Murder, She Wrote The Complete Twelfth Season

Lady sleuths have been popular characters in books for decades.  Nancy Drew and Mrs. Marple come to mind.

Detective stories have involved males predominantly but once in awhile a special female sleuth comes along that captures the imagination of readers and TV show and movie enthusiasts.

One such character involved a widow who wrote mystery novels.  Her research often called upon her to use her observation skills when confronted with real murders and crimes.

I’m talking of course about the TV series Murder, She Wrote starring Angela Lansbury as mystery writer/sleuth Jessica Fletcher.

Originally when the show’s creators canvassed for a female star Jean Stapleton of All In The Family was their choice.  In fact, the show was written with her in mind.

She turned down the role and the producers were forced to look for another lead actress.

It just so happened that Broadway/theater/movie actress Angela Lansbury was looking for an opportunity to expand her notoriety and public image.

She auditioned for the role.  The producers found their Jessica Fletcher.

In an era (the 1980s and early 1990s) when male dominated, action heroes were the norm on TV with such shows as Magnum P.I., Simon and Simon, The A-Team and the like dominated, a series about a elderly widow sleuth seemed doomed for failure.

Just the opposite happened.

Murder, She Wrote out lasted them all clocking in an impressive 12 seasons and several made-for-TV movies.

In the last season of the series Angela Lansbury continued to turn out stellar work.  Combined with her heavy workload and the TV networks unfortunate decision to cancel the series despite its high rating the show ended with its 12th season.

I enjoy Murder She Wrote.  Angela Lansbury, despite some clichés in some of the show’s scripts, always turned out a stellar performance.  She was Jessica Fletcher: smart, witty, kind, compassionate, curious and a keen observer ofhuman nature and all things around her.

Each episode, although formulaic, kept viewers guessing and rooting for Jessica to crack the case.

The intrigue never stopped as Jessica investigated a murder at a hair stylist, encountered black magic, came up against a ghost, reopened an 11-year old case, looked into the death of a soldier and visited Australia.  

Those and 18 other mysteries come on five discs packaged in three disc sleeves and a slip case in the Murder, She Wrote The Complete Twelfth Season DVD collection from Universal Studios.

What a great way to spend the evening watching Jessica solve crimes with none of the foul language, sexual content or sensationalism prevalent in TV shows today.

Romans 10:9 - That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.