Greetings, dear readers. Welcome to an unexpectedly eventful afternoon at the ballet. Before we take our first steps, I recommend watching the entire episode; there will be spoilers. If you’re peckish, I recommend some coffee and pie.
There are four parts to this episode guide:
- This is Part 1, which includes the setting, characters, and context of the episode.
- Part 2 is a detailed timeline of the episode’s events. (Coming Soon!)
- Part 3 is my analysis of the episode. (Watch this space!)
- Part 4 is a collection of fun extras that I like to call Bonus Features. (ETA? TBD!)
A Deadly Dance at the Boston Ballet
Jessica attends the invitation-only U.S. premiere of a renowned Soviet ballet troupe. The delicate dance takes a deadly turn, and international intrigue pirouettes all the way from Boston to Cabot Cove. Fair warning: if you don’t like my dance puns, it’s only going to get worse from here.
A Boston-ish Premiere
This episode is doubly a premiere, because this is the first Murder She Wrote episode set in Boston. It certainly won’t be the only time we visit Beantown, because Boston is the closest major city to Jessica’s home in Cabot Cove.
It’s sadly only Boston-ish because the filming locations are elsewhere, with one distinctive aerial view of Boston.
The “Boston Opera Center” is fictitious, and the Los Angeles Biltmore (now the Millennium Biltmore) was used for the exterior shots.
There is a real Boston Opera House, which coincidentally became the permanent home of the Boston Ballet in 2009.
When Are We?
The Cold War 1947-1991
This episode is set during a particularly intense period of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. During the Cold War, the United States had a very favorable asylum policy for people fleeing the Soviet Union and other communist countries. As well as humanitarian motivations, the U.S. government was also interested in using asylum seekers for propaganda and intelligence.
High-profile asylum seekers, like the two world-renowned ballet dancers in this episode, could have expected a warm reception in the United States.
The Original Airdate
In the absence of evidence to the contrary, the first guiding principal I use in my work on the MSWSW canon timeline is to place an episode’s events before, but as close as possible to, the initial airdate. “Death Takes a Curtain Call” first aired on December 16th, 1984.
The Oeuvre of J.B. Fletcher
Major Karzof has read more than one of J.B. Fletcher’s books, which indicates a timeframe no earlier than late May 1984.
The Seasons of the Year
This episode is completely free of any direct references to season or time of year. We can, however, take direction from our lady’s wardrobe. Jessica wears a medium-weight overcoat and leather gloves to the ballet, while her friend Leo is comfortable in a dress jacket. (Not that Leo ever looks exactly comfortable… you know what I mean.) In Boston, these transitional wardrobe choices would be most fitting in October or November, but not impossible in a mild December.
The Days of the Week
While ballet matinee performances are most often given on Saturday or Sunday, this particular performance is a special VIP event, and therefore could have taken place any day of the week.
Conclusion
For simplicity, I have decided on an initial timeframe of November 1984 for this episode, although any time from October through mid-December 1984 is possible.
The Players
In order of appearance, here all the lovely ballerinas and ballerinos who join in the dance this episode:
Jessica Fletcher
Jessica may be the apple of Ethan’s pie, but she has better fish to fry this episode. She’s been invited to a proper arts and culture outing in Boston.
Captain Ethan Cragg
Goodbye and farewell, Captain Cragg. This episode, a premiere in many ways, is, sadly, Ethan’s finale.
Velma Rodecker
Velma is a passionate political activist. She is determined to stop the Rostov Ballet from performing in the United States, and presses the matter a bit too far.
Mr. Nagy
Mr. Nagy does his best as a rank and file KGB officer.
Leo Peterson
In this episode, we encounter another of Jessica’s Cabot Cove friends. Leo is an elegant, somewhat tragic figure.
Major Anatole Karzof
Major Karzof’s mission is to keep the Rostov Ballet troupe on a short leash during a tour of the United States.
Palmer Eddington
Rising star J.B. Fletcher is already beginning to move in philanthropic circles. Her acquaintance, Mr. Eddington, is not only a ballet enthusiast, he’s also the President of the New England Arts Council, a lightly fictionalized New England Foundation for the Arts.
Skip Fleming
Mr. Fleming, the stage manager, is the most odious character to be found either backstage or front of house.
Irina Katsa
The lovely, lonely Irina is ballerina no. 6.
Serge Berensky
Berensky is the third KGB man in this story. Are his motives chivalrous, or something darker?
Natalia Masurova
Natalia is the Rostov Ballet’s Prima Ballerina, and Leo Peterson’s grand-niece.
Alexander Masurov
Alexander is Natalia’s dance partner, her husband, and Rostov Ballet’s Premier Danseur.
Chief Agent O’Farrell
O’Farrell is FBI and has jurisdiction. His is a cautionary tale about what happens to law enforcement officers who don’t cooperate with Jessica.
Sheriff Amos Tupper
Sheriff Tupper is the law in Cabot Cove. He’s hard as nails and sharp as glass. Nothing escapes him.
Alias Dewey Johnson
Mr. Johnson is an undercover FBI agent, which rounds out the law enforcement headcount to a cool half-dozen. And I didn’t even include that nice police sergeant back in Boston.
Part 2: The Timeline – Coming Soon!
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