Murder, She Wrote

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Murder, She Wrote

Genre	Mystery
Running time	60 Minutes
Creator(s)	J. Michael Straczynski, Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson, William Link
Executive producer(s)	Angela Lansbury, Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson
Starring	Angela Lansbury, Tom Bosley, Ron Masak, William Windom
Country of origin	United States
Original channel	CBS
Original run	Sep 30, 1984–May 19, 1996
No. of episodes	264
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Murder, She Wrote is a long-running television mystery series starring Angela Lansbury as mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher.

1 Origins
2 Plot
3 Cast
4 Pilot & TV Movies
5 DVD
- 5.1 DVD Releases
- 5.2 DVD Box Art
6 International
7 Trivia
8 See also
9 External links

[edit] Origins

Debuting September 30, 1984, Murder, She Wrote, TV's longest-running mystery series, might never have come about had producers Richard Levinson and William Link enjoyed a success with their 1975 TV weekly Ellery Queen. That particular series folded after a single season, but Levinson and Link were still committed to the concept of a best-selling murder-mystery novelist who solved real murders when not at the typewriter. By changing the gender of their protagonist from male to female, and transforming the character from a good-looking, absentminded young pedant to a middle-aged, down-to-earth widow, the producers were able to parlay their "mystery writer/amateur detective" premise into a 12-year hit for CBS. Angela Lansbury starred as Jessica Fletcher, who after being widowed in her early fifties achieved success as a mystery writer. Despite fame and fortune, Jessica remained a resident of Cabot Cove, a cozy coastal town in Maine, and maintained her links with all of her old friends, never letting the popularity of her novels go to her head. Jessica's one eccentricity was an insatiable curiosity, especially whenever murder reared its ugly head -- which it did wherever she went. The "official" police were almost always willing to slap the cuffs on the most likely suspect, but Jessica invariably felt that the so-called guilty party wasn't. Carefully and methodically piecing the clues together, gently but firmly asking questions that no else had asked, and refusing to give up her investigation despite warnings to do so, Jessica always managed to trap the guilty party -- who, given the series' "special guest star" policy, was often played by a famous film or TV personality.

While Angela Lansbury was the series' only true regular, several other characters made recurring appearances, notably her Cabot Cove friends Sheriff Amos Tupper (Tom Bosley) (later replaced by Ron Masak as Sheriff Mort Metzger) and crusty general practitioner Dr. Seth Hazlitt (William Windom). During the series' eighth season, Jessica accepted a full-time teaching job in New York, returning to Cabot Cove on weekends, where she often compared notes with Deputy Andy Broom (Louis Herthum). Also showing up from time to time was Jessica's nephew Grady Fletcher (Michael Horton), who through no fault of his own always seemed to be in trouble with the law, obliging Aunt Jessica to help him out -- and to solve another murder or two along the way. Though Angela Lansbury seemed to enjoy carrying the load of the series by herself (she was also one of the executive producers), beginning in season six the actress cut back her appearances, allowing such other sleuths as reformed jewel thief Dennis Stanton (Keith Michell), retired spy Michael Hagarty, (Len Cariou) and down-at-the-heel private eye Harry McGraw (Jerry Orbach) to take center stage. Viewers, however, didn't like Jessica's frequent absences during this period, so the "replacement detective" policy was eventually dropped.

A Sunday-evening tradition for over a decade, Murder, She Wrote was moved to Thursdays during its twelfth and final season, much to the dismay of its star, especially as she was forced to go head-to-head with NBC's extremely popular Friends. Not surprisingly, ratings plummeted on Murder throughout the season, and the show was canceled in August of 1996. However, Angela Lansbury fans could take heart in the fact that she would sporadically revive the character of Jessica Fletcher in a handful of feature-length Murder, She Wrote specials during the early years of the 21st century.

[edit] Plot

The show revolved around the day to day life of a retired English teacher turned professional mystery writer named Jessica Fletcher. In each episode, Jessica would somehow become entangled in a murder investigation and would come out being the one person able to make sense of the case. This being the basis of the show, it was viewed by critics as ridiculous how murders seemed to follow Jessica around the country. Many of the episodes took place in either Jessica's hometown of Cabot Cove or New York, where she later moved, but her travels promoting books or visiting relatives and friends lead to cases all around the USA, England and other places of the English-speaking world. A crossover episode with Magnum, P.I. took place in Hawaii. Another characteristic point of the series was that Jessica, though widowed and childless, had an endless collection of nephews, nieces, cousins, in-laws and other relatives or friends who always needed her help.

