The BEST episodes written by Robert Swanson
#1 - All Bets Off
McMillan and Wife - Season 6 - Episode 1
The wagers of sin. Mac is out to retrieve a set of diamonds swiped from his girl in Vegas.
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#2 - Death of a Friendship
Barnaby Jones - Season 7 - Episode 6
Jeff McKnight is kidnapped and his wealthy father Dan asks Barnaby to assist Paul Craig with the ransom payoff. When his friend Paul is killed after the delivery Barnaby feels guilty. He doesn't know that Paul faked his death to escape with the money and Ellie, Jeff's girl friend.
#3 - Murder, Murder On The Wall
Hart to Hart - Season 2 - Episode 1
When a bridegroom disappears abruptly and leaves his wife, who is an acquaintance of Jennifer's, to face a couple of thugs by herself, the Harts step in to help her.
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#5 - Hutchinson - Murder One (a.k.a. Hutchinson for Murder One)
Starsky & Hutch - Season 3 - Episode 19
Out of the blue, Hutch's estranged former wife Vanessa suddenly contacts him, attempting to rekindle their relationship. Hutch doesn't want to know, until Vanessa claims that she's ill with a cancerous tumour. But the next day, Vanessa is murdered in Hutch's apartment - and Hutch is the prime suspect. With two Internal Affairs agents investigating and seemingly convinced that Hutch is guilty, Starsky must help his partner trace the real culprits in order to clear his name...
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#6 - The Adventure of the Hardhearted Huckster
Ellery Queen - Season 1 - Episode 21
Frank Flannigan probably wishes he'd taken a vacation as he's made to look foolish on the infant medium known as television. The plot concerns the murder of a nasty advertising executive for the Quick Silver Tobacco company which was thinking about sponsoring a radio show starring Flannigan.
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#7 - The Action
Starsky & Hutch - Season 3 - Episode 13
Starsky and Hutch set out to bust an illegal gambling ring behind the brutal beating of a friend after he failed to pay off his debts. The duo end up playing for very high stakes as they infiltrate the illegal club, run from a mobile casino in the back of an 18-wheeled truck...
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#8 - The Adventure of Colonel Nivin's Memoirs
Ellery Queen - Season 1 - Episode 7
A WW II spy, Colonel Alec Nivin, is on a book tour in New York concerning his memoirs in which he accuses a variety of people of war crimes and treasonous acts. Ellery's galpal, Jenny O'Brien, finds the erstwhile spy dead in his hotel room having been stabbed with an antique dagger. Everybody except Jenny is a suspect in this one.
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#9 - Foxy Lady
Starsky & Hutch - Season 3 - Episode 20
An attractive young woman is the only eye-witness to a man being killed for the suitcase he is carrying. As Starsky and Hutch investigate, the girl goes about using her manipulative charms to not only outwit both of them, but also the mobster behind the killing, in order to keep the hot cash inside the suitcase for herself...
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#10 - Witness for the Defense
Murder, She Wrote - Season 4 - Episode 3
Jessica goes to Quebec to testify at the trial of a friend who is accused of killing his wife and burning his house.
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#11 - The Trap
Starsky & Hutch - Season 3 - Episode 16
A trip to buy Starsky's expensive new watch ends in chaos as the duo try to catch a tearaway tomboy shoplifter. Soon after, they respond to a call from Huggy after some thugs smashed up his bar demanding information about Hutch and unbeknown to any of them, the pair are being guided into a carefully laid ambush at a desolate farm, in a trap set by a ruthless criminal with an old score to settle with Hutch. Worse still, Joey, the young shoplifting girl, has stowed away in Starsky's car, and ends up trapped with the Detective duo in a barn that will soon be set ablaze...
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#12 - Reflections of the Mind
Murder, She Wrote - Season 2 - Episode 6
Jessica decides to pay a visit to her long-time friend Francesca, only to learn that Francesca, who is now married to a much younger man, is convinced that she is being haunted by the ghost of her first husband, Ross. When her new husband, Scott, turns up dead, the investigation reveals that he had been poisoned, and suspicion turns to Francesca. Jessica, however, is determined to prove that her friend did not commit the crime, and begins looking into the mysterious re-appearances of her dead husband.
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#13 - The Avenger
Starsky & Hutch - Season 4 - Episode 7
The intrepid Detectives investigate a woman's claims that a jealous brief acquaintance from San Francisco has followed her to the city and is responsible for the vicious murders of a string of the her lovers. But there is a sinister twist to the case, and Starsky unknowingly places himself in great danger...
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#14 - Unauthorized Obituary
Murder, She Wrote - Season 8 - Episode 3
After Jane Dawson informs Jessica of her plans to write an unauthorized biography on her good friend Ellen Lombard, Ellen's husband Arthur comes under suspicion when Jane's sister and husband find her dead body electrocuted after a T.V. was dropped in her hot tub, and Arthur is seen leaving the house.
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#15 - Sudden Death
Murder, She Wrote - Season 1 - Episode 17
Jessica suddenly must learn all about football when she inherits an interest in a professional team.
