The Skinny According to Nick Cullhane

Everyone wants to get their hand on Nick Cullhane. More importantly his manuscript.

Cullhane is a down on his luck writer and the [promotional face for Schmesser Brewery.

After getting fired from the brewery job, he writes a manuscript based on gossip he heard about a kidnapping plot involving the brewery heir.

The family does not want this story out in the open. Cullhane has sent a manuscript to his friend Jessica Fletcher.

Loan shark Vikki Palumbo also wants to get hold of the manuscript. She sends Private Investigator Harry McGraw on what looks like a wild goose chase. Trace the voice of a woman in a phone message. Only Harry knows it is Jessica's voice.

It all ends with Cullhane getting murdered and Harry getting the arrested by the sheriff.

This was an enjoyable episode. A few red herrings, a couple of likely suspects. Some good comedy from Harry.

A satisfactory way to end the seventh series. The sign off at the end indicated that the show might not get renewed.

In this Murder She Wrote Jerry Orbach in his final appearance as PI Harry McGraw gets a chance to work off a debt to his bookmaker Leslie Esterbrook by trailing another debtor mystery writer Pat Harrington, Jr. and finding the manuscript of a new book which is about the kidnapping of millionaire Alex Hyde-White. That's a story Hyde-White doesn't want retold.

While he's trying to negotiate a deal and avoid leg breakers from both Hyde-White and Esterbrook, Harrington mails the manuscript to his old friend in Cabot Cove Jessica Fletcher, not knowing of course Orbach knows her as well. Harrington is our victim here as the entire cast winds up in Cabot Cove and Angela Lansbury has to solve the case.

I liked best here the scenes with big city boys Orbach and sheriff Ron Masak whom we know is a former NYPD homicide cop. Too bad that Orbach would be going on to play Lennie Briscoe from Law And Order shortly, he and Masak were terrific together.

Farewell Harry McGraw.

A former mystery writer who is now a spokesperson for a beer company has written a book based on a faked kidnapping staged by his boss at the brewery and a number of people, including P. I. Harry McGraw, want to get their hands on it. Because he sent the manuscript to his pal Jessica Fletcher in Cabot Cove, they all travel from Boston to Cabot Cove in hopes of retrieving it.

This is the final appearance of Harry McGraw, and he's usually at his entertaining best, there's some good humour, however I found this episode a bit convoluting and quite flat. Didn't hold my attention strongly. It just ambles on, and is forgettable.

A friend of Jessica's sends her the manuscript for his latest book, and soon several interested parties descend on Cabot Cove, with one mission, to get hold of it.

Series seven has been excellent in general, one of the most consistent runs in the show's history, and this is a fitting, quality end to it. It has an end of show feel about it, and if things had been different, this could have been the end for Lansbury.

What starts off as an almost light hearted caper, becomes something a lot deeper, a little serious, definitely an episode where it's not clear 'whodunnit,' or why, until the end.

This is a very well acted episode, with a very good cast, Leslie Easterbrook and Tony Lo Bianco were both terrific in their respective roles.

Hopefully series eight is as good, 8/10.

"The Skinny According to Nick Cullhane" was an episode that MIGHT have been the last episode of "Murder, She Wrote". It seems the producers weren't sure if the show would be renewed or if Angela Lansbury would want to do additional seasons...and the final screen shot really shows this. But, relax fans, the show was renewed and continued for several more seasons.

Nick Cullhane (Pat Harrington) is a writer fallen on hard times. Over the years, his stories have gotten worse and worse and they just don't sell any more. But his latest book is something different...and Jessica loved the manuscript. But what Jessica doesn't know is that Nick is in a lot of trouble. A bookie wants to find him and break his legs and someone also wants him dead. But why? And why are they all scrambling to find the manuscript?

On the positive side, this film features Jerry Orbach as Jessica's low-life friend, Harry McGraw. But the ending was weak, as the killer sits down with cops and explains AT LENGTH why he committed the killing...which is not especially convincing.