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Matt Houston
S1.E6
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IMDbPro

Recipe for Murder

  • Episode aired Nov 7, 1982
  • 1h
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
26
YOUR RATING
David Hedison in Matt Houston (1982)
CrimeDramaMystery

Restaurant critic Roger Marsden's severed head is served in aspic to his snooty partner J Hamilton Goodfellow. The cops suspect a restaurant owner whose eatery the critics panned. And then a... Read allRestaurant critic Roger Marsden's severed head is served in aspic to his snooty partner J Hamilton Goodfellow. The cops suspect a restaurant owner whose eatery the critics panned. And then attempts are made on Goodfellow's life.Restaurant critic Roger Marsden's severed head is served in aspic to his snooty partner J Hamilton Goodfellow. The cops suspect a restaurant owner whose eatery the critics panned. And then attempts are made on Goodfellow's life.

  • Director
    • Hy Averback
  • Writers
    • Lawrence Gordon
    • Skip Webster
  • Stars
    • Lee Horsley
    • Pamela Hensley
    • John Aprea
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    6.7/10
    26
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Hy Averback
    • Writers
      • Lawrence Gordon
      • Skip Webster
    • Stars
      • Lee Horsley
      • Pamela Hensley
      • John Aprea
    • 1User review
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos

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    Top cast

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    Lee Horsley
    Lee Horsley
    • Matt Houston
    Pamela Hensley
    Pamela Hensley
    • C.J. Parsons
    John Aprea
    John Aprea
    • Lt. Vince Novelli
    Paul Brinegar
    Paul Brinegar
    • Lamar Pettybone
    Dennis Fimple
    Dennis Fimple
    • Bo
    Penny Santon
    Penny Santon
    • Mama Rosa Novelli
    Sid Caesar
    Sid Caesar
    • Prince Sergei Polansky
    James Coco
    James Coco
    • J. Hamilton Goodfellow
    David Hedison
    David Hedison
    • Pierre Cerdan
    Hope Lange
    Hope Lange
    • Kate Riley
    Misty Rowe
    Misty Rowe
    • Terri Anton
    George Wyner
    George Wyner
    • Murray Chase
    Alex Donnelley
    Alex Donnelley
    • Secretary Alex
    Sue Fish
    • Kelly
    Paula Jones
    • Secretary
    Marcia Nicholson
    • Jogger
    Cis Rundle
    Cis Rundle
    • Secretary
    Michael Stearns
    • Sam Riley
    • Director
      • Hy Averback
    • Writers
      • Lawrence Gordon
      • Skip Webster
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    Storyline

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    User reviews1

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    Not To My Taste
    An acid-tongued TV food critic J.Hamilton Goodfellow (James Coco) attempts to pay a surprise visit to the French eatery of a restaurateur Pierre Cerdan (David Hedison) whom he loathes before giving it a scathing review. He is greeted as though he was expected and presented with an orange gelatin which contains the severed head of his partner Roger Marsden in perhaps the most macabre murder of the entire series.

    Houston's old buddy Prince Polansky (Sid Caesar - whose immigrant father ran a restaurant in real life), the top restaurateur in town and evident owner of a giant Russian jello mould the is arrested for the murder and Houston sets out to prove his innocence by catching the real killer who could be anyone of the guest-stars.

    This one is a little different than other first season episodes in the respect that the murder victim is never shown alive. The murders of the most irritating and talentless celebrities who appeared as guest stars on this show were generally calculated to please crowds like in a Roman arena. Here they could have bumped off Sid Caesar or James Coco. Sadly they never got around to that or killing Pia Zadora, Geraldo Rivera or Bruce Vilanch.

    The killer generally ends up being a more glamorous celebrity if only because they have to be part of the on screen mystery until the end and for that you need to have actors the audience is not grossed out by and in fact want to revisit in a family reunion/"Where are they now?" kind of way. If the real killer or suspects were not intriguing or attractive the audience might not bother to watch Houston interact with them and channel surf perhaps to tune in at the end or even perhaps not.

    Compared with other campy episodes of the first season of the show, one which was lampooning itself practically during pre-production and very nearly up until the 1982-83 season finale, this one has even more lame humour than usual. There is also the apparent inability to find an ending without cutting the show short roughly a dozen minutes from its actual end time. As a result you get a lot more Sid Caesar and James Coco than anyone should have to sit through.

    Paul Brinegar and Dennis Fimple who played Houston's comic relief ranch-hands Lamar and Bo are actually in this episode. In several episodes they would be credited with appearing but were only seen in the opening montage. Their appearance here, served little purpose beyond backing up Houston's absurd interpretation of the "Cowboy Code" at the end. It would soon become clear their presence was counterproductive.

    If you think the suggestive "Better cock yer pistols" line of Pamela Hensley near the end of the opening montage sounds different in earlier episodes it is because they have clearly had her do the line again with a throatier, raunchier delivery for later ones. This early episode offers the softer, less assertive version they originally went with.
    helpful•2
    2
    • JasonDanielBaker
    • Aug 15, 2011

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    Details

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    • Release date
      • November 7, 1982 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Filming locations
      • The Lot - 1041 N. Formosa Avenue, West Hollywood, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Largo Productions
      • Aaron Spelling Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Runtime
      1 hour
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

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