User Reviews

Jessica heads to Texas, when someone identifying as her is arrested, and later killed.

What an absolute joy of an episode this is, it's super funny, it's intriguing, it offers something very different, and sees our notorious crime solver head to Texas.

Despite the rather raucous and amusing window dressing, provided by the ladies, there is actually a cracking plot underneath, one which sees Jessica's powers skills of Detection pushed hard.

I loved the group of ladies, The JB Fletcher fan club, there are some quality actresses in that group, Janet Blair, Margaret O'Brien, Betty Garrett, Terry Moore etc they are all just fabulous, a host of ladies out for a few thrills and spills.

It was great to see an episode moved from Cabot Cove, and nice to see some serious Detectives, and a break from Floyd.

Excellent, 9/10.

Imagine the astonishment of Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) when she picks up a newspaper and reads that she has been killed in a Texas car accident! In truth, the dead woman was Marge Allen (Jane Withers), arguably the most obsessive member of the Jessica Fletcher Fan Club. While impersonating Jessica, Marge decided to investigate a scandal at a local dog-show, only to perish in the aforementioned "accident." Now that she's in the unique position of probing into her "own" murder, Jessica has time aplenty to grill the obligatory suspects, among them a kennel owner, the owner's wife, and a trigger-happy hunter.

A fun and clever episode that has Jessica impersonated by a fan - of course when the impersonator dies in an accident, Jessica smells foul play and is supported by the J. B Fletcher fan club who consists of different characters and with different yet helpful connections. There's more of an emphasis on humour here and more fun because of it.

The story itself is interesting, and it also is unusual because there are three murders instead of one. But, why does everyone in a town in the Pacific Northwest have a Southern accent? The only reason I can think of is that the producers wanted to convey to the audience that the people are a bunch of hicks, and the easiest way to do that (according to Hollywood) is to give them all Southern accents. In reality, Bremerton is the home of the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, an important Navy installation that employs 14,000 people and specializes in overhauling and repairing nuclear submarines. If I were a resident of Bremerton, I would be offended by the way my town is depicted in this episode.

In this episode, Angela Lansbury is joined by a group of classic movie and TV actresses, including former child actresses Margaret O'Brien and Jane Withers.

Jessica Fletcher has just gotten off a book signing tour in Dallas, TX only to hear her name in a news report stating that she had been arrested and released in a nearby town. She travels there only to have to prove to the gruff, suspicious Sheriff Tanner (Earl Holliman) that SHE is the real J.B. Fletcher by buying a drugstore paperback with her photo on the back. She finds out the name of the impostor's friend who bailed her out and finds they are both members of the J.B. Fletcher Literary Society. It turns out one of the women owns a print shop and made all the members fake photo IDs for fun with J.B. Fletcher's name. She learns the impostor's husband is a state senator whom she didn't want to embarrass with the arrest and so used the fake ID.

It gets worse when the impostor makes an accusation to the wrong person and is killed, causing the news to announce the death of Jessica Fletcher. In addition to realizing friends and family are going to think she's dead, the real Jessica has to deal with her credit cards being canceled as well as solving the mystery of what turns out to be three deaths. Helping her, of course, are her exuberant fans from the J.B. Fletcher Literary Society, sometimes with means that aren't totally legal.

Max Baer makes a short, but well done, guest appearance and you realize it's a shame he was type-cast as Jethro.

This episode marks the swan song appearances of Janet Blair and Marie Windsor, as well as the most recent role for Max Baer Jr. as of this writing.

When it comes to sleuthing, the Sunville, Texas, J.B. Fletcher Literary Society goes all the way, complete with members' own J.B. Indentification cards. This weekly gathering consists of Marge Allen (Jane Withers), Kit Parkins (Betty Garrett) and their close friends Caroline (Marie Windsor), Bertie (Janet Blair), Florence (Terry Moore) and Jane (Margaret O'Brien).

But when one member sneaks into McCauley Kennel, in Bremerton, Texas, to investigate the perennial winner of a dog show, she is arrested and incarcerated by Sheriff J.T. Tanner (Earl Holliman) and Deputy (David Cowgill).

The genuine Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) has been touring around the Dallas area, when she learns of the arrest of an impersonator, thus booking a ride into Bremerton.

