Murder, She Wrote (TV Series) The Legacy of Borbey House (1993) User Reviews

The Legend of Count Baker.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 9/10 · 8 May 2023]

Jessica is angry when her handyman Charles leaves a job midway to continue work for wealthy new Cabot Cove resident Lawrence Baker. Baker causes a real story and upsets one person too many....

Have you ever wondered about a Hammer Horror and Murder, she wrote production? Well, in 1993, Murder, she wrote went completely off the rails, and came up with a murder, disguised as a Dracula story, it's a love or hate it episode, I'll be honest, I love this episode.

I can understand why this episode may not be to everyone's taste, it's maybe a little frivolous at times, but it just works.

Baker is almost the perfect Dracula, he wears sunglasses, seduces the local young maiden, and comes complete with creepy Butler. Doctor Sorensen the perfect Van Helsing.

Perhaps the first time we've seen an angry, almost humourless Jessica, she was not happy with that plumber's behaviour, and who can blame here, she needed to kick him into touch.

Roy Dotrice and Christopher Neame both stand out, two wonderfully eccentric characters.

9/10.

The vampire episode

[xbatgirl-30029 · 9/10 · 16 September 2022]

This episode is one of my favorite of several "scary" or supernatural themed episodes MSW did over the years. The show pulled out all the stops playing with many vampire movie tropes. It starts right off with the amorous teens screaming in the cemetery. There's lots of thunder and lightning plus fog and wind for atmosphere. David Birney is a great choice for the possible vampire, complete with dark glasses for daytime. Of course he has a creepy butler/assistant to protect him during the day. Roy Dotrice makes a perfect Van Helsing type, running around doing research for his book and hanging out in the cemetery. His slight resemblance to Robert Englund is a bonus. Then there's Molly playing up being mesmerized by the mysterious Mr Baker, who seems to have no tangible background.

Of course, most of us can identify with Jessica's irritation with the delays and roadblocks by her contractor, who he keeps disappearing. It's a good choice to have him off screen for a good chunk of the episode so you can almost forget about him. As an aside, it's good to see Lawrence Pressman playing a loving father for a change and not someone evil or creepy. Mort does his usual jumping to the wrong conclusions. He sure lucked out moving to a town where someone like Jessica does his job so well for him.

The final resolution is unfortunately very silly, from the rather obscure clue Jessica gets from the rope, to the obvious nonsense that you could put a body in a wall like that without any smell or decay. Molly's seeming infatuation with Baker is swept under the rug. And it's gilding the lily to make Jatich first a Stasi fugitive, then "he's a good guy" who is given asylum. (Why would modern Germany be after him then? He would be a hero to them as well.) But I love that they went with the old cliché revealing a 19th century twin for Baker. So the episode ends with a smile.

Sort of like "Dark Shadows" combined with "Murder, She Wrote"!

[planktonrules · 9/10 · 26 July 2023]

"The Legacy of Borbey House" is a most unusual episode of "Murder, She Wrote". In many ways, it is almost like combining this show with "Dark Shadows"!! Yep....including a plot involving a supposed vampire (David Birney)!

During much of the episode, Jessica is frustrated with a very annoying contractor. Again and again, he doesn't finish the job for her and instead keeps rushing out to work on the Borbey House. Clearly, the guy is a terrible contractor and you almost wonder if Mrs. Fletcher is going to commit a murder! However, instead, Lawrence Baker is found dead...and with a stake imbedded in his heart!

This is a silly but enjoyable episode. I didn't mind the supernatural aspect of this one and it was certainly unusual and memorable!

By the way, the zombie-like butler for the deceased, Christopher Neame, DID appear in several vampire movies in the 1970s...and he is an excellent choice for a scary looking otherworldly guy!

Vamps and Goblets, and Things that Go "Bump" with the Fireplace Pokers

[WeatherViolet · 6/10 · 22 December 2009]

This episode marks the final appearance by Barbara Townsend, who has been acting on television since 1949. Madlyn Rhue, acting since 1958, has unfortunately also since passed.

Cabot Cove, Maine, episodes of "Murder, She Wrote" usually garner audience affection for a homespun quality centering upon the hometown of this series protagonist and her inner circle of fellow citizens.

On occasion, however, a grim, supernatural malady plagues this patriotic American community, and this time around, Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury), Doctor Seth Hazlitt (William Windom), Sheriff Mort Metzger (Ron Masak), Deputy Andy Broom (Louis Herthum) (the four holding the series records for greatest number of appearances, in order), face a series of macabre circumstances occurring in their New England community.

