It's a family affair TONIGHT ON MURDER, SHE WROTE. 

Acclaimed but total douche Johnny Shannon (Ed Ames) is found dead, and the suspects are mostly all related to him: the sultry ex-wife (Piper Laurie), the sensitive son (Joseph Bottoms), and the promiscuous daughter (Linda Purl) all make good cases as they are used and abused. 

Instead, let's also consider the help: the devoted but goofy guy Friday (Joey Bishop), the hothead goon who doubles as a chauffeur (Jack O'Halloran), or maybe it's the thorn in Johnny's side in the form of opportunist tennis lothario (Joseph Cali). Is that everyone? Oh, there's a mob connection. So, well, good odds for that one. 

Friend to the wife and always intuitive mystery writer Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) assists the detective of the week (Ken Howard) in narrowing it down to the most likely scenario that led to the MURDER AT THE OASIS. 

It's a sexy time in the desert, complete with bad fashion, misdirection, strategically angled security cameras, warm milk, missing pictures, and fully clothed pool action. Will Jessica act in time to save the day? Probably! But it might surprise you how, in this delicious slice of familial dysfunction that still has a nice bounce to it. 

TONIGHT ON MURDER, SHE WROTE, nothing can keep Jessica Fletcher from meddling - not even a fractured ankle! JB Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) is on the scene in a Texan private hospital where the doctors hate each other, the nurses wear false eyelashes, and the patients are comedy legends. Why, yes, we'd love to spend a weekend. 

Naturally, someone everyone seems to hate is murdered (Stephen Elliot), and the question is, who wouldn't? The suspect list is surprisingly sparse and is largely made up of the staff (Sam Groom and Martin Kove as battling MDs; Kay Lenz and Susan Oliver as our sisters of mercy). Everyone else is just chewing the scenery for the sake of it and filling in gaps, from the wonderful Martha Raye and Eddie Bracken as negging almost-lovebird rich inmates, to Victoria Carroll in her own southern drama miniseries in her mind, to Lucille Meredith as our pick for Best Supporting Actress as a sort-of witness to the crime and this episode's one-scene wonder. 

Somewhat useless detective Ray Jenkins (Bo Hopkins) is upfront about his need for help from the temporarily disabled Jessica, even if he fights her most of the way; we get some fun moments of bickering between them that escalate in the final act, for a higher purpose. And finally, there's greasy lawyer Kevin McCarthy, who is all too willing to sue on behalf of everyone if they've got the cash. 

It's a fairly straightforward mystery with some bonkers additions and non-sequiturs that may or may not pan out. You'll need a strong glass of carrot juice to prepare for the finale, which uses the very latest in technology. We do have one question, though: where are the koi fish?! This is ARMED RESPONSE!

TONIGHT ON MURDER, SHE WROTE, we're in the scariest place ever: public transportation. 

Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) and Sheriff Tupper (Tom Bosley) are heading to Portland with a busload of criminals and curios in a heavy rainstorm. When a recently released prison inmate (John Davis Chandler) is murdered while on board, they'll need to figure out who had a motive and who is just along for the ride. 

Soon we're off the road and in a coffee shop diner full of intrigue, misdirection, mysterious detective novels, the wrong kind of sailor knots, and ill-timed power outages. Will Jessica and Tupper unveil the killer in time?! Probably. 

Rue McClanahan, Linda Blair, Mills Watson, Terence Knox, and Michael Constantine are our passengers in MURDER TAKES THE BUS. 

TONIGHT ON MURDER, SHE WROTE, we keep misplacing our umbrellas, eyeglasses, and manuscripts. 

Famed writer who might not have it anymore, Hemsley Post (Kenneth Mars) ends up dead after a posh NYC literary awards gala, and the suspects are multiple. We have, of course:

- The Wife (Diana Muldaur)
- The Guy Whose Book He Stole (Vincent Baggetta)
- The Sexy Opportunistic Editor (Morgan Brittany)
- The Lush of a Poet (Paul Sand)
- The Bitchy Queen Novelist Rival (Rex Reed)
- The Ambitious, Aspiring Amateur (Talia Balsam) 
- and The Dishy Breakout Smut Writer (Constance Forslund)

Frankly, it could be any and all of them, and we can all agree he had it coming. Amateur detective and mystery writer Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) must contend with keeping track of all of those suspects (when the law can't) and convincing the assistant district attorney (Pat Harrington Jr) that he's way off base. We also have Ron Masak in a pre-Sheriff Metzger appearance! 

