TONIGHT ON MURDER, SHE WROTE hits our first season finale: FUNERAL AT FIFTY-MILE, and we're super excited even if this one is kinda a downer!

We head west with Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) to Wyoming to meet a whole bunch of guys and one lil' lady they're all dead set on protecting within an inch of her agency. Mary Carver (Kathleen Beller) is mourning the loss of her father and is further blindsided when old town crumb bum Carl Mestin (Clu Gulager) and his sexy broad of a ladyfriend, Sally (Stella Stevens) blow in to let her know she's not going to keep the farm she assumed was bequeathed to her.

Soon, a murder in the barn leaves Jessica and her local sheriff --- uh, Marshall (Cliff Potts) scratching their heads to figure out who had the nerve and opportunity. Was it small-town affluent white guy number 1 (William Windom), small-town affluent white guy number 2 (Donald Moffat), small-town affluent white guy number 3 (Noah Beery Jr.), small-town affluent white guy number 4 (J.D. Cannon), Mary herself, or her well-intentioned fiancé (Jeff Osterhage)? Our bets are on the arm-wrestling glam/trashy Sally, frankly.

Fair warning, it does get a little heavy at the end, folks, but we will still enjoy ourselves determining left-handed people from right, quirky and forthright secretaries, and curious tan lines.

Your hosts, Viktor Devonne and Petra Fried celebrate 22 episodes of the podcast, and thank you for joining us on this journey! We have a special round-out wrap-up next week, and then we dive into season 2!

It's a family affair TONIGHT ON MURDER, SHE WROTE.

Acclaimed but total douche Johnny Shannon (Ed Ames) is found dead, and the suspects are mostly all related to him: the sultry ex-wife (Piper Laurie), the sensitive son (Joseph Bottoms), and the promiscuous daughter (Linda Purl) all make good cases as they are used and abused.

Instead, let's also consider the help: the devoted but goofy guy Friday (Joey Bishop), the hothead goon who doubles as a chauffeur (Jack O'Halloran), or maybe it's the thorn in Johnny's side in the form of opportunist tennis lothario (Joseph Cali). Is that everyone? Oh, there's a mob connection. So, well, good odds for that one.

Friend to the wife and always intuitive mystery writer Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) assists the detective of the week (Ken Howard) in narrowing it down to the most likely scenario that led to the MURDER AT THE OASIS.

It's a sexy time in the desert, complete with bad fashion, misdirection, strategically angled security cameras, warm milk, missing pictures, and fully clothed pool action. Will Jessica act in time to save the day? Probably! But it might surprise you how, in this delicious slice of familial dysfunction that still has a nice bounce to it.

TONIGHT ON MURDER, SHE WROTE, nothing can keep Jessica Fletcher from meddling - not even a fractured ankle! JB Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) is on the scene in a Texan private hospital where the doctors hate each other, the nurses wear false eyelashes, and the patients are comedy legends. Why, yes, we'd love to spend a weekend.

Naturally, someone everyone seems to hate is murdered (Stephen Elliot), and the question is, who wouldn't? The suspect list is surprisingly sparse and is largely made up of the staff (Sam Groom and Martin Kove as battling MDs; Kay Lenz and Susan Oliver as our sisters of mercy). Everyone else is just chewing the scenery for the sake of it and filling in gaps, from the wonderful Martha Raye and Eddie Bracken as negging almost-lovebird rich inmates, to Victoria Carroll in her own southern drama miniseries in her mind, to Lucille Meredith as our pick for Best Supporting Actress as a sort-of witness to the crime and this episode's one-scene wonder.

Somewhat useless detective Ray Jenkins (Bo Hopkins) is upfront about his need for help from the temporarily disabled Jessica, even if he fights her most of the way; we get some fun moments of bickering between them that escalate in the final act, for a higher purpose. And finally, there's greasy lawyer Kevin McCarthy, who is all too willing to sue on behalf of everyone if they've got the cash.

It's a fairly straightforward mystery with some bonkers additions and non-sequiturs that may or may not pan out. You'll need a strong glass of carrot juice to prepare for the finale, which uses the very latest in technology. We do have one question, though: where are the koi fish?! This is ARMED RESPONSE!