Season Twelve now begins with a CBS scheduling change during the original series run. After eleven years in its early Sunday evening prime time position, the network relocates the program into a Thursday evening time slot, thus damaging its ratings. Several Season Twelve episodes would later be juggled to fit into either evening's programming line-up, while many fans would lose track of its very existence.
"Antoinette on Fifth," a chic Manhattan beauty salon, sets the stage for glamor, corruption, two-timing, burglary and murder, with an arrest-happy police detective out to exceed his quota, in this episode penned by Donald Ross, who has written scripts for 16 "MSW" episodes, and has also served as story editor for 21 additional episodes throughout the series.
Antoinette Fishman (Leslie Easterbrook) operates the ten-year-old establishment, with Phoebe Campbell (Rosalind Chao) as receptionist, Diane (Kathy Trageser) as manicurist, and Diane's fiancé, Jimmy Neiman (Wayne Pére) as star hair stylist, whom celebrities from Hollywood to Washington, D.C. patronize on a weekly basis, by flying into New York City for his special treatment.
Kathy Stafford (Daphne Ashbrook) frequents "Antoinette on Fifth," Kathy, the great-great granddaughter of the founder of a grain company, from whom she has inherited a rare 1804 silver dollar, now valued at approximately $400,000.
Kathy's husband, Ralph Stafford (John O'Hurley), gets his hands upon the antique silver dollar to consult Allie (Eddie Zammit) to duplicate in order to use the imitation for collateral against his $400,000 loan from Nancy Rayburn (Denise Gentile), whom he romances and promises to marry behind the back of Kathy, who's also Nancy's old college friend.
"The Nancy Rayburn Show," a talk/interview program, is broadcast from NYC with host Nancy Rayburn and Madelyn Sweetzer (Carol Kiernan) as its producer. Nancy interviews Jimmy Neiman, asking if rumors are true that he plans to leave "Antoinette on Fifth" in favor of his new line of salons (if the secret deal goes through with Ralph Stafford).
Steve Burke (Sean O'Bryan) takes on a custodial position at "Antoinette on Fifth" in order to research the beauty parlour as a backdrop for his first Mystery manuscript, which has been accepted by Hartley Publishing Company, under the blessing of Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury), who also patronizes the salon while in NYC.
Lieutenant Sam Kriley (Vic Polizos) enters while Jessica is completing her beauty treatment, to report the condition of her friend Agnes Frazier (unseen character), who has surprised a cat burglar in her apartment and thereby received lacerations from a knife attack in the process.
Jessica considers a link between "Antoinette on Fifth" and "Café Metropol," whose host, Billy Blake (Michael Woods), conducts additional unscrupulous business dealings with Ralph Stafford, such as double blackmail, which is overheard by Madelyn Sweetzer, who also discovers that "The Nancy Rayburn Show" will soon be cancelled. A series of telephone calls seems to link "Café Metropol" with "Antoinette on Fifth," at which the last four burglary victims maintain beauty appointments.
When Steve is asked to return a pair of eyeglasses to Nancy's apartment one evening, he enters, but only to be knocked unconscious by the cat burglar, causing Lieutenant Sam Kriley to arrest Steve for the series of crimes.
While Jimmy tries to make up his mind about whether to stay on with Antoinette or to sign Ralph's contract, Antoinette reminds him that Ralph has tried to buy into her salon ten years ago, but she doesn't trust him any more today than back then.
At a party to celebrate Jimmy's decision, someone receives a note from him to meet him back at "Antoinette on Fifth" at 1:00 AM that night. But when Jimmy arrives, he stumbles across a body in his stylist's chair, leaning onto the counter with a pair of scissors embedded in the victim's back, leaving Antoinette to discover the body the next morning, and causing Lieutenant Sam Kriley to suspect Jimmy for the murder.
Jessica maintains the innocence of both Steve and Jimmy, and also her old friend Antoinette Fishman, once she is arrested because only her fingerprints are found upon the scissors. (How police labs immediately identify fingerprints from suspects with no criminal record continues to remain a mystery, but this is standard procedure here.)
After three additional arrests for various crimes regarding the burglary culprits, Jessica receives her sudden realization of who committed the murder, by observing a chart in the office of Lieutenant Sam Kriley. Will additional suspects be "Nailed?"
