Murder, She Wrote: Dead Heat Rewatch

November 25, 2014 1:32 PM - Season 2, Episode 8

When a jockey falls ill at the last moment, Jessica's niece Tracey McGill gets to ride Anchors Ahoy in a featured race. Bookie Vince Shackman has already lost a bundle when a horse owned Jack Bowen won despite a less than stellar race history. Shackman warns him that if the same happens again with Anchors Away, he'll pay for the hard way. Moments after the horse wins, Bowen is found dead in the horse's stable. When Tracey is arrested for the murder, Jessica fears the police won't solve the case and takes crash courses in betting and running a stable while investigating everybody involved, including unethical betting by the track security chief...
posted by filthy light thief (3 comments total)

how many damn nieces does she have?
posted by kagredon at 2:27 PM on November 25, 2014

I know, I am tempted to draw up a hazy family tree for her. Family Echo seems like the right level of detail for my half-assed effort :)
posted by filthy light thief at 11:48 AM on November 29, 2014

Random thoughts on the episode:

• It's not a desert episode, but a horse racing/gambling episode. And there was no "dead heat," or any other sorts of ties! Bah, missed opportunities.
• There's tension from the get-go, but I haven't paid enough attention to figure out if there's any meaning behind that
• "Separately, it's peanuts, Vince. Put it together, and we're chokin'." Choking on peanuts?
• I'm tempted to start making little Vine snippets from episodes, because there are some moments best captured in full A/V, like when Vince answered the phone and said "It's Vegassssss..."
• And now I realize that Clu Gulager (such an amazing name!), who played the vet, Mike Gann, is not the dad from an 80s family sitcom.
• And Mr Guzmann is, Alex Rebar, is also no one in particular. Two for two.
• We get another kooky taxi driver, Ernie! But he's just a bit player.
• "Dad was here last week. He doesn't think much of having a jockey in the family. Oh, well, give him- give him time to get used to the idea. Remember when he swore he'd never use unleaded gas?" And the show reminds us how old it is (except leaded gasoline was only phased out in 1995? Now I realize it's not such an old event.
• Vicky is tall for a jockey. That is all.
• Hooray for the friendly older couple, fond of omens and kooky pseudo-science (which really isn't science at all, and made Jessica skeptical of him, too).
• (General question: what makes a person want to be a jockey? The chance for major earnings if you win?)
• Jessica is given credit for finding the body? What about Cookie Milford, the groom?
• I liked Jessica's sudden shyness for her profession:

  Lt. Ted Misko- What are you, some kind of cop? Jessica- No. No. I'm a writer. Novelist. Mystery. Murder mystery. Lt. Ted Misko- I get it. Like Charlie Chan, huh? Swell.

• Misko- "You've given me more help than I'll need. ... My gut tells me different" Yaah, more detectives with talkative guts!
• "Oh, you've been taking an education .. class?"
• Pat Phillips- "Go home, Misses Fletcher" (you're drunk?)
• Jessica- Oh, by the way, there is one little thing that's been bothering me. Misko- Only one? Glad to hear it.
• Family tree - one father Martin, leads to daughter Vicky, niece to Jessica.
• Jessica- There's no need to be sarcastic. Phillips- That, lady, is a matter of opinion.
• Misko is a hunch player, which seems like a bad way to solve crimes, given trials and whatnot being based on evidence.
• Was that a dolphin at the end? It sounded like someone got confused on the sound effects.

posted by filthy light thief at 6:31 AM on November 30, 2014