Murder, She Wrote Totally Explained

Everything about Murder She Wrote totally explained

Murder, She Wrote is a popular, long-running television mystery series starring Angela Lansbury as mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher. The series aired for 12 seasons, from 1984 to 1996.
The series was followed by a series of four TV films, aired from 1997 to 2003, and also led to a spin-off, The Law & Harry McGraw.

History

Origin

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 success with their 1975 TV weekly Ellery Queen. The 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.

Premise

The show revolved around the day-to-day life of a retired English teacher who, after being widowed in her early fifties, becomes a very successful mystery writer. Despite fame and fortune, Jessica remains a resident of Cabot Cove, a cozy coastal town in Maine, and maintains her links with all of her old friends, never letting her success go to her head. Exterior shots of Cabot Cove were filmed in Mendocino, California.
   Her one eccentricity is an insatiable curiosity, especially whenever murder rears its ugly head — which it does with great regularity. Critics found it ridiculous how murders seemed to follow Jessica wherever she went. The mystery term "Cabot Cove Syndrome" was eventually coined to describe the constant appearance of dead bodies in remote locations.
   In most episodes, Jessica somehow becomes entangled in a murder investigation. The police are almost always willing to arrest the most likely suspect, but Jessica invariably feels that the so-called guilty party was innocent. Carefully and methodically piecing the clues together and asking astute questions, she always manages to trap the real murderer — who, given the series' "special guest star" policy, was often played by a famous film or TV personality.
   Jessica's relationship with law enforcement officials varies from place to place. Both the sheriffs of Cabot Cove resign themselves to having her meddle in their cases. However, most detectives and police officers don't want her anywhere near their crime scenes, until her accurate deductions convince them to listen to her. Some are fans of her books and are glad to assist her investigation. With time, she makes friends in many police departments across the U.S., as well as a British police officer attached to Scotland Yard.
   In 1991, newly appointed executive producer David Moessinger and producer J. Michael Straczynski were brought aboard in an effort to shore up ratings. They moved Jessica to New York, and revitalized the show, bringing it back into the top ten from the mid-thirties where it had fallen. It was Straczynski who made her an instructor in writing and criminology, and is widely held to have most emphasized her role as a working writer, with all the deadlines and problems involved in that profession.

End

A Sunday-evening tradition for over a decade, CBS decided to move Murder, She Wrote from its winning slot to Thursdays during its twelfth and final season. This was due to a restructuring plan to attract a younger audience to Sunday night. The news was much to Lansbury’s dismay, as CBS were apparently willing to let the show flounder and die due to its age and high production costs. Murder, She Wrote was forced to compete with NBC's extremely popular Friends. Ratings plummeted and in March of 1996 CBS announced that the twelfth season of Murder, She Wrote would definitely be its last. However, the final four episodes were allowed to reoccupy Sunday nights and, not surprisingly, ratings improved. The show ended its twelve-year run quietly with an episode titled Death by Demographics. Jessica’s farewell appears as a voiced-over letter at the very end of the episode. Death by Demographics ranked 16th in the ratings and was the most watched CBS program for that week. After the final episode aired, fans could take heart in the fact that Lansbury would sporadically reprise the character of Jessica Fletcher in a handful of feature-length Murder, She Wrote specials.

Cast

Regular cast

Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher (1984–1996). The show 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. The character was loosely based on Miss Marple, whom Lansbury had portrayed beforehand.
Tom Bosley as Sheriff Amos Tupper (1984–1988), Cabot Cove's sheriff at the start of the series. Tupper later retires and goes to live with his sister. The actor actually left to star in his own TV series, Father Dowling Mysteries.
William Windom as Dr. Seth Hazlitt (1985–1996), the local doctor of Cabot Cove and one of Jessica's best friends.
Ron Masak as Sheriff Mort Metzger (1988–1996), a former NYPD officer who takes Tupper's place as sheriff in the mistaken belief that he'd be living in a more peaceful place.

Recurring cast

Michael Horton as Grady Fletcher (1984–1995), Jessica's not-so-lucky favorite nephew, who (through no fault of his own) always seems to get in trouble with the law. After many romantic disasters, he gets married later in the series. In real life, Horton is married to actress Debbie Zipp, who played Grady's eventual wife, Donna Mayberry. The two had been married for many years before working together on Murder, She Wrote.

Jerry Orbach as Harry McGraw (1985–1991), an old-school private investigator who becomes friends with Jessica. Orbach was popular enough to garner his own, short-lived spinoff series in 1987, The Law & Harry McGraw.

