Disclosure: The following contains affiliate links. At no additional cost to you, I may receive a small commission if you click through and make a purchase. Click here to read the full Affiliate Disclosure.
Just as I had done when I reached the end of Season 3, Season 4, Season 5, Season 6, Season 7, Season 8, and Season 9 I wanted to put together a recap of Season 10 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.
One thing that stood out to me about this season in particular is the effort that the writers and producers went to in order to maintain a sense of continuity throughout the show. Episodic television, especially that in the 1980s and 1990s, wasn’t really known for paying much attention to continuity — with details about the characters and their back story often changing from episode to episode in order to suit the plot. However, this season in particular went out of its way to bring back old characters (establishing some as recurring characters throughout the season), and to provide a few focal points regarding Jessica’s personal and professional life.
For instance, several of the episodes mention that Jessica’s latest bestseller is “The Uncaught”. Several episodes also mention Jessica’s involvement with a newly established museum in New York City. But perhaps the biggest sense of continuity comes through the recurring characters, which collectively highlight Jessica’s dual life in both Cabot Cove and New York City…
NYC characters:
The most notable of all the recurring characters in Season 10 is Lieutenant Artie Gelber, who first appeared in Season 9’s “The Mole” and “Threshold of Fear“. While this means he was already a recurring character in Season 9, he was brought back to appear in four more episodes in Season 10 (and one more episode in Season 11). But, this time, he was provided with a sidekick. As a result, both he and Detective Henderson appeared in “For Whom the Ball Tolls“, “The Phantom Killer“, “Murder at a Discount“, and “Portrait of Death“.
In fact, all but one of the police detectives that Jessica Fletcher dealt with in New York City were recurring characters who had appeared in one other episode each. (The only exception being the detective in “Proof in the Pudding“.) In the remaining NYC episodes, we get Nick Acosta (who appeared in “Murder on the Thirtieth Floor” after first appearing in Season 8), Sgt. Vince Lofton (who appeared in “Time to Die” after first appearing in Season 9), Lt. Alan Terwilliger (who appeared in “The Dying Game” after first appearing in Season 9), and Lt. Peter DiMartini (who appeared in “A Murderous Muse” after first appearing in Season 9). However, unlike Artie Gelber, these characters would not come back again in future seasons.
Other notable recurring characters in Jessica’s NYC live include Jessica’s doorman Richie Kanpinski (who appeared in “A Murderous Muse” after first appearing in one Season 9 — although he was mentioned in at least one other), and her publisher Ted Hartley (who appeared in “Murder at a Discount” and “Murder on the Thirtieth Floor“, after first appearing in one Season 8 episode).
Cabot Cove characters:
Within Jessica Fletcher’s Cabot Cove realm, we still get the same main recurring characters as we got in the last few season, i.e.: Dr. Seth Hazlitt, Sheriff Mort Metzger, and Deputy Andy Broom. The one notable change is that, after Eve Simpson’s final appearance in Season 9, a new female recurring character was brought to Cabot Cove in the form of town librarian Jean O’Neill (who appeared in “The Legacy of Borbey House” and “Wheel of Death“).
Additionally, I thought it was notable that Charlie Garrett, the new private eye in Jessica’s life, makes his second ever appearance in a Cabot Cove episode: “Deadly Assets“.
On the other hand, there are several other episodes in which Jessica purportedly meets former Cabot Covers outside of Cabot Cove. This was the case when she visits the son of an old friend who is now working in San Francisco in “A Virtual Murder“, and also when she runs into a lottery winner turned artist in NYC in “Portrait of Death“.
Season 10 by the numbers:
Number of nieces/nephews/cousins etc. = 0
Number of “dear old friends” = ?
While in the early seasons Jessica is constantly dropping in on family members or friends from her past, in the later seasons it is increasingly difficult to distinguish “dear old friends” from those she simply knows professionally. And even when it does seem like she is visiting a friend, in reality she is combining the trip with professional endeavours. For instance, in “A Death in Hong Kong“, she mentions she is also there on a lecture tour; and in “Bloodlines” and in “Roadkill“, she is there to do research for a book.
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 five episodes primarily set in Cabot Cove, and there was only one murder in each of the episodes. Four of the five victims were visitors or newcomers to the town; however, what is particularly notable about this season is that all of the murders that took place in Cabot Cove were perpetrated by long-time residents!
Number of episodes set in New York City = 9
The number of episodes set in New York City grew a little bit this season; but given that the season only had 21 (as opposed to 22) episodes, this meant that close to 50% of the season was set in NYC. Additionally, although a few of the episodes featured story-lines related to Jessica’s career, the overwhelming majority of them had to do with her involvement in her local NYC community.
J. B. Fletcher, Globetrotter
Given that so many episodes were already set in Cabot Cove and New York City, that didn’t leave much room in the season for episodes set elsewhere. There were a total of seven episodes in which Jessica travels to other other places. Of these, only three took place in other American cities and states: San Francisco in “A Virtual Murder“; Virginia in “Bloodlines“; and Texas in “Roadkill“). The other four took place in other countries: Hong Kong in “A Death in Hong Kong“; County Cork in Ireland in “A Killing in Cork“; London, England in “Murder in White“; and somewhere in British Columbia, Canada in “Northern Explosion“.
What did you think of Season 10? 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 