Jessica's friend, police Lt. O'Malley, and his rookie niece solve the case of a businessman's wife's apparent suicide.Jessica's friend, police Lt. O'Malley, and his rookie niece solve the case of a businessman's wife's apparent suicide.Jessica's friend, police Lt. O'Malley, and his rookie niece solve the case of a businessman's wife's apparent suicide.
Valerie Red-Horse
- Female Reporter
- (as Valerie Redding)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaOne of numerous Season 6 episodes in which Jessica Fletcher appears only briefly as the narrator. This was done to give an overworked Angela Lansbury a break.
- Quotes
[first lines]
Jessica Fletcher: [opens letter] Oh.
[reading]
Jessica Fletcher: "May your neighbors respect you, trouble neglect you, the angels protect you, and heaven accept you. As if there were any doubt. Happy birthday, love O'Malley."
- SoundtracksMurder She Wrote Theme
Written by John Addison
Featured review
Not much luck here
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.
Most of the bookend episodes, which only mostly sees Jessica introducing the episode and then make some concluding remarks before the mystery kicks in and we're introduced to leading characters that have varied in how compelling they are, 'Murder She Wrote' fans dislike for understandable reasons. Some are surprisingly good, such as "Murder According to Maggie" and (from memory) the Dennis Stanton bookend with Ricardo Montalban ("Murder in F Sharp" if memory serves correct?), some are average or just above and others such as "Good-Bye Charlie" and "The Szechuan Dragon" are mediocre and less.
"O'Malley's Luck" is one of the average bookend episodes. Not awful and not one of the worst bookends let alone the worst 'Murder She Wrote' episode ("The Szechuan Dragon" and the worst of Season 12 are stronger contenders for that title), but a long way from a 'Murder She Wrote' high-point.
It is made watchable by the terrific performance of Pat Hingle, O'Malley being one of the more compelling and best-acted non-recurring character lead in a bookend episode. As well as the delightful chemistry between him and Stacy Edwards, charming as his rookie cop niece, the episode being at its best when they're working together, butting heads and comparing notes. Nice to see professional and cohesive police work here.
Production values as ever are slick and stylish. 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. Some of the writing is light-hearted and thought-provoking.
Unfortunately, "O'Malley's Luck" is let down by the story, which suffers from a lacklustre pacing and too much going on. There are too many characters, some adding nothing to a completely superfluous degree (Grillo and Trent are a couple of few that actually contribute well or seem needed), and too many plot strands, some of which not developed anywhere near enough.
The mystery itself is uninvolving and is both at some points too easy to figure out (wasn't that surprised at the ending) and at other points too confused. It doesn't feel like an episode of 'Murder She Wrote' and doesn't work as a standalone, another example of a bookend that feels like a first episode to a planned series that didn't make it past the first episode.
A lot of the acting is not very good. Only Hingle and Edwards seem to be properly giving their all and are properly engaging, the rest go through the motions. The writing has moments but generally lacks spark and the pacing never really fires on all cylinders.
In conclusion, not awful, not great. 5/10 Bethany Cox
Most of the bookend episodes, which only mostly sees Jessica introducing the episode and then make some concluding remarks before the mystery kicks in and we're introduced to leading characters that have varied in how compelling they are, 'Murder She Wrote' fans dislike for understandable reasons. Some are surprisingly good, such as "Murder According to Maggie" and (from memory) the Dennis Stanton bookend with Ricardo Montalban ("Murder in F Sharp" if memory serves correct?), some are average or just above and others such as "Good-Bye Charlie" and "The Szechuan Dragon" are mediocre and less.
"O'Malley's Luck" is one of the average bookend episodes. Not awful and not one of the worst bookends let alone the worst 'Murder She Wrote' episode ("The Szechuan Dragon" and the worst of Season 12 are stronger contenders for that title), but a long way from a 'Murder She Wrote' high-point.
It is made watchable by the terrific performance of Pat Hingle, O'Malley being one of the more compelling and best-acted non-recurring character lead in a bookend episode. As well as the delightful chemistry between him and Stacy Edwards, charming as his rookie cop niece, the episode being at its best when they're working together, butting heads and comparing notes. Nice to see professional and cohesive police work here.
Production values as ever are slick and stylish. 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. Some of the writing is light-hearted and thought-provoking.
Unfortunately, "O'Malley's Luck" is let down by the story, which suffers from a lacklustre pacing and too much going on. There are too many characters, some adding nothing to a completely superfluous degree (Grillo and Trent are a couple of few that actually contribute well or seem needed), and too many plot strands, some of which not developed anywhere near enough.
The mystery itself is uninvolving and is both at some points too easy to figure out (wasn't that surprised at the ending) and at other points too confused. It doesn't feel like an episode of 'Murder She Wrote' and doesn't work as a standalone, another example of a bookend that feels like a first episode to a planned series that didn't make it past the first episode.
A lot of the acting is not very good. Only Hingle and Edwards seem to be properly giving their all and are properly engaging, the rest go through the motions. The writing has moments but generally lacks spark and the pacing never really fires on all cylinders.
In conclusion, not awful, not great. 5/10 Bethany Cox
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- TheLittleSongbird
- Oct 8, 2017
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