Murder on Ice begins with Quincy (Jack Klugman) and Hanover, now Mrs. Quincy (Anita Gillette), traveling to a remote mountain location for their honeymoon only to find that several of their acquaintances have also been lured there under false pretenses by the host who eventually turns up dead. After an avalanche causes blockage of the road out, the guests are forced to stay and try to figure out who is the killer among them while also attempting to avoid the same fate as the victim. Quincy examines the body and crime scene and performs the best analysis that he can manage without all of the usual tools available to him in the coroner lab.
From the moment this episode began, it had a "Murder She Wrote" feel to it and this continues throughout. Between the remote and creepy location where the group is stuck, to the various suspects being identified and confronted one-by-one, and then of course the big reveal at the end with everyone in the same room where Quincy puts all of the pieces together, I truly felt like I was watching Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) in action. In all fairness, this Quincy episode aired in 1983 and Murder She Wrote did not premiere until 1984, so while I can't say that it is a copycat, the similarities are quite remarkable.
One other element of this episode I found particularly annoying was all of the names being thrown around in the beginning as everyone arrives. It was difficult to keep track of and follow who each person was talking about as there are suddenly all these unknowns thrown in at the same time and then they begin discussing even more character names of people that aren't even present! How about some name tags and a flow chart, please?
On a positive note, this episode does embrace the classic murder mystery formula which makes it one of the better ones of Season 8 in my opinion.