Show cover for Murder, She Wrote

The Best Episodes of Murder, She Wrote

Every episode of Murder, She Wrote ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Murder, She Wrote!

An unassuming mystery writer turned sleuth uses her professional insight to help solve real-life homicide cases.
Genres:MysteryCrimeDrama
Network:CBS

Best Episodes Summary

"Footnote to Murder" is the best rated episode of "Murder, She Wrote". It scored 8.6/10 based on 941 votes. Directed by Peter Crane and written by Robert Swanson, it aired on 3/10/1985. This episode scored 0.1 points higher than the second highest rated, "Mirror, Mirror, On the Wall (1)".

  • Footnote to Murder
    8.6/10941 votes
    Loading...

    #1 - Footnote to Murder

    Season 1 Episode 18 - Aired 3/10/1985

    An unpublished manuscript is stolen and its author murdered during an awards convention.

    Director: Peter Crane

    Writer: Robert Swanson

  • Mirror, Mirror, On the Wall (1)
    8.5/10520 votes
    Loading...

    #2 - Mirror, Mirror, On the Wall (1)

    Season 5 Episode 21 - Aired 5/14/1989

    Eudora McVeigh, a rival mystery writer, arrives at Jessica's door with seemingly friendly intentions, but the discovery of a corpse and a web of deceit follows her to Cabot Cove leading Jessica to suspect the woman of ulterior and sinister motives.

    Director: Vincent McEveety

    Writer: Peter S. Fischer

  • Mirror, Mirror, On the Wall (2)
    8.5/10476 votes
    Loading...

    #3 - Mirror, Mirror, On the Wall (2)

    Season 5 Episode 22 - Aired 5/21/1989

    After Seth is hospitalized and diagnosed as poisoned, with an apple Eudora gave Jessica, she still believes in her colleague's innocence. Sheriff Metzger discovers the murdered P.I. was following her husband, Hank Shipton, and found him adulterous with rich Victor Casper's wife, Lisa. Hank's son, Bobby, is beaten up by local Arnie on account of pool bet debts. Jessica ties up all the loose ends.

    Director: Vincent McEveety

    Writer: Peter S. Fischer

  • Trial by Error
    8.4/10706 votes
    Loading...

    #4 - Trial by Error

    Season 2 Episode 13 - Aired 1/12/1986

    It's a bad day for the jurors when Jessica is the foreperson of the jury hearing the case of a man claiming self-defense in the death of an enraged husband.

    Director: Seymour Robbie

    Writer: Paul Savage

  • The Corpse Flew First Class
    8.4/10638 votes
    Loading...

    #5 - The Corpse Flew First Class

    Season 3 Episode 12 - Aired 1/18/1987

    Theft and murder of the courier occur on board a jet bound for London.

    Director: Walter Grauman

    Writer: Donald Ross

  • If It's Thursday, It Must Be Beverly
    8.4/10644 votes
    Loading...

    #6 - If It's Thursday, It Must Be Beverly

    Season 4 Episode 7 - Aired 11/8/1987

    When Deputy Martin becomes a widower by murder, the investigation turns up some surprising activity.

    Director: Peter Crane

    Writer: N/A

  • Who Killed J.B. Fletcher?
    8.4/10516 votes
    Loading...

    #7 - Who Killed J.B. Fletcher?

    Season 7 Episode 14 - Aired 2/10/1991

    A snoopy fan in Texas impersonates Jessica when she starts investigating a potential dog show scandal and Jessica is reported dead.

    Director: Walter Grauman

    Writer: N/A

  • The Days Dwindle Down
    8.3/10672 votes
    Loading...

    #8 - The Days Dwindle Down

    Season 3 Episode 21 - Aired 4/19/1987

    Thirty years ago, Sam Wilson was sent to prison for murdering his boss, Malcolm Jarvis. After finally being released, Sam goes home to his wife and now-grown son who is expecting his first child with his wife, Terry. At Georgia Jarvis' request, Jessica looks into the crime, and through flashbacks, Sam remembers when Jarvis had offered him $10,000 to make his suicide look like murder. While Jessica believes that Sam is innocent, she doesn't believe it was suicide, and asks Sam's son Rod, a police officer, to lend a hand.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Keep the Home Fries Burning
    8.2/10639 votes
    Loading...

    #9 - Keep the Home Fries Burning

    Season 2 Episode 14 - Aired 1/19/1986

    Jessica, Seth and Amos try out a new tourist-oriented restaurant, and murder interrupts their meal.

    Director: Peter Crane

    Writer: Philip Garson

  • Mr. Penroy's Vacation
    8.2/10573 votes
    Loading...

    #10 - Mr. Penroy's Vacation

    Season 5 Episode 3 - Aired 11/6/1988

    The sisters used a new type of fertilizer to make their chrysanthemums best of show.

    Director: Anthony Pullen Shaw

    Writer: Robert Swanson

  • The Sins of Castle Cove
    8.2/10529 votes
    Loading...

    #11 - The Sins of Castle Cove

    Season 5 Episode 17 - Aired 4/9/1989

    A red hot novel, written by a former Fletcher student, seems to expose the small town's secrets and inspires murder. Julie Adams, Gloria DeHaven, Kathryn Grayson and Ruth Roman appear again as the local gossips.

    Director: John Llewellyn Moxey

    Writer: N/A

  • Sticks and Stones
    8.1/10617 votes
    Loading...

