Michael Gardner, a private investigator formerly known as Mickey Baumgarten, is an intrinsic member of Horatio’s House of Horrors in S1 E8: “We’re Off to Kill the Wizard.”
Michael Gardner
Author: Fiona May
Tending, minding, mending murdershewroteshewrote.com
Lieutenant Detective Bert Donovan
Bert is both Jessica’s nephew by marriage and an investigating officer in S1 E8: “We’re Off to Kill the Wizard.”
Cindy Donovan
Cindy is Jessica’s grandniece, whom she visits in S1 E8: “We’re Off to Kill the Wizard.”
Billy Donovan
Billy is Jessica’s grandnephew, whom she visits in S1 E8: “We’re Off to Kill the Wizard.”
We’re Off to Kill the Wizard
Don’t be afraid, my friends. Nothing frightening awaits you.
Oh, perhaps a moment or two of panic, but we did warn you.
Seat belts pulled tight? That’s good. And now, just sit back…
Welcome to Horatio’s House of Horrors!
This episode is a delightfully campy, deftly executed locked room mystery. If you want to make it dinner and a show, you can eat along with Jessica and the Donovans with this family-friendly menu. Guests who wish to avoid spoilers should watch the entirety of “We’re Off to Kill the Wizard” before proceeding. Thank you, and enjoy the ride!
This episode guide has four parts:
- This is the first part, an introduction which includes the setting, characters, and context of the episode.
- The second part is a detailed timeline of the episode’s events.
- The third part is an analysis of the episode’s mystery. (Watch this space!)
- The fourth part is a collection of fun extras called Bonus Features. (ETA? TBD!)
Where in the World is Horatio’s House of Horrors?
The casual viewer could be forgiven if they came away thinking this episode takes place in Kansas City. (I’m looking at you, imdb.) Kansas City, the City of Fountains, is mentioned numerous times throughout the episode, but that’s because it’s Jessica’s next destination.
Aunt Jess is currently visiting one of her nieces, Carol, who lives somewhere that’s only a short flight away from Kansas City… you may have heard of it – Chicago! Check it out in the MSWSW Atlas.
This episode is low, low key set somewhere in Chicagoland. There are no glamorous on-location scenes with sightlines to Chicago landmarks. The name “Chicago” is never even spoken. The only direct reference to the Windy City is this fake newspaper.
When Are We?
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. This episode first aired on Sunday, December 9, 1984.
The Oeuvre of J.B. Fletcher
Dirge for a Dead Dachshund has been published! This means that Jessica’s visit to this episode’s House of Horrors takes place after S1 E2: “Deadly Lady”, when Dirge was still in pre-publication. The earliest “Deadly Lady” could have taken place is June 1984.
This gives us an initial, broad timeframe for “We’re Off to Kill the Wizard” of June – December 1984.
The seasons of the year
Little Billy rides his bicycle down a leafy street. The canopy is a full, lush green, with no hint of fall colors. Chicago’s fall foliage season is typically underway by early October.
All those green leaves allow us to narrow the timeframe further, to June – September 1984.
The Days of the Week
I’ll go through the episode’s timeline in more detail in Part 2, but for now, it will suffice that the episode begins on a Saturday. Two days later, on Monday, Lieutenant Donovan’s desk calendar tells us it’s the 23rd.
Let’s take a look at the 1984 calendar:
From June through September, there is one Monday the 23rd, and it’s in July. Could an argument be made that in the midst of an active murder investigation, Lt. Donovan didn’t find the time to flippy-flip his day calendar? Sure.
However, unless and until we come across evidence to the contrary, the MSWSW timeframe for “We’re Off to Kill the Wizard” is Saturday, July 21 – Thursday, July 26, 1984.
The Players
In order of appearance:
Michael Gardner
In the eighties, a three piece suit and a car phone meant you were a big shot, like Mickey here.
J.B. Fletcher
We see two sides of Jessica this episode. Aunt Jess is in town for personal reasons, spending quality time with her niece’s family. A model guest, she can fix bicycles and burgers for dinner! However, it’s J.B. Fletcher, the sought-after novelist, who finds herself mixed up in yet another colorful murder.
Billy & Cindy Donovan
These two adorable young people share a family resemblance and lend a before-they-were-famous vibe to this episode.
Carol Donovan
Jessica’s niece of the week, Carol leads a picture perfect life in leafy suburb. Another leafy place you can find Carol is the MSWSW Fletcher Family Tree.
Horatio Baldwin
A man, a plan, a House of Horrors.