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#16 - Moving Violation
Murder, She Wrote - Season 7 - Episode 13
An influential father cuts no ice with Sheriff Metzger.
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#17 - The Perfect Foil
Murder, She Wrote - Season 2 - Episode 21
At the request of aunt Mildred, Jessica agrees to stop by New Orleans to check on cousin Cal while on her way to Houston. No sooner does Jessica get to New Orleans then she is tossed into a Mardi Gras party where the host ends up dead, and Cal is accused of the crime. While attempting to clear Cal's name and reputation, Jessica delves into the world of cheating poker players, cheating girlfriends and vengefilled police officers while trying to convince a local lieutenant that Cal is not capable of murder.
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#18 - Thursday's Child
Murder, She Wrote - Season 7 - Episode 19
A woman turns up claiming that Jessica's late husband was the father of her child and he is in deep trouble involving fraud in his construction company and murder.
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#19 - Double Exposure
Murder, She Wrote - Season 5 - Episode 19
In a strange case, Jessica bumps into an old friend who is supposed to be dead. His widow insists he is dead and Jessica hires Harry McGraw to investigate.
#20 - Angel of Death
Murder, She Wrote - Season 8 - Episode 20
While Jessica is in Carmel, California, consoling a well-known playwright haunted by his wife's suicide, another family member is murdered.
#21 - Tinker, Tailor, Liar, Thief
Murder, She Wrote - Season 8 - Episode 15
No one wants to believe that Jessica found a body in her hotel suite in London and they don't want her to believe it, either.
#22 - Mr. Penroy's Vacation
Murder, She Wrote - Season 5 - Episode 3
The sisters used a new type of fertilizer to make their chrysanthemums best of show.
#23 - Deadly Misunderstanding
Murder, She Wrote - Season 7 - Episode 2
A young reporter is persuaded to help a typist alter the evidence and move her husband's body.
#24 - Terminal Connection
Murder, She Wrote - Season 8 - Episode 7
Evidence points to the battered wife of a powerful businessman as his killer, but Jessica establishes that there is a ling list of suspects who wished him dead.
#25 - Sugar & Spice, Malice & Vice
Murder, She Wrote - Season 9 - Episode 7
Agent Michael Hagarty is arrested for the murder of his estranged daughter's crooked fiancee.
#26 - Footnote to Murder
Murder, She Wrote - Season 1 - Episode 18
An unpublished manuscript is stolen and its author murdered during an awards convention.
#27 - Test of Wills
Murder, She Wrote - Season 6 - Episode 9
A wealthy lumberman invites Jessica to his island retreat to discover which of his relatives is trying to kill him.
#28 - How to Make a Killing without Really Trying
Murder, She Wrote - Season 6 - Episode 14
Jessica is trying to learn to invest, but this wasn't the best day for it.
#29 - J.B. as in Jailbird
Murder, She Wrote - Season 5 - Episode 1
A colossal mix-up puts Jessica in jail as a suspect in a murder only she witnessed. British agent Hagarty returns.
#30 - Weave a Tangled Web
Murder, She Wrote - Season 5 - Episode 10
Things look bad when a married woman's keys are found by the body in a motel room and she can't explain why.
#31 - Corned Beef and Carnage
Murder, She Wrote - Season 3 - Episode 5
An adman handling the account of a fast-food chain is murdered and Jessica smells something funny.
#32 - Birds of a Feather
Murder, She Wrote - Season 1 - Episode 3
Jessica heads to San Francisco for the wedding of her niece, Victoria Brandon, only to learn that Victoria is having second thoughts because she suspects that her fiancé, Howard, is having an affair. Although Jessica and Victoria are relieved to learn that Howard isn't cheating but rather dressing up as a woman to perform at a nightclub, the relief is short lived when Howard is arrested for murdering his boss, Al Drake, who had been refusing to pay him. The police are convinced that Drake was shot during Freddy York's act, which doesn't leave a lot of time, but Jessica is determined to prove Howard's innocence.
#33 - Magnum on Ice
Murder, She Wrote - Season 3 - Episode 8
Jessica offers to help Thomas Magnum, who has been accused of killing a hitman with an unknown target.
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#34 - The Sicilian Encounter
Murder, She Wrote - Season 6 - Episode 22
Michael Hagarty is involved in a case in Sicily which has many twists and turns including the Mafia.
#35 - School for Scandal
Murder, She Wrote - Season 2 - Episode 4
When Jessica is offered an honorary degree from Crenshaw University, she has no idea she's about to become embroiled in a murder. After the boyfriend of (in)famous writer Daphne Clover is found murdered, Jessica agrees to assist the chief of police, who has never had a murder case before, find out who the killer is. She soon has more on her plate than she bargained for when first Daphne's mother confesses, then Daphne herself confesses. Jessica realises the two women are simply trying to protect each other, and begins to look at the faculty at the university.
