Murder, She Wrote Guest Star Trading Cards

JasonToon posted some pics said Tue, Mar 7th 2017 at 5:24pm ET

Murder She Wrote was on for a long time. Twelve seasons, 264 episodes, 4 TV movies: that’s a lot of dead bodies, a lot of murderers, a lot of witnesses, a lot of innocent bystanders and jilted lovers and wrongly accused rivals. And a lot of special guests to play them.

Some were familiar stars in the twilight of distinguished careers. Others were young nobodies who would someday be somebodies. Because I am a ridiculous man, I’ve made fake trading cards honoring 16 of the all-time greatest. Collect 'em all!

(They get a lot bigger if you right-click and “View Image” or “Open Image in Another Tab” or whatever.)

Some soulless bastard has taken Murder, She Wrote off of Netflix, and most of the clips on YouTube are in Japanese. So if you want to see these special guests in action, you’ll have to hope these episodes haven’t been pulled down from Dailymotion yet:

If people like these “cards” enough, I’ll make a second series. In the meantime, feel free to share your favorite unexpected guest appearances from TV shows. Any old rerun suddenly gets a lot more interesting when William Shatner or Robert Duvall wanders into frame.

32 comments, 40 replies
Comment

capguncowboy said Tue, Mar 7th 2017 at 5:33pm ET:

/giphy nicely done

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darksaber99999 said Tue, Mar 7th 2017 at 5:45pm ET:

/giphy why

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- @darksaber99999
  
  /giphy why not
  
  PlacidPenguin said Tue, Mar 7th 2017 at 5:52pm ET
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- @darksaber99999
  @JasonToon
  
  Mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher - a down-to-earth, middle-aged widow - ferrets out the criminals in idyllic Cabot Cove, Maine, which apparently is the murder capital of the United States for the show’s 12-season run. Though while traveling, she uncovers a fair number of killers as well.
  
  What can be done about this hellhole? Must we destroy Cabot Cove in order to save it?
  
  /giphy "murder capital"
  
  f00l said Tue, Mar 7th 2017 at 5:56pm ET
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- @darksaber99999 If Shaft in an Air Force uniform and Walter White in tennis whites isn’t enough to convince you, nothing I can say will help…
  
  JasonToon said Tue, Mar 7th 2017 at 8:33pm ET
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- @f00l Maine in general seems to invite more bad thing than is logical. How many Mainians died in Stephen King books?
  
  mollama said Fri, Mar 10th 2017 at 10:17am ET
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jbartus said Tue, Mar 7th 2017 at 6:05pm ET:

Everybody knows that Good Ol’ Jess is really a serial killer specializing in killing random individuals and then framing others for the crime.

For the record I Murder She Wrote and am disappointed to hear that it’s gone from Netflix.

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- @jbartus #jessicafletcherisaserialkiller
  
  stuartpb said Tue, Mar 7th 2017 at 7:17pm ET
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- @jbartus Even more diabolically, she somehow clouds their minds into confessing. “Yes! I killed him! And I’m glad he’s dead! Do you have any idea what it was like to be the son of the greatest magician in the world? None of my illusions were ever good enough!” etc.
  
  JasonToon said Tue, Mar 7th 2017 at 8:40pm ET
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medz said Tue, Mar 7th 2017 at 9:27pm ET:

Careful. The OP doesn’t have a staff badge. Links may be viruses.

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- @medz
  
  As you well know, @JasonToon isn’t officially staff. (That’s why I constantly nominate him to be goat, although it’s a less popular opinion than @Kidsandliz being goat, so…)
  
  PlacidPenguin said Tue, Mar 7th 2017 at 9:31pm ET
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- @medz
  Meh may be a virus.
  Breakfast Octopus may be a virus.
  
  Be careful.
  
  f00l said Tue, Mar 7th 2017 at 9:35pm ET
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- @f00l @medz @snapster
  
  Meh (not to be confused with @meh) is a wallet-emptying virus which manifests itself as being a “friendly” company which offers knives, various Bluetooth items, ~~speaker docks~~ etc.
  
