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Murder, She Wrote - General Discussion


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I am in the middle of watching the whole series through on DVD, and one thing I keep noticing is all the ORANGE!  Someone on the show apparently loved the color, and so many of the women's outfits were orange.  But what really gets me is the orange lipstick the women all wear.  It is hideous!  How could they ever have thought that was a good idea!

I suppose this was not through all the seasons, but where I am right now I see nothing  but orange.  

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1 hour ago, treeofdreams said:

I am in the middle of watching the whole series through on DVD, and one thing I keep noticing is all the ORANGE!  Someone on the show apparently loved the color, and so many of the women's outfits were orange.  But what really gets me is the orange lipstick the women all wear.  It is hideous!  How could they ever have thought that was a good idea!

I suppose this was not through all the seasons, but where I am right now I see nothing  but orange.  

I’m still in season 1 of my sporadic series watch via free Peacock, and haven’t yet noticed a lot of orange, but I’ll keep an eye out for it.

About 5 years ago my fashion-conscious (if somewhat goth) 30-something daughter was exclusively wearing intense orange lipstick. And I recall in the 1960s my aunt who always made bold fashion choices often wore deep orange lipstick. And Mom sometimes wore orange lipstick—maybe in the 70s? 
But the show was shot in the 80s. 
IDK. 🤷‍♀️

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 Yep.  Tangerine Twist, not too orange not too pink.   It's always fun when Jessica adopts a character during a case.  Her Lila Lee Lady wasn't quite up there with the bored socialite in Widow Weep For Me but still entertaining.  

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The two-parter Mirror, Mirror episodes were on tonight.  They are two of my favorites of the series.  Great guest stars.  And my all-time favorite MSW scene is when, after his near-death scare, Seth asks Jessica to meet him for fishing the next morning but she says she can’t; then we see Jessica hurriedly riding her bike to the dock to catch up with Seth to meet the boat; he says they haven’t been waiting on her but were delayed taking off due to mechanical difficulties and would she please tend to the bow of the boat; they have a little momentary cranky dialogue; then Caleb (the captain) tells her that he’s sure glad she finally made it because Seth had been getting testy waiting for her.  She just knowingly and lovingly smiles and waves to Seth at the back of the boat.  He walks up and joins her on the bow and the boat takes off with them, side by side, wind blowing and them smiling.  Oh, I love Jessica and Seth.  One of my favorite duos of all time on TV.  Not a couple, but so so so close.  

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On 1/3/2022 at 2:38 PM, treeofdreams said:

But what really gets me is the orange lipstick the women all wear. 

That and just the heavy makeup in general, especially in the mid to late '80's episodes. The eyeshadow and blush are just plastered on. It looks so strange now.

I recently watched an episode from season three with Elenore Parker (Baroness Von Shrader from The Sound of Music) and her face was encased in so much makeup that I only recognized her at first by her voice. 

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16 hours ago, JAYJAY1979 said:

Unpopular opinion, but I liked some of the non Jessica Fletcher episodes.  And I wish there were a few each season.

I liked ALL of the Dennis Stanton episodes.  They had such humor and I thought Dennis / Keith was dashing and fun and good at his job.  Loved his relationship with his secretary Rhoda who he championed.  

I was so-so on the others, even though the guest star detectives were big names who I truly enjoyed on other shows (Jerry Orbach, Wayne Rogers, Len Cariou).  The only one I cannot watch is with Bill Maher and Faith Ford -- they drove me nuts in their episode.

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On 6/22/2022 at 1:49 PM, Kenzie said:

That and just the heavy makeup in general, especially in the mid to late '80's episodes. The eyeshadow and blush are just plastered on. It looks so strange now.

I recently watched an episode from season three with Elenore Parker (Baroness Von Shrader from The Sound of Music) and her face was encased in so much makeup that I only recognized her at first by her voice. 

Yes, it's incredibly aging. Makes women who were probably in their 50s look like they're in their 70s.

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The two-parter Mirror, Mirror episodes were on tonight.  They are two of my favorites of the series.  Great guest stars.  And my all-time favorite MSW scene is when, after his near-death scare, Seth asks Jessica to meet him for fishing the next morning but she says she can’t; then we see Jessica hurriedly riding her bike to the dock to catch up with Seth to meet the boat; he says they haven’t been waiting on her but were delayed taking off due to mechanical difficulties and would she please tend to the bow of the boat; they have a little momentary cranky dialogue; then Caleb (the captain) tells her that he’s sure glad she finally made it because Seth had been getting testy waiting for her.  She just knowingly and lovingly smiles and waves to Seth at the back of the boat.  He walks up and joins her on the bow and the boat takes off with them, side by side, wind blowing and them smiling.  Oh, I love Jessica and Seth.  One of my favorite duos of all time on TV.  Not a couple, but so so so close.  

