Murder, She Wrote: Trial by Error Rewatch

December 16, 2014 9:18 AM - Season 2, Episode 13

It's Twelve Angry Men, but not everyone is so angry, and there's more gender balance. Jessica is the foreperson in the case of the car crash that lead to a one-night stand and murder in self-defense. But with Jessica involved, nothing is ever cut and dry, much to the chagrin of nine other jurors.
posted by filthy light thief (2 comments total)

Notable guest stars: The Skipper Alan Hale (had to take off the glasses before I recognized him), Vicki Lawrence, Jon Cypher (the general from Major Dad), and probably more that I didn't get.

The trope of the detective/main character from a crime procedural series serving on a jury crops up a lot; the closest I could find is the Rogue Juror on tvtropes. But this episode had all the usual bits - the diverse jury, the strident opposition, the guy who just believes the defendant is guilty based on his gut, the knitting lady, and, of course, our beloved protagonist who just wants to figure it out.

Also, the tough guys on this show have muffin tops with their jeans!

I'm slightly embarrassed to admit that of all the shows I've tried following on FanFare, including The Wire and Breaking Bad, it might be M, SW that I actually stick with.
posted by bluefly at 8:36 PM on December 16, 2014

I'm back! Project delivered, Netflix back on, and back to watching M,SW. I skipped over a few to catch up and hope to fill those in over the holiday, but what a good one this was! The twist was really satisfying, but the interspersal of the clues as flashback left me a little cold.

Also:
Les Nessman
That actor who was also in Sudden Death in S1 who always reminds me of Alan Arkin

Apparently, the actress who played Becky Anderson was also in the S1 episode about the millionaire sailor and his daughters. (She was a daughter.) She will also play someone named Courtney Stoddard in a future episode.
posted by mochapickle at 4:55 PM on December 19, 2014