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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!

Binge this in 17h 15m•Peaking at 8.6/10

An unassuming mystery writer turned sleuth uses her professional insight to help solve real-life homicide cases.

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    Murder, She Wrote Season 1 Episode 18 - Footnote to Murder
    8.6/10(1171 votes)

    S1:E18

    An unpublished manuscript is stolen and its author murdered during an awards convention.

    Director:Peter Crane
    Writer:Robert E. Swanson

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  2. Murder, She Wrote Season 1 Episode 22 - Funeral at Fifty-Mile
    7.8/10(6 votes)

    S1:E22

    A Wyoming rancher leaves all to an ill-fated stranger, to the disgust of his disinherited daughter.

    Director:Seymour Robbie
    Writer:Dick Nelson

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  3. Murder, She Wrote Season 1 Episode 15 - Paint Me a Murder
    7.7/10(723 votes)

    S1:E15

    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

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  4. Murder, She Wrote Season 1 Episode 1 - The Murder of Sherlock Holmes
    7.6/10(1119 votes)

    S1:E1

    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:Unknown

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  5. Murder, She Wrote Season 1 Episode 13 - Murder to a Jazz Beat
    7.6/10(791 votes)

    S1:E13

    While in New Orleans, Jessica must solve the mysterious murder of a famous musician who died while performing onstage.

    Director:Walter Grauman
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. Murder, She Wrote Season 1 Episode 4 - Hooray for Homicide
    7.5/10(911 votes)

    S1:E4

    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

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  7. Murder, She Wrote Season 1 Episode 5 - It's a Dog's Life
    7.5/10(886 votes)

    S1:E5

    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
    Writers:Mark Giles, Linda Shank

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  8. Murder, She Wrote Season 1 Episode 9 - Death Takes a Curtain Call
    7.5/10(797 votes)

    S1:E9

    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

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  9. Murder, She Wrote Season 1 Episode 14 - My Johnny Lies Over the Ocean
    7.5/10(751 votes)

    S1:E14

    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

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  10. Murder, She Wrote Season 1 Episode 17 - Sudden Death
    7.5/10(664 votes)

    S1:E17

    Jessica suddenly must learn all about football when she inherits an interest in a professional team.

    Director:Edward M. Abroms
    Writer:Robert E. Swanson

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  11. Murder, She Wrote Season 1 Episode 20 - Armed Response
    7.5/10(684 votes)

    S1:E20

    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

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  12. Murder, She Wrote Season 1 Episode 21 - Murder at the Oasis
    7.5/10(677 votes)

    S1:E21

    An unpopular show-business personality discovers that elaborate security systems are no guarantee of safety.

    Director:Arthur Allan Seidelman
    Writer:Robert Van Scoyk

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  13. Murder, She Wrote Season 1 Episode 6 - Lovers and Other Killers
    7.4/10(868 votes)

    S1:E6

    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

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  14. Murder, She Wrote Season 1 Episode 10 - Death Casts a Spell
    7.4/10(754 votes)

    S1:E10

    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
    Writers:Steven Hensley, J. Miyoko Hensley

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  15. Murder, She Wrote Season 1 Episode 19 - Murder Takes the Bus
    7.4/10(679 votes)

    S1:E19

    Bus trips are not always as relaxing as they should be. In this case, one passenger had a one-way ticket.

    Director:Peter Crane
    Writers:Mary Ann Kasica, Michael Scheff

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  16. Murder, She Wrote Season 1 Episode 2 - Deadly Lady
    7.3/10(976 votes)

    S1:E2

    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

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  17. Murder, She Wrote Season 1 Episode 3 - Birds of a Feather
    7.3/10(917 votes)

    S1:E3

    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 E. Swanson

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  18. Murder, She Wrote Season 1 Episode 7 - Hit, Run and Homicide
    7.3/10(839 votes)

    S1:E7

    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

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  19. Murder, She Wrote Season 1 Episode 11 - Capitol Offense
    7.3/10(755 votes)

    S1:E11

    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

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  20. Murder, She Wrote Season 1 Episode 8 - We're Off to Kill the Wizard
    7.2/10(780 votes)

    S1:E8

    Jessica is asked to help solve the "impossible" murder of a wealthy, and much disliked, amusement park owner.

    Director:Walter Grauman
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. Murder, She Wrote Season 1 Episode 16 - Tough Guys Don't Die
    7.0/10(834 votes)

    S1:E16

    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

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  22. Murder, She Wrote Season 1 Episode 12 - Broadway Malady
    6.8/10(707 votes)

    S1:E12

    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

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Season 1 Ratings Summary

"Footnote to Murder" is the best rated episode of "Murder, She Wrote" season 1. It scored 8.6/10 based on 1171 votes. Directed by Peter Crane and written by Robert E. Swanson, it aired on 3/10/1985. This episode is rated 0.8 points higher than the second-best, "Funeral at Fifty-Mile".