Saying that the upcoming DVD release of Murder, She Wrote is long overdue is like saying chocolate is only an "OK" treat -- a world class understatement! In fact, "world class" describes this venerable series perfectly, from its multi-talented cast, interesting stories and production value. Murder, She Wrote is arguably the most beloved American TV mystery series, and for good reason.

The series began in 1984 when Angela Lansbury was 58 and continued through 1996 producing 264 episodes for CBS, and easily winning its time slot for most of its run.

The fabulous Ms. Lansbury, who as a distinguished career on Broadway and in the movies, portrayed the lead character of Jessica Fletcher, a widowed, childless English teacher from the fictional small seaport of Cabot Cove, Maine. (The exteriors of the homes, seaport and ocean scenes were actually shot on the opposite coast -- in Mendicino, Calif.)

In the series, Jessica's quiet and predictable life is abruptly turned upside down after her nephew submits a mystery manuscript she wrote under the name "J.B. Fletcher" to an East Coast publisher without her knowledge and the book is published. (In the show, Jessica's middle name is Beatrice.) The book becomes an instant bestseller, and Jessica-the-author continues to write similarly popular yarns until she becomes internationally famous. Equally famous is Jessica's uncanny knack at solving crimes as an amateur sleuth who is called upon to help by law enforcement from Cabot Cove to Europe and beyond as the series continues. (It is interesting to note that Jean Stapleton, who portrayed Edith Bunker on All in the Family, was first offered the role of Jessica but, thankfully, declined.)

Show creators Richard Levinson, William Link and Peter S. Fischer (Lansbury's real-life husband) brought an impressively combined resume that included Columbo, Mannix, Alfred Hitchcock Present and Ellery Queen.

In the show's premiere (included in this DVD release), Jessica's nephew Grady (portrayed throughout the series by Michael Horton) submits that fateful manuscript to a New York City publisher. Not only does that launch his beloved aunt's career, it quickly embroils her deeply into her first homicide investigation as well as a tragic love affair.

Each week, viewers were treated to the often murderous happenings in small town, quiet Cabot Cove, which ended up having at least 50 murders investigated by Jessica over the course of the series. Jessica helped the local constabulary there, initially bumbling Sheriff Amos Tupper, portrayed by Tom Bosley, then a more credible Sheriff, Mort Metzger, portrayed by Ron Masak, to solve whatever crime occurred.

Viewers also followed "J.B." around the world as she promoted her books on tour. Viewers were also treated to a fabulous character progression by Ms. Lansbury that took Jessica from a somewhat dowdy widow to a chic, sophisticated and internationally famous author of means and influence who helped citizens and governments alike. (She also helped a seemingly endless stream of nieces, nephews and other family members get out of trouble.)

Along the way, Ms. Lansbury was supported by brilliant charactor actor William Windom who portrayed crusty Dr. Seth Hazlitt and Jessica's closest friend. Hazlitt felt more than friendship for Jessica as the show continued, but unfortunately, the two were never officially brought together.

Broadway legends Len Cariou and the late Jerry Orbach (both friends of Ms. Lansbury) had recurring roles as British Intelligence Agent Michael Hagerty and Chicago Private Detective Harry McGraw, respectively. It was this role that provided Orbach with the opportunity to move on and join the cast of the celebrated Law & Order.

When the show began, Jessica was inexperienced and naive, the opening title sequence featuring an old manual typewriter upon which she pounded out her novels. When the series went off the air, Jessica maintained a second apartment in New York, had dined with kings and queens, been involved in international intrigue, dressed in the most stylish fashions -- and the opening sequence featured an up-to-date computer and printer! But, at the heart of the series was the heart Ms. Lansbury endowed her alter ego of Jessica, who never forgot her humble beginnings or her friends and remained a woman of integrity, compassion and warmth.

On the series, Ms. Lansbury was often able to showcase her many talents. Twice she played the dual role of her cousin Emma MacGill, a London dance hall performer. It is no coincidence that the singing and dancing Ms. Lansbury's given name is Angela Brigid MacGill Lansbury.

We can only hope that the remaining seasons of this fine series are released in full and very, very soon!