With FOOTNOTE TO MURDER, it's an evening of bathroom punch-outs, bad sonnets, poorly chosen cigarette lighter designs, plagiarism, revolving doors, and subterfuge through optometry as only Murder, She Wrote can deliver. 

TONIGHT ON MURDER, SHE WROTE, we're going into SUDDEN DEATH. 

In a bizarre turn of events, mystery novelist and busybody with a high success rate, Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury), inherits 4% of a football team, and everyone wants her share. 

However, things get complicated when one of the primary shareholders that no one likes (Allan Miller) is found dead in a jacuzzi after a team and staff get-together, and now everyone is once again a suspect. 

Naturally, we have the wife (Elizabeth Savage), the other shareholder and coach (Warren Berlinger), the noble injured player with something to hide (Caitlyn Jenner), the beefy linebacker with something to prove (Dick Butkus), and any number of partygoers who would be happy to see the man who wants to move the team away, be done away with. 

The cast also includes John Beck, Jane Smithers, Gary Lockwood--and Tim Thomerson as our latest detective, whom Jessica needs to convince has got it all wrong, while also learning American Sign Language from a duplicitously acquired adopted child. 

Viktor and Petra are your guides as we try to understand football terminology tossed into the mix, somewhat distracted by lots of guys in sweatpants, towels, and bathing suits. Call for holding! (See, there's one!)

TONIGHT ON MURDER, SHE WROTE, the TOUGH GUYS DON'T DIE... until they do. 

Famed mystery novel author Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) is researching a tragic crime from years earlier when her private detective researcher (Floyd Levine) turns up dead. She suspects it might be her case that led to him being targeted, but he was also working on two other cases, so the suspects are threefold. 

Was it the ambitious businesswoman Priscilla Daniels (Barbara Babcock) who is thought to be angling for political office with a scandal over her head, or her husband (John McMartin) out to protect her good name? 

Or perhaps it's possible philanderer Ernie Santini (Alex Rocco), who is under investigation for his late nights away from his wife. If it's Jessica's case, it could also be the mysterious Judge Lambert (Fritz Weaver) who refuses to discuss the crime he's associated with. And then there's always the wife (Rosanna Huffman). 

The murder leads Jessica to Boston, where she matches wits with the detective's partner out for revenge: none other than the legendary Jerry Orbach in his first appearance as Harry McGraw. 

Grab your keys and don't harass any stressed-out secretaries as Margery Nelson, Nancy Lee Grahn, Paul Winfield, Gerald S. O'Loughlin, and John Furey join us for this hardboiled detective pulp noir worthy of any bookshelf. 

TONIGHT ON MURDER, SHE WROTE, Angela Lansbury is coming in via helicopter. 

Distinguished painter Diego (the iconic Cesar Romero) is under siege by one of his Mediterranean island guests during his worst birthday party ever. Among the suspects: it might be his awfully young bride (Cristina Raines), his fabulous but arthritic ex-wife (Capucine), a philanthropic do-gooder (Judy Geeson), his handsome son (Fernando Allende), the art gallery owner (Stewart Granger), or maybe it's Robert Goulet. 

Inspector Henry Kyle (Ron Moody) is on the case, examining discarded cigarettes and determining who pulls matches with which hand. Naturally, Jessica Fletcher (Lansbury) is getting in the way, and she has her own suspicions. 

Unfortunately, no one thinks about hiding the many weapons displayed on the wall (nor did anyone secure the planter urns on the balcony). But the scenery is stunning, the weather is temperate, and the studio is on fire. Oh no! 

PAINT ME A MURDER, as this Agatha Christie-style whodunnit is high on suspects, surprise entrances via French doors, suspicious heart attacks, missing servants, and local children painting pictures of donkeys. Matlock wishes...