  PlacidPenguin said Tue, Mar 7th 2017 at 9:41pm ET
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- @PlacidPenguin hi
  
  meh said Tue, Mar 7th 2017 at 10:10pm ET
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- @PlacidPenguin and sucks us in with fuko’s - it might be a mutated brain sucking virus…
  
  Kidsandliz said Tue, Mar 7th 2017 at 10:42pm ET
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- @PlacidPenguin Well considering I had zero votes hard to see how anyone could be less popular than that… just sayin’
  
  Kidsandliz said Tue, Mar 7th 2017 at 11:38pm ET
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- @Kidsandliz
  
  Having less than zero votes is a thing.
  
  @JasonToon suffers from it when goat voting comes around.
  
  PlacidPenguin said Wed, Mar 8th 2017 at 12:07am ET
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- @Kidsandliz
  
  And anyways, the attempts to goatify you are at least acknowledged.
  
  PlacidPenguin said Wed, Mar 8th 2017 at 12:13am ET
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hems79 said Tue, Mar 7th 2017 at 10:37pm ET:

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Barney said Tue, Mar 7th 2017 at 11:11pm ET:

You are one sick man. (I’ll be waiting for The Love Boat trading cards.)

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- @Barney Oooh, and Fantasy Island!
  
  pitamuffin said Wed, Mar 8th 2017 at 4:14pm ET
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- @pitamuffin My next choice!
  
  Barney said Wed, Mar 8th 2017 at 5:15pm ET
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- @Barney I want these and FI (maybe Gillian’s island too). So glad @jasontoon isn’t busy trying to pack up and move half-way around the world, giving him time for these projects.
  
  mollama said Fri, Mar 10th 2017 at 10:12am ET
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- @mollama I will never admit that I watched Gilligan’s Island. Never.
  
  Barney said Fri, Mar 10th 2017 at 7:50pm ET
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- @Barney
  Why?
  
  My younger bro (Ivy League-type successful lawyer) still loves it.
  
  f00l said Sat, Mar 11th 2017 at 3:30pm ET
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Jbfletcherfan said Tue, Mar 7th 2017 at 11:18pm ET:

Love these. I grew up watching the show. I would go visit my grandma and we would watch Jessica solve the case

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walarney said Tue, Mar 7th 2017 at 11:22pm ET:

I’m very slowly working my way through the old Hawaii Five-O. Aside from the “time capsule in motion” aspect, spotting the future stars (and not so stars) is the best part. IMDB says there were 228 actors who also appeared in MSW.

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- @walarney
  
  OMG I love that show. I loved watching Jack Lord be “Steve McGarrett” while really being Jack Lord on steroids, and how high could they comb his hair?
  
  Book 'em
  
  f00l said Tue, Mar 7th 2017 at 11:40pm ET
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- @walarney Oh, I love Hawaii Five-0! Probably my favorite television depiction of hippies. It’s a far more interesting, darker show than one would expect, especially in later seasons. Have you seen the one with John Ritter yet? Sorry, the first one with John Ritter, where he’s a hippie panhandler running around with an underage runaway and steals money from an embezzler he accidentally punches out?
  
  mossygreen said Fri, Mar 10th 2017 at 11:26pm ET
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kdemo said Wed, Mar 8th 2017 at 12:05am ET:

@JasonToon, you just may be the most interesting man in the world.

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- @KDemo Or an elderly woman – I always thought they were the only ones watching that show.
  
  pitamuffin said Wed, Mar 8th 2017 at 4:16pm ET
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- @pitamuffin @KDemo What about an elderly woman trapped inside the most interesting man in the world?
  
