User Reviews

This episode marks the final television performance by Harry Guardino, acting in film and on television since 1951.

Radio station KGAB 102.3 FM, in Easton, in an unspecified Midwestern U.S. state, plans major changes on the eve of the unveiling of its new 20,000 Watt transmitter, which would afford it the power to reach a state-wide audience, to influence voters in a U.S. Senatorial campaign.

With their marriage crumbling, KGAB co-owners, Louise Anderson-Crowe (Lindsay Crouse) with the elegant French braid and Colin Crowe (Lyman Ward) hold conflicting views of candidates, with Louise's supporting David Osterman (Victor Brandt) and his stand for labor and agriculture, and Colin's opposing him and his campaign manager, Alex (James Harlow).

As part of their forthcoming divorce settlement, Louise plans to hand her family's radio station reigns to Colin, who has built up the audience by hiring the controversial, opinionated, brassy "shock jock" announcer Marcus Rule (Jeff Yagher), who insults guests and callers alike, and upholds Colin's vendetta against candidate David Osterman.

Station employee Ronna Samuels (Georgia Emelin) transports the old KGAB's final guest to Easton Arms Hotel to welcome the celebrity, who visits the community on her Midwest book tour, one Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury).

Before Ronna exits the lobby, sharing plans with Jessica for the next day's schedule, Jonathan Baker (Stephen Caffrey), with whom Jessica shares familiarity, arrives to welcome her to the community. When Ronna, who has been romantically involved with Jonathan, but ditched him for Colin Crowe, asks Jessica how she knows Jonathan, Jessica informs her that he's the son of her publisher's attorney, and she has known him since Jonathan was a child.

On the day of the interview, Jessica meets KGAB Broadcasting Engineer Danny Cochran (Harry Guardino), who expresses gratitude that hints from her books have generated winnings for his betting upon horse racing. He and Louise also find pleasure in Jessica's standing up to the insulting Marcus Rule during their live on-air interview, but to the dismay of Colin, who holds Marcus to his contract so that he may not accept a position in Chicago.

Jessica has two more days to spend in Easton, before her flight to Los Angeles departs, and so she accepts an invitation to the next day's reception for the unveiling of the new transmitting tower, which Jonathan has helped to design. (Angela's voice seems to crackle of a sign of a cold throughout this episode).

David Osterman is evicted from the ceremony after an altercation with Marcus, but Louise smooths events long enough to open the proceedings with the unveiling of the tower. As the banner is lowered, a body appears on the ledge, causing uneasiness from the audience below.

Sheriff Leland Waterman (William Lucking) leads the murder investigation with assistance from Deputy Stallings (Tim Schnabel), who handles fingerprinting reports from evidence on the rifle, which has been discovered near the scene, and identified as the murder weapon. Sheriff Waterman graciously includes Jessica to assist in the investigation, an honor she accepts to prove her friend Jonathan innocent even though he owns the rifle and matches one set of its fingerprints.

When the fingerprinting laboratory matches the second set of prints on the rifle with Ronna, she is also brought into the police station for questioning, but Jessica explains that Jonathan has been teaching her how to practice rifle maneuvers.

While Jessica and Ronna await the arrival of Jonathan's estranged attorney father's attorney (as in a lawyer's lawyer), to defend the suspects, Jessica also finds another opportunity to patch up young love, as she stumbles across a new clue, which may tie together loose ends outside the station of "Killer Radio."

The cast is rounded out by Dallas Cole as Woman, Cynthia Harrison as Desk Clerk, and Annie O'Donnell as Doctor Annie Farnum.

This episode also represents the first acting credit for James Harlow, the most recent acting appearances by Dallas Cole and Tim Schnabel, the second of two "MSW" performances each for Stephen Caffrey, Dallas Cole and Annie O'Donnell, the second of three for Lyman Ward, the third of three for Jeff Yagher, the fourth of four for Harry Guardino, and the fifth of five "MSW" guest roles for William Lucking.

