Murder, She Wrote (TV Series) Weave a Tangled Web (1989) User Reviews

Too Many Spouses Spoil the Alibi

[WeatherViolet · 8/10 · 9 September 2009]

This episode helps to develop the characters of Sheriff Mort Metzger (Ron Masak) and Deputy Floyd McCallum (Will Nye) in their second teaming as law enforcement officers of Cabot Cove, Maine, who share more air time than most of its guest stars with the exceptions of Pamela Bellwood and James Sutorius, who stand front and center....

On a business trip three years earlier, Vivian Proctor (Pamela Bellwood) had met Cabot Cove tax accountant Ralph Proctor (James Sutorius), a widower with two children, Debbie (Lisa Brinegar) and Danny (Scott Curtis), whose mother, Mary, had passed when Debbie was a baby.

Vivian withheld a bit of information before their wedding and beyond. She and Ralph share contentment in their relationship, as Vivian practices a successful career, often on the road three or four days per week, and spending the remainder of her time in Cabot Cove with Ralph and her step-children.

Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) relates well with Vivian Procter, as they share common points. And now that Jessica has been collecting around town for a children's' fund, she must make an overnight trip into New York City to attend a benefit.

Eric Bowman (George Chakiris), meanwhile, contacts Vivian, insisting that they meet at the bar of the Starlight Motel. Vivian feels pressured to meet this shady character, and cancels attending the Badgers' softball game, which Ralph coaches, and in which Debbie and Danny participate.

Bowman makes the rounds, attempting to settle his gambling dept with bookmaker Augie Specter (Charles Haid). He tries to sponge from his soon-to-be-ex-wife, Margo Bowman (Gloria Loring), who aims the barrel of a pistol at him, after his entering her property, and rummaging through her desk.

Frankie, the Bartender (Stanley Kamel), who scrutinizes transactions and conversations between guests at the Starlight, welcomes Vivian Proctor to her meeting with Eric Bowman; she doesn't order anything, but Eric orders for her.

On the next morning at sunrise, a screaming maid (uncredited) discovers a body inside Room 6 of the Starlight Motel, with a set of keys lying nearby.

Doctor Seth Hazlitt (William Windom) arrives with Sheriff Mort Metzger (Ron Masak) and Deputy Floyd McCallum (Will Nye), to determine that the body had been stabbed, with no trace of the murder weapon.

Jessica decides to postpone her flight to NYC, upon hearing news of the murder and prime suspects, but soon she must leave Cabot Cove to attend the ceremony held at the residence of Miles Austin (Mel Ferrer), who introduces Jessica to his wife, Vivian Austin (Pamela Bellwood?), causing Jessica bewilderment, as someone seems to "Weave a Tangled Web" of intrigue.

Cabot Cove really is a den of iniquity.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 8/10 · 15 March 2021]

Who killed Eric Bowman, a gambling philanderer, who didn't seem to care who's lives he damaged.

It's a clever story, it's plays on how conservative and straight laced Cabot Cove is. The very thought that gambling and infidelity could be going on at the murder capital of the world is shocking.

I have just watched Pamela Bellwood, who plays Vivian appear in Sparkling Cyanide, a nice actress, who undergoes a startling transformation.

There is a moment of pure comedy gold here, Jessica's drunken facing scene in the bar USA scream fest, and shows her versatility.

I have never understood Floyd's accent, I've never understood how the character managed to become a Deputy either, he's a bit dim bless him, but Nye plays him very well.

It won't rock your world, but a play acting drunken Authoress from Maine rocking around the dance floor will lighten the darkest of days.

Good, 8/10.

A very tangled episode

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 10 September 2017]

Have always been quite fond of 'Murder She Wrote'. It is a fun and relaxing watch that makes you think as you try to unwind in the evening. If one wants more complex, twisty mysteries with lots of tension and suspense 'Murder She Wrote' may not be for you, but if you want something light-hearted and entertaining but still provide good mysteries 'Murder She Wrote' fits the bill just fine.

"Weave a Tangled Web" is a well done episode with some nice surprises along the way and does a good job with the bigamy theme and its consequences. The mystery is engaging if standard, though it was a case of Jessica perhaps a bit too compassionate. The killer's identity while not a massive shock when putting all the clues together, but the final solution was pretty clever.

