Category: Jessica’s Dossier

Carol Donovan

Carol Donovan (Anne Kerry Ford)

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. While it would be unusual and awkward of Bert to refer to Jessica as “your uncle’s widow,” I’m going to nevertheless place Carol on Jessica’s side of the Fletcher Family Tree.

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.

(L-R) Sink, refrigerator
(L-R) Fridge, back window
(L-R) Back door, wood stove
(L-R) Range, sink
(L-R) Wood stove, hall doorway
(L-R) Dining room doorway, range
Dining room passthrough
(L-R) Hall passthrough, desk

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.

Magic Chef Six-Burner Range as seen on Good Time Stove
Glenwood Six-Burner Range as seen on Edible South Shore

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:

A Rap Sheet

Here is Jessica Fletcher’s arrest record, up to and including S1 E7. I’ve also included a history of the crimes she has committed, which is remarkably unrelated to her arrests.

Arrests

Suspicion of Murder: October, 1984; Universal Studios, Los Angeles, CA; S1 E4: “Hooray for Homicide”

Crimes and Misdemeanors

Trespass: October 1984; Universal Studios, Los Angeles, CA; S1 E4: “Hooray for Homicide”

Trespass and Attempted Larceny: October 11, 1984; The Potts farm, Greenville, VA; S1 E5: “It’s a Dog’s Life”

Reckless Endangerment: September 1984; Les Champignons Night Club, San Francisco, CA; S1 E3: “Birds of a Feather”

Wire Fraud: May-August 1984; Cabot Cove, ME; S1 E7: “Hit, Run and Homicide”

Trespass: May/June 1984; Warehouse 33, Seattle, WA; S1 E6: “Lovers and Other Killers”

Trespass: April 1984; The Offices of Cap’n Caleb’s Chowder Houses, New York, NY; S1 E1: “The Murder of Sherlock Holmes”

Captain Ethan Cragg

Captain Ethan Cragg (Claude Akins) is one of Jessica’s Cabot Cove friends. He is very protective of Jessica, and has a warm, but combative, relationship with the Cabot Cove Sheriff, Amos Tupper.

Captain Cragg runs Cragg’s Charter Services from his boat out of Cabot Cove. He comes to the rescue by land (S1 E7: “Hit, Run and Homicide”) and by sea (S1 E2: “Deadly Lady”). When he’s not volunteering for the Coast Guard or helping the Sheriff, Ethan’s hobbies include fishing, softball, and arcade games.

Unfortunately, Ethan only appears in Season 1. His character is more or less replaced by Dr. Hazlitt later in the series. I wish this wasn’t the case, I really like the character of Ethan. I feel like there is room in Jessica’s life for more than one gruff but well meaning gentleman at a time. Plus, Ethan has a certain… Gorton’s Fisherman appeal that I miss in later seasons.

Hello and Welcome!

For reasons unclear to me, this is by far my most popular post. Welcome to Murder She Wrote, She Wrote! If you are seeking Captain Cragg, I hope you’ve found what you were hoping for.

Here are some more posts featuring the good captain:

Murder, She Wrote Episodes featuring Ethan Cragg

Cabot Cove Posts featuring Ethan Cragg

Ethan Cragg in Good Company