    #12 - Sticks and Stones

    Season 2 Episode 10 - Aired 12/15/1985

    When a woman is electrocuted in her bathroom, Amos chuckles that even Jessica can't make a murder out of it. Michael Dugby: Parker Stevenson. Harry Pierce: John Astin. Frederich Hoffman: Paul Benedict. Adam Frobisher: Christopher Stone. Edna: Evelyn Keyes.

    Director: Seymour Robbie

    Writer: Linda Shank, Mark Giles

  • Town Father
    8.1/10444 votes
    Loading...

    #13 - Town Father

    Season 6 Episode 11 - Aired 12/17/1989

    The town gets a shock when bachelor Mayor Sam is confronted on the speaker's platform by a young woman claiming he is the father of her five children. Julie Adams, Gloria De Haven, Kathryn Grayson and Ruth Roman return as gossips Eve, Phyllis, Idal and Loretta.

    Director: John Llewellyn Moxey

    Writer: N/A

  • Bite the Big Apple
    8.1/10391 votes
    Loading...

    #14 - Bite the Big Apple

    Season 8 Episode 1 - Aired 9/15/1991

    Jessica heads off to New York to begin teaching and has difficulty finding an apartment. She finally gets one that she likes, only to learn that a murder recently took place in the apartment complex and that someone desperately wants something that is inside her apartment. She's relieved when Seth comes to New York to check up on her, and enlists his help in cracking the case.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: David Moessinger

  • The Witch's Curse
    8.1/10398 votes
    Loading...

    #15 - The Witch's Curse

    Season 8 Episode 12 - Aired 1/12/1992

    The thespians of Cabot Cove put on a play about a 17th century woman who cursed the town before she was executed as a witch.

    Director: Jerry Jameson

    Writer: N/A

  • Incident in Lot 7
    8.1/10444 votes
    Loading...

    #16 - Incident in Lot 7

    Season 8 Episode 13 - Aired 1/19/1992

    The Bates House of the movie, Psycho, is to be the setting of Jessica's book in the film made at Universal Studios.

    Director: Anthony Pullen Shaw

    Writer: J. Michael Straczynski

  • Reflections of the Mind
    8.0/10617 votes
    Loading...

    #17 - Reflections of the Mind

    Season 2 Episode 6 - Aired 11/3/1985

    Jessica decides to pay a visit to her long-time friend Francesca, only to learn that Francesca, who is now married to a much younger man, is convinced that she is being haunted by the ghost of her first husband, Ross. When her new husband, Scott, turns up dead, the investigation reveals that he had been poisoned, and suspicion turns to Francesca. Jessica, however, is determined to prove that her friend did not commit the crime, and begins looking into the mysterious re-appearances of her dead husband.

    Director: Seymour Robbie

    Writer: Robert Swanson

  • Crossed Up
    8.0/10599 votes
    Loading...

    #18 - Crossed Up

    Season 3 Episode 13 - Aired 2/1/1987

    The phone wires get crossed during a storm and Jessica can't convince anyone that what she heard was real.

    Director: David Hemmings

    Writer: Craig W. Van Sickle

  • Something Borrowed, Someone Blue
    8.0/10538 votes
    Loading...

    #19 - Something Borrowed, Someone Blue

    Season 5 Episode 9 - Aired 1/8/1989

    Grady's wedding seems doomed when someone does in the persnickety housekeeper.

    Director: John Llewellyn Moxey

    Writer: N/A

  • The Return of Preston Giles
    8.0/10410 votes
    Loading...

    #20 - The Return of Preston Giles

    Season 7 Episode 7 - Aired 11/18/1990

    This time it is the company controller that seems to have been the victim of the previously convicted publisher.

    Director: Walter Grauman

    Writer: Tom Sawyer

  • Moving Violation
    8.0/10392 votes
    Loading...

    #21 - Moving Violation

    Season 7 Episode 13 - Aired 2/3/1991

    An influential father cuts no ice with Sheriff Metzger.

    Director: Anthony Pullen Shaw

    Writer: Robert Swanson

  • Thicker Than Water
    8.0/10368 votes
    Loading...

    #22 - Thicker Than Water

    Season 8 Episode 4 - Aired 10/6/1991

    When his younger brother Wayne, the family's black sheep, becomes chief suspect in the murder of his employer, Sherrif Metzger relies on Jessica to help him keep his perspective about the case.

    Director: Anthony Pullen Shaw

    Writer: Larry DiTillio

  • The Committee
    8.0/10360 votes
    Loading...

    #23 - The Committee

    Season 8 Episode 9 - Aired 12/1/1991

    The governing committee of an exclusive men's club commissions Jessica to identify a rogue member's killer--who likely serves on the committee.

    Director: Jerry Jameson

    Writer: J. Michael Straczynski

  • A Lady in the Lake
    7.9/10619 votes
    Loading...

    #24 - A Lady in the Lake

    Season 2 Episode 7 - Aired 11/10/1985

    While spending time at a lake, Jessica sees what appears to be a struggle and a woman falling from a boat into the lake.

    Director: Walter Grauman

    Writer: Robert Van Scoyk

  • Who Threw the Barbitals in Mrs. Fletcher's Chowder?
    7.9/10532 votes
    Loading...

    #25 - Who Threw the Barbitals in Mrs. Fletcher's Chowder?

    Season 4 Episode 12 - Aired 1/3/1988

    Somebody laced Mrs. Fletcher's chowder and Amos' brutish brother-in-law was in for the long sleep.

    Director: John Llewellyn Moxey

    Writer: N/A