Jessica's relationship with law enforcement officials varied from place to place. Both the sheriffs of Cabot Cove were used to, or resigned themselves to having her meddle in their cases. However, most detectives and police officers didn't want her anywhere near their crime scenes, until her accurate deductions convinced them to listen to what she had to say. Others were fans of her books and glad to let her snoop. With time, she made friends in many police departments across the USA, as well as a British police officer attached to Scotland Yard.

A handful of episodes were stories "written by" Jessica, or submitted to her by friends. She would appear at the beginning of each episode to introduce it, but generally did not re-appear until the end, to wrap up the story.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Regular Cast

Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher (1984 - 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2003)
Tom Bosley as Sheriff Amos Tupper (1984 - 1988), Cabot Cove's first sheriff. He later retired and went to live with his sister.
William Windom as Dr. Seth Hazlitt (1985 - 1996), one of Jessica's best friends.
Ron Masak as Sheriff Mort Metzger (1989 - 1996), a former NYPD officer who took the place as Sheriff of Cabot Cove to live more peacefully.

[edit] Regular Guest Stars

Michael Horton as Grady Fletcher (1984-1995), Jessica's not-so-lucky favorite nephew. After many romantic disasters, he got married to Donna later in the series.
Jerry Orbach as Harry McGraw (1985-1991), an old-school detective who becomes friends with Jessica. This character provided the template for Orbach's most famous role, Law & Order detective Lenny Briscoe.^{[citation needed]}
Len Cariou as Michael Hagarty (1985-1992), a British MI6 agent of Irish origin, who would appear when Jessica least expected him to drag her into a dangerous case.
Keith Michell as Dennis Stanton (1985-1993), a former jewel thief turned insurance claims investigator, who always solved his cases with unusual methods, and send a copy of the story to his friend Jessica afterwards.

[edit] Guest Stars

Many famous or soon-to-be-famous actors have had guest spots on Murder, She Wrote:

Rene Auberjonois (Murder in a Minor Key, 1987; Mourning Among the Wisterias, 1988)
Martin Balsam (Death Stalks The Big Top: Parts 1 & 2, 1986)
Gene Barry (Test Of Wills, 1989)
Susan Batten (Murder In The Afternoon, 1985)
Robert Beltran (Double Jeopardy, 1993; Time to Die, 1994)
Polly Bergen (School For Scandal, 1985)
Linda Blair (Murder Takes The Bus, 1985)
Susan Blakely (The Error Oh Her Ways, 1989; Suspicion Of Murder, 1990)
Sonny Bono (Just Another Fish Story, 1988)
Ernest Borgnine (Death Takes A Dive, 1987)
George Clooney (No Laughing Murder, 1987)
James Coco (We're off to kill the Wizard, 1984)
Courteney Cox (Death Stalks the Big Top: Parts 1 & 2, 1986)
Mary Crosby (Tainted Lady, 1991; The Witch's Curse, 1992)
Marcia Cross (Ever After, 1992)
Yvonne DeCarlo (Jessica Behind Bars, 1985)
David Doyle (Sudden Death, 1985)
Trevor Eve (Tinker, Tailor, Liar, Thief, 1992)
Conchata Ferrell (Something Borrowed, Something Blue, 1989)
Genie Francis (Hooray For Homicide, 1984; Corned Beef And Carnage, 1986)
Terri Garber (Three Strikes, You're Out, 1989)
Stewart Granger (Paint Me A Murder, 1985)
Karen Grassle (Harbinger Of Death, 1987)
Buddy Hackett (No Laughing Murder, 1987)
Neil Patrick Harris (Lone Witness, 1993)
Arthur Hill (The Murder of Sherlock Holmes, 1984; The Return of Preston Giles, 1990)
Olivia Hussey (Sing A Song Of Murder, 1985)
Brian Keith (The Murder of Sherlock Holmes, 1984; The Return of Preston Giles, 1990)
Alice Krige (Murder In The Afternoon, 1985)
Martin Landau (Birds Of A Feather, 1984)
Piper Laurie (Murder At The Oasis, 1985)
Steve Lawrence (No Laughing Murder, 1987)
Michael Learned (Trevor Hudson's Legacy, 1989)
Janet Leigh (Doom With A View, 1987)
Roddy McDowell (School For Scandal, 1985)
Rue McClanahan (Murder Takes The Bus, 1985)
Vera Miles (Jessica Behind Bars, 1985; Deadly Misunderstanding, 1990; Thursday's Child, 1991)
Ricardo Montalban (Murder In F Sharp, 1990)
Kate Mulgrew (The Corpse Flew First Class, 1987; Ever After, 1992; The Dying Game, 1994)
Megan Mullally (Coal Miner's Slaughter, 1988)
Barry Newman (Snow White, Blood Red, 1988)
Leslie Nielsen (My Johnny Lies Over the Ocean, 1985; Dead Man's Gold, 1986)
Cynthia Nixon (Threshold of Fear, 1993)
Adrian Paul (Danse Diabolique, 1992)
Joaquin Phoenix (We're Off to Kill the Wizard, 1984)
Summer Phoenix (We're Off to Kill the Wizard, 1984)
John Rhys-Davies (JB As In Jailbird, 1988)
Wayne Rogers (A Quaking in Aspen, 1995)
Esther Rolle (Reflections Of The Mind, 1985)
Ruth Roman (If It's Thursday, It Must be Beverley, 1987; The Sins Of Castle Cove, 1989)
Cesar Romero (Paint Me A Murder, 1985)
Emma Samms (Snow White, Blood Red, 1988)
Tom Selleck (Magnum On Ice, 1986)
Jean Simmons (Mirror, Mirror On The Wall: Parts 1 & 2, 1989)
Parker Stevenson (Sticks And Stones, 1985)
Dean Stockwell (Deadpan, 1988)
Ray Walston (The Way To Dusty Deaths, 1987)
Mary Wickes (Widow, Weep For Me, 1985)
Billy Zane (A Very Good Year for Murder, 1988)

