‘Murder, She Wrote’ 2×17 Recap: “One Good Bid Deserves a Murder”

Murder, She Wrote Season 2, Episode 17
"One Good Bid Deserves a Murder"
Original airdate: Feb. 3, 1986
Writers: J. Miyoko Hensley & Steve Hensley
Director: Seymour Robbie
Cast: Angela Lansbury, Jerry Orbach, Karen Black, Ray Girardin, Nancy Lee Grahn, Robert Gray, Hurd Hatfield, Edward Mulhare, Cotter Smith, Vic Tayback, Rebecca Street, Jean Vander Pyl, Lyle Howry

I highlight this episode for a few reasons. It showcases Jessica in something close to her final form: a trusted, worldly author with wealthy friends everywhere. Though her Yankee ingenuity remains, the writers have dialed back some of the eccentricity. She's less likely to insult a stranger by commenting on their pallor (as in the pilot episode), Such brutal honesty is now dispensed by characters like Seth, or, come season four, Eve Simpson. Jessica is almost always the straight woman, save for those increasingly rare occasions when she puts on a batty character to go undercover. This week her foil is that lovable loser, Harry McGraw (Orbach).