MURDER AT MARBLEHEAD CITATIONS
Like its predecessor, Death Comes to Dukes!, Murder at Marblehead was written to fit into the established history of the Crane family, as detailed in the TV programs Cheers and Frasier. We took inspiration from many of these little details, and a full list of Frasier references (and a few non-Frasier references) featured in our audio play are listed below:
0:15 - Boston is the setting of the TV program Cheers, where Frasier Crane made his debut on September 27, 1984.
1:09 - Marty is a chili fries aficionado, often knowing where the best plate can be found in Seattle. (Frasier S8E17 ‘It Takes Two to Tangle’)
1:16 - Marty doesn't eat beef cheeks until 2002, when his son Frasier forces him to. (Frasier S10E1 ‘The Ring Cycle’)
1:57 - Hester's son Frasier starts using French words when he's getting serious romantically with someone. Perhaps this is a trait he inherited from his mother? (Frasier S7E1 ‘Momma Mia’)
2:30 - Willowby is often described but never seen, much like Norm Peterson’s wife, Vera, in the TV program Cheers, or Niles Crane’s ex-wife, Maris, in the TV program Frasier.
3:16 - Hester’s maiden name was Palmer. (Frasier S9E6 ‘Room Full of Heroes’)
3:21 - Niles is the name of Hester’s youngest son, played by four-time Emmy Award winner David Hyde Pierce.
5:09 - Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, was quite fetching in the early 1950s. A shame it didn’t work out.
5:45 - Norman Rockwell (1894–1978) was an American artist known for his illustrations of everyday life he created for The Saturday Evening Post magazine.
8:09 - Frasier reveals that his ancestors came to this country with “[N]othing more than strong backs, a dream of freedom, and a small personal fortune.” Here is the man who brought over that fortune. (Cheers S4E2 ‘Woody Goes Belly Up’)
9:07 - Marty met Hester over the chalk outline of a murder victim, as revealed in Frasier S2E8, ‘Adventures in Paradise Part 1,’ OR in the previous episode of this show, ‘Death Comes to Dukes!’
11: 44 - Black Tuesday, October 29, 1929, was the last day of the Stock Market Crash of 1929.
11: 49 - Andrew Wyeth (1917–2009) was an American painter who worked predominantly in a regionalist style.
15:01 - Before becoming a detective, Marty Crane was on Mounted Patrol for 8 years. (Frasier S5E2 ‘The Gift Horse’)
18:06 - Marty is a Korean War vet and once served in Panmunjom. During that mission, he fell asleep in a foxhole. (Frasier S3E17 ‘High Crane Drifter’)
18:24 - Marty is a fan of Ballantine Beer in the TV program Frasier.
18:52 - To his sons’ chagrin, ‘bazoo’ is a phrase Martin is fond of using. (Frasier S4E23, ‘Ask Me No Questions’)
21:15 - ‘Oh dear God!’ is a recurring catchphrase from TV’s Frasier, played by six-time Emmy winner Kelsey Grammer!
24:26 - Nancy Drew is a fictional character sleuth in an American mystery series created by publisher Edward Stratemeyer. She debuted in 1930’s ‘The Secret of the Old Clock.’
24:27 - The Hardy Boys are fictional characters who appear in several mystery series for children and teens. They debuted in 1927’s ‘The Tower Treasure.’
24:34 - Marty’s paternal great-grandmother was also a scullery maid. She worked for Sonia Romanoff, daughter of Tsar Alexander II. (Frasier S7E7 ‘A Tsar Is Born’)
26:45 - Duke’s is Marty’s favorite bar in Seattle, as featured in the first two seasons of Frasier, or in our last episode, ‘Death Comes to Dukes!’
28:47 - When they were first married, Marty called Hester ‘honey’ as a term of endearment. Are wedding bells in the near future for these two…? (Frasier S4E3 The Impossible Dream)
29:47 - The Popeye song was once taught to a young Sam Malone from an old sailor named Cappy Johnny. Perhaps he taught this song to a young Marty Crane? (Probably not.) (Cheers S5E1, ‘The Proposal’)
31:38 - 31:53 - All of the rich families & businesses Willowby has brought down are named after dorm buildings in the Towers Residence Halls at the University of Connecticut.
38:32 - When this script was being written, “steamed clams” was a rather obscure reference to a scene from The Simpsons episode ‘22 Short Films about Springfield.’ (Simpsons S7E21) Between the period of writing the script and producing the show, however, the joke became an incredibly popular Internet meme, so it’s not so subtle anymore. That’s fine it’s still one of our favorite Simpsons jokes.
43:41 - A new fleet of squad cars is how newspaper baron William Fitzgerald got on Seattle PD’s good side in the previous episode, ‘Death Comes to Dukes!’
43:44 - Gary’s is a rival bar to the titular Cheers in the TV program Cheers.
43:58 - Well…
44: 09 - Hannah Höch (1889–1978) was a German Dada artist. She is best known for her work of the Weimar period, when she was one of the originators of photomontage.
45:32 - Considering Frasier and Niles aren’t immensely rich and powerful, we thought there needed to be a reason why they didn’t enjoy that small personal fortune. Perhaps it’s the events of this night? Tune in for more tantalizing clues....
45:45 - Frasier, like his mother, went to Harvard. (Cheers S11E12, ‘Sunday Dinner’)