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. Cariou had previously starred with Lansbury in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street as the barber.

Keith Michell as Dennis Stanton (1988–1993), a former jewel thief turned insurance claims investigator, who always solves his cases using unusual methods, and sends a copy of the story to his friend Jessica afterwards.

Wayne Rogers as Charlie Garrett (1993–1995), a disreputable private investigator who usually gets into trouble and needs Jessica's help.

Guest stars

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

Guest Star	Episode(s)
Rene Auberjonois	"Mourning Among the Wisterias" (1988)
Adrienne Barbeau	"Jessica Behind Bars" (1985), "The Bottom Line is Murder" (1987)
Robert Beltran	"Double Jeopardy" (1993), "Time to Die" (1994)
Sonny Bono	"Just Another Fish Story" (1988)
James Caviezel	"Flim Flam" (1995)
George Clooney	"No Laughing Murder" (1987)
Courteney Cox	"Death Stalks the Big Top: Part 1" (1986), "Death Stalks the Big Top: Part 2" (1986)
Marcia Cross	"Ever After" (1992)
John Hillerman	"Magnum on Ice" (1986), Murder on Madison Avenue (1992)
Linda Kelsey	"Capitol Offense" (1985), "Jessica Behind Bars" (1985), "Track of a Soldier" (1996)
Kate Mulgrew	"The Corpse Flew First Class" (1987), "Ever After" (1992), "The Dying Game" (1994)
Leslie Nielsen	"My Johnny Lies Over the Ocean" (1985), "Dead Man's Gold" (1986)
Cynthia Nixon	"Threshold of Fear" (1993)
Joaquin Phoenix	"We're Off to Kill the Wizard" (1984)
Lynn Redgrave	"It's a Dog's Life" (1984)
Tom Selleck	"Magnum on Ice" (1986)
David Ogden Stiers	"Corned Beef & Carnage" (1986), "An Egg To Die For" (1994), "Death By Demographics" (1996), "The Last Free Man" (2001)
Billy Zane	"A Very Good Year for Murder" (1988)

Episodes

For several years, the show was the longest-running mystery show on television. In total, there were 264 weekly episodes including the feature-length pilot episode, The Murder of Sherlock Holmes. Lansbury is the only actress to appear in all of the episodes and TV films.
Many of the episodes took place in either Jessica's hometown of Cabot Cove or in New York, but her travels promoting books or visiting relatives and friends (of which she seemed to have an endless supply) led to cases throughout the world. A 1986 crossover episode with Magnum, P.I. took place in Hawaii, which began in the Magnum, P.I. episode "Novel Connection" and concluded in the Murder, She Wrote episode "Magnum On Ice".
Beginning in season six, Lansbury cut back her appearances. A handful of episodes purported to be stories "written" by Jessica, or submitted to her by friends. She would introduce each episode, but generally disappear until the end, when she'd wrap up the story. Other sleuths, such as reformed jewel thief turned insurance investigator Dennis Stanton (Keith Michell), retired spy Michael Hagarty (Len Cariou), and down-at-heel private eye Harry McGraw (Jerry Orbach), took center stage. Viewers, however, didn't like Jessica's frequent absences, and the "replacement detective" policy was eventually dropped.

Season	Episode #	Season Premiere	Season Finale
Season One	22	September 30 1984	April 21 1985
Season Two	22	September 29 1985	May 18 1986
Season Three	22	September 28 1986	May 10 1987
Season Four	22	September 20 1987	May 8 1988
Season Five	22	October 23 1988	May 21 1989
Season Six	22	September 24 1989	May 20 1990
Season Seven	22	September 16 1990	May 12 1991
Season Eight	22	September 15 1991	May 17 1992
Season Nine	22	September 20 1992	May 16 1993
Season Ten	21	September 12 1993	May 22 1994
Season Eleven	21	September 25 1994	May 14 1995
Season Twelve	24	September 21 1995	May 19 1996

TV Movies

, aired November 2 1997. Jessica is warned away by an FBI agent while following clues to Agua Verde where a woman who left her purse apparently lives.

, aired May 18 2000. Jessica Fletcher puts her sleuthing skills to work at a writer's conference after a Russian author is found dead.

, aired May 2 2001. Jessica Fletcher uncovers a shocking link between her family history and the death of a slave in the 1860s.

, aired May 9 2003. Jessica travels to Ireland, where she attends the reading of an old acquaintance's will. The will contains the clues to finding a secret treasure, one that will require an already strained family to work together in order to solve the mystery. It was based on The Celtic Riddle by Lyn Hamilton. In February 2007 on the ABC daytime talk show The View, Lansbury announced that she hopes to make another Murder, She Wrote TV movie in the near future, if her son, Anthony Shaw, can find a suitable story.

