Murder, She Wrote

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Murder, She Wrote

Genre	Mystery
Creator(s)	Peter S. Fischer Richard Levinson William Link
Starring	Angela Lansbury Tom Bosley Ron Masak William Windom
Theme music composer	John Addison
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	12
No. of episodes	264 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Angela Lansbury Peter S. Fischer Richard Levinson
Running time	60 Minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	CBS
Original run	September 30, 1984 – May 19, 1996
Chronology
Preceded by	The Murder of Sherlock Holmes
Followed by	South by Southwest
Related shows	The Law & Harry McGraw
Links
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Jessica in the Murder, She Wrote episode 'The Cemetery Vote'

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

1 Origin
2 Premise
3 End
4 Cast
5 Episodes
6 Pilot and TV movies
7 Murder, She Wrote novels
- 7.1 Novels by Donald Bain
- 7.2 Novels by J. B. Fletcher
8 DVD releases
9 International
10 Awards and nominations
- 10.1 Emmy Awards
- 10.2 Golden Globes
11 Trivia
12 External links

[edit] 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.

[edit] Premise

The show revolved around the day-to-day life of a retired English teacher who, after being widowed in her early fifties, became a very successful 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 her success go to her head. Her one eccentricity was an insatiable curiosity, especially whenever murder reared its ugly head — which it did with great regularity.

In each episode, Jessica would somehow become entangled in a murder investigation. The police were almost always willing to arrest the most likely suspect, but Jessica invariably felt that the so-called guilty party wasn't. Carefully and methodically piecing the clues together and asking questions that no one else had thought of, she 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.

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 were glad to assist her investigation. With time, she made friends in many police departments across the USA, 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.

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.

[edit] End

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 compete with NBC's extremely popular Friends. Not surprisingly, ratings plummeted and the show was canceled in August of 1996. However, 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.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Regular cast

Selth Hazlitt, Jessica Fletcher and Mort Metzger.

Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher (1984 – 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2003). 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.
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 Tupper's place as sheriff in the mistaken anticipation of living in a more peaceful place.

[edit] Recurring guest stars

Michael Horton as Grady Fletcher (1984–1995), Jessica's not-so-lucky favorite nephew, who (through no fault of his own) always seemed to get in trouble with the law. After many romantic disasters, he got married later in the series.
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. The 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. Cariou was reteamed with Lansbury in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
Keith Michell as Dennis Stanton (1988–1993), a former jewel thief turned insurance claims investigator, who always solved his cases using unusual methods, and sent a copy of the story to his friend Jessica afterwards.

[edit] Guest stars

Main article: List of Murder, She Wrote guest stars

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

Rene Auberjonois (Mourning Among the Wisterias, 1988)
Robert Beltran (Double Jeopardy, 1993; Time to Die, 1994)
Sonny Bono (Just Another Fish Story, 1988)
George Clooney (No Laughing Murder, 1987)
Courteney Cox (Death Stalks the Big Top: Parts 1 & 2, 1986)
Marcia Cross (Ever After, 1992)
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)
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)
Tom Selleck (Magnum On Ice, 1986)
Billy Zane (A Very Good Year for Murder, 1988)

[edit] Episodes

Main article: List of Murder, She Wrote episodes

The show was for several years the longest-running mystery show on television. There were 264 weekly episodes in all.

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 (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.

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, to wrap up the story. Other sleuths, such as reformed jewel thief Dennis Stanton (Keith Michell), retired spy Michael Hagarty (Len Cariou), and down-at-the-heels 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.

[edit] Pilot and TV movies

The Celtic Riddle

The Murder of Sherlock Holmes, the pilot episode, aired September 30, 1984 on CBS.

Murder, She Wrote: South by Southwest, the first of four TV movies, aired November 2, 1997 on CBS.

Murder, She Wrote: A Story to Die For, aired May 18, 2000 on CBS.

Murder, She Wrote: The Last Free Man, aired May 2, 2001 on CBS.

Murder, She Wrote: The Celtic Riddle, aired May 9, 2003 on CBS. It was based on a novel by Lyn Hamilton, The Celtic Riddle.

