Episode 20) 7.0

Writer: Gerald K. Siegel

Air date: 1985-03-31

Runtime: 45 min

Overview: Over Jessica's protests, she is taken to a hospital after a minor accident in the airport.

Murder at the Oasis (Episode 21) 7.5

Writer: Robert Van Scoyk

Air date: 1985-04-07

Runtime: 45 min

Overview: An unpopular show-business personality discovers that elaborate security systems are no guarantee of safety.

Funeral at Fifty-Mile (Episode 22) 7.0

Writer: Dick Nelson

Air date: 1985-04-21

Runtime: 45 min

Overview: A Wyoming rancher leaves all to an ill-fated stranger, to the disgust of his disinherited daughter.