TONIGHT ON MURDER, SHE WROTE, we're feeling very Brian De Palma neo-noir. 

Writer and sleuth Jessica (Angela Lansbury) joins her niece, Pamela (Belinda Montgomery), who is suffering from major PTSD after her husband, Johnny, has died, so they go on a girls' weekend cruise to get her nerves right. 

You see, the husband just couldn't cope with his being... adopted? Really? That's the scandal that led to him taking his life? Ok, well, apparently that was too much for him, and now his birth mother might be back to torment Pamela into joining him in the afterlife? What a month. 

Rather than wonder who's guilty of murder, most of our time is taken up by figuring out which woman of a certain age might be hounding our guest heroine, who seems on the brink of several breakdowns. 

Perhaps it's sexy ship purser Diane (Lynda Day George)? Or is it the somewhat dotty secretaries on vacation (Vicki Lawrence playing straight man to Jo Anne Worley's scenery chewer)? A doctor (Rosemary Forsyth) with her newlywed husband (Lawrence Pressman)? They're all on board the ship that looks suspiciously like the Queen Mary. 

Between scares and near-misses, we are charmed by the steward Ramon (Paul Carafotes) and enamored with sexy geek Russell (Andrew Parks) in their fitted era-appropriate trousers. And if you want someone a little more age-appropriate for Jessica, we even have Leslie Nielsen as the crusty but fetching Captain Daniels, in the role usually held by a skeptical police detective. 

Gird your loins for some suspenseful hoochie coochie as MY JOHNNY LIES OVER THE OCEAN promises to be a rollercoaster that leads Jessica to reach for the wine bottle. Oh, Ramon!

TONIGHT ON MURDER, SHE WROTE, we're in New Orleans, everyone!  Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) is in town with a few days to kill... and someone's about to!

Legendary clarinet player Ben Coleman (Glynn Turman) collapses during a spirited party where everyone is mad at him. It might be someone in the band, his trusted confidante (Stan Shaw), his manager (Cameron Mitchell), or his jilted lover (the incredible Olivia Cole) who knows his terrible secret... or is it someone else entirely? And what does it have to do with a fired morning chat show host (Clive Revill)?! 

Bradford Dillman plays our disgruntled detective, and the band features Bobby Sherman, George Kirby, and David Whitfield. While we're at it, let's throw in a fabulous cabbie who knows everything and quickly becomes attached to Jessica, Garrett Morris. 

It's gonna be a hot time on the town tonight, so you may want to skip the cup of coffee and pop a piece of gum. Anything can happen when it's MURDER TO A JAZZ BEAT. 

TONIGHT ON MURDER, SHE WROTE, we're putting on a show! And it's all very Judy Garland-coded. 

Mystery novelist and always there at the wrong time Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) is summoned to Boston by her nephew Grady (Michael Horton), who's part of the team bringing up-and-coming talent Patti Bristol (Lorna Luft), and her mother, legend Rita (Vivian Blaine), in their joint-starring production in rehearsals before it heads to the Great White Way. 

When Patti and her brother Barry (Gregg Henry) are caught off guard in a mugging incident that lands Patti in critical condition and the would-be mugger dead, Jessica isn't convinced there's not more to it. But who's behind it?

Could it be the fabulous matriarch never out of makeup? The brother, who was never the talented favorite? Milton Berle; what is he doing here?! Round it out with an opportunistic understudy (Elaine Giftos), a total dick of a director (Robert Morse), a producer (Patrick O'Neal) who really needs a hit, and Grady's girlfriend of the month (Sharee Gregory). It's anyone's guess. 

Fortunately, while our cranky idiosyncratic detective (Gregory Sierra) of the week is on an all-veg diet, Jessica is on the case while wolfing down street empanadas.  Between scenes of three-card monte and street preachers, we even see two and a half musical numbers! And stick around for a performance from Angela Lansbury in the final act that rivals her manipulative mother role in The Manchurian Candidate; we couldn't be more in love or terrified. 

Turn on the coffee pot, grab your old bottle of scotch and barbituates, and please do try to stay on pitch because it's going to be a doozy of a BROADWAY MALADY.