#36 - Photo Finish
Starsky & Hutch - Season 4 - Episode 4
Starsky and Hutch brush shoulders with high-society, at an exclusive party that photographer friend Marcie has invited them to, but the event grinds to a halt when an artist is shot dead by an unknown assassin. Marcie has caught the shooting on camera, and the Detective duo confiscate the pictures for Police evidence as they begin some black-tie sleuthing on the champagne circuit. But Marcie is determined to use the valuable photos to break into big-time journalism, and quietly holds on to one to sell to the highest bidder - only for her life to now be endangered by the killer, who is determined to get their hands on the incriminating film...
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#37 - The Heavyweight
Starsky & Hutch - Season 3 - Episode 14
The crime-busting partners meet a one-time boxing champ, now a dockland worker, who witnessed the murder of a Policeman arranged by a dockland racketeer. But the former champ's own life is endangered after he refuses to take a fall in a boxing fight for the vicious racketeer...
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#38 - Comeback
Vega$ - Season 2 - Episode 13
Mitch Costigian, Dan's Army buddy who's been away for sometime returns to town to perform at the hotel. He's also a newlywed. When he and Dan go to the hotel, his wife stays behind to fix things at the house. Later someone plants an explosive and blows the house up. Mitch is devastated. Later Dan learns that the explosive used is similar to what was used in Vietnam. So Dan thinks there may be a link to their time in Vietnam to what happened to Mitch's wife. Mitch is on a mission to find the one who killed his wife.
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#39 - Reflections
Hotel - Season 1 - Episode 14
When Lauren Chapman gives her daughter, Darcy, a weekend at the hotel as a birthday gift, Darcy secretly invites her dad, Dr. Frank Chapman, to join the celebration. However, the teenager is distressed to learn she can't mend their broken marriage. Mrs. Cabot convinces Darcy she can never decide how others shall live. Harry Gilford tries unsuccessfully to frame an accident so that he and his wife can enjoy a second honeymoon at the hotel's expense. After several failed attempts, Harry confesses his scheme, then promptly saves a matronly hotel guest from injury in a real accident. The grateful hotel management rewards Harry and his wife with a free stay. The drab, plain-looking guest, Mary Morowsky, is smitten with Peter. Once in her room, she puts herself through a weird sexual ritual in his honor. From that evening on, Mary's blonde and sexy split personality "Monique" desperately tries to seduce Peter. When Peter resists, Monique attacks Peter with a pair of scissors.
Watch Now:Amazon#40 - Obsessions
Hotel - Season 2 - Episode 24
The hotel is the setting for the fictitious wedding of popular soap opera stars Cliff Palmer and his leading lady, Stacy. When Cliff grants an interview to the charming young fan club president, Robin, she seduces Cliff over dinner, and they end up spending the night together. Cliff seems not to notice Robin's difficulty separating fiction and reality, laughing it off as a joke when she asks him not to go through with the on-camera wedding. It becomes clear that Robin is disturbed, however, when she puts on Stacy's wedding gown and attacks Cliff with a knife. A resourceful young shoe shiner, Hank, is determined to establish his own business in the hotel corridors, eluding Peter and charming the hotel staff. Eventually, Peter rewards Hank with his own approved shine stand. Meanwhile, the hotel is also hosting a sequestered jury. Feisty Estelle urges her roommate, Alison, to encourage an obvious pass by another juror, Joe.
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV#41 - Echoes
Hotel - Season 3 - Episode 7
Laura Temple has eloped with businessman Michael Devlin (STUART DAMON). However, Laura is pregnant by another man, Chad Wheeler, a sculptor whom Laura jilted to be with Michael. When Chad proposes marriage to Laura, she knows that Michael is her true love, even though their relationship is now tottering. Laura and Michael's argument over the baby continues as Michael packs to leave. After Christine lectures him on his priorities, he leaves. Halfway to the airport, Michael turns around, and he and Laura reconcile. Jason Fielding claims to be the illegitimate son of Mrs. Cabot's late husband. Mrs. Cabot is moved by Jason's story, but Peter is suspicious and has Billy check Jason's background. On an outing to the marina with Mrs. Cabot, Jason points out the schooner with which he would start his own boat chartering company if only he had $50,000. Mrs. Cabot offers to help, but Peter thinks she's being fleeced, since there is no evident link between Jason and Stephen Cabot.
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV#42 - Facades
Hotel - Season 3 - Episode 15
Christine sees a briefcase filled with money in a car driven by Scott Baker. Later, Christine sees the now empty briefcase in Peter's office as Peter introduces her to Vanessa Clark, an old girlfriend. Christine is suspicious of Vanessa, but Peter refuses to listen. In fact, Vanessa has talked Scott into embezzling $850,000 and has contacted a fence, Steiner, to launder the money. Scott is, however, unaware that Vanessa plans to run off to Hong Kong with the money. Dan and Lisa Mason welcome Kim Lan, a 12-year-old Vietnamese orphan, escorted by Sister Nuyen to a foster home in America. Dan, a lawyer and Vietnam veteran, relocates Vietnamese children. Lisa is proud of her husband's efforts, but is stunned when Kim turns out to be Dan's daughter. Lisa cannot accept Kim, and is torn between a mother's concern and a wife's anger. After Kim tries running away, Lisa reconciles with Kim, who eventually feels like she's found a new family.
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