Production Information[]
Production Number: | |
Aired: April 10th, 1988 | |
Written By: Dick Nelson | |
Directed By: Vincent McEveety | |
INSERT EPISODE SCREENSHOT HERE | |
Created By: Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson & William Link | |
Executive Producers: Peter S. Fischer | |
Producer: Robert Van Scoyk |
Summary[]
Jessica visits her niece, Jill Morton, as her mother, Louise, suspects her romantic link with Marty Reed while on a rodeo circuit. They witness a crazy bet to stay longest on a mean bull but before they could ride, the bull charged and hurt some of them. Doc Schaeffer, the dodgy circuit healer, treats Boone Talbot's best boy, Luke Purdue, for a leg-wound and grounds Marty with a concussion. Next night Doc is killed by arson but Luke is pulled out of Doc's trailer just in time. RCMP (Mounties) Inspector Roger McCabe, a JB Fletcher mystery fan, officially investigates and confers with Jessica. Doc's widow says he made lots of enemies and, before her marriage, practiced ten years in jail but she won't miss him. Marty is visited by his wife and son, Buster. After Boone gets wounded, heroically saving Marty from a bull's horns, the young father pulls out with a mild arm injury, to Luke's fury, thus ruining their chance at an annual title. A call from prison warden Burns inspires Jessica
Trivia[]
Second episode in which Jessica visits Canada. The first was earlier in the season in Witness for the Defense.
Joe Dorsey (Doc Schaeffer) also played the murder victim in Death Stalks the Big Top (Part 2).
Victim: Doc Schaffer
Killer: Luke Purdue (a.k.a. Carl Mattson)
Cause of death: Smoke inhalation due to a fire.
Motive: The doc taking x-ray's of his leg would've revealed pins in it, which the doc put in himself when he treated "Luke" in prison, which would've revealed his true identity as an escaped convict.
There is a major snafu in this episode. When the Mountie had brought up that the fire could have started from the outside & was thrown in, but when they had shown the opposite window from the inside, that was on the right, Boone would have been inside to open the window from the right , not from the outside, he would opened the window on the left with him being outside, meaning, when he had seen the fire from the hospital trailer, the fire was on the inside, showing that it was set inside the trailer. not from the outside.
Starring[]
Regular Cast[]
Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher
Recurring Cast[]
Guest Stars[]
Rosana DeSoto as Consuela Schaeffer
Joe Dorsey as Doc Schaeffer
Patrick Houser as Marty Reed
Terry Kiser as Wally Brice
Lance LeGault as Inspector Roger McCabe
Paul LeMat as Luke Purdue
Kristy McNichol as Jill Morton
Larry Wilcox as Boone Talbot
Cassie Yates as Carla Talbot
DVD Release[]
Murder. She Wrote: the Complete Fourth Season