Handyman Charles Wetherby (Richard Gilliland), tending to wiring and carpentry at the residence of Jessica Fletcher, finds himself detained from meeting the agreed deadline to finish the project at hand, as he also handles remodeling work for the new owner of the Borbey estate, Lawrence Baker (David Birney), for English surname "Baker" translates from the Hungarian "Borbey." While many guest stars are capable of portraying characters who appear guilty of crimes such as murder, David Birney also has a way of developing his characters with an added dimension of having a mysterious past.

Jessica expresses disappointment at Charles' abandoning her project in process, but Lawrence has offered a great deal more financial gain above market value than the average homeowner would remit.

Charles also has had experience in remodeling Borbey House, as Laurel Perrin, his fiancée and he had considered the possibility of residing there after their wedding, which has now been postponed, as she has been missing for a year and a half by now.

Dave Perrin (Gary Hershberger) searches high and low for his missing sister, as he continues to tack posters around Cabot Cove in the hopes of learning information regarding missing sister, Laurel's, whereabouts. Dave's steady, Molly Holt (Judith Jones), daughter of businessman Philip Holt (Lawrence Pressman), agrees against her father's wishes to assist Lawrence Baker in researching "The Legacy of Borbey House."

Peter Jatich (Christopher Neame) serves as butler to Lawrence Baker, who rarely emerges into the daylight unless he wears trench-coat and darkly-tinted sunglasses. Philip Holt also objects to a seeming budding romance between Molly and Lawrence, because Baker's his age and because rumors abound throughout Cabot Cove that Baker's a vampire, which could make his age considerably elder by several generations. Naturally, Dave also objects to Molly's growing interest in Lawrence and his in Molly.

But when two young lovebirds, Billy the Teenage Boy (Don Jeffcoat) and Carla Thompson the Teenage Girl (Susan T. Collins) decide to spoon in the local memorial park one evening, Doctor Howard Sorenson (Roy Dotrice) frightens them senselessly, as he feigns a zombie routine.

Doctor Howard Sorenson, a specialist in the supernatural and unexplained, consults Librarian Jean O'Neill (Madlyn Rhue) plus Jessica Fletcher to assist in his research of "The Legacy of Borbey House," while Molly assists Jessica in researching, as well.

Adding to the trouble at hand is an altercation involving combinations of Charles Weatherby, Jim Milio (Steve Jackson) over Laurel, Dave Perrin, Philip Holt and Peter Jatich. But soon actual bodies begin to surface, to the dismay of one and all.

When Doctor Sorenson sneaks into Borbey House late one night, he discovers a body slain by a wooden stake. Sheriff Mort Metzger and Deputy Andy Broom handle the mysterious case as professionally as possible but especially need Jessica's capable assistance to sort through clues this time around.

The cast is rounded out by Barbara Townsend as Mrs. Higgins, and Richard Jamison as Delivery Man. This episode represents the second of Richard Gilliland's two "MSW" guest appearances, the second of Gary Hershberger's three, the second of Madlyn Rhue's five, the third of Lawrence Pressman three, and the fourth of David Birney's four "MSW" guest starring roles.

Vampires, graveyards and Cabot Cove

[coltras35 · 6/10 · 2 June 2022]

Jessica unravels the mystery of the disappearance of a girl from Cabot Cove and the apparent ritual murder of a suspected vampire. Strange man climbing out of a graveyard, a creepy butler, a foreboding house, and a dark mysterious new owner of the house suspected as a vampire - that belief is increased when he's found with a stake in his heart. There's enough here to get ones attention; plenty of atmosphere and adequate mystery, however overall there's something lacking, perhaps its pace is too laborious and it's not engaging enough. But still a good watch. One point I must mention and that David Birney would've made an excellent Dracula.

The strange legacy of Borbey House

[TheLittleSongbird · 6/10 · 10 November 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.

"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

Is Dracula in the house?

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 4 February 2019]

A genuine missing person's case involving Gary Hershberger's sister plus the arrival of the mysterious David Birney who never comes out at night and is served by creepy butler Christopher Neame leads to all kinds of silly rumors. The cases are connected, but not as originally thought.

Birney has moved to Cabot Cove to take up residence in the old family mansion since abandoned. Not helping matters is Roy Dotrice a visiting parapsychologist from Great Britain tracking down the vampire legend.

I did love William Windom's retort to Dotrice when Dotrice quotes that line from Hamlet about more things in heaven and earth than are in your philosophy. His retort was a paraphrasing of PT Barnum about there being suckers born every minute.

Still Birney is murdered vampire style and it's up to Angela Lansbury to weed out the old wives tales and come up with a solution.

Do you doubt she will?