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Just as I had done when I reached the end of Season 3, Season 4, Season 5, Season 6, Season 7, and Season 8 I wanted to put together a recap of Season 9 trivia after having reached the end of this season in my episode summaries. Murder, She Wrote is known for certain recurring themes/motifs/imagery, and one of the things I was most curious about when I embarked on this project to document each episode is: just how frequently these themes/motifs/imagery recur.
But before I get to giving a run-down of this trivia, I wanted to take some time to discuss the significance of Season 9 in the history of the show as a whole. As many long-time fans know, the previous season marked a major shift in the direction of the show as Jessica Fletcher got an apartment in New York City and started teaching at Manhattan University. Notably, in this season, it seems that her stint teaching criminology at Manhattan University is (seemingly) over as the university is no longer mentioned — although she does mention having to correct student papers in “The Big Kill“. While it’s possible the student papers are for criminology classes, they might equally be for the creative writing seminars she is shown to be teaching this season — either in her apartment (as in “The Sound of Murder”) or in a local community center (as in “Double Jeopardy“.)
But, notwithstanding that, Season 9 did attempt to maintain some continuity in the show.
Season 9 brought back some old characters…
Although Season 8 featured many recurring characters relating to Jessica’s New York City life (such as her doorman Ahmed, or her boss at Manhattan University Dr. Raymond Auerbach), only one such character was brought back for Season 9: her fellow university instructor Sean Cullane was her Irish travel companion in “Wind Around the Tower“.
However, there were two characters from Jessica’s pre-NYC days that were brought back for one last episode each. After bringing him back for Season 8’s “The List of Yuri Lermentov“, this season brought back Jessica’s secret agent friend Michael Hagarty for one final appearance in “Sugar & Spice, Malice & Vice“. The season also featured a final appearance from Jessica’s jewel thief turned insurance investigator turned ship’s security chief — Dennis Stanton. Dennis’s appearance in Season 9’s “Ship of Thieves” was a surprise to viewers who hadn’t seen him since his appearances in Season 7.
…and established a few new ones:
One of the most notable recurring characters that was established in Season 9 is Lieutenant Artie Gelber, who appeared in “The Mole” and “Threshold of Fear“. He would go on to appear in five more episodes in subsequent seasons.
There were many more characters that would end up being brought back in later seasons — most notably Charlie Garrett, who appeared in “Dead Eye“. But unlike Artie Gelber, they only appeared in one episode each and so it’s not clear whether they were meant to be recurring characters from the get-go.
However, there is one other “character” that warrants a special mention: the interior of the Cabot Cove Coffee Shop appears for the first time in “Family Secrets”, and it is a location that is used in almost every Cabot Cove episode going forward.
Season 9 is both unique and familiar at the same time:
In addition to being notable for its characters and locations, Season 9 is also notable for having the only episodes in which no murder takes place. And there isn’t just one such episode, but two! In “A Christmas Secret“, a murder is attempted but the victim ultimately survives. Whereas in “The Petrified Florist“, it turns out that the murder was actually a dream!
At the same time, Season 9 is quite standard for a Murder, She Wrote season. It is one of five seasons which begins with an episode that finds Jessica overseas, and one of three seasons that ends with an episode in which another author visits Cabot Cove.
Which brings me to my run-down of recurring motifs…
Season 9 by the numbers:
When it comes to the characters that appear in the series, the show continues to shift away from Jessica’s personal life to depicting more of her professional life. Just as in the previous season, we don’t see Jessica visiting with any of her relatives, and we barely see her visiting dear old friends. Instead, Jessica frequently stumbles upon a crime in the publishing world or due to her fame, and occasionally she stumbles upon a crime in her neighborhood (whether that be in Cabot Cove or in NYC).
Number of nieces/nephews/cousins etc. = 0
Number of “dear old friends” = 1?
While in the early seasons Jessica is constantly dropping in on friends from her past, in the later seasons it is increasingly difficult to distinguish “dear old friends” from those she simply knows professionally. In season 9, there is only one friend that appears to possibly be someone that Jessica knew prior to becoming an author, and that is her artist friend in “Night of the Coyote“. Note that, while she does meet a friend from her college days in “Ship of Thieves“, this was a chance meeting and not someone that Jessica set out to visit.
Number of Cabot Cove deaths = 5
Although many fans believe that there are fewer episodes set in Cabot Cove following Jessica’s move to New York City, that definitely isn’t the case. This season, just like most previous seasons, featured six episodes with scenes set in Cabot Cove. One episode (ep.18) finds Jessica traveling to a different city where the murder ultimately occurs; one episodes (ep.9) does not have any murders; three episodes (ep.2, ep.11, ep.22) have one murder each; and one episode (ep.17) has two murders. Thus, there were a total of 5 murders in Cabot Cove that year. Four of the victims were visitors (or temporary residents), and most of the killers were visitors to the town as well.
Number of episodes set in New York City = 8
In comparison to the Cabot Cove episodes, there were almost twice as many episodes in which Jessica investigates a murder in New York City. However, just as in the previous season, Jessica’s connection to each of these murders breaks down in an interesting way:
- In two of the cases, Jessica’s celebrity status pulls her into the case. This is the case in ep.3 and ep.5.
- In two of the cases, Jessica gets involved because they involve her students. This is the case in ep.10 and ep.12.
- In two of the cases, Jessica gets involved because they involve people in her neighborhood. This is the case in ep.16 and ep.19.
- And in two of the cases, Jessica gets involved because they involve people she knows professionally. This is the case in ep.8 and ep.21. (Notably, while episode 8 includes scenes that take plane in Jessica’s NYC apartment, the actual murder takes place in Westchester NY.)
J. B. Fletcher, Globetrotter
As usual, Jessica Fletcher does a lot of travelling throughout the series. Notably, aside from the episodes that take place in Cabot Cove and New York City, each of the other episodes take place in unique regions/locales.
Thus, we have Jessica visiting Milan Italy (ep.1), Ireland (ep.4), a town in New Mexico (ep.6), San Francisco (ep.7), Westchester New York (ep.8), Miami (ep.13), a town in the Midwest (ep.14), Beverly Hills California (ep.15), Portland Maine (ep.18), and cruising the Caribbean (ep.20).
What did you think of Season 9? Are there any motifs or significant details about the history of the season that you think I missed? Let me know in the comments!
Murder, She Watched 