Hey everyone, PushingUpRoses here and today I will be talking about one of the most popular
episodes of Murder, She Wrote; this was suggested to me by countless people on social media
and in the comments, and it’s one I’ve remembered for years due to its long-winded
title: Who Threw The Barbitols in Mrs. Fletcher’s Chowder? I’m not randomly asking a question
if that wasn’t clear, that is the name of the episode. Jeez, spoiler alert - we haven’t
even met any of the characters and we already know someone laced Jessica’s soup. *JAB*
This is a cabot cove episode, meaning it takes place in the show’s fictional hometown and
features a lot of recurring characters like Amos Tupper and Dr. Seth Hazlitt, and there
is nothing more I enjoy than seeing these guys interact. The episode is particularly
interesting because it gives us a glimpse of Tupper’s weird-ass family, including
his sister Winnie and her in-laws. There’s also a private eye who reminds me of Columbo,
and Colleen Camp of Clue fame, also makes a guest appearance as a deputy in training.
This is also the episode that featured in the modern mystery film Knives Out. I can’t
even tell you how happy that reference made me.
Because this is Murder, She Wrote, it has to begin the episode with something really
vague yet intriguing, thus we get second rate Columbo leering angrily at a bus as an unknown
woman exits. She hails a Taxi and he tries to follow her inconspicuously. He actually
nearly mows down a pedestrian as he pulls away in his car.
Cut to our favorite bumbling sheriff, who is telling a woman that he won’t be able
to get her cat out of a tree since the deputy who used to handle those situations left.
This is actually SO amusing to me; this series RARELY connects their episodes with narrative,
each story is super contained, but this time they reference back to the deputy who was
bonking all the older women of Cabot Cove. These episodes are from season 4, which is
an AMAZING season that gave us so many whacky stories; I even covered the salacious deputy
episode here on my channel, so if you wanna check that one out as well I’ll have a link
in the description!
Seth gives Tupper a call to see if he wants to grab some lunch. “You sound kinda peevish.”
Why don’t more people use the word peevish? I am starting a new segment called “PUR’S
MURDER SHE WROTE WORD OF THE DAY”, and today it’s Peevish. Now go use it in a sentence.
As they are talking, the unnamed woman walks into the office, and she is identified as
Winnie, Sheriff Tupper’s sister. He’s pleased to see her and asks where her husband
Elmo is. Winnie: “Amos, I left him.” And I heard about your last deputy, is he around…?
It’s clear from Winnie’s dour expression that her husband is not a good person, and
she wants to stay in Cabot Cove for the time being. Amos: “Only thing is, I’m kinda
short handed and won’t be able to spend much time with you today.” So many cats
stuck in trees, it’s CRAZY out there. Winnie: “I’ll be okay. I’ll just walk along
the sea cliffs by myself and try not to think about the bleakness of my life.” ...Um.
….this is awkward.
Tupper decides to bother our lovely, hard working protagonist Jessica Fletcher, who
is trying to meet a deadline for her next book. Tupper introduces her to his sister
in hopes that she will keep her company. Jessica: “Your sister?” Is she just as annoying
as you…?
Tupper insists that Winnie needs company due to her marital problems, and even though Jess
is welcoming to Winnie, she lays down the law and says she can’t be sociable right
now because she has a deadline. Damn right.
After speaking with Winnie, Jessica sympathizes with her situation and at least invites her
to stay for a cup of tea. Amos takes the opportunity to split. Tupper: Well got a lot of work to
do BYE” - those donuts ain’t gonna eat themselves!
When Tupper gets back to the office, a woman is waiting for him at his desk. “Sheriff
Tupper, my name is Marigold Feeney.” Eric Matthews:” Feenay feenay FEEEENAY!” She
is there to apply for the deputy job, but Tupper is unsure because she’s… (whisper)
a woman. (Audience gasps!) “I’m not saying that there is, but there could be danger involved.”
How are you with cats?
Damn, Marigold has an intense death glare - lasers are about to shoot out of her eyes
any minute now.
He makes a quip about his last female deputy retiring to the home where she belongs, and
Marigold calls him out for his blatant sexism. She says she can start right away, so she...just...does.
And this is how things work in bumfuck nowhere.
Winnie tells Jessica that she needed to get away because Elmo has changed and has been
saying aggressive things akin to wanting to take over the world. I’m really trying to
pay attention but do you SEE this woman’s shirt?? That’s the second biggest bow I’ve
ever seen.
She does admit to Jess that he can get physically abusive, then says she’s so stressed she
needs to be on ulcer medication. Her husband owns a drugstore, so they are easy to get.
Huh, I wonder if this will come back later in the episode. Unfortunately she forgot to
bring her pills, so Jessica decides to introduce Winnie to Dr. Hazlit. Seth: “His sister?
My, my, my!” Oh god.
After some flirtation between these two, Jess explains that Winnie left her prescription
in Kentucky. Seth: “Ulcer?”
