Angel of Death

A playwright's state of mind causes Jessica concern when his past actions come back to haunt him. Solid MSW entry with a playwright seeing his dead wife. Is he seeing a ghost or someone trying to drive him mad. There's a some gothic-y atmosphere, and of course a ghastly murder. The mystery is quite good and the denouement satisfactory.

"Angel of Death" is a decent episode. It provides TWO mysteries which is a plus...but one of them is pretty dopey when you really think about it.

Martin (Darren McGavin) calls Jessica and begs her to drop everything and come stay at his mansion. When she arrives, she learns that it's because he keeps seeing what he thinks is his dead wife and he wants her to see if it's real...or if he's losing his mind. Soon after she arrives, someone is murdered in the household...but, surprisingly, it's not Martin. What's REALLY going on here?

There were two thinks I disliked about this episode. A small dislike was how the blind woman was portrayed. She NEVER turned to face anyone talking to her and just stared blankly into space. Perhaps some blind people do this...but blind people I know generally DO try to face whoever is talking to them and I thought the part could have been played better...though it's a SMALL gripe. What seemed bigger were the 'apparitions' of the dead woman. Again and again she appeared but there were two huge problems. First, Martin or anyone EASILY could have grabbed the 'ghost' and found out whether or not it was real or someone messing with Martin's brain. Second, the apparition ALWAYS wore a huge floppy hat and veil....and this alone makes it obvious it's not the ghost! In this sense, there's no mystery about whether or not it's a ghost or a jerk!

If you can look past these problems you have an otherwise decent episode of "Murder, She Wrote"...with many of the usual things that make this a standout show.

Have always been quite fond of 'Murder She Wrote'. It is a fun and relaxing watch that makes you think as you try to unwind in the evening. If one wants more complex, twisty mysteries with lots of tension and suspense 'Murder She Wrote' may not be for you, but if you want something light-hearted and entertaining but still provide good mysteries 'Murder She Wrote' fits the bill just fine.

"Angel of Death" is another good but not great episode of Season 8, which has mostly been a solid season (one of the better and more consistent seasons of 'Murder She Wrote'). A season where "A Killing in Vegas" and "Day of the Dead" have been the only disappointments up to this late point. The mystery is very intriguing and neatly handled and a lot of it is quite creepy by 'Murder She Wrote' standards.

Not all the story works. Some of it does get melodramatic and silly, and the Lisa Ryder subplot falls flat in its ludicrousness and providing chuckles that clearly were not intended. Likewise with some of the dialogue.

Can't fault Angela Lansbury though who is typically terrific as Jessica. Nor the supporting cast, with standout performances from a quite moving Darren McGavin and Noble Willingham who is clearly enjoying himself thoroughly.

Production values are slick and stylish as ever. The music has energy and has presence but also not making the mistake of over-scoring, while it is hard to forget or resist the theme tune.

Writing on the most part is tight, thought-provoking and typically amiable and the characters and chemistry are good fun. The ending is not the most surprising or shocking of the season but is another clever and convincing one.

Overall, good episode but not a great one. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Jessica answers a cry for help from old friend, and fellow writer, Martin Tremaine, who believes this dead wife is back, and haunting him. Tremaine's misery is compounded when another family murder dies, only this time it's murder.

I think Angel of Death is rather a strong episode, I loved the tone of it, the creepy visuals, and the fact they Jessica has two mysteries to solve.

I loved the visuals of Martin being haunted by his dead wife, very creepy, I liked the outfit, the movement and the lighting, it worked well.

I'm not quite sure I'd deem it a classic, but it's pretty good storytelling nonetheless.

Darren McGavin does a good job as Martin, I enjoyed his scenes with Jessica, he had a degree of presence.

The only character I wasn't perhaps sure about was Lisa, although Maria Mayenzet played the part well enough.

7/10.

"Angel of Death" is a superior episode of "Murder, She Wrote" (and Darren MacGavin is always a welcome presence); but I find it VERY hard to believe that Messrs. Fischer and Levinson (the writers) didn't borrow a good deal of their plot mechanics from a 1958 American International horror picture called "The Screaming Skull". The 1958 film also features an attempt to drive a wealthy person (an innocent wife in that case) crazy by suggesting that a dead woman (her husband's first wife) is haunting the grounds of a mansion. The "ghost" is costumed exactly like Vivian in this episode (she's even seen descending an outdoor staircase, like Vivian in her first appearance in this episode); and Vivian's portrait looks almost exactly like the dead first wife's portrait in the film. I could be wrong about all of this, but I don't think so.