7.6/10902 votes#1 - The Murder of Sherlock Holmes
Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 9/30/1984
Former English teacher Jessica Fletcher travels to New York to celebrate the success of her debut novel, but when an unwanted guest is murdered at a costume party, she wishes she'd stayed home.
Director: Corey Allen
Writer: N/A
7.3/10792 votes#2 - Deadly Lady
Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 10/7/1984
After a terrible storm, Stephen Earl's four daughters tell Sheriff Tupper that their father died while they were out on the boat. Jessica is only midly intrigued; she finds Ralph, the older gentleman who has offered to work for food, much more intriguing, especially since it is obvious he comes from money. The womens' stories about what happened on the boat change constantly, but once Ralph is found dead and later found to be Stephen Earl, Jessica has to help Amos wage through the inconsistencies in the four Earl daughters storylines to determine who killed their father and why.
Director: Corey Allen
Writer: Peter S. Fischer
7.3/10744 votes#3 - Birds of a Feather
Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 10/14/1984
Jessica heads to San Francisco for the wedding of her niece, Victoria Brandon, only to learn that Victoria is having second thoughts because she suspects that her fiancé, Howard, is having an affair. Although Jessica and Victoria are relieved to learn that Howard isn't cheating but rather dressing up as a woman to perform at a nightclub, the relief is short lived when Howard is arrested for murdering his boss, Al Drake, who had been refusing to pay him. The police are convinced that Drake was shot during Freddy York's act, which doesn't leave a lot of time, but Jessica is determined to prove Howard's innocence.
Director: John Llewellyn Moxey
Writer: Robert Swanson
7.5/10728 votes#4 - Hooray for Homicide
Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 10/28/1984
Jessica's first book, The Corpse Danced at Midnight, is being made into a major Hollywood motion picture, backed by producer Jerry Lydecker. Jessica is furious to see how her book is being butchered by Lydecker and his crew. She heads out to Hollywood to confront Lydecker, but things take a turn when Lydecker is found dead on stage. Jessica ends up being the prime suspect in the murder, but luckily the officer in charge of the investigation believes she's too smart to be the killer and sets her up to find the real murderer.
Director: Richard A. Colla
Writer: Robert Van Scoyk
7.5/10709 votes#5 - It's a Dog's Life
Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 11/4/1984
While visiting her cousin at Langley Manor, a country estate in the South, a man dies during a fox-hunt under strange circumstances, and Jessica tries to find out what really happened.
Director: Seymour Robbie
Writer: Linda Shank, Mark Giles
7.5/10700 votes#6 - Lovers and Other Killers
Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 11/18/1984
While in Seattle lecturing at the university, Jessica is convinced that the young man she hired as her secretary is not a killer.
Director: Allen Reisner
Writer: Peter S. Fischer
7.3/10688 votes#7 - Hit, Run and Homicide
Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 11/25/1984
Jessica helps a most unconventional neighbor who is accused of murdering his former partner with one of his inventions.
Director: Alan Cooke
Writer: Gerald K. Siegel
7.2/10629 votes#8 - We're Off to Kill the Wizard
Season 1 Episode 8 - Aired 12/9/1984
Jessica is asked to help solve the "impossible" murder of a wealthy, and much disliked, amusement park owner.
Director: Walter Grauman
Writer: N/A
7.5/10647 votes#9 - Death Takes a Curtain Call
Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 12/16/1984
While attending a special ballet performance, Jessica helps solve the backstage murder of a young dancer by a defecting ballerina.
Director: Allen Reisner
Writer: Paul W. Cooper
7.5/10602 votes#10 - Death Casts a Spell
Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 12/30/1984
Jessica's deductive abilities are in demand when a flamboyant hypnotist turns up dead, behind locked doors, in front of an audience of journalists whom he had put into a trance.
Director: Allen Reisner
Writer: J. Miyoko Hensley, Steven Hensley
7.3/10608 votes#11 - Capitol Offense
Season 1 Episode 11 - Aired 1/6/1985
Jessica is assigned to fill the empty seat of a deceased congressman for a brief period of time and finds a great deal of political game-playing in Washington.
Director: John Llewellyn Moxey
Writer: Peter S. Fischer
6.8/10562 votes#12 - Broadway Malady
Season 1 Episode 12 - Aired 1/13/1985
Broadway legend Rita Bristol and her daughter star in a musical produced by her son, not knowing that murder is lurking in the wings.
Director: Hy Averback
Writer: Tom Sawyer
7.5/10635 votes#13 - Murder to a Jazz Beat
Season 1 Episode 13 - Aired 2/3/1985
While in New Orleans, Jessica must solve the mysterious murder of a famous musician who died while performing onstage.
Director: Walter Grauman
Writer: N/A
7.5/10614 votes#14 - My Johnny Lies Over the Ocean
Season 1 Episode 14 - Aired 2/10/1985
Jessica's niece is terrorized on a cruise intended to take her mind off her husband's recent death...or is he dead?
Director: Seymour Robbie
Writer: Peter S. Fischer
7.7/10586 votes#15 - Paint Me a Murder
Season 1 Episode 15 - Aired 2/17/1985
The life of a famous artist is threatened on what would be otherwise an idyllic Mediterranean island.
Director: John Llewellyn Moxey
Writer: Peter S. Fischer
7.0/10693 votes#16 - Tough Guys Don't Die
Season 1 Episode 16 - Aired 2/24/1985
Jessica meets Harry McGraw and they figure out which one of three cases may contain the motive for the death of a private detective. One dates back 25 years.
Director: Seymour Robbie
Writer: Peter S. Fischer
7.4/10526 votes#17 - Sudden Death
Season 1 Episode 17 - Aired 3/3/1985
Jessica suddenly must learn all about football when she inherits an interest in a professional team.
Director: Edward M. Abroms
Writer: Robert Swanson
8.6/10935 votes#18 - 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
7.4/10542 votes#19 - Murder Takes the Bus
Season 1 Episode 19 - Aired 3/17/1985
Bus trips are not always as relaxing as they should be. In this case, one passenger had a one-way ticket.
Director: Peter Crane
Writer: Mary Ann Kasica, Michael Scheff
7.5/10549 votes#20 - Armed Response
Season 1 Episode 20 - Aired 3/31/1985
Over Jessica's protests, she is taken to a hospital after a minor accident in the airport.
Director: Charles S. Dubin
Writer: Gerald K. Siegel
7.5/10534 votes#21 - Murder at the Oasis
Season 1 Episode 21 - Aired 4/7/1985
An unpopular show-business personality discovers that elaborate security systems are no guarantee of safety.
Director: Arthur Allan Seidelman
Writer: Robert Van Scoyk
7.0/101 votes#22 - Funeral at Fifty-Mile
Season 1 Episode 22 - Aired 4/21/1985
A Wyoming rancher leaves all to an ill-fated stranger, to the disgust of his disinherited daughter.
Director: Seymour Robbie
Writer: Dick Nelson
The Best Episodes of Murder, She Wrote Season 1
Every episode of Murder, She Wrote Season 1 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Murder, She Wrote Season 1!
An unassuming mystery writer turned sleuth uses her professional insight to help solve real-life homicide cases.
Genres:MysteryCrimeDrama
Network:CBS
Season 1 Ratings Summary
"The Murder of Sherlock Holmes" is the best rated episode of "Murder, She Wrote" season 1. It scored 7.6/10 based on 902 votes. Directed by Corey Allen and written by N/A, it aired on 9/30/1984. This episode is rated 0.3 points higher than the second-best, "Deadly Lady".