Murder. She Wrote - My Johnny Lies Over the Ocean
Murder Mystery Monday takes us back to the most famous mystery writer of Cabot Cove. Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) certainly had her share of friends and family getting mixed up in murder. In "My Johnny Lies Over the Ocean," fresh off the apparent suicide of her neices's huband, Jessica accompanies Pamela (Belinda Montgomery) on a cruise ship hoping to lift her spirits. However, when someone begins gaslighting the young woman the fun vacation turns into anything but.
The plot of "My Johnny Lies Over the Ocean" is more than a bit convoluted, involving the scheming of a man (Lawrence Pressman) to get ahold of his wife's (Rosemary Forsyth) wealth, which will eventually explain all the dirty tricks on Pamela but surprisingly doesn't reveal anything new about the death of her husband. The episode is also notable for Leslie Nielsen guest-starring as the ship's captain and playing the necessary authoritative sidekick most often filled by a member of the police.
Some aspects of the episode have aged better than others. The pretty over-the-top climax with Jessica pretending to be drunk in order to get evidence on the man who, up until that point, had gotten away with murder feels even goofier than when the episode first aired. And Jessica attempting to fix up her niece, still grieving her dead husband and only recently released from a mental institution, with the first guy who comes along feels incredibly dense for such a smart character.
- Title: Murder, She Wrote - My Johnny Lies Over the Ocean
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