Winnie: “Just a little one. But it does kick up every once in a while.” Just like
my libido. Seth: “I can take care of that.”
Seth gets his charm on and shows Winnie around the cute dockside town. Seth: “You may not
be aware of it, but Cabot Cove leads the nation” for most murders in the world.
Hang on, what does that sign say, Secret Restaurant? Oh… Seacrest Restaurant. Damn, that doesn’t
sound as appealing to me. I want to eat dinner in secrecy.
Without warning, Elmo and his family barge into the office and Elmo attempts to strangle
Tupper Homer Simpson style. He demands to know where his wife is. Despite Tupper knowing
this whole family is bad news, he kind of lets them trample all over him and allows
them to stay in his house. No idea why, Winnie made it clear she wanted to be away from them;
I would have just kicked them out. He’s the sheriff, just arrest them for cripes sake.
The family also enables Elmo’s already horrible behavior by giving him Bourbon. Seth brings
Winnie home, and Mr. Serious face is still following her. He seems unimpressed by her
maniacal laughter. (Winnie laughs like a weirdo)
Tupper is not happy that it was Seth who spent the evening with his sister and not Jessica,
and promptly bats him away. Tupper: “Shoo” No corduroy allowed. Winnie and Elmo… wait…
I just can’t take these names seriously. All I can think about is Winnie the Pooh and
Elmo the muppet now and it’s weird. During this confrontation, Winnie boldly declares
that she wants a divorce. Elmo loses his cool and starts chasing her, so she sneaks away
to Seth’s house, asking if she can stay with him. Winnie: “Is it okay if I stay
here tonight?” Seth: “Here?” Wow Seth, you are all bark and no bite. Snooping man
snoops a little more, and it’s probably safe to assume that he is a PI. Me: My god
this case is boring.
Seth offers to make her some coffee, but she INSISTS on making it herself, which is…
odd. I typically don’t waltz into someone’s house and be like “Please, let me use your
coffee pot!” He decides to call Jess, who cannot catch a break. She tries to ignore
it but (phone ringing) Two RINGS? I’ve HAD it.
Seth gets all flustered and tries to get Jessica to look after Winnie. She tells him to get
his shit together and deal with it. Meanwhile, at the sheriff’s office:
(deputy typing) “And then, Edwardo looked up at Sheila with his big, chestnut brown
eyes, sporting a wind burnt cheek…”
Tupper: What are you doing, Grover? ….Grover. Are you serious? We have a character named
Elmo, and a character named Grover. What sneaky troll wrote this story?
Jess finishes her book and now has free time, so she invites Tupper and Winnie over for
breakfast. She also decides to have a dinner party, and Tupper responds VERY enthusiastically
to the idea of a seafood feast. Tupper: “And don’t forget your Cabot Cove clam chowder,
that’s my favorite.” You know, the one with the drugs in it! They decide to invite
Winnie’s family in the hope of working everything out.
Wow, that platter does NOT look good. With a jarring cut we also get a scene where Elmo
is fighting with the PI, who is demanding to be paid for his work. Tupper: “What was
that all about?!” I was trying to pay him in EXPOSURE. A few minutes later everyone
is ready for Jessica’s Famous Cabot Cove Chowder. Unfortunately, while Jessica is getting
the main meal ready, something peculiar happens. Everyone passes the fuck out. Elmo’s sister,
Flo, didn’t eat the chowder so she thinks the food poisoned them and they must be dead,
but Seth determines that they are asleep. What gave it away, was it the snoring?
He tells Jess they should try to wake them up. Jess: “Put one foot in front of the
other…” This is a weird trust exercise.
Sooo this guy is dead. Yep, another one bites the dust. Elmo doesn’t wake up like the
others, so they try to get him to a hospital. Harold: “Doc, h-how is he?” Well, he’s
a little bit dead. Of course everyone suspects Winnie of lacing the chowder, but Tupper stands
up for his sister and says it could be the guy he saw Elmo arguing with before dinner.
Tupper sends Marigold to find him, and she spots him trespassing in Jess’s backyard.
This goes well. PI: “I said GET LOST.” He explains that Elmo hired him to tail his
wife due to insane jealousy and was fighting with him over payment but Tupper is incredulous
about his motivations since his client is now dead and he doesn’t have any ID.
The next day, Seth confirms that the soup WAS laced with phenobarbitals, begging the
question: Who threw the barbitals in Mrs. Fletcher’s chowder? Jessica asks about the
aforementioned drug store and Winnie says Elmo was the president of the family business,
a chain of ten drugstores, then goes on to say that her in laws all had a role it; Flo
was in charge of cosmetics, Kenny was a general manager, and Harold was in charge of pharmaceuticals.
Winnie: “Does this have anything to do with what happened last night”? No, I just really
want to know more about your dead husband’s family.