[edit] Pilot & TV Movies

The Murder of Sherlock Holmes

Main article: The Murder of Sherlock Holmes

The Murder of Sherlock Holmes is the Murder, She Wrote pilot episode that first aired September 30, 1984 on CBS.

Murder, She Wrote: South by Southwest

Main article: Murder, She Wrote: South by Southwest

Murder, She Wrote: South by Southwest is the first Murder, She Wrote TV movie that first aired November 2, 1997 on CBS.

Murder, She Wrote: A Story to Die For

Main article: Murder, She Wrote: A Story to Die For

Murder, She Wrote: A Story to Die For is the second Murder, She Wrote TV movie that first aired May 18, 2000 on CBS.

Murder, She Wrote: The Last Free Man

Main article: Murder, She Wrote: The Last Free Man

Murder, She Wrote: The Last Free Man is the third Murder, She Wrote TV movie that first aired May 2, 2001 on CBS.

Murder, She Wrote: The Celtic Riddle

Main article: Murder, She Wrote: The Celtic Riddle

Murder, She Wrote: The Celtic Riddle is the fourth and last Murder, She Wrote TV movie that first aired May 9, 2003 on CBS.

[edit] DVD

[edit] DVD Releases

Season(s)	Release Date
Season(s)	Region 1	Regions 2, 4 & 5	Region 2 - French
The Complete First Season	March 29, 2005	August 29, 2005	October 24, 2006
The Complete Second Season	December 6, 2005	May 1, 2006	February 22, 2007
The Complete Third Season	March 14, 2006	July 31, 2006	TBA
The Complete Fourth Season	October 17, 2006	March 26, 2007	TBA
The Complete Fifth Season	January 30, 2007	TBA	TBA
Seasons One, Two & Three	N/A	November 20, 2006	N/A

[edit] DVD Box Art

The Complete First Season	The Complete Second Season	The Complete Third Season	The Complete Fourth Season
The Complete Fifth Season

[edit] International

Murder, She Wrote has been broadcast in many countries around the world, and is repeated regularly in many of them.

