The "spoilers" in this review do not reveal anything about the identity of the killer or details of the final scenes. This review is intended to discuss plot holes without ruining the show for anyone reading this before watching the episode.
Jessica has another niece, Nita, who has a regular role in a soap opera-but she's afraid she's soon going to be written out of the show because the head producer/writer of the series appears to have her playing a serial killer, which will lead to a short stay on the soap.
Like any MSW episode, we quickly see who's going to be killed because it's the person almost everyone hates. In this case, everyone except Nita and the kindly old 30-year-veteran of the series, Lloyd Nolan in his last role, as Julian Tenley. He seems to be the calming voice who is loved by everyone.
It seems this soap has risen greatly in the ratings since Joyce took over the show and started killing off characters in the series. Now some regulars want off the show but they have a contract, and others believe they will soon be killed off-their characters-but want to stay on.
Jessica has her hands full trying to figure out the clues, getting little help from Robert Walden (Joe Rossi on Lou Grant) as the police lieutenant who enters the case after the murder is committed. As usual, he arrests Jessica's niece and she has made herself look guilty by being observed at the scene of the crime about the time of the murder and then disappearing until the next day.
One twist from the usual, we see the victim get shot by someone wearing the all-black costume Nita has worn in filming the soap opera. We don't see enough to figure out who it is. One thing seems certain: It would make no sense for someone to commit a murder wearing the very outfit the are known to wear on the TV series. To avoid being seen and recognized? Sure, but why not a different disguise so as to not risk pointing the police in your direction if you are seen?
If you don't think too much about the things I'm about to discuss, you can most definitely enjoy this show. It's got all the usual Murder, She Wrote people and actions, including a second shooting and a surprise plot twist-at least it was to me.
Here's where they went wrong: One of the shootings was done by a veteran of the TV business, who inexplicably did not know that the prop gun taken away from the studio was loaded with blanks. Who over the age of 7 would think actors in a TV show are shooting at each other with real bullets?
Even worse, at the big scene where Jessica reveals the killer, she has no evidence whatsoever and does not get the killer to confess to anything. The killer is taken away, but unless they can get a confession quickly, has zero chance of being convicted. As we saw things, the killer had not been given the Miranda warning, which should likely prompt a request for an attorney and there would be no confession and certainly no conviction.
This was definitely not one of this series' better efforts. I cannot give it a score higher than 4.
Jessica has another niece, Nita, who has a regular role in a soap opera-but she's afraid she's soon going to be written out of the show because the head producer/writer of the series appears to have her playing a serial killer, which will lead to a short stay on the soap.
Like any MSW episode, we quickly see who's going to be killed because it's the person almost everyone hates. In this case, everyone except Nita and the kindly old 30-year-veteran of the series, Lloyd Nolan in his last role, as Julian Tenley. He seems to be the calming voice who is loved by everyone.
It seems this soap has risen greatly in the ratings since Joyce took over the show and started killing off characters in the series. Now some regulars want off the show but they have a contract, and others believe they will soon be killed off-their characters-but want to stay on.
Jessica has her hands full trying to figure out the clues, getting little help from Robert Walden (Joe Rossi on Lou Grant) as the police lieutenant who enters the case after the murder is committed. As usual, he arrests Jessica's niece and she has made herself look guilty by being observed at the scene of the crime about the time of the murder and then disappearing until the next day.
One twist from the usual, we see the victim get shot by someone wearing the all-black costume Nita has worn in filming the soap opera. We don't see enough to figure out who it is. One thing seems certain: It would make no sense for someone to commit a murder wearing the very outfit the are known to wear on the TV series. To avoid being seen and recognized? Sure, but why not a different disguise so as to not risk pointing the police in your direction if you are seen?
If you don't think too much about the things I'm about to discuss, you can most definitely enjoy this show. It's got all the usual Murder, She Wrote people and actions, including a second shooting and a surprise plot twist-at least it was to me.
Here's where they went wrong: One of the shootings was done by a veteran of the TV business, who inexplicably did not know that the prop gun taken away from the studio was loaded with blanks. Who over the age of 7 would think actors in a TV show are shooting at each other with real bullets?
Even worse, at the big scene where Jessica reveals the killer, she has no evidence whatsoever and does not get the killer to confess to anything. The killer is taken away, but unless they can get a confession quickly, has zero chance of being convicted. As we saw things, the killer had not been given the Miranda warning, which should likely prompt a request for an attorney and there would be no confession and certainly no conviction.
This was definitely not one of this series' better efforts. I cannot give it a score higher than 4.