As Jessica attempts to uncover events of her "arrest," she is welcomed by a meeting of the ladies at Kit's residence, in Sunville, and is amazed at their propensity for snooping in her name. Caroline's family owns a printing shoppe, which accounts for their fake ID's. Bertie's nephew works at an insurance firm, which gives her an "in" on its computer system. Florence's husband, Herman, works for the county coroner, which gives her a means of snooping at that office. Jane volunteers for the local blood bank, which assists her to help to advance the plot, as well. Kit is pleased that her husband, Duane, is out of town on business, so that he wouldn't feel as embarrassed by all of this activity as she is.

And so the team with Jessica at the helm investigates Bremerton residents, including Kennel widow Lisa McCauley (Jamie Rose), her groomer, Rick (Tom Schanley), State Trooper Boone Willoughby (Max Baer Jr.), a hunter who's been at odds with the McCauley's, insurance agent Mitchell Lawrence (Lyman Ward), and anyone else they may spot along the way.

Then after three bodies turn up, in three different places, the J.B. Fletcher Literary Society gears into action to clear the name of an innocent canine, and to determine "Who Killed J.B. Fletcher."

Never mind the three murders, all successfully solved. It is the small-town setting that brings this story alive. And to make things even fresher, instead of Cabot Cove we head to Texas! A veritable posse of Miss Marple-like ladies await. Sure, J.B. Fletcher can hold her own with Congressmen, tycoons and Manhattan publishers -- but it's precisely this type of homey atmosphere where her personality and her investigative gifts truly shine. They are powerfully enhanced by a supreme quality of production -- lovingly observed and meticulously assembled, down to the Lone Star-themed sofa cushion. A classic.

"Who Killed J. B. Fletcher?" is a very funny and enjoyable episode. In many ways, it reminds me of the Cabot Cove episodes and the hair salon gossips...which also rank among their best episodes.

When the story begins, an older lady (Jane Withers) is caught sneaking into a residence. When she's caught, she says she's J. B. Fletcher! Later, she is killed and folks assume that Jessica is dead....and soon it's reported in the media. In the meantime, Jessica has come to a small Texas town where all this occurred in order to clear her name and figure out what really happened. It turns out the dead woman was a member of a Jessica Fletcher cult...and the various surviving members help Jessica unravel the mystery.

This episode is fun...something you certainly can't say of most episodes. It's also very creative...and well worth seeing.

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.

As of now, from my understanding, "Who Killed J.B. Fletcher?" is the highest rated 'Murder She Wrote' episode and it is really not hard to see why that is. Whether "Who Killed J.B. Fletcher?" is the best ever 'Murder She Wrote' episode is up for debate, to me it is right up there as one of the show's finest and as far as Seaosn 7 goes it's one of the standouts. While there are the typical 'Murder She Wrote' ingredients, "Who Killed J.B. Fletcher?" is somewhat of a different episode to usual, with a cosier and smaller scale atmosphere and a higher body count to most episodes.

The mystery is hugely engaging from start to finish. It is twisty without being complicated and a real brain-teaser, while still being easy to follow without being too easy to solve. The ending ties everything up beautifully without being too pat and it all feels resolved. One really identifies with what Jessica is going through and the episode is very successful in making the ladies forming the literary club interesting and despite the situation easy to like.

Angela Lansbury can't be faulted and the supporting cast are more than up to her level, with the focus being on the group of women forming the literary society /J.B. Fletcher club that includes Betty Garrett, Janet Blair, Marie Windsor and former child actress Margaret O' Brien. Jane Withers isn't in the episode much but is memorable, as is Max Baer.

Production values as always are slick and stylish with some nostalgia induced. The cosy, homey atmosphere that scaled things down was used to full and excellent advantage, one of those episodes where one likes not having big, exotic locations and instead having a smaller atmosphere that helps contribute to the mystery doing all the talking.

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 thoughtful and amiable.

Overall, a Season 7 standout and one of my favourites from 'Murder She Wrote'. The high rating and that it's a fan favourite is not a mystery. 10/10 Bethany Cox

But when one member sneaks into McCauley Kennel, in Bremerton, Texas,

I thought Bremerton was on Puget Sound in Washington.

Reports of her arrest and later her death are greatly exaggerated. Posing as none other than JB Fletcher, Jane Withers is hot on a case exposing cheating at dog shows. But she walks into something bigger than that and Withers is one of three deaths in this episode of Murder She Wrote.

Good thing Angela Lansbury was doing a book tour in the general area of Texas where all this takes place. But in addition to this murder she also has to deal with identity theft as when the reports of her death reach the media, she's got all kinds of credit card problems.