It is hard to believe that Angela Lansbury was not the first choice to play Jessica Fletcher in "Murder, She Wrote." CBS offered the role to Jean Stapleton, who declined. With all due respect to the talented Stapleton, only Angela Lansbury ("Gaslight," "The Manchurian Candidate", "Bedknobs And Broomsticks" and Broadway's "Mame", "Gypsy", "Sweeney Todd" and "Blithe Spirit") could have made Jessica such a vital and interesting character. With Lansbury as star, "MSW" became an enormously popular success; running 12 years (1984-1996) and earning Lansbury 12 Emmy nominations. Amazingly, and inexcusably, she never won.
The series begins with a well-crafted 93 minute movie titled "The Murder Of Sherlock Holmes." Jessica's adorable nephew Grady (Michael Horton) sends her murder-mystery manuscript to a publisher. It is published, becomes an instant best-seller, and Jessica becomes a overnight celebrity (Surprise!). A guest is murdered at a costume party, and catching the killer comes at great personal cost to Jessica.
Jessica is an American variation on mystery novelist Agatha Christie and Christie's crime-solving heroine Miss Marple. She lives in the quiet, fictional town of Cabot Cove, Maine. But the series soon sends her off on a series of whirlwind adventures; in such places as Hollywood, Broadway, Washington D.C. and a Mediterrian Island. And everywhere that Jessica goes, a murder occurs. "MSW" employs a gallery of guest stars every episode, who appear as murder suspects and murder victims. Many of the weekly guest stars had previously worked with Lansbury.
Jessica is intelligent, observant, no-nonsense, fearless, and caring and compassionate when she needs to be-- with a strong sense of justice, of course. Her character is best described in the episode "Tough Guys Don't Die." When a judge marvels at her persistence and determination, Jessica modestly replies, "It is not in my nature to leave things undone." Although "Murder" is in the title, the series is, basically, a light-hearted and fun affair; with a great deal of humor thrown in with the suspense. In the episode "Hooray For Homicide", Jessica searches for an important clue that went unnoticed by others. A police detective says, "Tell me, Mrs. Fletcher, do you have any theories on Jimmy Hoffa's disappearance?" She replies, "There's no need to be sarcastic." In the episode "Tough Guys Don't Die," disgruntled detective Harry McGraw ("Law And Order's" Jerry Orbach) is not at all happy to have Jessica working with him on a murder case. Harry flippantly suggests that Jessica return to Cabot Cove and her needlepoint. She says, "I tried that and it put me to sleep. That's why I wrote my first book." Harry growls back, "I read your first book and it put me to sleep," Jessica instantly replies, "Well, that's your privlege," as she storms out, refusing to be insulted any further.
There are many memorable episodes. In "Lovers And Other Killers", Jessica travels to Seattle to be a guest lecturer at a university. Her much younger male secretary David (Andrew Stevens) is accused of the murder of a wealthy older woman. The plot goes in some rather interesting directions, and we are never actually sure that David, while not a killer, is not a con-man and a seducer. And is he really attracted to Jessica? Never fear; Jessica doesn't fall for obvious tricks. The episode "We're Off To Kill The Wizard" features a wonderful performance by guest star James Coco as the tyrannical owner of a house of horrors. In "My Johnny Lies Over The Ocean", Jessica pretends to be falling-down drunk in order to catch a killer.
The fan-favorite episode "Murder Takes The Bus" features all the elements of a tight, classic whodunit. Jessica takes a bus ride to Portland, Maine with her friend, the easily flustered Sheriff Amos Tupper ("Happy Days'" Tom Bosley). A thunderstorm erupts, a passenger is murdered. Suspects on this deadly bus trip include Linda Blair ("The Exorcist"), Larry Linville ("M*A*S*H") , Rue McClanahan ("The Golden Girls") and Michael Constantine ("Room 222"). Most of all, though, it is the charismatic Angela Lansbury who makes "Murder, She Wrote" so entertaining.

My wife and I like to watch DVDs late at night before we go to bed. We prefer something that is somewhat bland but well done and pleasant to watch. Thus it is that we came upon "Murder, She Wrote," a CBS TV program series that dates back to the mid 80s. It was a popular program intended for the family hour and ran for many years. I always mildly enjoyed it. We ordered Season 1 and Season 2. We're almost through with viewing Season 1.

"Murder, She Wrote" is an enjoyable series. Angela Lansbury and the supporting cast do a fine job. The stories are lightweight, but fun to follow. We usually have figured out who the culprit is before the end of the program, but that's all right. Although the stories mostly involve murders, there is generally a minimum of violence, and we prefer it that way. A great deal of care has been takes in constructing these programs and it shows. The settings are marvelous and I love viewing old New England with the quaint housing and antique furniture. One of the stories took place at the University of Washington in Seattle, a university where I just happened to attend graduate school. They did a marvelous job with it.

