MURDER, SHE WROTE: SOMETHING FOUL IN FLAPPIEVILLE (TV)
Summary
One in this murder mystery series about an unassuming Maine mystery writer turned sleuth named Jessica B. Fletcher who uses her professional insight to help solve real-life homicide cases.
In this episode, Jessica watches in amusement as one of her characters, a French feline inspector called "Inspector Le Chat" is added to a popular children's puppet show, "Flappieville." Show host Darren Crosley argues with head toy-builder Robbie Dorow about existing character Pound Dog, whom Robbie wishes to retire; Robbie's wife Mary admits to Jessica that the two former friends were driven apart by their mutual interest in her. Puppeteer Kim annoys costume designer Helena, and security guard Arvin snoops around as network head Parker Foreman tells Darren that his show is set for cancellation because of new ratings. Darren protests that the new character, Le Chat, will revitalize the series and lead to a profitable spin-off. Parker reconsiders, instructing him to hire veteran voice actor Nattie Holt for the part. Helena suspects Kim of having a "hidden agenda," and Darren tells Gus to recruit Nattie at all costs.
Elsewhere, assistant puppeteer Jason Cardino laments that Darren is again taking credit for others' creative ideas, and Darren tells Jessica that the planned spin-off may be delayed. Kim stops by Parker's office and flirtatiously shows him some of the Le Chat drawings. Robbie spies on Mary with another man, fuming as he tells her that she must "make a commitment." Parker approves of the drawings and tells Robbie that the new show will soon get underway. Gus pleads with Nattie to consider taking the role despite her personal enmity with Darren. Darren secretly records Parker when he declares his intentions to extort 50 percent of the royalties from the new Le Chat merchandising, and Robbie is outraged to learn that Darren has sold the rights to a character that he does not own. Nattie makes her own steep demands, and Robbie tells Jessica about Mary's affair, admitting that their marriage changed for the worse upon learning that they could not have children.
Jessica and Gus find that the percentages of the Le Chat merchandising have been oversold, and Arvin is soon found murdered in the design room. Darren suggests that he was killed by a thief who was attempting to steal the soon-to-be-lucrative Le Chat puppet. Parker, unfazed by the murder, expresses his approval of the latest changes to Le Chat's character design. He receives a copy of the secret recording in the mail and assumes that Darren is blackmailing him; Jessica, learning that the killer actually used one of the puppets to commit the murder, wonders why Arvin was in the design room in the first place. Robbie confronts his wife's "lover" and finds that he is actually a social worker who is helping Mary to arrange the potential adoption of a young boy, Stevie. When Jessica spots a travel brochure on Kim's clipboard, she begins to draw conclusions. She confronts Kim and accuses her of blackmailing Parker with the audio tape for money to fund a fancy vacation; Kim swears that she did not kill Arvin – and Jessica states that Parker is the true killer, having bludgeoned the security guard as he attempted to steal the damning tape. When Parker challenges her to prove her claims, she points out that he praised certain changes made to the puppet that he could not have seen without visiting the studio. Parker is arrested, and all of the puppeteers are happy when Pound Dog is renewed and Le Chat is given his own series. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: CBS
- DATE: 8:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:46:13
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 120563
- GENRE: Drama, mystery/suspense
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, mystery/suspense; Puppets; Murder; Blackmail
- SERIES RUN: CBS - TV series, 1984-1996
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Angela Lansbury … Executive Producer
- David Shaw … Co-Executive Producer
- Al Kraus … Coordinating Producer
- Bruce Lansbury … Supervising Producer
- Mark A. Burley … Supervising Producer
- Tom Sawyer … Producer
- Laurence Heath … Co-Producer
- Todd London … Co-Producer
- Jerry Ludwig … Co-Producer
- Peter S. Fischer … Created by
- Richard Levinson … Created by
- William Link … Created by
- Anthony Shaw … Director
- Robert Van Scoyk … Writer
- Dan Wilcox … Writer
- Steve Dorff … Music by
- John Addison … Theme Music by
- Angela Lansbury … Cast, Jessica Fletcher
- Corinne Bohrer … Cast, Helena McKenna
- Maryedith Burrell … Cast, Nattie Holt
- Bryan Cranston … Cast, Parker Foreman
- Brian Cousins … Cast, Lt. Spevak
- Alan Fudge … Cast, Gus Hayward
- Kimberley Kates … Cast, Kim Swofford
- Stephen T. Kay … Cast, Darren Crosley
- Robert Knepper … Cast, Robbie Dorow
- Steven Martini … Cast, Jason Cardino
- Dey Young … Cast, Mary Dorow
- Ian Shaw … Cast, Stevie
- Richardson Morse … Cast, Arvin Bucknell
- Richard Dano … Cast, Terry Fusco
- Wendy Hoffman … Cast, Carol
- René … Cast, Puppeteer #1
- Douglas Seymore … Cast, Puppeteer #2
- Thom Fountain … Cast, Puppeteer #3