  JasonToon said Wed, Mar 8th 2017 at 5:38pm ET
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- @JasonToon - Jessica? Is that you?
  
  kdemo said Wed, Mar 8th 2017 at 6:45pm ET
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- @KDemo
  shhhhh.
  @Jessica’s busy murdering her 9486368775th victim and framing someone who resembles a Hollywood TV icon for it.
  
  f00l said Wed, Mar 8th 2017 at 6:48pm ET
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kdemo said Wed, Mar 8th 2017 at 12:10am ET:

Maybe not so interesting fact:
The Blair House in Mendocino, CA is Jessica’s house in the show’s opening credits.

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- @KDemo I believe it’s also her house in most other outside scenes, no?
  
  jbartus said Wed, Mar 8th 2017 at 12:22am ET
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- @jbartus - Yes. I have family in Mendocino. When the film crews are working, they cover the license plates of parked cars with wooden copies of Maine plates. One of my family members accidentally drove around with one for a few days before noticing.
  
  kdemo said Wed, Mar 8th 2017 at 12:36am ET
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- @KDemo that’s actually pretty hilarious.
  
  jbartus said Wed, Mar 8th 2017 at 1:05am ET
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- @jbartus I know, right? Wooden plates!
  
  travis said Wed, Mar 8th 2017 at 6:56pm ET
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- @KDemo Pretty house. I’d like to live in that! The only thing that would make it better is a big front porch.
  
  Kidsandliz said Wed, Mar 8th 2017 at 8:29pm ET
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lordbowen said Wed, Mar 8th 2017 at 8:56am ET:

LOVE the card set. Well done. Thanks!

Hallmark Movies and Mysteries channel is currently airing the show multiple nights a week.

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f00l said Wed, Mar 8th 2017 at 10:02am ET:

Where’s the best place to stream these from now?

I’m suddenly in the mood for a little small town civilized friendly murder as an alternative to politics and nuclear proliferation.

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ELUNO said Wed, Mar 8th 2017 at 10:14am ET:

Joaquin Phoenix is related to Ellen Degeneres?

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- @ELUNO I know he’s related to River Phoenix
  
  mollama said Fri, Mar 10th 2017 at 10:14am ET
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DrunkCat said Wed, Mar 8th 2017 at 2:45pm ET:

King of the Hill had too many guest stars.

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producepimp said Wed, Mar 8th 2017 at 2:50pm ET:

I love watching old shows and seeing people pop up. My favorite is when Jack Nicholson was on the Andy Griffith show!

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- @producepimp Have you seen him in the 1960 version of Little Shop of Horrors?
  
  callow said Wed, Mar 8th 2017 at 8:16pm ET
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kdemo said Wed, Mar 8th 2017 at 6:38pm ET:

A short list of some people who appeared on Columbo:

Leonard Nimoy
Willian Shatner
Johnny Cash
Hector Elizondo
Kate Mulgrew
Roddy McDowall
Faye Dunaway
Vincent Price
Ed Begley Jr.
Dick Van Dyke
Janet Leigh
Kim Cattrall

Lots of recognizable names on MASH, as well. (Haha, using asterisks makes it wonky.)

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- @KDemo
  What show (besides The Simpsons) has the biggest # of well-known guest stars? Do you know?
  
  (Have no idea)
  
  f00l said Wed, Mar 8th 2017 at 7:00pm ET
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- @f00l - Also no idea. It may depend on how long the show lasted.
  
  kdemo said Wed, Mar 8th 2017 at 7:06pm ET
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- @f00l Love Boat has to be high on the list. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_The_Love_Boat_guest_stars
  
  callow said Fri, Mar 10th 2017 at 7:29am ET
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- @f00l @kdemo Frazier had a lot of big name callers. Dunno if it’s near the top of the list tho.
  
  lseeber said Sat, Apr 20th 2019 at 11:06am ET
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aetris said Fri, Mar 10th 2017 at 9:08am ET:

Could you please post your trading card template? There are about a zillion others to add. Jenny Agutter! Barbara Bain! Adrienne Barbeau, Sandhal Bergman, Gretchen Corbett, Maryam D’Abo… Well, I won’t go on identifying my age.