Three, Six, Nine: Jeff Yagher certainly proves his versatility on this series if you are able to believe that it is he who portrays the corrupt, athletic Deputy Wayne Beeler in "The Cemetery Vote (#3.20)," the quiet, preppy Scott Fielding in "The Big Show of 1965 (#6.16)," and the showy, brash, loud-mouth jerk Marcus Rule in "Killer Radio (#9.14)."

The 90s were the decade of the shock jocks who came into their own on radio and sadly have never left us. Such a one is Jeff Yagher who really gives a bravura performance on this Murder She Wrote episode.

JB Fletcher is booked as a guest on his show, but her very show of her superior education really is something he's not prepared for. What Yagher is prepared to do is move on to a bigger market. That is if station owner Lyman Ward will let him out of his contract. Ward has ambitions and he likes having a personal attack dog on the payroll.

But it's Ward who winds up dead and it's the son of her publisher's lawyer Stephen Caffrey who is chief suspect. Both Ward and Yagher are such lovable guys there are lots of folks looking to do them in.

This MSW episode didn't go quite in the direction I thought it would. But that's all for the better. One really should see this for Jeff Yagher.

Jessica is out and about promoting her new book, she appears on a radio talk show, and encounters Marcus Rule, a host that loves to shock, and rile his guests, soon after her interview, she's involved in a murder.

This was a pretty good episode, it's a good story, an interesting mystery, it's well acted. It's quite easy to spot who the victim is going to be, but the solution is an interesting one. When you think of some of the journalists doing well now, Marcus wasn't perhaps too overly outrageous.

I'll get my gripe out of the way first, those opening sequences in the car with Ronna, she doesn't look ahead, that wheel is shaking about like a rollercoaster, it's too obviously a fake car scene, and there's another later on.

Great scene between Jessica and Marcus, a hack journalist taken to task by someone a great deal more clever. Did Lansbury maybe have a cold here, she sounds a little under the weather.

I loved seeing Harry Guardino here, what a smashing, charismatic, larger than life actor. Jeff Yagher was really good as Marcus, an awful character, he made him really loathsome, he played the part well.

7/10.

At first, I was put off by the idea of MSW incorporating a radio shock jock's shenanigans into one of its stories. It seemed gimmicky and ephemeral. But it turned out to be nicely done - and not just in terms of the acting and dialog. To a thoughtful viewer, what was presented as the shock jock's routine interview hit-and-run actually concealed some valid, and troubling, questions about such existential topics as death, gender equality, the price of success. Let's face it, MSW's unspoken but fundamental marketing message, especially in the early seasons, appeared to be: "Ladies -- see how life brings you places once you bury the husband!" It's nice to see this message articulated by a character on the show, as farcical and off-putting as he may be otherwise.

While visiting friends in the farming town of Easton, Jessica Fletcher finds herself involved in the intrigues of a local radio station, which lead to murder. The conflicts around the radio station is what makes this an interesting one. It's a good episode, enjoyable, though lacking in the detecting angle, and it's good to see Jessica putting a Howard Stern-wannabe in his place with her wise words.

Have always been quite fond of 'Murder She Wrote'. It is a fun and relaxing watch that makes you think as you try to unwind in the evening. If one wants more complex, twisty mysteries with lots of tension and suspense 'Murder She Wrote' may not be for you, but if you want something light-hearted and entertaining but still provide good mysteries 'Murder She Wrote' fits the bill just fine.

Season 9 to me is one of the weakest and most inconsistent 'Murder She Wrote' seasons, leaning more towards the disappointing with notable exceptions such as "A Christmas Secret". Luckily, after two disappointing episodes in a row "Double Jeopardy" and "Dead Eye", "Killer Radio" is one of the season's better episodes. There are for me more surprising 'Murder She Wrote' endings, and even of the season (though it's mostly been disappointing in this regard) where those for "The Wind Around the Tower", "A Christmas Secret" and "Final Curtain" were shocking and clever.

Wasn't particularly shocked by the ending and compared to the rest of the episode it was a little anaemic. Maybe it takes slightly too long to get to the murder too.

