William Windom Movies

This episode is a showcase for semi-regular Louis Herthum, here essaying his usual role as Cabot Cove's deputy sheriff Andy Bloom. Having just purchased a house, Andy realizes that there are several things wrong with the structure, and he vents his anger upon the former owner. Not long afterward, the ex-owner is killed--and the murder weapon is found in Andy's car. It is up to Jessica (Angela Lansbury to get to the bottom of the case, which becomes even dicier when a second person is murdered. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

When Henry the Siamese cat hops on board a hot-air balloon, he is in for the time of his life. Henry's flight inspires LeVar Burton to try the experience himself, and he takes off in a colorful balloon too. In Reading Rainbow: Hot-Air Henry, he also goes to National Space Camp to find out what is taught to kids who attend. Another segment shows a group of aircraft that took to the air before they were quite ready. The kid-reviewed books include Easy-to-Make Spaceships That Really Fly by Mary and Dewey Blocksma, The Big Balloon Race by Eleanor Coerr, and Just Us Women by Jeannette Caines. ~ Alice Day, Rovi

Seth Hazlitt (William Windom arranges for Cabot Cove to stage a rock concert benefit to save a local patch of woods. The star of the concert is Tommy Vaughn (eith Coulouris), a popular singer who is anything but popular to the people who work for him. Inevitably, a murder occurs, with an electric guitar as the weapon. Jessica (Angela Lansbury) plays a few detection riffs herself to find out which of the dead man's many enemies is the guilty party. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Megan Follows leaves her Anne of Green Gables TV persona behind to portray Lila Nolan, a young Boston-based nurse who is suspected of mercy killing. Two of Lila's elderly patients have died under mysterious circumstances, and now she has arrived in Cabot Cove to provide home care for ailing Maggie Saunders (Audra Lindley)--who happens to be the best friend of Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury). Be assured that murder will soon rear its ugly head, and that Jessica will find herself in the position of defending Lila against a false charge. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A motion picture crew descends upon Cabot Cove to film a historical documentary. In the course of production, the crew unearths an old document signed by George Washington, which claims that the town's most venerated Revolutionary War hero, Joshua Peabody, was actually a traitorous scoundrel. Evidently someone isn't pleased about having his or her illusions shattered: shortly after the document appears, the film's director is murdered. Now it is up to Jessica (Angela Lansbury) to burrow through the multitude of likely suspects. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The people of Cabot Cove are thrown for a loop when Seth Hazlitt (William Windom) suddenly disappears. Making matters all the more disturbing are the blood stains in his office, and the evidence that Seth's body was dragged somewhere by parties unknown. All the same, Jessica (Angela Lansbury) can't quite dismiss her intuition that Seth is still alive (and no fair peeking at the cast lists of future episodes to figure out what happens next!) ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Corky (Faith Ford) finally gets the chance to conduct her first truly hard-hitting interview when she goes one-on-one with ruthless retail mogul Ross Bowen (William Windom). Though she acquits herself quite well, Corky suffers the usual professional consequences when she is deluged with hate mail. Murphy (Candice Bergen) and the gang are all for sheltering Corky from this assault, but the plucky girl reporter insists upon meeting her attackers head-on--by inviting all of the mail writers to the "FYI" studios. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The 1947 holiday classic Miracle on 34th Street is transplanted to the 1990s with few changes in this family-oriented remake. The screenplay by the prolific John Hughes sticks close to the original outline, centering on Macy's executive Dorey Walker (Elizabeth Perkins) and her young daughter Susan (Mara Wilson), neither of whom much believes in the spirit of Christmas. Dorey is in charge of hiring Macy's Santas, including an old man named Kriss Kringle (Richard Attenborough). He does a remarkably convincing job, and he soon reveals that he actually believes himself to be Santa Claus. The authorities threaten to place the old man in an insane asylum, but a young lawyer comes to his defense. Meanwhile, Dorey and Susan find their own defenses melting and become reacquainted with the power of faith. Hughes and director Les Mayfield add a few modern touches, making Susan slightly more cynical and adding the requisite soulless corporate villains. Viewers familiar with the original may still prefer Edmund Gwenn's original Kris Kringle and consider the remake unnecessary, although the newer version reflects enough of the earlier film's spirit to prove entertaining to modern family audiences. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

Impudent Dennis plagues the ever-irascible Mr. Wilson in this full-length, live-action adventure comedy, which finds everyone's favorite troublemaker digging in the sandbox for some forgotten fossils. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi

Season nine of Murder She Wrote comes to an end as famous romance novelist Sibella Stone (Carroll Baker) descends upon Cabot Cove, home turf of mystery writer Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury). It isn't long before Sibella's assistant is murdered, and at first it appears that the novelist herself was the killer's original target. But when Jessica probes into the situation, she discovers that the dead woman was having an affair with the husband of Sibella Stone's publisher...and there are several other people who would like to have seen the victim get knocked off. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Two men, a fisherman and banker, have both died of carbon monoxide poisoning while sailing in the waters around Cabot Cove. At first this seems to be merely a coincidence--but then the fisherman's daughter gains access to her father's logbooks and charts. Suddenly, a link develops between the two men, forged by an illegal sale of surplus defense-corporation components--and Jessica (Angela Lansbury) begins to take interest in the situation. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Cabot Cove has been chosen as the location for the pre-Broadway staging of a new play starring David North (Peter Donat), a prominent actor who is emerging from a 10-year retirement. No sooner have rehearsals started than a murder occurs, with North's business manager Eric Benderson (Bradford Dillman) as the victim. Needless to say, Jessica (Angela Lansbury) is determined to find out "who done it"--and this time, there are plenty of subtle pop-cultural clues at hand, thanks to the cunning of screenwriter J. Michael Straczynski (Babylon 5. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi