S02.E04: Dial Margaret For Murder

[DanaK]

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While in the hospital recovering from an emergency appendectomy, Todd is convinced he overheard a plot to murder someone. When Margaret realizes her difficult but very important clients are interested in Todd's theories, she jumps into the role of private investigator and brings them along for the ride. Also, Todd gets to meet his personal guru, Dick Franks (Dean Winters), a grizzled veteran private investigator who shares the hospital room with him, on the CBS Original drama SO HELP ME TODD, Thursday, March 14 (9:01-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+

 

[AnimeMania]

Directed by Robin Givens 

Dean Winters as Dick Franks 

Joyce Robbins as Mildred Lee 

Jaqueline Robbins as Tillie Lee

Cecilia Grace Deacon as Felicia Dobson

Next New Episode (Possibly): April 11, 2024

Edited March 14 by AnimeMania

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, AnimeMania said:

Next New Episode (Possibly): April 11, 2024

This episode airs tonight, right? 

IMDb shows "#2.5" airing April 4. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[chitowngirl]

19 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

This episode airs tonight, right? 

IMDb shows "#2.5" airing April 4. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Yes, then March Madness begins

[AnimeMania]

2 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

IMDb shows "#2.5" airing April 4. 

Double "Elsbeth" episodes on the 4th. I am now pretty sure it is back April 11, 2024.

[kirinan]

Dean Winters is one of my favorite actors, and he didn’t disappoint. He and Skylar Astin were great together. I hope crazy Franks comes back. Loved the Lee sisters, too, and wouldn’t mind seeing them again.
 

Also, I can’t quit laughing at “the Karen room.” So silly, SO funny. 

Edited March 15 by kirinan

[AnimeMania]

As far as I can remember that picture of Margret and Felicia Dobson was not part of the episode. It is also weird that Felicia Dobson isn't the murderer, since she was the one at the hospital, and it doesn't explain why Felicia Dobson was questioning her husband's brother at the hospital in a stolen doctor's lab coat and what the significance of what the brother said to Felicia Dobson meant. I think they completely changed the story and now it doesn't logically make any sense. It is a shame that they didn't realize that. It was a cute episode, but logically flawed.

[iMonrey]

10 hours ago, kirinan said:

Also, I can’t quit laughing at “the Karen room.” So silly, SO funny. 

They were all blonde - LOL!

4 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

As far as I can remember that picture of Margret and Felicia Dobson was not part of the episode. It is also weird that Felicia Dobson isn't the murderer, since she was the one at the hospital, and it doesn't explain why Felicia Dobson was questioning her husband's brother at the hospital in a stolen doctor's lab coat and what the significance of what the brother said to Felicia Dobson meant. I think they completely changed the story and now it doesn't logically make any sense.

You're right there was no scene of Felicia in Margaret's office, but I assume it was simply cut for time. I thought the story made sense overall, but it is odd that Felicia was in the hospital room questioning the brother. Maybe just to see what he planned to tell the judge. It's possible she reported this back to her husband and then he killed his brother.

I assume Allison's hospital privileges were reinstated? Wasn't she suspended up until now? Don't tell me she performed the appendectomy on her own brother.

10 hours ago, kirinan said:

Dean Winters is one of my favorite actors, and he didn’t disappoint. He and Skylar Astin were great together. I hope crazy Franks comes back. 

He seemed like a total crackpot and didn't seem to have any real detective skills aside from swiping Allison's tablet. Everything he guessed was so far out in left field it was ridiculous. The implication seemed to be that he wasn't really a great detective after all and whatever famous case he was supposed to have solved was probably due more to dumb luck than anything else. 

Quote

Loved the Lee sisters, too, and wouldn’t mind seeing them again.

Those twins are creepy as hell, but I probably can't get past the role they played in "A Series of Unfortunate Events."

[shapeshifter]

9 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

As far as I can remember that picture of Margret and Felicia Dobson was not part of the episode. It is also weird that Felicia Dobson isn't the murderer, since she was the one at the hospital, and it doesn't explain why Felicia Dobson was questioning her husband's brother at the hospital in a stolen doctor's lab coat and what the significance of what the brother said to Felicia Dobson meant. I think they completely changed the story and now it doesn't logically make any sense.

4 hours ago, iMonrey said:

…Felicia was in the hospital room questioning the brother. Maybe just to see what he planned to tell the judge. It's possible she reported this back to her husband and then he killed his brother.

@AnimeMania, I quoted and bolded the parts of @iMonrey's post that seem to answer the question of what Felicia was really doing at the hospital, but, yeah, it was never definitively stated, as far as I could tell.
Anyone else?

But I guess Felicia having red hair and a red sports car were perhaps signifying to us that Felicia was a red herring.

Later it is revealed that although Felicia enabled her husband to kill his brother, she was clueless about her husband's plot to kill his brother to keep him from testifying against him and their company for negligence that caused a lot of deaths.

A lot of old Perry Mason plots are convoluted and confusing like this with a similar parade of characters, and often a company involved, so maybe this was supposed to be an homage? Margaret being a respected lawyer who is playing detective is also very much like Perry Mason or Matlock.