Country	Channel	Title	Translation	Language	Seasons on DVD
Australia	Network Ten & TV1	Murder, She Wrote	Murder, She Wrote	English	1-3 (4 - Mar 26, 07)
Brasil	Universal Channel	Assassinato por Escrito	Written Murder	Portuguese dubbed
Canada		Murder, She Wrote	Murder, She Wrote	English	1-4 (5 - Jan 30, 07)
Czech Republic	TV Nova	To je vražda, napsala	Murder, She Wrote	Czech dubbed
Denmark		Hun så et mord	She Saw a Murder
Finland	YLE TV1	Murhasta tuli totta	Murder Became True
France	La Cinq	Arabesque	Arabesque	French dubbed	1 (2 - Feb 22, 07)
Germany	RTL & Super RTL	Mord ist ihr Hobby	Murder Is Her Hobby	German dubbed
Greece	Star Channel	Η συγγραφέας ντετέκτιβ	The Writer Detective	English, Greek subtitles
Ireland	RTÉ ONE	Murder, She Wrote	Murder, She Wrote	English	1-3 (4 - Mar 26, 07)
Italy	Rai Uno	La signora in giallo	The Lady In Yellow	Italian dubbed	1st season (January 10, 2007)
Japan	NHK, Mystery Channel, LaLa TV, Chiba TV & Gunma TV	Jessica obasan no jikenbo	Aunt Jessica's Case Files	Japanese dubbed
Latin America		Reportera del crimen	The Crime Reporter
Netherlands	RTL 7	Murder, She Wrote	Murder, She Wrote	English, Dutch subtitles	1
Spain	TVE & Calle 13	Se ha escrito un crimen	A Crime Has Been Written	Spanish dubbed	1
Spain: Catalonia	TV3	S'ha escrit un crim	A Crime Has Been Written	Catalan dubbed
Spain: Galicia	TVG	Escribeuse un crime	A Crime Has Been Written	Galician dubbed
Sweden	TV3	Mord och inga visor	Murder Without Melodies
Romania	Pro Cinema	Verdict: Crima	Verdict: Murder	English
Turkey	Star TV	Cinayet Dosyasi	Murder File
UK	BBC ONE, UKTV Gold & UKTV Drama	Murder, She Wrote	Murder, She Wrote	English	1-3 (4 - Mar 26, 07)
USA	A&E & The Biography Channel	Murder, She Wrote	Murder, She Wrote	English	1-4 (5 - Jan 30, 07)

[edit] Trivia

Murder, She Wrote was originally conceived as a vehicle for Jean Stapleton, who had just finished a nine-year run on All in the Family; when Stapleton decided she didn't want to commit to another television series, the role was offered to Lansbury. Doris Day was offered the part afterwards, and also declined.
In the beginning, Fletcher was not even interested in publishing her first novel, and definitely not interested in sleuthing real-life cases. However, trouble usually followed her, and the formerly peaceful life she lived in Cabot Cove became a rarity, only showing up from time to time before she was involved in her next investigation.
The show enjoyed a wide audience, and was for several years the longest-running mystery show on television. Throughout its run, countless notable stars played guest parts. In total there were 264 weekly episodes, and Lansbury subsequently reprised the character in four (to date) T.V. movies between 1997 and 2003.
Although Lansbury was the show's main star, the series was arranged so that several episodes each year would focus upon one of her friends and their mystery-solving exploits, allowing Lansbury to appear only briefly in the episodes and take a break in filming. One of these recurring characters, a private detective named Harry McGraw (Jerry Orbach) was popular enough to garner his own, short-lived spinoff series in 1987, The Law & Harry McGraw. The character of Jessica Fletcher also appeared in an episode of Magnum, P.I. in 1986.
Lansbury holds the record for the most Prime-time Emmy Nominations for an outstanding lead actress in a drama series: 12, one for every season 1984-1996—she never won (which is also a record).
A series of original novels based upon Murder, She Wrote began in the late 1980s and new books continue to be written and published; in keeping with the spirit of the TV show, the author credit for these books, which are written by Coffee, Tea, or Me? author Donald Bain, is shared with the fictitious "Jessica Fletcher".
Exterior shots of "Cabot Cove" were filmed in Mendocino, California.
In Series 2, Episode 5, Sing a Song of Murder, we learn Jessica has a cousin, Emma McGill, a music hall singer from London (who is also played by Angela Lansbury). She was named after Lansbury's mother, Moyna McGill. Emma appeared in two other episodes.
Angela Lansbury is the only actress to appear in all 264 episodes throughout its 12 season run on CBS.
In the UK some episodes were networked (shown nationally) by the ITV Network and others were shown regionally. Yorkshire Television were the most consistent and had the privilege of being the first ITV region to screen many episodes in their Tuesday 8pm slot. Other regions preferred Falcon Crest in this slot.
During the original ITV run in the UK, two commercial breaks were inserted into each episode. The first break always occurred at the point where the body had been discovered.
The Complete Third Season on DVD was originally going to have an episode from Season Four in its Bonus Materials section but was changed to the Magnum, P.I. crossover episode "Novel Connection", thanks to the site owner of the tvshowsondvd.com website, Gord Lacey. [1]
The fourth Murder, She Wrote TV movie, Murder, She Wrote: The Celtic Riddle, was based on a novel by Lyn Hamilton, The Celtic Riddle.
In the first season episode Capitol Offense, Jessica is appointed for a short time to the US House of Representatives. Following US government protocol, her official title of address would be "Congresswoman Fletcher" for the rest of her life.
During the opening credits, Jessica would type "Murder" and then "She Wrote" on her typewriter, and it would show her typing various other sentences before she placed several typed pages into a book cover with "Murder, She Wrote" printed on it. In later episodes, she would type "Murder" on her typewriter, but finish the rest with a computer and printer.