The mystery though is an engaging and diverting one, even more interesting are the conflicts at the radio station and how the episode thoughtfully addresses topics that are still very much relevant.

Angela Lansbury is terrific as always as Jessica, and the supporting cast all round are pure class. Jeff Yagher in particular enjoys himself as a deliciously brash sleaze, and Lindsay Crouse, William Lucking Stephen Caffrey, Lyman Ward and Harry Guardino are just as good if not in quite as juicy roles.

Production values are slick and stylish. The music has energy and has presence but also not making the mistake of over-scoring, while it is hard to forget or resist the theme tune.

Writing is thankfully back to the amiable and thought-provoking kind than the dreariness and sloppiness of the previous two episodes, Jessica's priceless annihilation of Rule is one of my favourite 'Murder She Wrote' moments.

Overall, very good and one of the season's better episodes. 8/10 Bethany Cox

I'm sorry. The setting and characters for this episode were both jarringly confusing and unlikeable from the first moment. There was never a chance for me to get into the storyline and care about any of it. It was like nails on a chalkboard at times. I really had to force myself to keep watching. It's no wonder I've never once seen it in reruns on tv. I blame the writing.

This starts with many establishing shots of a idyllic, small, rural farming community in the Mid-West. The characters make frequent references to the small town they live in. Yet we see them functioning at jobs that could only exist in a large city, if they could exist at all.

There's the large, slick, 2 story offices of a talk radio station. Multiple studios, massive front desk area, the place bustling with a non-stop flow of people running fast. The manger discusses how competitive they are in the ratings - with all the other stations that would be in the area I guess?

There's also the large campaign office for the local mayor elections. This room is pretty much the same size and set up as the police station on any cop show based in NYC. And it's filled with the same number of employees. Jessica then checks in to a mid-sized fancy hotel. As always, bustling with people.

All the while, you keep being told we are in a small farming town and we're shown more exteriors of a small farming town. Think Corner Gas or even Roseanne, or Hee Haw, by the music they play. But the characters would have to be somewhere like Indianapolis or Dallas. At one time they say the radio is expanding to 2 million new listeners by getting a new transmitter. States like Wyoming don't even have a population of half that. And somehow there's also a local horse racing track? Pick a lane, writers. It really puts you off.

By far though, the worst thing is the DJ. Wow. Every time he started talking, I wanted to turn off the show. I needed to stop the show. He's that bad. He hates absolutely everything and everyone. He tells everyone in his audience they are disgusting and stupid. Yet we are told he's number one in the ratings in this idyllic, small farming town and on track for national success? His voice and characteristics are mainly based on Rush Limbaugh, who was massively successful at this time. But we're told he's a shock jock and could be the next Howard Stern? This makes me laugh. It's so ludicrous. On the one hand, Rush might rant for long periods about politics, like this guy does. (Seriously, I think he has a 12 hour shift.) But Rush didn't turn around and also tell his own fans they were idiots all day and everyday.

At one point, Jessica sits down for an interview with him and he immediately starts in with non-stop insults to her face. Commercial, and we're told Jessica sat there for a full hour tolerating his attacks. Jessica. Right. No one would sit for it and no one would listen to it. He would have no listeners. It's supposed to all be worth it though because we get to hear Jessica eventually tell him off.

I just think the writers this week were on autopilot combined with zero knowledge of small towns or talk radio. The cast is full of people I've liked elsewhere and the acting is on the usual par for the show. I feel a good cast was wasted on this script. Well, the one guy with a Brooklyn accent was miscast and his storyline was out of place. There was no skimping on the usual budget for costumes and sets. None of that is to blame. The writing is the problem. Once the murder finally happens, the show briefly turns into the usual tropy "Jessica is visiting people who live on wealthy Western-style ranch" episode. It's like whiplash.

Did they have portions of leftover scripts that they spliced together to make this? Each scene, with its setting and characters seem cut from different, unmade episodes. I get how so many others can be able to put all this aside and like this episode. As a nearly lifelong Howard Stern fan, and Murder She Wrote fan, it really didn't work for me.