And the plot to the namesake 1950s murder mystery Dial M For Murder is arguably even more convoluted.

Also, Todd’s being confined to the hospital is a plot device reminiscent of Hitchcock’s Rear Window.

Edited March 15 by shapeshifter

[HelloooKitty]

I liked the sisters and I liked Dean and wouldn’t mind either appearing again. 
 

I do NOT like the “Charlie’s angels” speaker with the mysterious partner. 

[Sarah 103]

7 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

 

And the plot to the namesake 1950s murder mystery Dial M For Murder is arguably even more convoluted.

Also, Todd’s being confined to the hospital is a plot device reminiscent of Hitchcock’s Rear Window.

I loved this episode. It may be my favorite episode of the season. At first, I was incredibly excited because I thought we were going to get a time-travel fantasy dream sequence (like Castle or Moonlighting, but since they did reference Moonlighting, I'm still hopeful we'll get one in a later season).

I think the title is a reference to Dial M For Murder, the plot has nods to Rear Window (Todd being stuck and convincing someone, especially a woman, that he's right and getting her to help) as well as elements of film noir, like the femme fatale. 

Todd is a swirling vortex of chaotic comedy drawing in as many people as he can. This is what I tune in for and I was not disappointed. The show is silly zany fun with a case of the week. 

[MerBearHou]

I love Dean Winters in everything he does so I got a kick out of him on SHMT and I would bet that he ad-libbed 90% of his off-beat lines.  He kept Skylar and Allison (whoever the actress is) on their toes and they did a good job of reacting.  

Margaret was so low-key early in the episode as she was trying to impress these new potential clients, and it was great to see her gain some oomph as the episode went on.  The Lee sisters were a hoot.  

Edited March 16 by MerBearHou

[chaifan]

I agree that the parts about Felicia being the one who seemingly killed the brother, then the other brother going in to kill Todd didn't make a lot of sense.  All they had to do was include one line where the living brother said to his wife "you took care of my brother, I'll take care of this other guy".  And then it would all make sense - they were both killers.  Of course, it doesn't really explain a killer bothering to answer the phone, and then when it's obvious someone has identified him as the killer he just casually walks across the hall to kill Todd. 

But even with that being a bit confusing, I think this was one of my favorite episodes of this show.  Every actor really worked so well off everyone else.  It involved pretty much the entire cast, and even worked in the two sisters perfectly.  I liked the tips of the hat to the classic murder mysteries, too.  But the Charlie's Angels speaker was clunky and didn't quite work for me. 

The Karen Room was spot on!  I loved the horrible spiky wedge haircuts so many of them had!   The sisters were great.  Alison was hilarious - the actress does really good dry comedy. 

But seriously, what the hell is growing on Lyle's face???  Is he playing a 1970's porn star in some other show? 

 

 

[HelloooKitty]

I just figured dean’s character was on some major pain meds and was halfway off his gourd half the time and that’s why he was saying the particularly insane stuff. 
 

Allison did say something about disconnecting his morphine. 

[MerBearHou]

I forgot the Karen room — that was a great idea!  All blonds, the haircuts, the “I was speaking to the manager”, Margaret kept slightly moving her handbag — so unique and funny!  Nice job, writers.  

[shapeshifter]

10 hours ago, chaifan said:

All they had to do was include one line where the living brother said to his wife "you took care of my brother, I'll take care of this other guy".  And then it would all make sense - they were both killers.

Based on these lines that Margaret heard via Todd's earbuds when she was eavesdropping at the door, I concluded that it was a misdirect that Felicia was a killer too.
Beginning around the 34 minute mark:

• [FELICIA] …I'm sorry, maybe I'm just anxious about the trial.
• [TOBIAS] No, don't you worry about that, my darling. It's all going to be fine. I've taken care of everything.
• [FELICIA] What does that mean, exactly? "Taken care of"?
• [TOBIAS] Felicia. It's none of your concern. I have taken care of absolutely everything.

(Plus the many mentions of Felicia having red hair and driving a red car pointed to her being a red herring.)

[seacliffsal]

I enjoy this show so much, and this episode was so much fun!  Sure, there are plot holes, but I just enjoy the fun.  Too many shows just take themselves too seriously for me.  Life can be hard and serious, so I sometimes just want to be entertained without having to think about 'real life' too much.  The sisters were so much fun.  I liken this show to 'Psych' which is one of my all-time favorites.  Case of the week-family and friends interact and help, adventure, and humor.

And, yes, I realize that I probably overused the word 'fun' in this post...

[chaifan]

2 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I concluded that it was a misdirect that Felicia was a killer too.

Felicia being a misdirect makes sense in the context of that conversation.  But in context of her stealing a doctor's ID badge/coat to get into her brother-in-law's room, and also drugging Todd, it doesn't make sense.  (I can't remember if we saw anything she was doing to her BIL.) 

Between this and the screen shot with Felicia in Margaret's office, which certainly doesn't fit with the plot that we saw, I'm with the person who posted above that maybe they had to re-work the plot midway, or something weird like that. 

