Thursday's Child

Although maybe a few cheesy scenes here and there think it was a well done episode with Lansbury in her usual superb self etc...It was one of the better acted as well with side characters and no really annoying ones...I thought it handled the surprise news to Jessica in a good way and those who said that puts the illogical idea that one has to love someone if they have an uncheckered past, no one's life past doesn't have to be perfect obviously but one also wants to know their loved one were faithful or not something that was exceptionally behaviour. And to those who also pointed out she was to calm, is also good to show Grace and forgiveness if needed.

This episode marks the most recent television role to date for Vera Miles, as well as the first television role for Steven Novak.

Angela Lansbury delivers a most compelling performance in this episode about a veteran military nurse and her architect son, for whom she claims a connection with the Fletcher family, as they face charges of destruction and murder.

As Nancy Landon (Vera Miles), from her Atlanta, Georgia, residence, watches a televised interview of author Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) broadcast from Tampa, Florida, on her way into Atlanta, Nancy's son, Steve Landon (Richard Gilliland), enters to announce problems arising at a school building construction site.

Architect Steve Landon designs his blueprints wisely, in terms of materials, safety codes and economical costs, but Olston Construction Company owner Ben Olston (John Beck), who won the City Council bid to erect a school, orders Steve to cut corners with his specks, as Ben plans to substitute inferior materials, which could lead to future disaster.

Ben controls the situation at hand with his heavies, Crocket (Jim Boeke) and Aaronson (Fredric Cook), Crocket overhearing Steve's threat to blast the site with dynamite, in order to expose corruption, before Ben faces a visit from his wife, Cynthia Olston (Jennifer Warren), who stops by the site to announce her plans to visit at her mother's residence for two or three days.

Dawn Bickford (Lindsay Frost), Administrative Assistant for City Councilman Axelrod (Alan Fudge), gives Olston Construction preferential treatment, as her plans to marry Ben after he divorces Cynthia cloud her judgment, as she drags Axelrod into the illegal scheme of fixing the bidding process. But Dawn takes the news of Cynthia's vacation well and plans to meet Ben the next evening at his place.

That night, an explosion rocks the sight, which Jessica is able to hear from her hotel room, after arriving in Atlanta that day. (It's not exactly clear from the dialogue whether all of this action occurs in Tampa or Atlanta, but the exterior shots appear nothing Florida-like, so we'll set the action in northern Georgia, or at least until we reach Seattle here.)

Lieutenant Barney Claymore (Paul Gleason), with Duty Patrolman (Elven Havard) at different points along the way, begins his arrests with Steve Landon, as Nancy reaches Jessica at her hotel room to plead with her to listen to her story.

They arrange lunch for the next day, at which time Nancy asks her to help to prove Steve's innocence; after all, Steve was conceived in Korea during the war, as Nancy served as a military nurse in the same unit with Jessica's now-late husband, Frank Fletcher. Oh, and, by the way, Frank is Steve's father, Nancy confides.

A tearfully shaken Jessica turns to Frank's old Air Force comrade Clint Phelps (Martin Milner), via telephone to Seattle, Washington, to learn whether Clint has any memory of Nancy Landon, or of her closeness with Frank, without revealing Nancy's confession to Clint. Clint answers that he remembers her as part of the overall unit for a short period around 1952, but that she wasn't very close to Clint and Frank, or at least not before Clint had to recuperate in sick bay for an extensive period of time.

Jessica's Atlanta attorney, Andrew Dixon (John Anderson), advises Jessica not to involve herself with Nancy and Steve's difficulties even though they cannot afford legal assistance. But Jessica says that she believes Steve's innocence especially because they have little money after Nancy spent hers on Steve's education, and Steve spent his on medical bills before losing his late wife the year before.

Jessica decides to see what she can do, by paying a call to Olston Construction, under the guise of a political fund-raising volunteer, at which time she observes Ben's handing Roy Temple (Steven Novak) a pay-off, while he's on the telephone with Dawn Bickford, creating connections which Jessica will somehow tie together to get to the bottom of things.

But when Jessica returns to Nancy's residence, Nancy shows her a letter from Frank, postmarked a year after Steve was born, while Nancy was living in Ohio. Jessica bottles her feelings until she is able to speak with Clint face-to-face, but he cannot leave Seattle because Bonnie is visiting their daughter, Phyllis, in Tacoma, after delivering her third baby.