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mollama said Fri, Mar 10th 2017 at 11:56am ET:

NOW you tell me it’s off Netflix?! I had been looking for a good binge watch a few weeks ago after finishing Bones and this would have been a good same genre/different perspective follow up. Where were you then to tell me to watch that before it got deleted?!
BTW now watch The Great British Baking Show. Love it [said with fake British accent]!

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mossygreen said Fri, Mar 10th 2017 at 11:28pm ET:

Hey, you’re a Great Job, Internet! at the AV Club! I’m not sure if congratulations are in order or not, but if they are you have them from me.

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- @mossygreen Hey wow, that’s cool. Maybe Netflix will notice and decide to keep Murder, She Wrote around.
  
  http://www.avclub.com/article/george-clooney-bill-maher-and-bryan-cranston-were--251858
  
  dave said Sat, Mar 11th 2017 at 12:53pm ET
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- @mossygreen haha, I just saw this and came here to post the same thing!
  
  jqubed said Sat, Mar 11th 2017 at 2:00pm ET
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dtownmagda said Sat, Mar 11th 2017 at 10:15am ET:

THIS IS AMAZING. I have been trying to make this point and find a good inventory for a few years. PLEASE KEEP GOING:

Requesting Marcia Cross, Kate Mulgrew, Herb Edelman, Cynthia Nixon, Bruce Jenner.

PLEASE

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laspic said Sat, Mar 11th 2017 at 10:24am ET:

This is wonderful. Thank you! I’m a long-time fan of MSW and part of the attraction is delight in how it confounds me. They cast the same actors episode after episode- some as recurring characters and others not. The hair and makeup is so poorly done it’s impossible to know if the obviously fake beard is a clue. Ditto the horrible photo retouching. A head sloppily pasted on a younger body? Is Jessica gasping at the clearly doctored photo? SO GOOD.

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grumpasaurus said Sat, Mar 11th 2017 at 11:53pm ET:

People should order these using http://www.rookiesapp.com/

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jennyloupdx said Fri, Mar 17th 2017 at 8:56pm ET:

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boinks said Wed, Mar 22nd 2017 at 6:00pm ET:

Paul McCartney guest starred on every episode

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bdp said Thu, Mar 23rd 2017 at 1:39pm ET:

I think I could curry favor with my girlfriend if I presented her with a set of these.

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marcee said Thu, Mar 23rd 2017 at 1:50pm ET:

Bill Maher’s hair, though.

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Kidsandliz said Thu, Mar 23rd 2017 at 2:29pm ET:

You need to make meh trading cards. That go out in fuko’s and randomly to VMP’s and the other new, yet to be announced programs, members…and create a trading for meh cards trading thread… future meh collectables.

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mrkwst222 said Thu, Mar 23rd 2017 at 3:09pm ET:

What about The A-Team? Bad guy cards? (PS: Maher has always been a schlong.)

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TehMaliron said Thu, Mar 23rd 2017 at 3:37pm ET:

I was more of a Columbo fan myself…

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whackusbackus said Fri, Apr 19th 2019 at 10:56pm ET:

Love these so much! Gotta make a Jenny Lewis card.

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- @whackusbackus Huh. A random necropost on a long dead thread… Welcome back JasonToon and the gang! Wonder how long this thread will stay afloat at this point…
  
  shahnm said Fri, Apr 19th 2019 at 11:08pm ET
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- @shahnm someone posted these cards on a MSW fan page. Something this iconic should live forever.
  
  whackusbackus said Sat, Apr 20th 2019 at 4:54am ET
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sammydog01 said Sat, Apr 20th 2019 at 12:11am ET:

Just today I got an email from Amazon saying season 2 of Murder She Wrote is new on Prime. Good timing @whackusbackus!

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lseeber said Sat, Apr 20th 2019 at 10:40am ET:

Dang… Cranston looks good! Garcia ALWAYS looks good! Linda Hamilton sure has a big mouth!
Good job!

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