But, to be honest, with this show, I don't really care.  It's fluff, I'm not expecting reality or perfection. 

[KayVeeTeeVee]

Gotta admit, I thought I watched intently, but didn't see any plot holes.  ;)  Just enjoy this show so very much.  Like a lighter version of Moonlighting.  Loved Margaret and the old biddies! ;)

 

[iMonrey]

2 hours ago, seacliffsal said:

And, yes, I realize that I probably overused the word 'fun' in this post...

No you didn't. That's really the best word to describe this show. 

45 minutes ago, chaifan said:

But in context of her stealing a doctor's ID badge/coat to get into her brother-in-law's room, and also drugging Todd, it doesn't make sense.  (I can't remember if we saw anything she was doing to her BIL.) 

All we saw her doing is leaning over his bed and listening to him saying random words like judge and murder. We don't know what her relationship was like with her brother in law. It's possible she just figured she could get into his room and if he were high enough on pain meds she could get him to tell her what he planned to tell the judge. Now, why she had to disguise herself as a doctor and sneak in, I couldn't tell you. If this guy was a potential witness to a big case there might have been a standing order not to admit any visitors.

[AnimeMania]

2 hours ago, KayVeeTeeVee said:

Gotta admit, I thought I watched intently, but didn't see any plot holes. 

When I was looking at the Cat Show the venue seemed small, cramped and not well attended. There were more Karens and more FBI people in attendance then there was Cat Fanciers.

2 hours ago, iMonrey said:

If this guy was a potential witness to a big case there might have been a standing order not to admit any visitors.

If the court case was so important, most other TV shows would have had a police officer posted outside of his room.

[KayVeeTeeVee]

42 minutes ago, AnimeMania said:

When I was looking at the Cat Show the venue seemed small, cramped and not well attended. There were more Karens and more FBI people in attendance then there was Cat Fanciers.

If the court case was so important, most other TV shows would have had a police officer posted outside of his room.

Now don't go ruining the fun with logic.  It's just a lighthearted show.  Enjoy!

[Daff]

On 3/14/2024 at 11:17 PM, kirinan said:

Dean Winters is one of my favorite actors, and he didn’t disappoint. He and Skylar Astin were great together. I hope crazy Franks comes back. Loved the Lee sisters, too, and wouldn’t mind seeing them again.
 

Also, I can’t quit laughing at “the Karen room.” So silly, SO funny. 

 

On 3/15/2024 at 10:16 AM, iMonrey said:

He seemed like a total crackpot

That’s his schtick, as demonstrated by his long term gig as “Mayhem” selling insurance. He was normal size in this and now I’m convinced that the DW who appeared in M.Spade was laden with prosthetics and altered via cgi (he looked about 400 lbs). I was really sorry to see “Battle Creek” cancelled back in the day.

[KaveDweller]

On 3/15/2024 at 10:16 AM, iMonrey said:

I assume Allison's hospital privileges were reinstated? Wasn't she suspended up until now? Don't tell me she performed the appendectomy on her own brother.

I don't remember her being suspended, what would it have been for? I feel like she has mentioned working in other episodes this season.

But yeah, she should not have been allowed in the OR with Todd.

[Daff]

5 hours ago, KaveDweller said:

I don't remember her being suspended, what would it have been for? I feel like she has mentioned working in other episodes this season.

But yeah, she should not have been allowed in the OR with Todd.

It’s a point, but I had the impression she was not controlling the robotics, and she’s not an anesthesiologist either. I think she was there to keep Todd calm (for what THAT was worth). Modern medicine has pretty much made an appendectomy “minimally invasive surgery”. In 1968, it was highly invasive, requiring a two week stay in the hospital.

[kirinan]

17 hours ago, Daff said:

That’s his schtick, as demonstrated by his long term gig as “Mayhem” selling insurance. He was normal size in this and now I’m convinced that the DW who appeared in M.Spade was laden with prosthetics and altered via cgi (he looked about 400 lbs). I was really sorry to see “Battle Creek” cancelled back in the day.

I never saw M. Spade, so I can't speak to that, but it did occur to me that Franks the detective is very much like "Mayhem." He always makes me laugh in those commercials, so I guess that's why I liked him so much in this show. And oh, wow, talk about a show I really mourned the loss of; I LOVED Battle Creek. I'm glad I'm not the only person who remembers it fondly.

[Simba122504]

The wife went to the hospital using a false identity, then the brother dies the next day. That means she killed the bother and the other brother set it in  motion. Yeah, that definitely didn't make sense, but it was a fun episode. 

[chediavolo]

On 3/16/2024 at 9:34 AM, seacliffsal said:

I enjoy this show so much, and this episode was so much fun!  Sure, there are plot holes, but I just enjoy the fun.  Too many shows just take themselves too seriously for me.  Life can be hard and serious, so I sometimes just want to be entertained without having to think about 'real life' too much.  The sisters were so much fun.  I liken this show to 'Psych' which is one of my all-time favorites.  Case of the week-family and friends interact and help, adventure, and humor.

And, yes, I realize that I probably overused the word 'fun' in this post...

This is one of my escape/calming/comfort shows & it doesn’t disappoint.