Arabesque

I'm not quite sure why Murder She Wrote isn't still running. I'm willing to bet that Angela Lansbury could command any kind of deal she could have if she wanted to do more episodes of this wonderful series.

Angela Lansbury is maybe one of the kindest and most unselfish of players ever to grace the big screen, the small screen and the legitimate theater. Let's not forget she's a star in all three mediums. What I like best about her is the fact that she used her star power to give lots of work to her fellow performers from the golden age of Hollywood's studio system who weren't as lucky with their careers as she. Just look at the cast list of any random selection of Murder, She Wrote episodes.

For twelve years she got every weekend to show up the police in every corner of the globe that they had the wrong solution to a given murder. The amazing thing is that most of them simply went with the flow as far as her interference with their investigation. It was part of her charm for them and for us.

About half the episodes took place in the little New England coastal town of Cabot Cove where William Windom as the town doctor and first sheriff Tom Bosley and then sheriff Ron Masak got assistance from Jessica Fletcher every time she was in town at her home. I liked the Cabot Cove shows best and I suspect most viewers did. Though that presents a problem in that Cabot Cove given the percentage of the population might just have the highest murder rate in the country. Good thing she WAS around. But even there she never embarrassed Bosley or Masak in solving the cases.

Her best scenes are with William Windom, the crusty old town doctor, Seth Hazlitt. I suspect that back in their youth Jessic and Seth were an item and the way Lansbury and Windom are with each other, you can see the bonds are strong. The writers in Murder, She Wrote very wisely never made Dr. Hazlett any kind of buffoon the way Nigel Bruce was as Doctor Watson to Basil Rathbone's Sherlock Holmes. Windom played it absolutely straight and his medical knowledge occasionally helped Lansbury solve the case. I think it's a shame that William Windom never got an Emmy for playing Dr. Hazlitt.

My hope is that somebody gets the bright idea to have a reunion episode and maybe finally marry Jessica Fletcher and Dr. Seth Hazlitt. It would be the highest rated show of a given season.

This has to be one of the best shows that ever came out. Angela Lansbury truly created one of the great detectives that ever graced the small screen. However, the best episodes actually took place in her hometown of Cabot Cove where she had a fine supporting cast. Doc Hazlett proved to be the Watson to Jessica's Holmes and Sheriffs Tupper and Metzger couldn't get along without her. This show is truly a classic.

For me, it was the first bite from the detective series. in the sense than the other films/series, adaptations of novels by Agatha Christie or Georges Simenon or propositions of smart, cold, ironic men were not boring but too far for me, at the early ages. and the love for Jessica Fletcher remains fresh today, after decades . because the mix of lovely old woman, almost a sort of good fairy and many , many cases, the universe of a writer, her friends, the danger against here, the humor and the deductions are pieces of a seductive portrait. it remains more than a good serie. or a legendary one. but one of lovely memories about the great and admirable art of Angela Lansburry.

Murder, She Wrote ranks #1 in the drama series category, and around #4 in the greatest shows of all time, right behind M*A*S*H*, All in the Family and Maude. I liked Jessica Fletcher, but also the antics of her crusty doctor friend, Seth Hazlitt, and the Sheriff. The sheer greatness of this show explains its long TV life of 12 seasons.

Angela Lansbury and William Windom both play the part to a T. I still enjoy watching seemingly endless reruns daily of the show on A&E.

If you take this show too seriously it'll irritate you, if you treat if for what it is, you'll love every second of it. Pure escapism, pure fun, absurd situations and murder.

Lansbury captured something with this show, a modern day Miss Marple, who uncovered murderers globally, and in her village of Cabot Cove. She is a delight to watch, a woman with multiple nephews, nieces, and more friends than Facebook has to offer.

From the cheerful theme tune, to the adorable regular cast, Murder she wrote will always be perfect cosy viewing. My student days would revolve around an early Friday finish to be home in time to watch it.

Reflections of the mind my favourite of all time. The early years were the best, although there are some gems later on.

Years on, I still love it. 8/10