Murder, She Wrote: Season 1

1984 · 22 episodes · ★ 7.9

What Season 1 of Murder, She Wrote

Jessica Fletcher is a retired English teacher who is widowed in the early fifties and lives in Cabot Cove, a small town in Maine. She begins writing mystery novels, and her nephew Grady gets a publisher to release her first book, which becomes a bestseller. Soon she finds herself caught up in murders that take place in the town, elsewhere in the United States, and even abroad. Her stories take her to New York, Hollywood, Washington, or New Orleans. Angela Lansbury plays Jessica in every episode.

22episodes

Sep 30, 1984premiered

Apr 21, 1985Latest episode

17.3 hrtotal runtime

Season 1 Episodes

1x01 The Murder of Sherlock Holmes
Sep 30, 1984 · 90 min · ★ 7.5
Former English teacher Jessica Fletcher travels to New York to celebrate the success of her debut novel, but when an unwanted guest is murdered at a costume party, she wishes she'd stayed home.
Directing: Corey Allen · Writing: Peter S. Fischer · Cast: Arthur Hill, Eddie Barth, Jessica Browne, Bert Convy
1x02 Deadly Lady
Oct 7, 1984 · 45 min · ★ 7.2
After a terrible storm, Stephen Earl's four daughters tell Sheriff Tupper that their father died while they were out on the boat. Jessica is only midly intrigued; she finds Ralph, the older gentleman who has offered to work for food, much more intriguing, especially since it is obvious he comes from money. The womens' stories about what happened on the boat change constantly, but once Ralph is found dead and later found to be Stephen Earl, Jessica has to help Amos wage through the inconsistencies in the four Earl daughters storylines to determine who killed their father and why.
Directing: Corey Allen · Writing: Peter S. Fischer · Cast: Tom Bosley, Doran Clark, Howard Duff, Marilyn Hassett
1x03 Birds of a Feather
Oct 14, 1984 · 45 min · ★ 7.3
Jessica heads to San Francisco for the wedding of her niece, Victoria Brandon, only to learn that Victoria is having second thoughts because she suspects that her fiancé, Howard, is having an affair. Although Jessica and Victoria are relieved to learn that Howard isn't cheating but rather dressing up as a woman to perform at a nightclub, the relief is short lived when Howard is arrested for murdering his boss, Al Drake, who had been refusing to pay him. The police are convinced that Drake was shot during Freddy York's act, which doesn't leave a lot of time, but Jessica is determined to prove Howard's innocence.
Director: John Llewellyn Moxey · Writer: Robert E. Swanson · Starring: Bart Braverman, Genie Francis, Richard Gautier, Harry Guardino
1x04 Hooray for Homicide
Oct 28, 1984 · 45 min · ★ 7.3
Jessica's first book, The Corpse Danced at Midnight, is being made into a major Hollywood motion picture, backed by producer Jerry Lydecker. Jessica is furious to see how her book is being butchered by Lydecker and his crew. She heads out to Hollywood to confront Lydecker, but things take a turn when Lydecker is found dead on stage. Jessica ends up being the prime suspect in the murder, but luckily the officer in charge of the investigation believes she's too smart to be the killer and sets her up to find the real murderer.
Director: Richard A. Colla · Writer: Robert Van Scoyk · Starring: Melissa Sue Anderson, John Astin, Samantha Eggar, James MacArthur
1x05 It's a Dog's Life
Nov 4, 1984 · 45 min · ★ 8.6
While visiting her cousin at Langley Manor, a country estate in the South, a man dies during a fox-hunt under strange circumstances, and Jessica tries to find out what really happened.
Director: Seymour Robbie · Writers: Mark Giles, Linda Shank · Starring: Cherie Currie, Lynn Redgrave, Forrest Tucker, Cathryn Damon
1x06 Lovers and Other Killers
Nov 18, 1984 · 45 min · ★ 8.0
While in Seattle lecturing at the university, Jessica is convinced that the young man she hired as her secretary is not a killer.
Directing: Allen Reisner · Writing: Peter S. Fischer · Cast: Grant Goodeve, Peter Graves, Greg Morris, Lois Nettleton
1x07 Hit, Run and Homicide
Nov 25, 1984 · 45 min · ★ 8.4
Jessica helps a most unconventional neighbor who is accused of murdering his former partner with one of his inventions.
Director: Alan Cooke · Writer: Gerald K. Siegel · Starring: Tom Bosley, Edward Albert, June Allyson, Patti D'Arbanville
1x08 We're Off to Kill the Wizard
Dec 9, 1984 · 45 min · ★ 8.1