On the other hand, Angela Lansbury is terrific as ever in the role. William Windom plays Seth with his usual curmudgeonly charm and Ron Masak and his character of Mort Metzger is settling in quite well if still appropriately fish-out-of-water standard (considering that it's only their second episode).

The supporting cast are strong, especially Pamela Bellwood in "Weave a Tangled Web's" juiciest role. George Chakiris is underused a little but makes the most of his screen-time.

Production values as ever are slick and stylish. The music has energy and has presence but also not making the mistake of over-scoring, while it is hard to forget or resist the theme tune.

The writing is thought-provoking, light-hearted and amiable All in all, very well done if not a favourite. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Or even moderate bigamy

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 3 July 2019]

Fairly new sheriff Ron Masak hasn't quite figured out he's come to the murder capital of New England when he took the job as sheriff of Cabot Cove. In this case the key is the double life led by Pamela Bellwood who does have a job that requires traveling. On one of those occasions a trip to Cabot Cove and she met James Sutorius who already had two kids and whom Bellwood married.

Of course that was without divorcing jet setting and glamorous Mel Ferrer. So with her job as a cover she maintains both lives until George Chakiris who is an all around no good discovers it. Chakiris winds up stabbed to death and Bellwood looks good for it.

But as is the case for Chakiris there are lots of alternatives. And we know who will ferret out the truth.

Best part of this episode is some of the banter from Ron Masak who is trying to settle into his job and crusty old William Windom giving him the Yankee business. It's like Windom was trying to break in a new partner for an act.

This episode has a complex plot of a personal nature.

[blanchethedancer · 10/10 · 1 November 2011]

In my opinion "Weave a Tangled Web" is one of the best "Murder She Wrote" episodes because it contains the element of surprise. Sadly, because of the behavior of one of the characters, other characters end up getting hurt. It is not easy to juggle two separate lives, but the Vivian Proctor character accomplishes this with ease, and at times without apparent guilt. There are some missing scenes that could have been stretched into a Part II segment, such as Vivian telling her older husband that she was going to leave him, and that he was going to allow her to go. This scene, however, was only merely summarized to Jessica Fletcher. The ending showed Vivian telling her younger other husband that she had a second life, but the audience could not hear what the characters were saying. One can only assume that husband number two(or was it number one?) forgave her, and that they lived happily ever after!

Too much sympathy for criminals

[ctyankee1 · 27 August 2012]

I found this story very interesting but I did not like it. In this series JB Fletcher/Angela Landsbury is very polite and sympathetic.

The problem is she is like many people today who make excuses for criminals and their behavior and then acts like she wants them to do the right thing. If they don't do the right thing they get away with their deception on people.

The story is about a man killed that was unfaithful to his wife and is a gambler. He was about to get a divorce and was found dead in a motel after meeting with a young married woman named Veronica.

Jessica later goes to New York. There is a scene where you see the Twin Towers in 1989 in the night light of NY City. Jessica meets the wife of a rich old man who is donating money to Jessica's cause. His wife happens to be Veronica who is also married to some man in Cabot Cove but under a different names. She is a business woman and lives with both of them at different times of the week and neither one know of each other.

Jessica tells Veronica that her deception is wrong and Jessica seems to fall for the excuse she give. Jessica encourages her to straighten things out but she does nothing to expose the woman.

What I don't like is people protecting other people who are deceiving everyone around them and expecting the deceiver to come clean. In Murder She Wrote that happens but not in real life. Love is not enough to excuse liars.

I like Jessica's manner but I hate the phoniness of this series.

Weave a tangled web

[coltras35 · 7/10 · 27 May 2022]

At a high-class New York party, Jessica is startled to meet a Cabot Cove citizen who is leading a double life. This serious-toned episode has bigamy as one of its subject; it's a good mystery which is high on drama there's a great performance by Pamela Bellwood as the wife who leads a double life.

Jessica's friend here isn't a very likeable person

[FlushingCaps · 6/10 · 18 February 2023]

I include some spoilers in my review, since other reviewers have already revealed much of this plot. We begin by seeing a happy Cabot Cove family, a husband with two small children, all delighted that "Mom" (Vivian) has just come home from one of her frequent business trips. She seems a loving wife, eager to go watch her son's baseball game that evening.