I love that one too, but I think my favorite Seth and Jessica storyline is when they show the dinners they have at Jessica's house (where they trick Amos into eating escargots and calamari because he doesn't know what they are) and they play chess afterward. It just looks so cozy and comforting to have that sort of companionship.

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26 minutes ago, tvfanatic13 said:

I am profoundly sad. Jessica Fletcher has graced my living room daily for years, and has gotten me through some tough times. Rest in eternal peace, Angela. 

Yep. When I was growing up, the CBS Sunday night lineup was family viewing time. 60 Minutes, Murder, She Wrote, and the Made-For-TV Movie (or first half of a miniseries. And assuming the ones on NBC or ABC weren't better)

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2 hours ago, Dr.OO7 said:

Yep. When I was growing up, the CBS Sunday night lineup was family viewing time. 60 Minutes, Murder, She Wrote, and the Made-For-TV Movie (or first half of a miniseries. And assuming the ones on NBC or ABC weren't better)

Same. Sunday nights were dinner at the grandparents followed by the Murder She Wrote and Made for TV movies lineup watched as a family, all crammed into my grandparents cozy little TV room.

96 years old, a 70+ year career, working pretty much right up to the end, and dying in your sleep is a blessed life for sure, but I'm still profoundly sad to hear that she's passed. 

I literally watch MSW nearly every day at some point, whether it be background noise while working or comfort TV while falling asleep. 

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I was a little bit offended on her behalf when I heard it in our news this morning and they were all "oh, she got famous with Murder, She Wrote, but she also did some movies and was at the broadway"....yeah, no, Murder, She Wrote got lucky to get someone as amazing as her. And "Some movies"? A lot of her roles are iconic, even the ones, where she just lend her voice! 

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I was just so sad to hear the news about Angela.  What a life she lived.  MSW is my nightly viewing and she was just a gem.  An incredible career — my goodness.  You will be missed, Angela — loved by me and so, so many.

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I used to love watching for that moment when the camera would focus on something just a little longer than necessary and that would be your clue to who the killer was. One time I figured out who the killer was before the murder even happened.

According to the TV Tropes page, if Cabot Cove really existed, it would have a murder rate EIGHTY-SIX times that of Caracas, Venezuela, the murder capital of the world.

Did you know that some people have speculated that JESSICA was the one responsible for all the murders, since they always happened wherever she went? 😄

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They've ramped up the reruns on COZI and the Hallmark Channel in the wake of her passing and for some reason, it finally occurred to me what an Unintentional Period Piece it is. The repeat I caught yesterday featured a ballerina wanting to defect from the Soviet Union, which of course, hasn't existed in 30 years.

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On 11/29/2015 at 12:22 PM, lizzbert said:

I rediscovered Murder, She Wrote on Netflix a couple years ago, and what really struck me was how revolutionary a character Jessica was! A smart, older woman having a very successful second act that had nothing to do with the "traditional" elements of female "success": a husband, kids, etc. At the same time, she was a very warm and caring person with hundreds of friends and perhaps thousands of hapless relatives. :) Plus, her manners were always impeccable--I wish I were as good at politely putting people in their place as she was!

I liked that even though she wasn't a typical GMILF, it's still quite clear that men found her attractive and that she had a steady dating life, rather than being some dried-up old biddy.

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I liked those two episodes in the final season that took a swipe at the executive meddling that ruined the show --inexplicably moving it from Sunday night to Thursday night opposite "Friends", where of course, it promptly got slaughtered in the ratings --"Murder Among Friends" and "Death By Demographics".

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On 10/12/2022 at 12:57 AM, swanpride said:

I was a little bit offended on her behalf when I heard it in our news this morning and they were all "oh, she got famous with Murder, She Wrote, but she also did some movies and was at the broadway"....yeah, no, Murder, She Wrote got lucky to get someone as amazing as her. And "Some movies"? A lot of her roles are iconic, even the ones, where she just lend her voice! 

Yeah, she got an Oscar nomination for her very first movie, when she was still a teenager, and I believe another one for her second movie.