Nils Helander
Is Nils merely “temperamental” and “bullheaded,” or is he justifiably concerned about safety issues at the House of Horrors?
Arnold Megrim
Arnold is very discontent at the House of Horrors. He’s sick of cooking the books, but for some reason, he can’t just quit.
Laurie Bascomb
Laurie is Horatio Baldwin’s secretary and an aspiring writer.
Phil Carlson
Phil is Horatio’s “right-hand man,” and he wouldn’t quit even if he could, because he’s looking forward to a promised promotion.
Ned O’Brien
O’Brien, House of Horrors Security, is the man that hears the shot and makes the call.
Nemo
The other security guard at the scene of the crime has several lines, yet remains noticeably, and somewhat inconveniently, nameless over the course of the episode.
I’ve decided to call him Nemo.
Lieutenant Detective Bert Donovan
Bert, Jessica’s nephew by marriage, is also a very competent police detective.
Captain Davis
Police Captain Davis is very solicitous of Jessica’s crime solving abilities because she’s such a swell mystery novelist.
Erica Baldwin
Is the glamorous, jet-setting Mrs. Baldwin a femme fatale? Perhaps we’ll never know for sure.
Repeat Offenders
If you’re a MSW fan (and if you’ve read this far, you are) I’m sure you’ve recognized a few actors who appear multiple times throughout the series, but in different roles. Check out The Rogues’ Gallery for more details.
In this episode, nearly all the actors portraying supporting characters (even Nemo!) will return to the MSW universe in future episodes, except James Coco (Horatio Baldwin), Anne Kerry Ford (Carol Donovan), and siblings Joaquin and Summer Phoenix (Billy and Cindy).
Part 2: The Timeline
Carol Donovan
Carol is Jessica’s Chicagoland niece, whom she visits in S1 E8: “We’re Off to Kill the Wizard.”
Whether Carol is the daughter of a sibling of Jessica or Frank is not specified; however, her husband Bert refers to Jessica as “your aunt” which at least rules out Bert as Jessica’s nephew. Admittedly, it would be unusual and awkward of Bert to refer to Jessica as “your uncle’s widow.” However, Carol calls Jessica “Jess” and not “Aunt Jess,” hinting at little distance in their connection. For this reason, I’m going to place Carol on Frank’s side of the Fletcher Family Tree.
We’re Off to Kill the Wizard: A Menu
This menu is inspired by the in-episode family dinner Jessica makes for the Donovans.
A Family Dinner to Accompany
“We’re Off to Kill the Wizard”
Beverages
Soft drinks, cold milk, tap water, coffee and tea
Main Course
Simple, family-friendly fare, these recipes come from the extremely
popular 1975 edition of Joy of Cooking, a copy of which can be found
on top of Jessica’s refrigerator back home in Cabot Cove.
Accompaniments: Sesame Seed Buns,
Ketchup, Mustard, Tomatoes, Pickled Cucumbers
Dessert
In honor of Chicago’s Palmer House,
the birthplace of the brownie, a homestyle version:
Betty Crocker Brownies à la Mode
Recipe links are suggestions only.
Please remember, here at MSWSW:
Hit, Run and Homicide: Bonus Features
Hello, and welcome to the fourth and final installment of the episode guide for “Hit, Run and Homicide.”
- Part 1 includes the setting, characters, and context of the episode.
- Part 2 is a detailed timeline of the episode’s events.
- Part 3 is my analysis of the episode.
- This is Part 4, a collection of fun extras that I like to call Bonus Features.
Bonus Features!
Do Crimes.
Murder!
- Culprit: Leslie Andler (and Charles Woodley)
- Motive: Greed
- Weapon: Blunt Object
- Done Deed: Dean Merrill’s murder happens (just barely) offscreen.
- Crime Scene: A body by the side of the road, this time it’s sadly realistic.
- Discovery: At 13 minutes, or 27% through the episode
Weapons: A Digression
We here at MSWSW categorize murder weapons thusly:
- Blunt Object (Bricks, stones, urns…)
- Explosive (Things that go bang, except guns)
- Gun (Guns, all varieties)
- Garrote (Lengths of wire, strings of pearls, telephone cords…)
- Pointy Object (Hat pins, knives, skewers…)
- Poison (Allergens, overdoses, toxic substances…)
- Rube Goldberg Contrivance (Absurdly complex contraptions and scenarios)
- Sabotaged Conveyance (Automobiles with the break lines cut, doped horses…)
A remote controlled auto was used to hit and kill pedestrian Dean Merrill. In this case, the car was used as a blunt object. If poor Jessica had been driven off the cliff while she was inside the car, it would have then been used as a sabotaged conveyance.
