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.

You don't have to be an old lady to like this show; I'm sixteen years old and a male to boot. I am a big fan of whodunits, and always have been. This is one of the best. In the first few seasons, several episodes featured creative and delightful gimmicks. Although creatively the series sagged a bit in the "middle years," the last two seasons showed a resurgence in quality. Throughout the series' twelve years, however, very few episodes failed to deliver in terms of the mystery itself: it's always fun to try to find the clues and deduce their meaning before the detective does, but if you don't, it's also fun to hear the explanation.

Although there are several lovable recurring characters, the only real regular in the series is Angela Lansbury. Consequently, the format is refreshingly free, and the writers aren't forced to bog the stories down for a boatload of regulars. However, there are always plenty of interesting characters acting as suspects. Frequently there are famous beloved older guest stars, especially in the first few seasons, but the special guest star is not always the killer; the mystery always comes first! This is an old-fashioned mystery series, unmarred by an overdose of violence or melodrama. Plus, Jessica Fletcher is a character that one can't help but love, and Angela Lansbury plays it to charming perfection.

There is, of course, the obvious creative license: that Jessica Fletcher always accidentally stumbles across a murder. If you are willing to put this aside, this is a show one can really enjoy. (Note: The show pokes fun at itself on occasion, including one where Jessica reveals that she is nicknamed "the Bloody Mary of murder.")

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

I absolutely love this show. Angela Lansbury was great as Jessica Fletcher and made the show her own.The weird thing about this show is that Jessica Fletcher rarely had a love interest. She may not have had a love interest but she did have a lot of male companions who would regularly help her solve the murders, like for instance Seth Hazlet. She would be pondering about the murder and Seth would say something and suddenly everything would fit together and she would have the murderer.

The show can be enjoyed by all but only if you see it as escapist fun that is not taxing on the brain. It shouldn't be seen as a realistic TV show, if viewers watch it expecting it to be realistic then they will be sorely disappointed. For instance to obtain evidence Jessica would break into offices, people who watch a lot of murder mysteries(like me) would know this evidence would be inadmissible in the court of law and the killer would get off scot free.

The show ended in 96 but I normally catch it on reruns. Although I am a fan of the series but I still feel it should have ended after the 93 season. After the 93 season the plots became increasingly tired and predictable. In fact I thought the story lines became far more soapy, it became more about the characters and less about the murders.

Out of all the murder mystery shows I watch I like this the most. It was fun to spot stars like Ceasar Romero (the Joker from the Batman T.V. series. Over the years most stars came on the show more than once but in different roles.