I've been bingeing tribute videos and old interviews and she said she was happy not to get the Oscar for those first movies, but she did seem quite disappointed not to get the one for The Manchurian Candidate.

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They've ramped up the reruns on COZI and the Hallmark Channel in the wake of her passing and for some reason, it finally occurred to me what an Unintentional Period Piece it is. The repeat I caught yesterday featured a ballerina wanting to defect from the Soviet Union, which of course, hasn't existed in 30 years.

The technology is always the funniest part to me, the utter befuddlement at "new" things that are now nearly obsolete, like fax machines or those giant computers.

The one thing they seemed ahead of their time on was the virtual reality episode. Although they made it seem like it was an imminent trend, it took another 20 years for that to really hit the mainstream.

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I really loved this show until the last few seasons-because I loved Jessica before they glammed her up and had more episodes in New York, I think? I much prefer the Cabot Cove episodes-yes even the ones with Claude Akins! What he, the actor thought-when the title of the show CLEARLY stated what it would be about before he quit or was told Ethan would be gone-EGO-doesn’t ruin those early episodes for me.

14 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

OMGEE! Rewatching Murder, She Wrote and I TOTALLY forgot that Beauty & The Beast was a reunion for Dame Angela, Jerry Orbach, and David Ogden Stiers! As the latter two appeared on her show, albeit in different episodes. My ❤️, it’s …I don’t have the words.

Quoting myself from the movies thread as I think it’s more appropriate here!

Watched “The Days Dwindle Down”, which decided to prove Sam’s innocence from the original movie The Bargain, and I loved how they got most of the original actors back and show the flashbacks of the original movie. The ending sounds depressing, since Sam went to jail, but I want to see it!

I know I mentioned this up thread pages and pages back, but I prefer Amos over Mort, for two reasons: (1) I adore Tom Bosley, and (2) Actor who played Mort played a weasely character that framed Remington Steele, and for a cop from New York, he was the stupidest sheriff EVER. I know Tom left for his series The Father Dowling Mysteries, but I really loved him. And then the episode where Erin Moran guest starred, she and Tom never had any scenes together! Which I thought was a shame, considering they played father and daughter from the time she was 11-12 on Happy Days!

For a lot of years I did think Cabot Cove was set in Maine! And I wanted to go up there to see where it was filmed-only to learn a few years ago, the cliffs and gorgeous ocean scenes were filmed in California!

And so I am watching again-on COZI and HMMC and HATE!HATE!HATE! how both cut into scenes when actors are still speaking to commercial and when it returns, it’s the next scene! I may just buy the DVDS!

Edited by GHScorpiosRule
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1 hour ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

I know I mentioned this up thread pages and pages back, but I prefer Amos over Mort, for two reasons: (1) I adore Tom Bosley, and (2) Actor who played Mort played a weasely character that framed Remington Steele, and for a cop from New York, he was the stupidest sheriff EVER. I know Tom left for his series The Father Dowling Mysteries, but I really loved him. And then the episode where Erin Moran guest starred, she and Tom never had any scenes together! Which I thought was a shame, considering they played father and daughter from the time she was 11-12 on Happy Days!

Tom Bosley was a distinct character actor with a unique screen presence. Ron Masak (Mort) was a blander screen presence relative to Bosley.

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I’m conflicted. I checked and the complete series is listed as 212 hours and 5 minutes running time. There were 264 episodes. I suck at math and I don’t know if the running time equals the number of episodes-especially since some of them are episodes couched as bonus episodes.

Then there are the reviews that state the same episodes repeat!

Anyone here have the complete series who can confirm what I’ve seen? The one is selling as “1 disc” for the complete series for $64.99, and the other is “63 discs” for $134.99.

Like whaaa????

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51 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

I’m conflicted. I checked and the complete series is listed as 212 hours and 5 minutes running time. There were 264 episodes. I suck at math and I don’t know if the running time equals the number of episodes-especially since some of them are episodes couched as bonus episodes.

Then there are the reviews that state the same episodes repeat!

Anyone here have the complete series who can confirm what I’ve seen? The one is selling as “1 disc” for the complete series for $64.99, and the other is “63 discs” for $134.99.

Like whaaa????

Peacock has all 12 seasons. 

I'm not 100% sure, but when I still had just Free Peacock, I think MSW was free. 

But, if necessary, you could pay for Peacock until you watched as many as you want. With ads it's $4.99/month, cancel any time. The commercials are very short. $9.99/mo. without ads.
Eventually the price for the series might come down, but do you really want to buy discs anyway?