This episode represents the first television acting role for Michael Haddad, who appears as Party guest, as well as the second of two "MSW" guest roles for Denise Gentile and Michael Woods, the third of three each for Daphne Ashbrook and Sean O'Bryan, and the fourth of four "MSW's" for Leslie Easterbrook.
"Antoinette on Fifth," a chic Manhattan beauty salon, sets the stage for glamor, corruption, two-timing, burglary and murder, with an arrest-happy police detective out to exceed his quota, in this episode penned by Donald Ross, who has written scripts for 16 "MSW" episodes, and has also served as story editor for 21 additional episodes throughout the series.
Antoinette Fishman (Leslie Easterbrook) operates the ten-year-old establishment, with Phoebe Campbell (Rosalind Chao) as receptionist, Diane (Kathy Trageser) as manicurist, and Diane's fiancé, Jimmy Neiman (Wayne Pére) as star hair stylist, whom celebrities from Hollywood to Washington, D.C. patronize on a weekly basis, by flying into New York City for his special treatment.
Kathy Stafford (Daphne Ashbrook) frequents "Antoinette on Fifth," Kathy, the great-great granddaughter of the founder of a grain company, from whom she has inherited a rare 1804 silver dollar, now valued at approximately $400,000.
Kathy's husband, Ralph Stafford (John O'Hurley), gets his hands upon the antique silver dollar to consult Allie (Eddie Zammit) to duplicate in order to use the imitation for collateral against his $400,000 loan from Nancy Rayburn (Denise Gentile), whom he romances and promises to marry behind the back of Kathy, who's also Nancy's old college friend.
"The Nancy Rayburn Show," a talk/interview program, is broadcast from NYC with host Nancy Rayburn and Madelyn Sweetzer (Carol Kiernan) as its producer. Nancy interviews Jimmy Neiman, asking if rumors are true that he plans to leave "Antoinette on Fifth" in favor of his new line of salons (if the secret deal goes through with Ralph Stafford).
Steve Burke (Sean O'Bryan) takes on a custodial position at "Antoinette on Fifth" in order to research the beauty parlour as a backdrop for his first Mystery manuscript, which has been accepted by Hartley Publishing Company, under the blessing of Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury), who also patronizes the salon while in NYC.
Lieutenant Sam Kriley (Vic Polizos) enters while Jessica is completing her beauty treatment, to report the condition of her friend Agnes Frazier (unseen character), who has surprised a cat burglar in her apartment and thereby received lacerations from a knife attack in the process.
Jessica considers a link between "Antoinette on Fifth" and "Café Metropol," whose host, Billy Blake (Michael Woods), conducts additional unscrupulous business dealings with Ralph Stafford, such as double blackmail, which is overheard by Madelyn Sweetzer, who also discovers that "The Nancy Rayburn Show" will soon be cancelled. A series of telephone calls seems to link "Café Metropol" with "Antoinette on Fifth," at which the last four burglary victims maintain beauty appointments.
When Steve is asked to return a pair of eyeglasses to Nancy's apartment one evening, he enters, but only to be knocked unconscious by the cat burglar, causing Lieutenant Sam Kriley to arrest Steve for the series of crimes.
While Jimmy tries to make up his mind about whether to stay on with Antoinette or to sign Ralph's contract, Antoinette reminds him that Ralph has tried to buy into her salon ten years ago, but she doesn't trust him any more today than back then.
At a party to celebrate Jimmy's decision, someone receives a note from him to meet him back at "Antoinette on Fifth" at 1:00 AM that night. But when Jimmy arrives, he stumbles across a body in his stylist's chair, leaning onto the counter with a pair of scissors embedded in the victim's back, leaving Antoinette to discover the body the next morning, and causing Lieutenant Sam Kriley to suspect Jimmy for the murder.
Jessica maintains the innocence of both Steve and Jimmy, and also her old friend Antoinette Fishman, once she is arrested because only her fingerprints are found upon the scissors. (How police labs immediately identify fingerprints from suspects with no criminal record continues to remain a mystery, but this is standard procedure here.)
After three additional arrests for various crimes regarding the burglary culprits, Jessica receives her sudden realization of who committed the murder, by observing a chart in the office of Lieutenant Sam Kriley. Will additional suspects be "Nailed?"
This episode represents the first television acting role for Michael Haddad, who appears as Party guest, as well as the second of two "MSW" guest roles for Denise Gentile and Michael Woods, the third of three each for Daphne Ashbrook and Sean O'Bryan, and the fourth of four "MSW's" for Leslie Easterbrook.