Jessica is asked to help solve the "impossible" murder of a wealthy, and much disliked, amusement park owner.
Directing: Walter Grauman · Writing: Peter S. Fischer · Cast: Christine Belford, James Coco, Kim Darby, George DiCenzo
1x09 Death Takes a Curtain Call
Dec 16, 1984 · 45 min · ★ 7.7
While attending a special ballet performance, Jessica helps solve the backstage murder of a young dancer by a defecting ballerina.
Director: Allen Reisner · Writer: Paul W. Cooper · Starring: Tom Bosley, Claude Akins, Kerry Armstrong, Dane Clark
1x10 Death Casts a Spell
Dec 30, 1984 · 45 min · ★ 8.1
Jessica's deductive abilities are in demand when a flamboyant hypnotist turns up dead, behind locked doors, in front of an audience of journalists whom he had put into a trance.
Directing: Allen Reisner · Writing: Steven Hensley, J. Miyoko Hensley · Cast: Diana Canova, José Ferrer, Murray Hamilton, Robert Hogan
1x11 Capitol Offense
Jan 6, 1985 · 45 min · ★ 7.9
Jessica is assigned to fill the empty seat of a deceased congressman for a brief period of time and finds a great deal of political game-playing in Washington.
Director: John Llewellyn Moxey · Writer: Peter S. Fischer · Starring: Edie Adams, Herschel Bernardi, Linda Kelsey, Stephen Macht
1x12 Broadway Malady
Jan 13, 1985 · 45 min · ★ 7.9
Broadway legend Rita Bristol and her daughter star in a musical produced by her son, not knowing that murder is lurking in the wings.
Director: Hy Averback · Writer: Tom Sawyer · Starring: Milton Berle, Vivian Blaine, Elaine Giftos, Gregg Henry
1x13 Murder to a Jazz Beat
Feb 3, 1985 · 45 min · ★ 6.9
While in New Orleans, Jessica must solve the mysterious murder of a famous musician who died while performing onstage.
Directing: Walter Grauman · Writing: Paul Savage · Starring: Olivia Cole, Bradford Dillman, Cameron Mitchell, Garrett Morris
1x14 My Johnny Lies Over the Ocean
Feb 10, 1985 · 45 min · ★ 8.1
Jessica's niece is terrorized on a cruise intended to take her mind off her husband's recent death...or is he dead?
Director: Seymour Robbie · Writer: Peter S. Fischer · Starring: Paul Carafotes, Jason Evers, Rosemary Forsyth, Lynda Day George
1x15 Paint Me a Murder
Feb 17, 1985 · 45 min · ★ 8.1
The life of a famous artist is threatened on what would be otherwise an idyllic Mediterranean island.
Director: John Llewellyn Moxey · Writer: Peter S. Fischer · Starring: Fernando Allende, Capucine, Judy Geeson, Robert Goulet
1x16 Tough Guys Don't Die
Feb 24, 1985 · 45 min · ★ 8.2
Jessica meets Harry McGraw and they figure out which one of three cases may contain the motive for the death of a private detective. One dates back 25 years.
Director: Seymour Robbie · Writer: Peter S. Fischer · Starring: Barbara Babcock, John Furey, Nancy Lee Grahn, John McMartin
1x17 Sudden Death
Mar 3, 1985 · 45 min · ★ 7.5
Jessica suddenly must learn all about football when she inherits an interest in a professional team.
Director: Edward M. Abroms · Writer: Robert E. Swanson · Starring: Jan Smithers, John Beck, Warren Berlinger, Dick Butkus
1x18 Footnote to Murder
Mar 10, 1985 · 45 min · ★ 7.8
An unpublished manuscript is stolen and its author murdered during an awards convention.
Directing: Peter Crane · Writing: Robert E. Swanson · Cast: Vincent Baggetta, Talia Balsam, Morgan Brittany, Constance Forslund
1x19 Murder Takes the Bus
Mar 17, 1985 · 45 min · ★ 8.6
Bus trips are not always as relaxing as they should be. In this case, one passenger had a one-way ticket.
Directing: Peter Crane · Writing: Mary Ann Kasica, Michael Scheff · Cast: Tom Bosley, Linda Blair, Michael Constantine, Terence Knox
1x20 Armed Response
Mar 31, 1985 · 45 min · ★ 8.1
Over Jessica's protests, she is taken to a hospital after a minor accident in the airport.
Directing: Charles S. Dubin · Writing: Gerald K. Siegel · Cast: Eddie Bracken, Victoria Carroll, Stephen Elliott, James Gammon
1x21 Murder at the Oasis
Apr 7, 1985 · 45 min · ★ 8.0
An unpopular show-business personality discovers that elaborate security systems are no guarantee of safety.
Director: Arthur Allan Seidelman · Writer: Robert Van Scoyk · Starring: Ed Ames, Joey Bishop, Joseph Bottoms, Joseph Cali
1x22 Funeral at Fifty-Mile Season Finale
Apr 21, 1985 · 45 min · ★ 7.8
A Wyoming rancher leaves all to an ill-fated stranger, to the disgust of his disinherited daughter.
Director: Seymour Robbie · Writer: Dick Nelson · Starring: Noah Beery Jr., Kathleen Beller, J.D. Cannon, Clu Gulager