User Reviews

Angela Lansbury's travels take her to Denver for a talk show where she visits old friend Judith Chapman whose husband Robert F. Lyons is fired by Rod McCrary who is a local consumer advocate with a talk show. Lyons was his producer and McCrary treats his whole staff that way so in the best Murder She Wrote tradition there are no shortage of suspects.

The law is represented by Barry Corbin detective of the Denver PD who sees himself with a talk show and primps and preens for his audience. Angela Lansbury really has to guide him to a solution. Corbin really hams it up in his role.

The solution kind of surprised me and might do that for others.

Well, as we await Mrs. Fletcher's flight to land, let's respond to the individual's inquiry about whether or not the "The Bottom Line Is Murder" role of Clare Henley is played by Dorothy Lyman (of "Mama's Family" fame); but Clare is actually played by Pat Klous here. Dorothy Lyman's one "MSW" appearance comes as Norma Shey in "The Secret of Gila Junction" (Season Twelve, Episode 12-03, 1995). Pat Klous has among her television credits roles as regulars in the 1978-79 series "Flying High" plus the last five seasons (1982-87) of "The Love Boat" as Cruise Director Judy McCoy, sister to the character formerly portrayed by Lauren Tewes.

This episode marks the one "MSW" appearance by Miss Klous, as well as her most recent television role to date, and also the most recent appearance by William Ian Gamble as of this point in time.

KBLR in Denver, Colorado produces the investigatory program "The Bottom Line," starring Kenneth Chambers (Rod McCary) and Clare Henley (Pat Klous), produced by Steve Honig (Robert F. Lyons) and Lynette Bryant (Adrienne Barbeau), with assistance by Ryan Monroe (Brian Matthews). KBLR is operated by Station Manager Robert Warren (Morgan Stevens), with Custodian Bert Tanaka (George Takei) on its staff.

Controversial segments in production include an expose on faulty bullet-proof vests, with an interview by Unofficial Police Expert Lieutenant Lou Flannigan (Barry Corbin); an examination of defective stuffed Teddy Bears, marketed by toy company owned by the temperamental Joe Rinaldi (Joe Santos), who has poured many advertising dollars into the station; and an investigation into the Hammet Cheese Company, researched by Lynette Bryant.

Seven years into her marriage with Steve, Doctor Jayne Honig (Judith Chapman) has left her Psychiatry practice to concentrate upon her failing marriage, which she discusses during her reunion with dear friend Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury), who arrives to pitch her latest novel on a scheduled KBLR segment of a Book Review Show.

After touring the studios, Jessica dines at Milo's German Cuisine Restaurant with Jayne, Steve and Robert, Jayne and Jessica return to the Honig residence long before the arrival of Steve.

The next morning, Bert Tanaka discovers a body in a KBLR office, causing Lieutenant Lou Flannigan to arrest Steve over planted evidence, despite the objections of Jayne and Jessica, who is determined to uncover additional evidence, with the understanding that "The Bottom Line Is Murder." The cast is rounded out by TV Reporter Rick Coleman (Paul Tompkins), Security Guard (William Ian Gamble) and Uniformed Cop (Mark Phelan).

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.

"The Bottom Line is Murder" is not, if we are talking about the previous episodes for a moment, one of the best episodes of Season 3 like "Death Stalks the Big Top" (both parts), "One White Rose for Death" and "The Corpse Flew First Class". It is however much better than "Night of the Headless Horseman", "Dead Man's Gold" and the previous episode "Murder in a Minor Key".

My main criticism of "The Bottom Line is Murder" is that to me it didn't quite come together at the end. The solution was a big surprise and nothing is what it seems (which should sound like a good thing), but that the truth was the complete opposite of what one believes for most of the episode and then sprung upon us very later on leaves the viewer's head in a whirl.

On top of that, the whole convoluted business involving a chair complicated things further, meaning that the explanation didn't quite make sense and considering the amount of conflict one sees for most of the episode the murderer's motives seemed rather trivial to me.

