While restoring her house in Cabot Cove, Jessica worries that her contractor is preoccupied by the remodeling of another house until the project is put on hold when the client who may or may... Read allWhile restoring her house in Cabot Cove, Jessica worries that her contractor is preoccupied by the remodeling of another house until the project is put on hold when the client who may or may not be a vampire is found murdered.While restoring her house in Cabot Cove, Jessica worries that her contractor is preoccupied by the remodeling of another house until the project is put on hold when the client who may or may not be a vampire is found murdered.
- Sheriff Mort Metzger
- (as Ron Másak)
- Teenage Girl
- (as Susan Christy)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaMadlyn Rhue previously appeared in the season 6 episode "Seal of the Confessional" as a different character. Angela Lansbury heard that Madlyn Rhue was in danger of losing her Screen Actors Guild medical coverage because she wasn't working enough to qualify. So she created the part of Jean the librarian to bring Rhue back for four episodes between seasons 10-12.
- GoofsBorbey is coming from a Hungarian word. Originally spelled "borbély", Borbey is most likely a phonetically written English pronounciation of the word "barber" in Hungarian.
- Quotes
[last lines]
Sheriff Mort Metzger: Okay, well, then answer me this. How do you explain that Lawrence Baker didn't have any mirrors in his home, and never went out into the daylight?
Dr. Seth Hazlitt: That's easy. The coroner's report indicates that he was a perfectly normal man for his age, except he had photophobia. Now, that is a genetic condition that means the eyes are extremely sensitive to light. Sufferers tend to like the evening, and avoid the glare from mirrors.
Sheriff Mort Metzger: Now, you said, "Normal for his age." Doc, those people don't get old. And what about the Borbey grave and the missing body? Now, granted, pranksters might have stolen it, but, uh...
Jean O'Neill: Sheriff, I found this book in the basement of the library. I don't know if it means anything to you, but...
[looking in the book, a picture of William Baker looks just like Lawrence Baker]
Sheriff Mort Metzger: Doc, that's...
Dr. Seth Hazlitt: Don't say it, Sheriff... Don't even think it.
- SoundtracksMurder She Wrote Theme
Written by John Addison
"The Legacy of Borbey House" is something of an odd episode. It is a long way from bad but it's pretty uneven for an episode with such a high rating here. The outcome of the mystery is far too easy to figure out, the circumstances of Laurel's disappearance and the motive for the primary murder were easily guessable early on and the killer's identity was not a surprising one seeing as they had the most opportunity to do it.
Roy Dotrice does do a nice job but his character was too much of an out-of-kilter strange presence that didn't seem to quite gel with everything else. Louis Hertham plays Andy with subtlety, but Andy continues to be underwritten and not very interesting, not Hertham's fault, it's the writing. The writing has its thoughtful and cosily light-hearted moments but has a bit of silliness as well.
Angela Lansbury is terrific, as are William Windom as the ever great Seth and the ever likable Ron Masak who has always been successful in making Mort a bumbling or pushover sheriff cliché. Cabot Cove is always a welcome sight.
Supporting cast are all solid, even if Dotrice's role is a bit odd and David Birney (although he is enjoyably smarmy) is somewhat under-utilised though at least it's for a reason.
Mystery-wise, "The Legacy of Borbey House" is entertaining and has a genuine creepiness in places. It is let down by the over-obviousness of the denouement sadly.
Production values are slick and stylish and the setting and scenery looks beautiful. 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.
In summary, decent enough but Season 10 and 'Murder She Wrote' in general are not at their best here. 6/10 Bethany Cox
- TheLittleSongbird
- Nov 9, 2017