So, Jessica takes an excursion to Seattle to discuss the situation with Clint over dinner at the airport, at which time Clint reassures Jessica that it is only she whom Frank has always loved, and chances are great that Frank has remained invariably faithful to Jessica.

Back in Atlanta, Jessica visits Nancy, who shows Jessica a pistol which she has discovered in the glove compartment of her station wagon. "It must belong to Steve," she says, as she sets the gun aside, immediately before Lieutenant Barney Claymore arrives to arrest Nancy for a murder, which she nor Jessica knows anything about, because it is a Taxi Driver (S. Scott Bullock) who stumbles across the body this time around.

And now that a murder has been committed, Jessica finally knows her way around, as she rises to the occasion to defend the innocent, once she decides who's being honest with her and who's not. After all, as the old nursery rhyme would have it, "Thursday's Child has far to go."

This episode also represents the first of two "MSW" performances each for Jennifer Warren and Richard Gilliland, the second of two "MSW's" each for John Beck and Elven Havard, the second of three for Paul Gleason, the third of three for Vera Miles, the first of five for Alan Fudge, and the third of five "MSW" guest roles for Martin Milner, including this, the second of two as USAF Veteran Clint Phelps.

John Anderson, acting in film and on television since 1950, and Paul Gleason, acting since 1962, have unfortunately since passed.

This story could have been a gem: It's not often that we are presented with a big chunk of Jessica's personal life or family history. True, there is intrigue aplenty. Yet the script's underlying moral messages - that A) exposing corruption every step of the way is a sure-fire method for climbing the ladder in public office; and 2) our loved ones must have a 100% unblemished record of past behavior before we can truly love them - ring rather naive and hollow. They also serve to preclude any genuine, let alone sinister, surprises in how the tale disentangles itself. Overall, this is good viewing, which would have been better, had the authors taken a few risks and delved into some real gray zones of right vs. wrong. Especially as that was in many ways the hallmark of good 1990s' television.

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.

While not one of the very best 'Murder She Wrote' episodes, "Thursday's Child" is a standout from Season 7. It underwhelms slightly in the mystery. Not that the mystery is bad because it's not, at least it actually feels like there is one and has enough to it, unlike the disappointing previous episode "Where Have You Gone, Billy Boy?" It's compelling, isn't dull or ridiculous, has some good tension and you care about wanting it solved. On the other hand, it's also rather basic and a bit too easy to solve, with the murderer and motive being guessable and familiar.

All this considered, everything else works and brilliantly. A huge part of "Thursday's Child's" appeal is the emotional element. Not many 'Murder She Wrote' episodes up to this point in the show made me cry (apart from the ending of "The Return of Preston Giles"). "Thursday's Child" is to me the most poignant episode, tissues are needed here.

Much of it is to do with the acting of Angela Lansbury. Lansbury has never been less than very good as Jessica, one of her best remembered roles for good reason, and she gives some of her best acting in the role here. Up to this point in the show, she never reduced me to tears...she very much did here. The whole stuff with Frank sees her go through a wide ranges of emotions and expressions, Lansbury nailing them all with heart-wrenching nuance, one actually feels sorry for Jessica here.

The music score is another element. The theme tune has always been irresistible and the music has always had presence while not being over-scored, with a few exceptions, the music here with the Frank revelation induces a lot of pathos.

Production values as always are slick and stylish with some nostalgia induced. 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. The writing is thoughtful, cosy and light-hearted while taking itself seriously as well.

Overall, the mystery may be basic but the emotional impact of the episode cannot be denied. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Jessica comes to the aid of an accused mother and son despite the woman's startling claims about the sleuth's late husband. This is a rather emotional episode with Jessica learning that her late husband had an affair with a nurse in Korea and fathered a child - but despite this, Jessica still has the heart to try and acquit the son of bombing a school and later prove that his mother didn't shoot the construction guy. There's the usual investigation, but it's emotional-charged segment that captures an interest. Angela Lansbury really pulls out the stops with her great acting. Her face expression when learning the possibility that her late husband had an affair is superb.