Conversely, the 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.

Dialogue is typically thought-provoking and amiable, knowing what tone to take and not trying to do anything more than that, while it was easy to have a lot of fun with the episode and the story, which is why it was personally so frustrating that things weren't clearer at the end.

Angela Lansbury is terrific as always, and there is a strong supporting cast. Of which the highlight is Adrienne Barbeau, who is a hoot and her interchange with Lansbury is just priceless.

In summation, pretty good, could have been better, being fun stuff that didn't quite come together. 7/10 Bethany Cox

I forgot how fabulous the writing on this series is...I guess I have been watching modern tv too long!

Great guest stars on this episode including George Takei as the station janitor. Our gifted author and sleuth hobbyist Mrs. Fletcher visits friends to appear on a tv program as a venerated mystery author. Within twenty-four hours of her visit the show's host is shot and killed...and her friend's husband is framed for the murder.

The best part of this episode is all the meet and greet dialogue in the beginning of this episode. What was even better was the fact that you know all of that dialogue was going to lead you to clues about who the eventual killer really is...and more importantly what the motive is!

I loved it. This was a great episode and I totally recommend it to mystery fans everywhere.

In Denver to appear on a TV book-review show, Jessica (Angela Lansbury) witnesses a nasty confrontation on the set of a consumer-advocacy show hosted by the pompous and abrasive Steve Honig (Robert F. Lyons). Soon afterward, Honig is murdered, and the main suspect is one of the targets of the victim's on-the-air wrath. Jessica, however, quickly learns that practically everyone in the studio--if not everyone in Denver--had ample motive to kill Honig, whose "advocacy" could be bought at the right price.

Another egomaniac and nasty character bites the dust and one of Jessica's friends gets accused of murder. It's a formula that is well done, sprinkled with humour - the detective is a nonce - and enjoyable mystery. Jessica figured it out with the help of a guy who collects trash of famous celebrities. Loved Jessica's expression when he said love your books, love collecting trash. Of course, he wasn't talking about her books.

Kenneth Chambers is a muckraking TV news host...a guy who would as soon shoot his mother for increased ratings! So, it's not at all surprising that soon he's found dead. Nor is it surprising that Mrs. Fletcher just happens to be hanging out at the TV station!

This is a generally good episode and the twist is interesting. While the ending isn't great, what bothered me was the strange role played by George Takei. He is a fine actor but played an incredibly stereotypical Asian man. I'm not sure if it bothers most folks...I just thought it looked a bit demeaning. Still, the show IS enjoyable and worth seeing.

Kenneth Chambers is a big name on a news program, he thinks nothing of using underhanded methods to bring firms down, just to cause controversy and create news. Chambers is unpleasant to all his staff, and it's unsurprising that he's shot dead in his Office chair. Suspects include Chambers boss Steve Honig, the murder weapon is found in his car, and Joe Rinaldi, who's toys were savaged by Chambers, and made out to be lethal.

I liked this episode, similarities with Obituary for a Dead Anchor, in that the controversial lead character is a journalist prepared to push a story, who later lands up dead (sort of.) I liked the first half of this episode more then the second, the build up is great, the crime is clever, but the conclusion seems rushed, and I still don't quite get all that nonsense with the chair. The scene in Bert's office is also a bit silly, slightly demeaning.

The ending apart, this is excellent. 8/10

I believe I saw Dorothy Lyman as the character that was going to be "made into a star" by Adrienne Barbeau after the death of the current star of the product investigation type show.

Dorothy Lyman I became aware of when watching Mama's Family, with Vicki Lawrence.

She is a great character actress, wih a very expressive face - and plays quite a range of characters. I found it odd she was not listed with the rest of the cast of characters, even when you clicked on the link for "more".

Overall, I love this episode, though I tend to love all of Murder She Wrote, watching it is kind of like visiting old friends.