Murder, She Wrote is an hour-long mystery series starring Angela Lansbury as widowed author Jessica Fletcher, a resident of Cabot Cove, Maine. The series was created by Peter S. Fischer and the team of Richard Levinson and William Link, with the latter having created Columbo and developed Ellery Queen. Their combined resumes include scripts written for Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Fugitive, Mannix, Kojak, and Baretta. The title is a nod the Agatha Christie novel, Murder She Said, featuring Miss Marple, whom Lansbury previously played in The Mirror Crack’d (1980). She was Emmy nominated for Outstanding Actress in a Drama each season. Murder, She Wrote: The Complete Series is a 62-disc set that presents for the first time on Blu-ray all twelve seasons, which first aired from September 1984 to May 1996, plus four TV-movies South by Southwest (1997), A Story to Die For (2000), The Last Free Man (2001), and The Celtic Riddle (2003).
Buy Murder, She Wrote: The Complete Series Blu-rayWhen viewers first meet Jessica in “The Murder of Sherlock Holmes,” she shows off her detective skills when explaining to the director of a play which character is obviously the murdered. Thanks to her nephew Grady surreptitiously submitting her novel to a publisher, she begins her best-selling, book writing career.
Murders spring up almost everywhere Jessica travels and inevitably, she asked to help solve the case because the authorities aren’t as smart as she is. They miss all the clues; some of which happen in her presence and illustrate her amazing recall because she remembers things that happen before there is a body or a case to solve. Of course, this is a contrivance to allow the authority figures to be suspects, but it seems odd. During the reveals, the villains crack under her supposition or get tricked into revealing themselves. No one ever says, “Who is this woman?” or “I don’t have to answer to you.”
For the first four seasons, Jessica is assisted by Cabot Cove’s Sheriff Amos Tupper (Tom Bosley) and then Sheriff Mort Metzger (Ron Masak) takes over the position the remainder of the series. After appearing as Attorney Sam Breen in Season One’s “Funeral at Fifty-Mile,” William Windom plays Dr. Seth Hazlitt the following eleven seasons. In the third season, there’s a crossover with TV’s Magnum P.I. in “Magnum on Ice” with the first part of the crossover occurring in Magnum P.I. “Novel Connection,” which is included in the set.
During Seasons 6 and 7, Lansbury asked for a lighter workload, which led to episodes where Jessica’s friends solve the cases, characters including private investigator Harry McGraw (Jerry Orbach), reformed thief Dennis Stanton (Keith Michell), and MI5 agent Michael Hagarty (Len Cariou). During Season 8, Jessica moves to New York City and teaches criminology at a local college.
The video for the collection presents the programs in 1080p/MPEG-4 AVC encoded transfers. The seasons and TV-movie South by Southwest are displayed at the aspect ratio of 1.33:1. The remaining three TV-movies are displayed at 1.78:1. Although the qualities of the first two seasons aren’t as consistent as the rest of the set, what mainly comes through are strong hues, inky blacks, and bright whites. The image looks clean, presents good textures, and there’s an appearance of light film grain. The audio is available in DTS-HD MA 2.0. Dialogue is consistently clear. The score and effects come through with good clarity. The mix is well balanced and the tracks shows no sign of age and wear.
The Bonus Features are:
- Season Three Disc 2: Magnum P.I. – “Novel Connection”
- Season Three Disc 5: The Great ‘80s TV Flashback (30 min)
- Season Five Disc 1: Origin of a Series. (10 min)
- Season Six Disc 1: Recipe for a Hit (11 min); America’s Top Sleuths (30 min)
- Season Seven Disc 1: The Perils of Success (9 min)
Murder, She Wrote: The Complete Series is a delightful collection of 268 cozy murder mysteries. The show is amusing and a fun puzzle to unravel. At times it stretches believability to a point that non-mystery fans might have difficulty accepting Jessica’s detective work; however, Lansbury’s charming performances may make up for any plot flaws. One the show’s great delights is the cast of each episode, which is typically comprised of well-known actors from film and television, but may also include future stars in the early days of their acting careers. The Complete Series is a commitment of time, money, and shelf space, but fans of the show should be pleased with the high-definition presentation.