But Jessica Fletcher gets lots of help and in this small town there's a small JB Fletcher Fan Club that Withers was a member. Some of the others include Marie Windsor, Terry Moore and several other contemporaries of Lansbury's back in the day of the studio system.

It takes a while but the main reason for the homicides is that most prosaic of motives, greed.

An episode for nostalgia lovers.

We open with a scene of someone at a kennel talking to an off-screen woman, who is soon identified as J. B. Fletcher. She even signs an autograph for a fan. Then the camera angle switches and we see...someone else posing as our heroine.

Later, we see this same woman being arrested after breaking into a company's files.

We switch to a hotel room where Jessica turns on the TV and is startled to hear a newscaster report on the arrest of J. B. Fletcher. It happened in a Texas town named Bremerton, which happens to be not far from where Jessica was at the time, so she arranges to go there.

I will interrupt to say that when people complain about things not being realistic, I have just outlined an example: She turned on her TV and heard a newscast. More likely, she would have heard a few commercials first. I'd also like to quibble with the reviewer on this board who complained about Bremerton being in Oregon, not Texas. Surely the reviewer has heard of fictional towns in fictional stories. I submit: Cabot Cove, Maine for one.

Jessica has one picture ID for the sheriff when gets to town, but his reaction is that the lady he arrested had one just like it-except with a different picture. To prove who she is, Jessica goes to a nearby drug store and buys one of her paperback novels to show him. That works, but for much of the story she is treated as a nuisance by the sheriff, who later learns she is useful.

Learning who bailed out her imposter leads Jessica to the home of Kit Parkins, who just happens to be hosting a meeting of the J. B. Fletcher Literary Society, whose members were tickled pink to see their heroine live and in person. I applaud the director for the way we viewers got a look at a large photo of Jessica on the wall in Kit's dining room before Jessica had a chance to notice it as she was meeting all these women.

Now longtime actress Jane Withers plays Marge Allen, used "her Jessica Fletcher ID card" when she was arrested because she didn't want to embarrass her husband by being arrested under her own name. She was actually playing detective trying to find out if this dog kennel was somehow cheating in dog shows-and Marge didn't even own a dog.

Unfortunately, Marge went to the home of the kennel owner and was seen looking shocked by an unseen person, and we next learned that she was killed. This led to the picture on IMDB for this episode-the newspaper with the headline claiming Jessica was killed.

Naturally, Jessica stays around to work with these ladies to find out who's responsible. They all have special connections that get access to the coroner's report, insurance company computer files, even blood donor information, which proved invaluable in solving the mystery. The ladies are positively giddy about working with Jessica to solve a murder-which turns into three murders, possibly making their community second in the country in per capita crime right behind Cabot Cove for that year.

One character who seems to not belong in town (thus making him a suspect) is a visiting state trooper named Boone Willoughby, played by Beverly Hillbillies' star Max Baer, who was on a previous MSW in a guest role playing a greatly different sort of character than he does here. I'd like to state that had he been given a chance, Mr. Baer might well have become famous for acting in many different sorts of roles. His wonderful skills as Jethro were perhaps the biggest key in making that 60's legendary series as successful as it was. He was smart enough to learn about all sorts of things he introduced his family to-that led to their comedic exploits at Marineland, or the movie studio, or dozens of other things, yet not so smart as to not have mishaps wherever he took them. I particularly loved all of his adaptations of spy gadgets when he wanted to be a "double-naught" spy like James Bond.

This episode was quite decent in the dramatic department as whodunit wasn't at all obvious and I'm sure only a few people guessed right early on. Yet it wasn't so complex you felt lost.

Mostly, it was a comedic episode with all of these women helping out, providing many pieces of useful information that Jessica was finally able to put together. I further praise them for depicting numerous older women as being far from any stereotypes we often see-one was really good on computers, which was uncommon for most people in 1991 when this aired unless they had a job working with computers; the others were all good in their own ways and they all came across as good people, not silly fools in any way.

I'm going to say that in a way, Seth even added to the humor even though William Windom wasn't actually seen or heard. Jessica, after reports of her death had caused her credit cards and even her prepaid phone card to be cancelled, was phoning Seth asking him to wire her money. Jessica was heard telling Seth, "Yes, I'm good for it" and we could picture him asking her if she was on his end of the line.

If they took out the humor, the dramatic part would like have let me score this one an 8 out of 10, but the humor seals it as an easy 10, definitely one of the series very best.