User Reviews

This episode marks one of the last roles for Mort Sertner, who began his television acting career in 1984.

Gary Beach plays the title role in this chapter, as Billy Kyle, proprietor of a Beverly Hill, California, floral shoppe, who caters elaborate flower arrangements to elegant affairs.

Frances Hunt (Penny Fuller) publishes a celebrity tabloid newspaper, focusing upon stars of the Entertainment Industry, at her Beverly Hills headquarters, employing several reporters and assistants, as George Erwin (Taylor Nichols).

To her elegant dinner party, Frances invites Junie Cobb (Sally Kellerman), Arnett Cobb (Richard Herd), Doctor Johnny Windhurst (John Gabriel), and her dear old friend Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury), who arrives in town to support Frances during a trying ordeal.

Aggie Colbert (Marji Martin), Betty O'Hara (Denise Miller), Davey Wells (Robert Firth), and Stan Hendricks (Mort Sertner) are also on hand to add to the suspense, when Billy Kyle (Gary Beach) delivers a magnificent centerpiece arrangement to the dinner party table, before leaving to continue his responsibilities.

Jessica, experiencing a touch of fatigue, doesn't pay as strict attention to conversations around the table as she normally would, but these come across as generally polite and mannerly.

And so, perhaps not exactly unusual, but surprising just the same, by dawn's early light, when a body is discovered in the flower shoppe, Jessica attempts to weave possible scenarios toward a senseless murder, while teaming with Lieutenant Gabriel Caceras (Gregory Sierra), the recurring Law Enforcement Officer in three Los Angeles-based episodes.

The resulting plot twists take a refreshing change of pace in this rare type of series entry, in the case of "The Petrified Florist."

Rounding out the cast are Carnetta Jones as Receptionist, Elmarie Wendel as Nurse Receptionist, Sandahl Bergman as Sergeant Daisy Kenny, and Jim Bockelman as Officer.

I've long loved Murder, She Wrote, but this episode had passed me by. I don't want to spoil anything, I'll just say we follow a fairly standard MSW murder mystery, Jessica going through her familiar routine, suspects, alibis, more suspects - and then the ending! Which can be looked on as either a 'cop-out', or a 'Whoa!' Well, for me it was definitely a 'Whoa!'. I never saw it coming. Looking back, I should have done; but I never saw it. Great stuff 8/10

Jessica stays with her journalist friend Frances Hunt, the night after a huge dinner party is thrown, florist to the stars Billy Kyle is killed.

This one is certainly different, it doesn't stick to the rules or follow any pattern, it does have some unique points. First of all, the name dropping, I absolutely loved it, all manner of Hollywood A Listers are referenced, it's amusing, secondly, I loved the choice of victim, you think you know who's going to meet a grizzly end, but the victim is so unexpected, it made it all the more interesting.

I really did enjoy the performance of Gregory Sierra, who played Lieutenant Caceras, to my knowledge he hasn't appeared as the character previously, but he has appeared as other characters. Caceras would return later on.

It made me chuckle how they focused on Davey Wells hairy chest throughout that hospital scene, that was so funny.

One of Series nine's best episodes.

9/10.

Sally Kellerman, Richard Herd (George Costanza's Yankee boss on Seinfeld), and Gergory Sierra (returning as a cop to this series, still best known for his regular role on Barney Miller) highlight the guest stars in this episode.

Jessica is visiting her, I believe, 1,953rd "dear" friend, this time in Hollywood, where she is the main person putting out a scandal sheet, with problems being that a rival paper keeps matching her papers' "exclusives." Of course there is a dinner party, where Jessica gets to meet all the usual suspects as we viewers try to figure out who's going to be killed?

From there we move on to what seems like a rather typical show of this type, chasing false clues, trying to figure out if it the murder had something to do with romance, or a financial problem, or something else. What other reviewers have hinted at, without giving away anything important, is that there is a real surprise at the end.

Sometimes part of the plot makes me lower my score because it makes no sense at all. In this case, if I had paused my DVR 5 minutes before it ended and thought about it, I would have said, "There's nothing bad about this episode, but nothing extra good either-a 7." But the ending makes me up it to a 9. Once you see it, you may not agree, but I hope you'll understand why I thought this such a great ending.

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.

Of a very inconsistent season, with some good to great episodes but also some disappointing ones that are among the show's weakest, "The Petrified Florist" is one of the best (in the top 5 to me even). Can't find very much to fault it at all, though at times the suspense could have been more and slightly less mild. The mystery however is one of the season's strongest, with a unique premise for a 'Murder She Wrote' episodes, clever twists and turns that makes the episode constantly surprising and a terrific ending (Season 9 has not fared well generally when it comes to denouements, this one was one of the cleverest and most shocking).

Angela Lansbury is terrific as always in one of her best remembered roles for good reason, while Gary Beach, Sally Kellerman and Richard Herd are notable of a supporting cast worthy of Lansbury.

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 amiable and thought-provoking and there is lots of entertainment and atmosphere. A touch more suspense and it would be a show high-point.

On the whole, excellent episode. 9/10 Bethany Cox

A dinner party in Jessica's honour is interrupted by a disturbed florist, who turns up dead the following day. Found this just passable, nothing more, though the ending came as a surprise. It's quite clever ending, but the rest of the show, to me, just average.