Debra Frank and Carl Sautter pen the first episode up this week, North by North DiPesto (a fun nod to one of my favorite Hitchcock films – and no doubt has a bit of an effect on the plot). It first aired on 21 January, 1986, and lets Agnes DiPesto (Allyce Beasley) take the limelight again.

Despite being okay two episodes ago, it seems Agnes is now in a rut, and needs a little excitement in her life. So Maddie (Cybill Shepherd) and David (Bruce Willis) send the young woman to an investigators’ ball.

Things start off great, and she even meets an interesting fellow, Kyle (Jim Haynie), who charms her and slips her a piece of paper with some important information on it. Everything seems to be going wonderfully for her for a few hours, until he ends up murdered, and things are just warming up for the personal assistant – because the body disappears!

When another man enters the scene, Doug (Douglas Warhit) more excitement, and great dialogue will be on the menu.

The episode brushes up gently against the issue of mental health, as it seems DiPesto may have some depression issues, but it seems like she has a good support system around her in the form of her co-workers, and bosses, but she needs a little more as well.

Beasley is very much at the center of the story, and it gives her a chance to shine, and she does it delightfully, while Willis and Shepherd are pushed, comfortably, into supporting roles (which would happen due to on set problems with the leads, and the slow turnaround on scripts), as DiPesto gets sent up in a wonderful Hitchcock-esque mystery.

In God We Strongly Suspect was written by Scott Spencer Gordon, and starts with an intro by Maddie and David saying the episode was supposed to be in 3D but the post office was slow in sending out the glasses, so save them for the rerun.

The episode debuted on 11 February, 1986, and follows an escape artist and his wife. Mr. Kandinsky (Dominic Barto) and Carolyn Kandinsky (K Callan) have quite the show, but when Kandinsky dies on stage while trying to escape a water trap, Carolyn turns to the Blue Moon Detective Agency for help.

You see, she is afraid her now late husband will carry through on a threat to return from the dead and kill her. They stakeout the funeral home, and the coffin, and are stunned when the sun rises the next morning, and the body is gone!

There are nods to the audience, and a little character exploration as it’s revealed that it’s Maddie’s birthday, and she’s not keen on celebrating, which piques David’s curiosity and he tries to find out why, as well as making her realize that her life isn’t as bad as she thinks it is.  And we also learn that Maddie is a bit of a skeptic and an atheist.

Casework continues next week with more time spent at the Blue Moon Detective Agency with Moonlighting!