But a phone call lets us see her instead agree to meet a man at a nearby motel, specifically in the bar at the motel. We then see that man, Eric, meeting with a bookie who is happy to hear that he will be paid the $50,000 he is owed tomorrow. Eric then goes to his estranged wife's house, apparently hoping for some money, but is chased away by a gun-wielding soon-to-be-ex-wife.

Vivian gives Eric an envelope while in the bar. We pick up the next morning where Vivian is now telling her husband, Ralph, that she suddenly has to leave again for a few days, going to Texas. Meanwhile, at the motel, a maid finds Eric's body in his room. Alongside his body is a set of keys which, thanks to a key tag with Vivian's license plate number, happens to let the sheriff track whose keys they are. They are the very ones Jessica happened to pick up when talking briefly with Vivian the day before, when Vivian dropped them. In true Murder, She Wrote fashion, we zoomed in on the keys on both occasions.

Jessica has a commitment at a party in New York, but she and we are both stunned to learn that her host's wife is the same Vivian from Cabot Cove. Vivian explains how she married the other man about 15 years ago, and then happened to fall in love with widower Ralph three years ago, and decided to marry him, without splitting up with the other man she loved. They were sort of vague, but didn't explain her affair with Eric, which turned into him blackmailing her because he had learned about her double life.

Jessica uncharacteristically agrees to let Vivian tell her husbands about her double life on her own pace, but is concerned because she is now wanted for murder, thanks to those car keys.

Both Vivian and then Ralph become suspects with Jessica trying desperately to figure out who else could have committed murder, believing fully that her friends are innocent.

Now at separate times, both Ralph and Vivian tell Sheriff Metzger that they frequently misplace their car keys and keep a separate set in their glove compartments. This isn't focused on in any detail.

The comical highlight was Jessica trying to get information about the bookie at that bar by pretending to be a barfly wanting to place a bet, while wearing a rather revealing blouse and talking in a much-less sophisticated manner.

As for the keys, both characters were allowed to get away with the vague, "I often misplace my keys" line without being asked if they had done so one or two days ago. Sheriff Metzger should naturally have asked his suspects, "So two nights ago, did you misplace your keys and have to get out the spare set from the glove compartment?" Certainly they would remember if they had.

I cannot help but think they would never have run an episode where a man was keeping two wives in different cities with Jessica being so understanding and supportive of a male friend in that position. But here she seemed to be totally understanding as if this sort of thing is not a big deal-although she does tell Vivian she should come clean with her spouses.

If you accept Jessica's belief in her friends and that neither of them is guilty, there really isn't more than one suspect to choose. That's another weakness of this plot. I usually do reviews of episodes I really like or really dislike, but this one seems far from either end, forcing me to score it a 6.

A big disappointment...and Jessica becomes a bar fly!

[planktonrules · 4/10 · 29 November 2022]

A woman who is being blackmailed ends up being the likely suspect in a murder case. Her husband, however, ends up being arrested for the murder...even though it's obvious evidence was planted in his car.

"Weave a Tangled Web" is a particularly poor episode of "Murder, She Wrote". The problems are all due to how Jessica was written. First, she goes undercover as a slutty bar fly. Seeing her 'sex it up' was frankly, very embarrassing and silly. It also made no sense because this undercover work occurred in a bar around Cabot Cover....and the likelihood she'd be recognized is pretty high. Second, when she learns that the most likely suspect in a murder case is also a bigamist, she agrees to keep this to herself...and doesn't tell the police! This seems incredibly unlikely nor does it make much sense.

Bigamy is a crime and so is prostitution!