Other Crimes!
- I’m not even sure what the charges would be for intentionally sending a remote controlled car through a public park, or along a public road, but I’m going to go with multiple counts of reckless endangerment for Leslie Andler. Plus kidnapping, for taking Jessica on that wild ride.
- In that vein, in addition to murder, Charles and Leslie probably committed all kinds of lesser offenses, like lying to a police officer, conspiracy, trespass, and probably wire fraud for that phone call from Daniel’s landline.
- Speaking of wire fraud, there’s probably a case to be made against Jessica and Letitia, for snooping through Daniel’s phone records.
- Remarkably, Jessica did not trespass for an entire episode; she had Sheriff Tupper’s permission to go snooping around the old Gentry farm.
Psycho Killer
There is a theory that Jessica Fletcher is the most successful serial killer of all time. If she’s actually Dean Merrill’s murderer, she ran him down with a car, plain and simple. The remote controlled station wagon was just a red herring. Too bad Dean couldn’t run, run, run, run, run, run, run away.
Tropes, Devices, and Other Conventions
Mystery Tropes
Frame-up
This episode, an innocent person is framed for crimes they didn’t commit. This is a series first, but it won’t be the last time MSW uses this trope.
Suspicious Phone Call
While we don’t overhear any part of the phone call placed from Daniel’s home phone to Charles Woodley’s office, it’s certainly a suspicious phone call, or, at least, the shadow of one. In the final scene, Katie concludes that Leslie placed the call. We never find out for sure if the call was placed to incriminate Daniel, or just to communicate with Woodley about their dark deeds.
Plot Devices
flashback
Here at MSWSW, we aim for a thoroughness, even if it draws a tear. Technically, during Jessica’s confrontation with Leslie, there is a brief flashback to the car rental agreement, which we previously saw at the gas station. It’s honestly just salt in the wound, because it’s a second missed opportunity to show us that GD odometer, already.
There’s a second flashback during Jessica’s summation in the final scene. It shows Woodley outrunning the station wagon the day of the picnic, to emphasize how slowly the car must have been going. It’s pretty straightforward, expository stuff.
MSW Tropes
Door of Truth
As often happens on MSW, a seemingly random experience helps Jessica put it all together. This time, Jessica gains an adorable, albeit ambiguous, moment of insight while playing an arcade game with Ethan.
Infinite Jest
One of the things that makes MSW so cozy is that, sometimes, something completely absurd happens as a plot vehicle. This time, it’s the entire premise, and it’s literally a vehicle.
Bait of Falsehood
Often, our lady practices to deceive in the service of justice. This time, she doesn’t outright lie or present false evidence. She does, however, trick Leslie into thinking the station wagon controls are still in the red and gray van during the reenactment.
Smile and Smile
Jessica’s been practicing that arcade game at McIntyre’s??? LOL!
Goofy freezeframe!
Roll credits!
What She Wore
How to Wear a Scarf
Jessica wears a number of scarves this episode, here they are, in order of appearance:
If you’re interested, you can find all of Jessica’s scarves from our journey so far here.
Jessica’s Best Look
My favorite of our lady’s looks this episode is the red, white, and blue she wears to the Founders’ Day picnic. I think a belted shirt is a flattering silhouette for Angela, and this scarf is a lot of fun. Poor Lois gets lost in a sea of red check tablecloths, but Jessica stands out. She’s appropriately festive, without being eye-searing.
Best Look Overall
Best look overall goes to Katie, and her collection of statement necklaces. My favorite is the red and black one pictured here. I love it so much I feel a bit covetous.
Jessica’s Least Best Look
Before the nap dress, there were Laura Ashley, Jessica McClintock, and Gunne Sax. These flowy, uber-feminine dresses were supposed to be comfortable and pretty, but tbh, they make me feel uneasy, and possibly a little queasy.
In the first dinner party scene at Jessica’s house, both our hostess and her guest, Leslie, wear dresses inspired by the Gunne Sax/Laura Ashley trend of that time. These characters are both independent, professional women with active lifestyles, and in every other scene of this episode, their respective sartorial choices reflect that.
…Which is why I think these particular dresses stood out to me. While they are certainly very much on-trend for the time, they do not suit the characters wearing them.
No other notes for Leslie though, she looks great in her white dress. (Patti D’Arbanville would probably look fantastic in anything.)
