MURDER, SHE WROTE: STEAL ME A STORY (TV)
Summary
One in this murder mystery series about an unassuming Maine mystery writer turned sleuth named Jessica B. Fletcher who uses her professional insight to help solve real-life homicide cases. In this episode, on the set of "Fearless Steve Valiant," a drama about a crime-solving doctor, newly hired staff writer Gayle Yamada is uncomfortable when her boss, unscrupulous producer Avery Stone, urges her to steal one of Jessica's stories. She finds Jessica and admits the would-be theft, and Jessica kindly offers to help her think up a new idea. Elsewhere, director Bert Puzo grows exasperated with spoiled actor Gary Patterson, who plays the titular Valiant, though executive producer Sid Sharkey lectures Puzo for the show's bad quality, instructing him to "straighten out" Patterson. Stone, feeling that Yamada's new idea is "too original," is upset to learn that Yamada consulted with Jessica directly. Network executive Kate Hollander assures Jessica that she disapproves of the thievery and will deal with Sharkey directly, and Sharkey and Stone argue bitterly about their business partnership, both vowing to sue one another.
When Patterson storms off the set, Sharkey reminds Puzo of his dark past and orders him to get the actor back under threat of blackmail, and when lead actress Brenda Blake requests time off to act in a feature film, Sharkey rudely dismisses her. Jessica leaves a message for Sharkey with his no-nonsense secretary Freida Schmidt, and the two women depart the office together. Sharkey then returns to his office and discovers a package on his desk – which then explodes, killing him. Jessica is quickly summoned back to the scene of the crime by the stern Lieutenant Bradshaw, who suspects that she is the killer, though Jessica swears that she left only the note. Yamada too asserts her innocence, though admits she has no alibi. Back on set, the crew briefly "mourns" before getting back to work, and when Jessica arrives, Stone dodges her questions, though Patterson is only too pleased to meet the famous writer. He quickly hires her as a script doctor, much to Stone's displeasure, and Schmidt confides that she hated her belated boss, noting that a drawer in the office was mysteriously left open, presumably by the killer.
Stone decides to produce Yamada's script, and when Patterson's "close, personal friend" Diane begs Jessica to fix the latest script for him, Jessica cajoles her to admit that she provided a false alibi for him. Bradshaw, however, now focuses on Hollander, believing that she threatened Sharkey right before the explosion. Yamada decides to depart "Fearless Steve Valiant" to work on her novel, and Schmidt reports that Blake's contract was missing from the open drawer. Bradshaw soon arrests Blake, guessing that her motive was her determination to appear in the movie, but Jessica begins to suspect otherwise. Schmidt confronts Puzo, accusing him of being in Sharkey's office right before his death, though he remains on set for the rest of the day, seemingly confirming his innocence. When Bradshaw mentions Puzo's brief visit to his car, however, Jessica realizes the truth, and she recruits Schmidt to stage a kidnapping, in which she "forces" Jessica and Puzo into "his" car. Puzo panics and jumps out, revealing that he in fact placed another bomb in the trunk, and Bradshaw arrests him as the killer. Later, Hollander begs Jessica to consider writing a weekly series, the "real-life adventures of a crime-busting mystery writer," but Jessica firmly turns her down. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: CBS
- DATE: November 15, 1987 8:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:46:55
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:33879
- GENRE: Drama, mystery/suspense
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, mystery/suspense; Murder; Writers
- SERIES RUN: CBS - TV series, 1984-1996
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Promos - "Mayflower Madam"
CREDITS
- Peter S. Fischer … Executive Producer, Created by, Writer
- Robert F. O'Neill … Producer
- Anthony J. Magro … Associate Producer
- John Llewellyn Moxey … Director
- Richard Levinson … Created by
- William Link … Created by
- Richard Markowitz … Music by
- John Addison … Theme Music by
- Angela Lansbury … Cast, Jessica Fletcher
- Vincent Baggetta … Cast, Bert Puzo
- Bradford Dillman … Cast, Avery Stone
- Fionnula Flanagan … Cast, Freida Schmidt
- Lenore Kasdorf … Cast, Brenda Blake
- Yaphet Kotto … Cast, Lt. Bradshaw
- Doug McClure … Cast, Gary Patterson / Dr. Valiant
- Kim Miyori … Cast, Gayle Yamada
- Gail Strickland … Cast, Kate Hollander
- Ken Swofford … Cast, Sid Sharkey
- Gail Youngs … Cast, Diane Crane
- Joe Horvath … Cast, Sergeant Gates
- Barry Pearl … Cast, P.R. Staffer
- Jeff Abbott … Cast, Attorney
- Kate Williamson … Cast, Lady Customer
- Scott Lawrence … Cast, Assistant Director
- Jay Roberts … Cast, Second Assistant Director
- Matt Stetson … Cast, Male Secretary
- Chris Hubbell … Cast, Policeman
- Bill Dunnam … Cast, Heavy