Murder, She Wrote

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.

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.

I love this show. Angela Lansbury shines in the role of her career as the delightful mystery novelist,Jessica Fletcher. She never recieved an Emmy for the role, but should have. The writing is top notch, and the mysteries are engrossing. This is one of my all-time favorite shows,and is so much fun to watch.The many guest stars are great too.A wonderful show.Catch the reruns!

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 haven't watched this please do. Angela Lansbury was amazing in this!