It’s revealed that Elmo took sleeping pills and never leaves home without them, but Tupper
couldn’t find any pills among his things. The autopsy comes back and confirms his death
was from an overdose of the barbitals, but this confuses everyone since the other people
who ate the chowder didn’t die, they only fell asleep. Seth suddenly remembers he prescribed
Winnie some calmital for her ulcer, which has phenobarbital in it; she comes downstairs
at that exact moment to say that she needs another bottle; she dropped hers on the bathroom
floor and they spilled everywhere. Oh my, the plot thickens… thick...like the clam
chowder…
Marigold does some fantastic detective work, and when I say fantastic work I mean she found
some evidence under a bush, and presents it to Tupper. It’s the PI’s ID - I swear,
does Tupper do ANY work in this town? He didn’t look in the bushes? What does this man do?
The ID matches the PI’s story so he is no longer a suspect. Since he was spying on Elmo
and his family, Jess decides to ask him a few questions about them; the PI says that
Elmo had an addiction to his sleeping pills, and the family likely knew about it, they
just didn’t care. Jess, being her clever self, confronts Harold, the brother who works
the pharmacy, and pretty much corners him. Jess: “Chemical dependency, Harold. I’m
amazed, as a pharmacist, you didn’t recognize it. But then, maybe you did.” Harold: “You’re
guessing.” Jess: “Oh I don’t think so.” Oh yeah, there it is, the famous gotcha line
from JB Fletcher. I get such satisfaction from those 4 words, those 4 brutal words.
Jess: “I don’t think so.” I want to do a supercut of every time Jess says that
to someone. It’ll be my magnum opus. Harold picks up on her implication and invites her
back into Tupper’s house for a drink and an explanation.
Harold: “Ah ha, the golden dragon.. It’s my own invention.” Sir, that’s a screwdriver.
Harold just kind of rambles about how Elmo always had addiction problems, they got so
severe that a lot of the family just ignored it. Then suddenly, Jess has an epiphany. Jess:
“the glass!” as she figures out what happened, the murderer saunters into the room. It’s
Kenny, Elmo’s brother, who overheard the conversation and is holding Jessica hostage.
Harold has no idea what’s going on, so Jess explains that Kenny murdered Elmo by ordering
a bourbon on the rocks, slipping the phenobarbital in it while no one was looking, then handing
it to Elmo at dinner. Kenny wasn’t seen with the drink he had ordered, at dinner he
had a ginger ale. He also put some of the barbital in the chowder to make it seem like
that was the cause. Kenny claims that Elmo was ruining the family business, and murdering
him was the way to save it. He pulls a knife on Harold and Jess, but Marigold interrupts.
Marigold: “Drop it turkey!” Again, what the hell is Tupper doing? I swear, he never
solves a single case. As Winnie boards the bus for the ride home, she runs into Ed, the
PI, and they kind of connect. Winnie: “Do I know you?” Ed: “Kinda. Your husband
owes me money.” Wow, what a romantic meet-cute.
Whew, that was a rollercoaster of lukewarm emotions! I love the Cabot Cove episodes,
and a lot of people remember this one for its zany array of characters and goofy story
telling; it’s weird to have this rather serious story about Elmo, someone who is cruel
to his wife and suffering from an addiction to drugs, then frequently switch to this rather
slap stick subplot with Marigold as the new deputy. Jess takes a backseat to the other
characters most of the time, which is fine; I like that Seth and Amos got a little time
to shine. I enjoyed Seth enjoying a fleeting romantic moment with Winnie, and I liked learning
about Tupper’s bizarre family, though they never make another appearance, and neither
does Marigold which is a shame, I thought she would have made a cute addition to the
Cabot Cove crew. It would have been nice to have more recurring female characters who
weren’t just the gossip queens of the town, as shown here. When I first saw this episode
I think my reaction was a little more enthusiastic because I was shocked to see everyone around
the dinner table keeled over, but after seeing it again my reaction is more like… “Oh
you.” This episode is ALMOST off the rails, not quite. I’d say it’s still balancing
on it. It’s more in line with your typical Murder, She Wrote fare in that it has some
serious parts, some quirky parts, and some campy parts. If you’re a Tom Bosley fan,
this is the episode for you, there are SO many expressions of bafflement to enjoy. If
you have an episode of Murder, She Wrote you are just dying to see me talk about, please
leave a suggestion in the comments, and until then, happy sleuthing.
Hey everyone, thanks for watching my video on Murder, She Wrote - I have plenty more
on this channel that I am eager to show you, but first I want to give a hearty thank you
to all my patrons. My patreon campaign really helps to keep this channel going, and motivates
me to put out quality content on entertainment that you’re grandma probably liked. If you
can’t afford to join, or just don’t want to, that’s okay; likes, shares, and comments
are very satisfying to me.
If you want to see more Murder, She Wrote goodness I have two videos on the screen,
on the right we have the very first video I did on this series, highly recommend starting
there, and on the left I have an episode where Jessica dives into Virtual Reality. I hope
you enjoy them. Thanks again and as always I’ll see you in the next one.