Awards and nominations

Murder, She Wrote received numerous Emmy Award nominations. Angela Lansbury herself holds the record for the most Emmy nominations for outstanding lead actress in a drama series, with 12, one for each season. She never won, which is also a record. The show won only twice, for costume design in 1986 and music composition in 1985.
Lansbury was more successful with the Golden Globe Awards, winning four times.

Emmy Awards

Nominations

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (Angela Lansbury) (1985-1996)

Golden Globes

Wins

Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series - Drama (Angela Lansbury) (1985, 1987, 1990, 1992)

Best TV Series - Drama (1985, 1986) Nominations

Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series - Drama (Angela Lansbury) (1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995)

Best TV Series - Drama (1987-1990)

Screen Actors Guild Awards

Nominations

Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series - Drama (Angela Lansbury) (1995)

Murder, She Wrote Novels

Novels by Donald Bain

In keeping with the spirit of the TV show, the author credit for a series of official original novels, written by Coffee, Tea, or Me? writer Donald Bain, is shared with the fictitious "Jessica Fletcher".

Gin and Daggers (1st edition) (1989)

Manhattans and Murder (1994)

Rum and Razors (1995)

Brandy and Bullets (1995)

Martinis and Mayhem (1995)

A Deadly Judgment (1996)

A Palette for Murder (1996)

The Highland Fling Murders (1997)

Murder on the QE2 (1997)

Murder in Moscow (1998)

A Little Yuletide Murder (1998)

Murder at the Powderhorn Ranch (1999)

Knock 'em Dead (1999)

Gin and Daggers (2nd edition) (2000)

Trick or Treachery (2000)

Blood on the Vine (2001)

Murder in a Minor Key (2001)

Provence - to Die for (2002)

You Bet Your Life (2002)

Majoring in Murder (2003)

Destination Murder (2003)

Dying to Retire (2004)

A Vote for Murder (2004)

The Maine Mutiny (2005)

Margaritas and Murder (2005)

A Question of Murder (2006)

Three Strikes and You're Dead (2006)

Coffee, Tea, or Murder (2007)

Panning For Murder (2007)

Murder on Parade (2008)

A Slaying in Savannah (2008)

Madison Avenue Shoot (2009)

Novels by J. B. Fletcher

During the series many novels that J. B. Fletcher wrote were mentioned. Her first novel, The Corpse Danced at Midnight, was made into a film in one episode.

The Corpse Danced at Midnight

Dirge for a Dead Dachshund

A Faded Rose Beside Her

Murder on the Amazon

Lover's Revenge

The Umbrella Murders

Murder at the Inn

Murder at the Digs

Murder in a Minor Key

The Stain on the Stairs

The Mystery of the Mutilated Minion

The Belgrade Murders

Sanitarium of Death

Calvin Canterbury's Revenge

Murder at the Asylum

Murder Comes to Maine

Good-bye, Charlie

The Corpse That Wasn't There

Ashes, Ashes, Fall Down Dead

The Messengers of Midnight

Mrs. Parker's Revenge

The Poison in My Heart

All the Murderers

Murder at the Ridge Top

The Corpse at Vespers

The Triple Crown Murders

The Crypt of Death

A Killing at Hastings Rock

The Uncaught

Murder in White

The Dead Must Sing

The Killer Called Collect

Stone Cold Dead

Endangered

The Launch Pad Murders

Runway to Murder

The Venomous Valentine

A Case of a Half of Murder

Yours Truly, Damian Sinclair

The Dead Man Sang

The Corpse Swam by Moonlight

The Zero Aspect

DVD releases

Season releases

Universal Studios Home Entertainment has released the first eight seasons of Murder, She Wrote on DVD in Region 1. Universal Playback has released the first seven seasons in Region 2 with season eight to be released on June 23 2008. The remaining seasons are expected to be released soon. Region 2 release dates are the United Kingdom release dates only.

Title	Region 1	Region 2	Region 4
The Complete First Season	March 29 2005	August 29 2005	May 2 2007
The Complete Second Season	December 6 2005	May 1 2006	August 1 2007
The Complete Third Season	March 14 2006	July 31 2006	September 5 2007
The Complete Fourth Season	October 17 2006	March 24 2007	September 5 2007
The Complete Fifth Season	January 30 2007	July 23 2007	November 21 2007
The Complete Sixth Season	April 17 2007	September 10 2007	November 21 2007
The Complete Seventh Season	October 9 2007	March 31 2008	April 30 2008
The Complete Eighth Season	April 1 2008	June 23 2008	July 2 2008

Other releases

In the United Kingdom, Universal Playback has released several multi-season box sets.

