My wife and I have been watching "Murder, She Wrote" recently and I must admit that I am generally more critical of episodes with plot holes and cliches. This is why although I really, really disliked "Crossed Up", my wife was more forgiving.
So why didn't I like the episode? Well, it's a copy of the old Barbara Stanwyck film, "Sorry, Wrong Number"....but in order to 'liberally borrow' (i.e., steal) the plot, they needed to have the characters of Cabot Cove act bizarrely and VERY inconsistently.
Jessica is stuck in bed with a sore back. During this time, she intercepts a phone call and hears about an assassination plot. Now here the show loses me...Sheriff Tupper and Jessica's dopey nephew insist that Jessica is mistaken or exaggerating or, is just an idiot. Well...think about it. As for season 3, she'd already solved about 60 murders...and then no one believes her!? Does this many ANY sense? The answer is no and the episode really suffers from bad writing.
Having folks doubt Barbara Stanwyck in "Sorry, Wrong Number" made sense...but here it just boggles the mind and is frustrating.