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. (Coming Soon!)
- 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).
Murder, She Wrote, She Wrote 