This episode begins at the bus depot in Buffalo New York before the story line moves to New York City where Jessica is taping an infomercial! Hartley Publishing is launching a new promotional service called the “Murder of the Month Club” where readers can subscribe to get new mystery novels every month, and Jessica along with two other Hartley Publishing authors is taking part.
When one of the people who were in the audience during the taping of the infomercial is found dead, Jessica investigates!
Just the facts:
The episode begins with a murder that happens at night in a car just outside the Buffalo bus depot, with one man killing another one (a supposed friend) with a long piece of fabric (perhaps a tie or a belt). This murder is no mystery (except of perhaps the motive for it, which I feel we never quite learn/understand), but the episode does eventually depict another crime…
Click on the text below to reveal spoilers.
Click to reveal the victim
It was Arnold Wynn, an aspiring writer and the first killer!Click to reveal the killer
It was Joellen Waller, a new bestselling writer!Click to reveal the weapon
It was quinine poisoning from tonic water that the victim was allergic to!Click to reveal the location
It happened around 10pm at night in the hallway of the Infomercial production offices!Click to reveal the motive
The victim was attempting to blackmail the killer for having plagiarized her classmate’s (i.e. the first victim’s) book when they were all taking the same creative writing class with Mat Matthews at the East Buffalo Community College!Click to reveal the major clue
It was the off-script question during the infomercial taping! The victim was sitting next to the person who asked the question, and the question was directed to the killer.Cast of characters:
- Gale Hansen as Arnold Wynn, the first killer in Buffalo.
- David E. Elliott as Stewart Murphy, the first victim in Buffalo. This is Elliott’s third and final appearance on MSW; he previously appeared in “Three Strikes You’re Out“, and “When the Fat Lady Sings“.
- Jeff Conaway as Tom Powell, the director of the infomercial (and part owner of the infomercial company). This is Conaway’s fourth and final appearance on MSW; he previously appeared in “For Whom the Ball Tolls“, and prior to that he appeared in two episodes as Howard Griffin, the husband of Jessica’s niece Victoria.
- Kerri Green as Sara Ogilvie, the stage manager at the infomercial company who is having an affair with Tom Powell.
- Patrick Fabian as Larry Shields, a representative from Hartley Publishing who is spearheading the “Murder of the Month” promotional idea.
- Ian Ogilvy as Wade Foster, the former star of “Philip Manners, P.I.” and the host of the infomercial. This is Ogilvy’s fifth and final appearance on MSW; he previously appeared in “Murder in White“, “The Monte Carlo Murders“, “The Sicilian Encounter“, and “Appointment in Athens“.
- Anthony Zerbe as Mat Matthews, an old mystery writer who thinks he’s washed up.
- Cec Verrell as Joellen Waller, an up-and-coming young author who just published a bestselling mystery novel.
- Gwynyth Walsh as Gina Powell, wife of Tom Powell who “handles the books” at the infomercial production company.
- Leonard Lightfoot as Detective Henderson, whose usual partner Lt. Gelber is up in the Catskills with his wife. This is Lightfoot’s fifth and final appearance on MSW, each time playing Detective Henderson; he previously appeared in “For Whom the Ball Tolls“, “The Phantom Killer“, “Murder at a Discount“, and “Portrait of Death“.
- George Di Cenzo as Lt. Harry Fogel, is investigating the informercial production company because a note with “Telesales Production Inc” was found at the scene of the crime in Buffalo. This is DiCenzo’s sixth and final appearance on MSW; he previously appeared in “Murder in Milan“, “The Sicilian Encounter“, “Harbinger of Death“…
- Dena Burton as Fran, a hired extra playing an audience member in the infomercial.
- W. Earl Brown as the security Guard at the infomercial offices (referred to as “Ernie” in the episode). building security guard the night the body is discovered; “Ernie”
Final thoughts and other trivia:
This episode includes a brief scene with Jessica raising her coffee mug, which ended up being reused for the Season 12 opening montage.
Given that this episode revolves around the publishing world, we get further details regarding books written by J.B. Fletcher. Curiously, while The Corpse Swam By Moonlight is featured in the infomercial, it’s actually The Man Cried Die (which is touted as Jessica Fletcher’s newest novel) that is visible on the posters advertising the Murder of the Month Club.
Murder, She Watched 