[edit] Murder, She Wrote novels

[edit] Novels by Donald Bain

Official Murder, She Wrote novels by Donald Bain and 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)

[edit] Novels by J. B. Fletcher

Novels J. B. Fletcher wrote that were mentioned during the series:

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

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

[edit] DVD releases

Season(s)	Region 1	Region 2, 4 & 5	Region 2 — French
The Complete First Season Full details: 1	March 29, 2005	August 29, 2005	October 24, 2006
The Complete Second Season Full details: 2	December 6, 2005	May 1, 2006	February 22, 2007
The Complete Third Season Full details: 3	March 14, 2006	July 31, 2006	June 27, 2007
The Complete Fourth Season Full details: 4	October 17, 2006	March 24, 2007	TBA
The Complete Fifth Season Full details: 5	January 30, 2007	June 11, 2007	TBA
The Complete Sixth Season Full details: 6	April 17, 2007	September 10, 2007	TBA
Seasons One, Two & Three Full details: 1-3	N/A	November 20, 2006 (only available in R2)	N/A

[edit] International

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

Country	Channels	Title	Translation	Language
Australia	Network Ten, TV1	Murder, She Wrote	Murder, She Wrote	English
Austria	ORF	Mord ist ihr Hobby	Murder Is Her Hobby	German dubbed
Brasil	Universal Channel	Assassinato por Escrito	Written Murder	Portuguese dubbed
Canada	CBS, A&E	Murder, She Wrote	Murder, She Wrote	English
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
Finland	YLE TV1	Murhasta tuli totta	Murder Became True	English, Finnish subtitles
France	La Cinq	Arabesque	Arabesque	French dubbed
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
Hungary	Viasat 3	Gyilkos sorok	Crimer lines	Hungarian dubbed
Ireland	RTÉ One	Murder, She Wrote	Murder, She Wrote	English
Italy	Rai Uno	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
Latin America		Reportera del crimen	The Crime Reporter
Netherlands	RTL 7	Murder, She Wrote	Murder, She Wrote	English, Dutch subtitles
Portugal	RTP 1	Crime, Disse Ela	Crime, She Said	English, Portuguese subtitles
Slovenia	Kanal A	Umor je napisala	Murder, she wrote	English, Slovene subtitles
Spain	TVE, Calle 13	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	Escribeuse un crime	A Crime Has Been Written	Galician dubbed
Sweden	TV3	Mord och inga visor	Murder Without Melodies	English, Swedish subtitles
Romania	Pro Cinema	Verdict: Crima	Verdict: Murder	English, Romanian subtitles
Turkey	Star TV	Cinayet Dosyasi	Murder File
UK	ITV1, Granada Plus, BBC One, UKTV Gold, UKTV Drama	Murder, She Wrote	Murder, She Wrote	English
USA	CBS, A&E, Biography Channel	Murder, She Wrote	Murder, She Wrote	English

[edit] 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, in 1985, 1987, 1990 and 1992.

[edit] Emmy Awards

Nominations

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (Murder, She Wrote, 1985-1996)

[edit] Golden Globes

Wins

Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series - Drama (Murder, She Wrote, 1992)
Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series - Drama (Murder, She Wrote, 1990)
Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series - Drama (Murder, She Wrote, 1987)
Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series - Drama (Murder, She Wrote, 1985)

Nominations

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

[edit] Trivia

Angela Lansbury as Jessica

Jessica was loosely based on Miss Marple, an Agatha Christie character, first seen on the big screen in Murder, She Said (1962, directed by George Pollock) starring Dame Margaret Rutherford as Miss Marple. Lansbury portrayed Miss Marple in 1980, in The Mirror Crack'd (EMI, directed by Guy Hamilton), based on Christie's 1962 novel.
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 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.
In Season 2, episode 5, Sing a Song of Murder, it is revealed that Jessica has a cousin, Emma Macgill, a music hall singer from London (also played by Lansbury). She was named after Lansbury's mother, Moyna Macgill. Emma appeared in two other episodes.
Angela Lansbury is the only actress to appear in all 264 episodes.
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.
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.
In the American TV series Diagnosis: Murder, episode seven of season six is titled Write, She Murdered which is a parody of Murder, She Wrote.