Tag: creative-writing

Hit, Run and Homicide: The Timeline

Hello, welcome to MSWSW’s detailed episode timeline for “Hit, Run and Homicide.”

There are four parts to this episode guide:

  • Part 1 includes the setting, characters, and context of the episode.
  • This is Part 2, a detailed timeline of the episode’s events.
  • Part 3 is my analysis of the episode.
  • Part 4 is a collection of fun extras that I like to call Bonus Features.

The Timeline

Not a lot of time or attention is given to establishing a precise timeline this episode. The plot doesn’t rely on time-specific details, so it’s not devastating, just more of a missed opportunity, imho. Here’s my take on this episode’s sequence of events:

The Days of the Week

Since a town celebration takes place on Day 1, it’s most likely either a Saturday or a Sunday. On the following day, Leslie the Saleslady says she has business appointments in Portland, and for that to be most plausible, Day 2 is probably a weekday, making Day 1 most likely a Sunday and Day 2 a Monday.

Sunday: Picnic

The denizens of Cabot Cove gather to celebrate their founders.

Charles Woodley outruns a driverless station wagon, ends up in Cabot Cove hospital, and gives his statement to Sheriff Tupper.

I’m going to differ with the captions here. I think the name of the company is meant to be WAMCO (or WAM Co.) Electronics, the WAM being short for Woodley And Merrill.

Monday: Murder

Morning

Jessica drops by Daniel’s house with a pie for his guest, Katie. We meet Daniel’s nephew, Tony, and Leslie, his extremely new fiancée. Jessica tells Daniel about Woodley’s story, specifically, that he is visiting Cabot Cove at Daniel’s invitation.

This is just one of a collection of really interesting statement necklaces we’ll see on Katie. They must have been from June Allyson’s personal collection. I liked them so much I made a gallery.
Tony is young, attractive, and has a good job in the city. This episode failed to sell me on the idea that he is so naive and/or desperate that he would be an easy target for someone like Leslie.

Woodley’s business partner, Dean Merrill, arrives in Cabot Cove via a chartered boat. After getting directions from Ethan, Dean is done in by a certain sinister station wagon on his walk to the hospital.

Afternoon

Ethan visits Jessica and tells her about Dean Merrill’s death, and convinces her that Sheriff Tupper needs her help.

They eat cookies.

Dear reader, the cookies struck a chord. I feel deeply nostalgic about these cookies, which I believe to be Keebler Pecan Sandies. They still make them, so you can feed your inner child, or your inner Jessica, or even your inner Ethan.

After they agree to collaborate for what feels like the very first time, Jessica and Amos visit Charles Woodley at the hospital. Did Daniel invite him to town or not?

Evening

Jessica joins Daniel, Katie, and Tony for a remarkably uneventful cookout. Daniel acknowledges his driverless car design and again refutes Woodley’s claim that he invited the WAMCO boys to town, but no new information is forthcoming.

Tuesday: Investigation

Morning

Jessica gets Daniel’s phone records from Letitia. She has a chat with Katie about Daniel’s past relationship with WAMCO.

Daniel and Tony join them to showcase a new invention that flops on multiple levels.

Afternoon

Off camera, Ethan and Tony participate in the Sheriff’s town wide search for the mysterious and murderous station wagon.

Evening

More on this party’s sartorial choices in Part 4

Ethan, Tony, and Leslie have dinner at Jessica’s house. Over coffee in the parlor, Jessica shares her theory that the station wagon is hidden in a stretch of woods east of the old Gentry farm, and promises to call the Sheriff in the morning.

Wednesday: Full Speed Car Chase

Morning

With Amos’ consent, but not his support, Jessica searches the woods near the Gentry farm, finds the mysterious station wagon, investigates, and gets taken for a ride.

Ethan and his pick up truck come to the rescue in this episode’s only full speed car chase. When it comes to an end at the cliffs by the lighthouse, the red and gray van is also on the scene, but no one can quite figure out what it means, it’s all just so mysterious!

Afternoon

The end result of the morning’s chase is that the police now have possession of the station wagon. It contains files implicating Daniel, and so Amos reluctantly takes him into custody.

Evening

Back at their digs at the old Hansen place, Leslie gently suggests to Tony that his uncle may need to be evaluated by a psychiatrist.

Meanwhile, Jessica and Katie go for what appears to be an aimless (and grainy) twilight walk through the brush. They discuss the partnership arrangement and financial situation at WAMCO.

Thursday: In the Clink

Morning

Jessica visits Daniel in lock up. She gets a ride home from Tony in Leslie’s rented convertible. On the way, they stop at a gas station and discuss Daniel’s estate plan. Tony spends $7.08 on gas.

Evening

Daniel’s front yard Wednesday features Jessica, sad Katie, convertible
Daniel’s front yard Thursday also features Jessica, sad Katie, convertible

If it feels like we’ve been here already, yes. In a scene framed almost identically to the previous evening (sans panda), Tony takes Daniel away for psychological evaluation.

Friday: Epiphany at McIntyre’s

If you’re here for nostalgia, you’ve hit the jackpot at Cabot Cove’s local grocery.

McIntyre’s: Come for the apple decor…
Jessica ends up getting more than just typing paper and tomatoes.
…. stay for the baloney.
What price this transcendent, blissful epiphany? A quarter.

After a turn at the arcade classic Spy Hunter, Jessica figures it all out.

Saturday: Reenactment

Back at the softball field, Charles Woodley survives a second encounter with the mysterious and deadly station wagon, and Jessica’s plan to expose Dean Merrill’s murderer is a success.

The end.

Part 3: Analysis