"Murder in a Minor Key" is the fourteenth episode of the third season of Murder, She Wrote and its 58th episode overall. It aired on February 8, 1987.
Summary[]
Jessica tells about a book was asked to proof read about a college composer named Michael. Michael's songs are stolen by his music professor and put under a different name. Michael is furious and goes to confront him. The Professor denies Michael and Michael leaves. Later the event triggers a campus wide protest led mostly by a young reporter and Michael's two best friends, Chad and Jenny. Michael sneaks into the professor's office but is stopped several times due to other's walking in and out. When Michael finally does get into the office, he tries to steal his original songs back but instead is caught and when the policeman turns on the light, they find the Professor dead with a tuning fork stuck in him (The same ones Michael had threatened the Professor with earlier). Michael is arrested and his friend Chad investigates and he drags Jenny into it by having her do things to please him and vice versa. Eventually Chad and Jenny recreate the entire murder and find the Professor's own wife guilty. Michael is released and he and the lyricist, the Professor had to add words to his songs, start going out. Jessica then ends the episode while getting ahead of herself talking about a sequel.
Starring[]
Regular cast[]
Guest stars[]
- Rene Auberjonis as Professor Harry Papazian
- Shaun Cassidy as Chad Singer
- Paul Clemens as Michael Prentiss
- Herb Edelman as Max Hellinger
- Karen Grassle as Christine Stoneham
- George Grizzard as Professor Tyler Stoneham
- Tom Hallick as Vice Chancellor August Simon
- Jennifer Holmes as Reagan Miller
- Scott Jacoby as Danny Young
- Dinah Manoff as Jenny Coopersmith
Trivia[]
- Four of the actors all guest starred on The Golden Girls (1985) in important roles. Herb Edelman (Stan - Dorothy's ex-husband), George Grizzard (Blanche's husband George, as well as George's brother Jamie in another episode), Scott Jacoby (Dorothy and Stan's son Michael), and Dinah Manoff (as next-door neighbor Carol - which lead to the spin-off Empty Nest (1988)).
- The first of fourteen bookend episodes, mostly seen during the later seasons. Jessica tells us about her book and is only the narrator. You can see her at the beginning and at the end of the show, and a couple of times in between.
- This is the first episode in which someone other than Jessica sets the trap and exposes the killer, in this case, Chad Singer.
- Although Jessica suggests a potential sequel with Chad & Jenny at the end, these characters never appear again.
Gallery[]
Home media releases[]
Item | Region | Release date |
---|---|---|
Murder, She Wrote: The Complete Third Season | Region 1 | March 14, 2006 |
Murder, She Wrote: Season 3 | Region 2 | July 31, 2006 |
Murder, She Wrote: The Complete 3rd Season | Region 4 | September 5, 2007 |
Murder, She Wrote: Seasons 1 - 3 | Region 2 | November 20, 2006 |
Murder, She Wrote: Seasons 1 - 5 | Region 2 | October 22, 2007 |
External links[]
- "Murder in a Minor Key" at the Internet Movie Database