Edited by shapeshifter
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6 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

do you really want to buy discs anyway?

Yes. I don’t love streaming. Plus, are these episodes on Peacock the original and unedited airings? I have that already for free-Peacock, that is.

And I don’t know why it’s not available on Paramount + since this was a CBS show.

Edited by GHScorpiosRule
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1 minute ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Yes. I don’t love streaming. Plus, are these episodes on Peacock the original and unedited airings? I have that already for free-Peacock, that is.

I'm enjoying that I am the old lady who prefers streaming and you are the younger Gen-something-or-other who prefers discs. 😉

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 Murder She Wrote was produced by Universal Studios.   That's why they did the one episode that involved the Psycho house.   And why it's on Peacock, which is backed by the NBC/Universal library.   It's the reverse of Star Trek, which aired on NBC but was owned by Desliu, which later folded in Paramount, causing it to make it's streaming debut on CBS All Access which later became Paramount+.

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13 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Anyone here have the complete series who can confirm what I’ve seen? The one is selling as “1 disc” for the complete series for $64.99, and the other is “63 discs” for $134.99.

Like whaaa????

My box set is 212 hours and 1 minute and has 63 discs. I think the episodes are 48 minutes each. (or there abouts). I had no issues with episodes repeating. The UPC is 2519220866 if that helps. I always dig the set out during Hallmark's Holiday Blitz.

Just checked the back of the individual seasons and I think I might get the confusion on some of the episodes repeating. Season 10 has a season 11 episode as a bonus and season 11 has 2 episodes from season 12.

Season 3 does have the Magnum PI episode that is part of the crossover.

Edited by Schnickelfritz
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Thanks @Schnickelfritz! Will be getting that.

And I had totally forgotten that I did watch the series finale-which had David Ogden Stiers! Too bad no Jerry Orbach--this was another reunion post Beauty & The Beast! While I loved the swiping at the network/brass, it, along with the a lot of the episodes in the later seasons that moved Jessica to New York, was lacking.

3 hours ago, Schnickelfritz said:

Season 3 does have the Magnum PI episode that is part of the crossover.

Oh that crossover was a hot mess. Of course the marathon of last week only showed the conclusion-but when you watch the Magnum, P.I. episode, the guy that Joan (the awesome Jessica Walters) killed-played by Jared Martin-who had set up Magnum, is alive and well, and we have to go through and watch AGAIN-Magnum prove his innocence. What were the writers smoking when they wrote that episode?

I'm now mentally making a list of all the guest stars on this show from my childhood shows! Like Perry Mason! In "Murder in the Afternoon" in season two, Jessica's niece, Nita, an up and coming soap opera actress is framed for murder; Her grandma is played by Lurene Tuttle, who appeared several times on the original Perry Mason-as his client, the aunt of his client, etc.)

Then there were three members of The Brady Bunch--Florence Henderson, Eve Plumb, and Barry Williams. I can't remember if Robert Reed ever appeared. He wasn't in any of the episodes I caught last week.

And of course a multitude of soap opera actors!

Then there were the actors from the Golden Age of Hollywood!

ETA: WOOHOO! Price dropped! Entire Series is now $118 and change! Just ordered it.

Edited by GHScorpiosRule
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3 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Then there were three members of The Brady Bunch--Florence Henderson, Eve Plumb, and Barry Williams. I can't remember if Robert Reed ever appeared. He wasn't in any of the episodes I caught last week.

He was in 3 episodes.

Season 1, Ep17: Footnote to Murder

Season 4, Ep 16: Murder Through the Looking Glass

Season 7, Ep 3: See You in Court, Baby

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7 hours ago, Schnickelfritz said:

My box set is 212 hours and 1 minute and has 63 discs. I think the episodes are 48 minutes each. (or there abouts). I had no issues with episodes repeating. The UPC is 2519220866 if that helps. I always dig the set out during Hallmark's Holiday Blitz.

Just checked the back of the individual seasons and I think I might get the confusion on some of the episodes repeating. Season 10 has a season 11 episode as a bonus and season 11 has 2 episodes from season 12.

Season 3 does have the Magnum PI episode that is part of the crossover.

I'm glad you were able to clear it up. Yeah, some of the next season's episodes would be offered as "bonus" on the previous season's. I guess because the season sets released individually before the box set ever came along. I actually bought the DVD box set around a decade ago--the one in the white box with just her face on the cover. It's very nice and I like that the sets have a consistent design rather than changing partway through.

