Mr. Penroy's Vacation

Classic film stars Teresa Wright and Joan Leslie grace this episode as eccentric spinster sisters Helen and Lillian Appletree, who finish each other's sentences, but cannot seem to explain reasons for bodies' turning up in their flower gardens.

"Mr. Penroy's Vacation" also introduces the recurring characters of Sheriff Mort Metzger (Ron Masak) and Deputy Floyd McCallum (Will Nye) into the Cabot Cove community, as they meet its leading citizens, Mayor Sam Booth (Richard Paul), Doctor Seth Hazlitt (William Windom) and Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury).

When guests arrive in the back yard of the residence of Helen (Teresa Wright) and Lillian Appletree (Joan Leslie) to celebrate the occasion of the birthday of their tenant, Morris Penroy (Henry Jones), the sisters' versions of Mister Penroy's absence vary, other than to explain that he has suddenly left town to visit a sick friend across the country.

During the course of events, a few others descend upon Cabot Cove in uninvited fashion, to search for Mister Penroy, including Clifford Coleson (Don Calfa), who poses as a minister friend of Morris; Ole Korshack (Al Pugliese), who stalks Morris upon his walks; Daryl Croft (Tim Choate), who threatens Morris; Marilee Coleson (Candice Azzara), who claims to be the wife of Morris; and Bart Klapper (Norman Alden), who claims to be an examiner for the Boston-Central Railroad, investigating a $million payroll heist, from which its spoils have never been recovered.

But when Winston, the pet bulldog of Mayor Sam Booth, veers from the course of his hiking with Sam and Jessica, his digging inside the garden of the sisters Appletree leads to the discovery of bodies.

The short-fused Sheriff Metzger suspects that Helen and Lillian know more about murder than they let on, but because Jessica has known the pair since arriving in Cabot Cove during her young adulthood, she maintains their innocence with a grain of doubt.

Jessica subsequently follows a trail littered with embezzlement, forged checks, missing baggage claim checks, and murder graced with a four-pronged tine pitchfork and another hoisted fireplace poker to search for the itinerary of "Mr. Penroy's Vacation."

In many ways, the plot to "Mr. Penroy's Vacation" seems to have been inspired by the old film, "Arsenic and Old Lace". This is because both have a pair of sweet old ladies who MIGHT be murderers!

A man rooming with the Appletree sisters has been found dead...buried in their yard. Soon after, another guy is found buried in their yard. While the Appletrees (Teresa Wright and Joan Leslie) are clearly up to something....what they exactly did and didn't do is to be determined. However, unlike previous Cabot Cove episodes, Sheriff Tupper has resigned and a new sheriff is there to work with Miss Fletcher.

This is generally an enjoyable episode, but like some of the weaker episodes, the baddies just keep admitting to their crimes to Miss Fletcher when there wasn't enough evidence to force such a confession.

Jessica finds suspicious activity brewing in her quiet town when two bodies are discovered in the Appletree sisters' garden. While the new sheriff, Mort Metzger, considers the case open and shut, Jessica can't believe her longtime neighbors have suddenly become serial killers. She and Metzger struggle to work together while the case reveals more twists and turns and additional people potentially looking to make a killing.

A gem of an episode that mixes the macabre and humour really well - it's sort of like Arsenic and old Lace in terms of the humour. The two sisters were hilarious and the idea of them being serial killers baffled Jessica. I loved the bit where she avoided the tea given to her just in case they poison in it.

Elderly man Mr Penroy vanishes, suspected of being involved in a big money heist a year previously, his landladies are suspected of having a hand in his disappearance.

I absolutely love this episode, it's one of the best, and definitely one of the most original. Series five represents a purple patch in the show's history, what's so impressive here is the variety, we've had an espionage thriller, a swanky hotel robbery, and after this we get a snow covered mystery with horror tones, this feels like an almost comedic Arsenic and Old Lace mystery.

It's a fine first episode for Ron Masak, Sheriff Mort Metzger is a fine replacement for Amos, he did a great job replacing such a well established character.

Wonderful characters here, The Miss Appletrees are gloriously eccentric, and play a key part in this mystery. Everyone plays their part, including Winston.

This is great fun, 10/10.

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.

"Mr Penroy's Vacation" to me is one of the best episodes of one of the best and most consistent seasons of 'Murder She Wrote'. Your enjoyment of it may be dependent on whether the concept intrigues you, if it sounds dull to you it won't be your cup of tea. The concept was an intriguing and unique one to me, so it was my cup of tea.

The cast are very fine here. Angela Lansbury is spot on in one of her justifiably best remembered roles as always, and Ron Masak makes a note-worthy debut as Cabot Cove's new sheriff Mort Metzger. Have a preference over him than Amos Tupper, the character is a fish out of water understandably in Season 5 but even in his first episode and season he is much more than your bumbling sheriff cliché and is never an idiot or gullible. The episode belongs to Teresa Wright and Joan Leslie as the two spinsters, who are splendidly dotty and provide so much of the charm, despite how it all seems initially one does root for his innocence.

In terms of mystery, "Mr Penroy's Vacation" is a very strong one, with nothing being what it seems with a fair share of twists. The ending is a surprise.

Production values as ever are slick and stylish with Cabot Cove being a typically lovely setting and providing a sense of community. 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.

The writing is thought-provoking, light-hearted and amiable.

Overall, terrific. 10/10 Bethany Cox