Title	Region 1	Region 2	Region 4
Seasons 1–3	N/A	November 20 2006	N/A
Seasons 1–5	N/A	October 22 2007	N/A
Seasons 1–8	N/A	June 23 2008	N/A

International

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

Country	Channel(s)	Title	Translation	Language
Australia	Network Ten, TV1	*Murder, She Wrote*		English
Austria	ORF	*Mord ist ihr Hobby*	Murder is Her Hobby	German dubbed
Belgium	VTM	*Murder, She Wrote*		English, Dutch subtitles
Brazil	Universal Channel	*Assassinato por Escrito*	Written Murder	Portuguese dubbed
Bulgaria	Fox Crime, Diema	*Убийство по сценарии*	Murder, She Wrote	Bulgarian dubbed
Canada	A&E	*Murder, She Wrote*		English
Canada: Quebec	TQS	*Elle écrit au meurtre*	She writes at [/yellat] murder	French dubbed
Chile	Canal 13	*Reportera del crimen*	Crime Reporter	Spanish dubbed
Croatia	HRT	*Ubojstvo, napisala je*	Murder, She Wrote	English, Croatian subtitles
Czech Republic	TV Nova	*To je vražda, napsala*	Murder, She Wrote	Czech dubbed
Denmark	DR 2	*Hun så et mord*	She Saw a Murder	English, Danish subtitles
Estonia	TV3	*Mõrv sai teoks*	Murder Became True	English, Estonian subtitles
Finland	YLE TV1	*Murhasta tuli totta*	Murder Became True	English, Finnish subtitles
France	La Cinq, TF1, TV Breizh	*Arabesque*	Arabesque	French dubbed
Germany	ARD, RTL, Super RTL	*Immer, wenn sie Krimis schrieb, Mord ist ihr Hobby*	Each Time When She Wrote a Crime Novel, Murder is Her Hobby	German dubbed
Greece	Star Channel	*Η συγγραφέας ντετέκτιβ*	The Detective Writer	English, Greek subtitles
Hungary	Viasat 3	*Gyilkos sorok*	Murderous Lines	Hungarian dubbed
Ireland	RTÉ One	*Murder, She Wrote*		English
Italy	Rai Uno, Fox Crime	*La signora in giallo*	The Lady in Yellow	Italian dubbed
Japan	NHK, Mystery Channel, LaLa TV, Chiba TV, Gunma TV	*Jessica obasan no jikenbo*	Aunt Jessica's Case Files	Japanese dubbed
Mexico	Universal Channel	*La reportera del crimen*	The Crime Reporter	Spanish dubbed
Netherlands	RTL 8	*Murder, She Wrote*		English, Dutch subtitles
Norway	TV3	*Jessica Fletcher*	Jessica Fletcher	English, Norwegian subtitles
Philippines	GMA Network, RJTV 29	*Murder, She Wrote*		English
Portugal	RTP 1	*Crime, Disse Ela*	Crime, She Said	English, Portuguese subtitles
Romania	Pro Cinema, TVR 2	*Verdict: Crima*	Verdict: Murder	English, Romanian subtitles
Russia	НТВ, Домашний	*Она написала убийство*	Murder, She Wrote	Russian dubbed
Slovakia	Markíza	*To je vražda, napísala*	Murder, She Wrote	Slovak dubbed
Slovenia	Kanal A	*Umor je napisala*	Murder, She Wrote	English, Slovene subtitles
Spain	TVE, Calle 13, Antena 3TV	*Se ha escrito un crimen*	A Crime has Been Written	Spanish dubbed
Spain: Catalonia	TV3	*S'ha escrit un crim*	A Crime has Been Written	Catalan dubbed
Spain: Galicia	TVG	*Escribiuse un crime*	A Crime has Been Written	Galician dubbed
Sweden	TV3	*Mord och inga visor*	Murder and not Melodies	English, Swedish subtitles
Turkey	TRT 1, Star TV, Kanal D	*Cinayet Dosyası*	Murder File
United Kingdom	ITV, BBC Two, UKTV Gold, UKTV Drama	*Murder, She Wrote*		English
United States	A&E, Biography Channel, Hallmark Channel	*Murder, She Wrote*		English
Uruguay	Monte Carlo Televisión	*Reportera del crimen*	Crime Reporter	Spanish dubbed

Further Information

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