I so agree with @GHScorpiosRule that Amos was the better sheriff. Those early episodes with Jessica, Seth, and Amos in Cabot Cove together were the best, although Jessica and Seth are still great when it's just the two of them, too. Mort did grow on me after a season or two, but it always felt like--even though he was a smarter character than Amos to me--he was a step removed from Jessica and Seth, maybe because he seemed much younger than they were whereas Amos was the same generation as them. Or at least that's how it seemed to me, perhaps the actors' ages aren't as close as I imagined.

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38 minutes ago, TheGreenKnight said:

Those early episodes with Jessica, Seth, and Amos in Cabot Cove together were the best, although Jessica and Seth are still great when it's just the two of them,

Oh definitely! Especially the ones where Seth is cooking something for Jessica, and Amos just "drops" in to see what's cookin' and trying to get a taste. I especially loved the episode where he ended up eating Calimari and then Snails (Escargot) (YUUUUUCK!!!!!) in "If it's Thursday, It Must Be Beverly"😅😂

I just love that Jessica, Seth, and Amos have the "Down East" accent--whereas most of the citizens don't! Well, Correen does. And none of the deputies did except for the ginger-headed Floyd, before they got rid of him for that dullard, Andy.

Ayap! 

Edited by GHScorpiosRule
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2 hours ago, TheGreenKnight said:

I so agree with @GHScorpiosRule that Amos was the better sheriff. Those early episodes with Jessica, Seth, and Amos in Cabot Cove together were the best, although Jessica and Seth are still great when it's just the two of them, too. Mort did grow on me after a season or two, but it always felt like--even though he was a smarter character than Amos to me--he was a step removed from Jessica and Seth, maybe because he seemed much younger than they were whereas Amos was the same generation as them. Or at least that's how it seemed to me, perhaps the actors' ages aren't as close as I imagined.

You're forgetting Harry Pierce (John Astin) who was sheriff for 1 whole episode before he was hauled off to prison and Sheriff Tupper decided NOT to retire.

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I really hate Vera Miles’s character, Nancy, in “Thursday’s Child” as much as Jessica’s good “friend” Clint! First Nancy, for lying about Frank cheating and being the father of her son. Clint, for the way he hemmed and hawed-HE probably cheated. I couldn’t remember if he was Steven’s father, but then Nancy finally ‘fessed up and said his father was a pilot in Frank’s squadron named Steven.

And also watching “Powder Keg” just hits me in the gut that NOTHING has changed. We’ve barely moved the needle.😞

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On 10/13/2022 at 5:55 PM, shapeshifter said:

Is there an interview with Angela Lansbury in which the fan theory of Jessica-as-serial-killer is mentioned? I thought there was, but can't find it, so maybe I imagined it.

Not an interview, but an article detailing her arrest:

https://waterfordwhispersnews.com/2011/09/25/suspected-serial-killer-jessica-fletcher-arrested-at-east-cork-home/

There's a mugshot too:

image.png.9f9412b8f9c763631444836bf90b206c.png

I knew she was too good to be true.

I wonder what Lansbury thought of the theory that Jessica was behind all the murders. My guess is she found it amusing.

Edited by Dr.OO7
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6 minutes ago, Dr.OO7 said:

I knew she was too good to be true.

BLASPHEMY!!!!!!

7 minutes ago, Dr.OO7 said:

I wonder what Lansbury thought of the theory that Jessica was behind all the murders. My guess is she found it amusing.

I think so too. I mean, she had to pose for that mugshot, right? Or is that from that one episode where she actually was arrested for suspicion of murder?

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27 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

think so too. I mean, she had to pose for that mugshot, right? Or is that from that one episode where she actually was arrested for suspicion of murder?

Even way back in the dark ages of the '80s and '90s they could have mocked that up from any old picture of her.  Not saying they did, but they could have.

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I will also be cross posting this in the Perry Mason Thread, but on my Face Book feed came the memory that Raymond Burr and Angela Lansbury starred together in Please Murder Me! (1956) and now I'm disappointed that neither of them appeared on the other's show! Angela on Perry Mason (original series OR the movies) and Raymond on this show!

Of course I'm going to hunt down this movie!

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My DVDs arrived today! I’ll have to go down and get them. Stooped delivery person didn’t follow instructions to being to my door.

But. I also found a a great price for Please Murder Me! So yay! Raymond Burr’s performance that would let viewers see what Perry Mason would be like. -/ the movie came out a year before the series premiered!

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