If the Shoe Fits

This episode marks one of the last appearances by Kiel Martin, who has acted in film and on television since 1960. John Harkins and Jonathan Brandis have also since passed.

When life-long bully Jack Franzen (Bruce Glover) causes frustration, pain and hardship around Cabot Cove, he goes all the way. His domineering approach, impossible expectations, outrageous demands and condescending attitude alienate the affections of his wife, Gloria Franzen (Bridget Hanley); his tenant at Owen's Shoes factory, Owen Brownwell (John Harkins); plus three of Owen's employees, Patsy Dumont (Lorna Luft), Danny Snow (Kiel Martin) and Marla Bryce (Season Hubley), who also strives to pay increasing rental fees at the residence leased from landlord Jack Franzen.

But it is Marla's preteen son, Kevin Bryce (Jonathan Brandis), who controls the primary focus of this saga with his concerned confidant, Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury), for whom he performs odd jobs, such as assisting with her gardening.

On several occasions during the course of this series, a single mother who can't seem to make ends meet to provide for her preteen son finds herself questioned during a murder investigation without a solid alibi, and so the child becomes "the man of the house" with Jessica's blessing and support.

We may decide that this formula works well here because, after all, a body has been discovered near her residence, her name-engraved shovel is missing, and so has been Marla since the day of the murder.

While Kevin eagerly launches his own investigation to defend his missing mother, it is discovered that he had once been placed in foster care back in Chicago, after he and Marla skipped out of their apartment one night to avoid paying back rent. So, now the plot thickens for Kevin to face the possibility of foster home placement once again.

Jessica assists any way which she sees fit, as she, Doctor Seth Hazlitt (William Windom), Sheriff Mort Metzger (Ron Masak) and Deputy Floyd (Will Nye) conduct the official murder investigation.

Kevin's Third-Grade Schoolteacher Lydia Johansen (Teri Ralston), Social Worker Lee McAdam (Paige Pengra), Nurse at hospital in Portland (Edwina Moore) and Cabot Cove Post Office Clerk (Dane Winters) round out the cast in supporting roles.

Lorna Luft sprinkles a few wisecrack for comic relief along the way before the final curtain, but cleverly avoids the possibly tempting "If the Shoe Fits, I'll sock it to you to boot you right out of here."

A factory worker, struggling to make ends meet for herself and her son, becomes a prime suspect when her lecherous landlord is killed. Jessica is at her most compassionate here, not just giving the boy some odd-end jobs at her house, but helping to prove that his mother didn't kill the landlord, who happens to be most vilest characters. It's a good episode with a little more emotion and heart than usual.

Have always been quite fond of 'Murder She Wrote'. It is a fun and relaxing watch that makes you think as you try to unwind in the evening. If one wants more complex, twisty mysteries with lots of tension and suspense 'Murder She Wrote' may not be for you, but if you want something light-hearted and entertaining but still provide good mysteries 'Murder She Wrote' fits the bill just fine.

While not one of the best 'Murder She Wrote' episodes, and there are better episodes from Season 6 (such as "The Error of Her Ways"), "If the Shoe Fits" is a vast improvement over the previous episode "Good-Bye Charlie" (one of my least favourites). It's a nice enough episode, just not an exceptional one.

"If the Shoe Fits" in terms of story is pretty derivative, the whole trying to prove the innocence a young single mother in the murder of her boss is not a new concept in murder mysteries and has even been done before a little better on 'Murder She Wrote' ("Simon Color Me Dead").

The victim is not just Season 6's most hateable, to me he is one of the show's most vile and deserved-it "victims". One where nobody feels any kind of mourning over and it is one of the show's strongest cases of not caring who actually did it and feeling degrees of sympathy for everybody who was treated badly by him and even the killer (revealed in a pretty blah denouement).

Angela Lansbury is terrific however, Jessica Fletcher is one of her best-remembered roles and it's a very deserved distinction. Ron Masak has settled well and Mort is getting more likable and interesting all the time. William Windom's adept comic timing and curmudgeonly charm are reasons why Seth Hazlitt is in the top 3 of my favourite recurring characters.

Season Hubley makes it easy to root for her character, while Lorna Luft brings amusing zest to her role and Jonathan Brandis charms immensely in particularly his chemistry with Lansbury, which is the heart of the episode and where it's particularly successful in.

Production values as ever are slick and stylish, with Cabot Cove's picturesque setting and close-knit community never failing to charm. The music has energy and has presence but also not making the mistake of over-scoring, while it is hard to forget or resist the theme tune. The writing is suitably light-hearted and intriguing.

Despite it being derivative and having difficulty connecting properly when it concerns a despicable victim the story is paced well and has enough to keep one diverted, namely the chemistry between Lansbury and Brandis, Luft and the charms of the Cabot Cove regulars.

Overall, nicely done but not exceptional. 7/10 Bethany Cox

This may be my most favorite episode of MSW in existence. Rather than breaking down the entire plot as others have already done, I will focus on why this episode is great.

The show can often have pretty in-depth plot points; in my opinion, this series has always made the viewer work a little harder to understand the final conclusions. This episode is markedly easier to follow, with no complicated plot lines.

The main characters in the storyline are so endearing; Mrs. Bryce is capably believable in her love and protection of her son, in spite of her life challenges. Jonathan Brandis plays son Kevin, who is absolutely perfect in his role; he is endearingly earnest, while also being a normal (not oddly prodigal) pre-teen. He is truly the young man you may know in your own life, if you are fortunate.

The best aspect is the love and kindness Jessica has for Kevin; she treats him like her own son, and you can feel the safety that she pours out for him. It's like having 45 minutes of respite from a world that is nothing like this bubble of safety at Cabot Cove.

The culture of the early 90s was still able to convincingly depict the ideals of a safe community. In that sense, this episode is a little dated, but it's truly a joy to watch.

In terms of the plot, very little focus is given to the unsavory victim and his behaviors, but it is clear that he exploits his power and treats women poorly. This episode definitely implores the viewer to side with the perpetrator of the murder.

Thematically, it shows the power of community when others are in trouble.

It is hard to accept the loss of some excellent actors, including Jonathan Brandis, but he truly maximized his part in this role.

A bully of a landlord makes himself unpopular by upping rent and forcing his unwanted attentions on the local women, he gets his comeuppance.

It's a very good episode, with a well crafted mystery, and a good set of characters. I'd argue this has been the best Cabot Cove set episode so far in this sixth series, the main regulars are all put to good use. It's an episode where the victim is signposted, but the killer's identity comes as a surprise.

Jessica's talents are once again vast and varied, this time coming to the aid of a kid in need of foster care.

I think the young Jonathan Brandis is actually really good here, so often it was the case that young actors wouldn't exact perform well, he did a great, believable job.

Very good, 8/10.