Unfortunately, the pale pink, billowy dress that they put on Angela is not flattering. The scarf feels out of place, and initially, I felt like perhaps it was added because Angela also felt this dress wasn’t the right thing.
And then, I found this:
There it is, legal precedent for the neckerchief and nightgown look. Case dismissed?
But why then do I still feel so ill at ease about these really comfy dresses?
Wait.
What’s that in the upper righthand corner?
What message is Jessica McClintock sending us?
Without telling me, he told me.
Gunne Sax by Jessica McClintock
He loves the way I look when I look this way.
Ugh. No. Nope. No thank you to this post-feminism backlash BS. Wear what you want, but please dress for yourself, and not for an unarticulated male gaze.
Full disclosure, I never had a Gunne Sax dress; not by choice, exactly.
I was still in my Polly Flinders era.
Least Best Look
Least best look goes to Tony, and his troubling pattern of conspicuous deshabille.
Within the context of an episode of Murder, She Wrote, Tony’s inability to keep his shirt buttoned isn’t sexy, just louche and a little bit desperate.
Interior Motives
This episode’s award for most distinctive interior goes to Daniel’s made for TV workshop.
The Rest of the Story
The writers put a great big bow of a happy ending on this one for us. I haven’t really discussed it, mainly because I don’t care. I don’t feel invested in Daniel and Katie. They are too thoroughly nice and guileless to be interesting. However, their happily ever after happens in Jessica’s dining room, and I’ve included shots from that scene in my overview of our lady’s iconic home.
Tony turns out to be an easy come, easy go kind of guy. After the initial shock of Leslie’s duplicity wears off, he quickly bounces back.
Neither Jessica nor Ethan wins the Spy Hunter tournament at McIntyre’s. Lois Hoey unexpectedly routs the entire field.
Extra Credit
In a small town, locals severally glimpse a mysteriously conveyed vehicle. Its ultimate purpose is to circumvent the complexities of an estate plan.
Polly Flinders makes a cameo.
For a good read that bears a passing resemblance to this episode, I recommend Dorothy Sayers’ short story The Undignified Melodrama of the Bone of Contention.
An Iconic Victorian
Jessica Fletcher’s white Victorian is an iconic element of Murder, She Wrote. It’s a pivotal location for many episodes set in Cabot Cove. The Blair House in Mendocino, CA, was used for the exterior shots.
Many of the scenes in the second episode of the series, “Deadly Lady,” were set in and around Jessica’s house. I’ve started working on a floor plan based on the exterior and interior shots so far presented. As the MSWSW project progresses, I’ll continue to build out the floor plan and add in more details.
MSW did a very good job of marrying the layout of the set used for the interior with the shots of Blair House used for the exterior. This isn’t always the case. (I’m looking at you, Brady Bunch House.) So far, the only noticeable departure is the elevated floor used for the front entry. While it’s not impossible that this is true to the original building, it’s almost certainly a change made for ease of staging. You often see elevated entries on interior sets during this era of television.
The Entry
In S1 E7: “Hit, Run and Homicide” we get a good look at Jessica’s elevated entry.
The Kitchen
Jessica’s kitchen is truly the heart of her home in Cabot Cove. It’s far and away the room that appears most frequently, and it’s the room in which we see her typewriter, so we can imagine the many hours she spends in her kitchen writing.
As well as “Deadly Lady,” which is set in Cabot Cove, the opening scenes of “Hooray for Homicide” feature Jessica’s Cabot Cove kitchen in detail. The following stills give us roughly a full rotation of the room, as well as enough information for a basic floorplan.
The Range
Jessica’s beautiful antique range appears to be either a Magic Chef or Glenwood six-burner circa 1920-1940.
According to antiquestoves.com, the Magic Chef dimensions are 60.75″ width, 30″ depth, 57.25″ height, which helped in determining the dimensions of the kitchen floorplan.
Unfortunately, both the Magic Chef and the Glenwood pictured above appear to be very close, but not exact, matches to Jessica’s range. Any antique range experts out there? I welcome your guidance.
The Dining Room
Jessica’s dining room is modest in size, and a pass through from the kitchen to the parlor. In S1 E7: “Hit, Run and Homicide”, one of Jessica’s dinner parties offers a detailed look at the dining room:
Best Looks
One of the most fun (and underrated) aspects of MSW is Jessica’s sartorial choices. Here are, in my opinion, the best from each episode, thus far on our journey. I’ve ordered them by personal preference, favorites first.
Murder, She Wrote, She Wrote 