[robbenn69 · 3/10 · 7 April 2023]

This episode is not awful but it is problematic. Vivian Proctor (Pamela Bellwood) is a working woman away on business a lot. She is the main means of support for her husband and his two children (her stepchildren). There is no explanation of what business is so lucrative that would require her to travel so much. However, given the later developments, it would not be much of a stretch to think that Vivian is a high-class prostitute. Here's why:

Vivian is a bigamist. She has a wealthy, elderly husband Miles Austin in New York City who "swept her off her feet" with his wealth and status but they couldn't have children which Vivian wanted but Miles doesn't care about. She also has a stay at home husband, Ralph (James Sutorius) in Cabot Cove with two children from a previous marriage, who's only job aside from taking care of the kids and household is to prepare taxes. Vivian claims to have met him on "a business trip." Then there is Eric Bowman (George Chakiris), a shifty, gambling addicted, womanizer. Vivian apparently has something going with him too, because he calls her at home, telling the pathetic, Cabot Cove cuckold that it's business. Vivian speaks to him and agrees to meet him at a shady motel on the outskirts of town. Eric owes a mob-connected bookie $50,000, which he tries to steal from his soon-to-be ex-wife, Margo (Gloria Loring). When Eric is found dead with Vivian's keys next to him on the floor and a note on some fancy stationery found at the Proctor household, it is obvious that Vivian or, perhaps, her husband committed the murder. Meanwhile, Jessica finds out Vivian's secret in New York at a society party given by Vivian's wealthy husband. Vivian begs Jessica to keep her secret from the Ralph. While Jessica protests keeping the secret, she does keep it and even goes to the trouble of working to clear Vivian and Ralph of the murder. This is done with a delightful bit of acting by Angela Lansbury, which is the only good thing about this episode. Although it is understatedly humorous when Sheriff Metzger (Ron Masik) is explaining his case against Ralph referring to him as "the wife."

What annoyed me throughout the episode is that bigamy is a Class E felony in New York and a Class E misdemeanor in Maine. So, Vivian is a criminal in two states and yet, Jessica helps her out! Why? Because she is such a nice and good person? Vivian shows absolutely no guilt for being a bigamist, nor cheating on her husbands with Eric Bowman. And by committing bigamy, she is hurting the NY husband, the Maine husband, hurting the stepchildren who love her, and cheating on both of them with Eric Bowman. In traditional New England she would have been pilloried and had rocks and rotten vegetables thrown at her. There is nothing sympathetic about Vivian Proctor and I don't understand why Jessica shows her any sympathy at all, let alone help her. Of course, it is necessary for the plot that Jessica helps, but this doesn't fit with Jessica's upstanding, moral character. The show ends with NYC hubby, "who took it quite well," when Vivian told him the truth, giving Vivian a quiet divorce. If he met her as a client of a high-class prostitute, then this would explain how he "took it well." And when she mentions to Ralph that she has something to tell him, they go into the house arms around each other. This also fits for a weak, cuckold type of husband. After all, he probably met her as a client too. Remember, she met Ralph on a "business trip."

Do you take this man to be your unlawfully wedded husband?

[feindlicheubernahme · 2/10 · 11 October 2023]

Oh, boy. This episode left a bad taste in my mouth. It joins a number of others where Jessica is shown being either so illogically understanding or so illogically unsympathetic towards certain characters that it causes me to gnash my teeth in frustration.

Here, Jessica discovers that Vivian Proctor, married to Cabot Cove resident Ralph Proctor since three years ago, is a bigamist who's also been married for 15 years to New Yorker Miles Austin, using an undefined travelling job as a cover so she can live part-time with each man during the week. Her excuse seems to be that she's unable to bear children, and therefore marrying a second man who already has two young kids is some kind of female biological imperative. And Jessica is sympathetic towards her! "You really should tell them," is as disapproving as she gets. As if they were discussing an affair rather than bigamy. Speaking of affairs, even if it's not explicitly stated, it seems clear that Vivian did have a little something-something going on with the eventual murder victim (How do you explain their acquaintanceship, and his knowing enough to track her to her first husband?) Just how unlikeable do the writers want to make a character while still apparently expecting us to empathize with her?

The icing on the cake? I found Jessica to be far too abrasive, self-righteous and arrogant in this episode. The whole idea of MSW is that Jess is basically a clever clogs who substitutes herself for inept local law enforcement, but she's normally sweet and charming while doing it. Here, she's pretty much just plain rude to the police throughout, high-handedly slapping down every step of the sheriff's investigation. Of course, we know she'll be proved right in the end, but she doesn't! As far as she knows, one of her friends could actually be guilty. The uncharacteristic lack of humility on JB's part pulls an already quite indigestible storyline even further down.

A so-far-worst two stars (awarded in simultaneous marriage to Vivian.)