We've enjoyed this series very much. It's not deep and thought-provoking. It's enjoyable and pleasant viewing and suites our needs well. We're looking forward to Season 2.

I might add, that this DVD package is the only one that I've ever seen where the DVD is recorded on both sides. A lot of user reviews have complained about the quality of the DVD disc itself. It seems a bit unusual, but we've had no problems with it.

Gary Peterson

I love this mystery series mainly because it stars the incomparable Angela Lansbury. This first set begins with the pilot film in which J.B. Fletcher is loath to become a published author and ends with her sticking her nose into everyone's business as somewhat of an expert at solving crimes. Even knowing "whodunit" doesn't keep this series from being entertaining, something to watch repeatedly. It is chockfull of aging movie stars on their way out and young actors supposedly on their way up (although most of them never quite made it into the big time).

I too had some difficulty playing these double sided disks. For some reason my Blu-ray player couldn't handle them but my backup cheapo DVD player could. (It's an inconvenience though, switching machines in the middle of an episode, finding where you were with the help of the scene search-&-find feature in the menu.)

I was surprised to learn they initially thought to cast Jean Stapleton then Doris Day in the role made famous by Angela Lansbury (I still think it's criminal that they couldn't have coughed up one measly Emmy for the great work she did on this series!). It's also criminal that CBS purposely killed off the series in 1996. Don't even get me started on that!

Back in May 1985, UK broadcaster ITV commenced a series which would go on to run for 12 series, Murder She Wrote. The structure was extremely straightforward. Each week, novelist Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) would become involved in a murder, either at home in Cabot Cove, Maine or on one of her many destinations that she would end up in. Basically if Jessica Fletcher is in town, you can be sure of a murder.
To this day the series has had countless reuns on both the BBC and ITV. During the 1980s and 1990s ITV had first run episodes and then repeated them all. In the 2000s BBC1 and BBC2 took turns in running them. Even to this day (December 2011), ITV are rerunning episodes in the afternoons. Not to mention the numerous satellite channels that have also screened it. This series could be played forever!
Just a tiny selection of the countless guest stars in this first boxset include - Ned Beatty (Homicide: Life on the Street), Tom Bosley (Happy Days), Dack Rambo (Dallas), Jared Martin (Dallas), Kerry Armstrong (Prisoner: Cell Block H), Jerry Orbach (Law and Order), Barbara Babcock (Dallas/Hill Street Blues/Dr Quinn Medicine Woman), John Beck (Dallas), Morgan Brittany (Dallas), Diane Muldaur (LA Law), Rue McClanahan (Golden Girls) and William Windom in a different role to the recurring role he would have from series 2 as Dr Seth Hazlett.
"Murder Takes The Bus" is probably my favourite episode in this set. Go on, buy the set and find out which one you like the most.

When you read this review, please keep in mind that this is a review of these DVDs which is only Season 1 of the show.

My daughter and I watch this show at midnight every Saturday night. It is our opportunity to bond as together we make fun of what is one the worst television shows I have ever watched. Yes, I know I am going to be stomped on by the many fans of this horror but I can't lie. I wasn't a big television watcher back in the 80's so if this is an example of great TV from then, I can only assume that TV was awful (or should I say offal).

There are no extras (commentary, specials, etc.) included other than the pilot. How did this show ever get past the pilot? The inane plot, the overacting of Bert Convy and Arthur Hill, the underacting of Brian Keith, the lame attempts at comedy, and the incredibly doltish ending. It also creates a conundrum for the script writers as J.B. Fletcher gets her start when her nephew (who has a recurring role in the series) secretly sends her first manuscript off to the publishers. Future episodes, however, make J.B. out to be a modern day Agatha Christie with a boatload of novels and new ones on the way all the time (although how she finds the time to write a novel with all the murders going on around her is beyond me). And speaking about all the murders, how could one person possibly know so many murder victims? It's frightening how often murders occur around this woman. If I found out that J.B. Fletcher was visiting my town, I would certainly head off on a vacation immediately!

It's hard to pick out the worst episode of the actual first season but probably the last one, "Funeral at Fifty-Mile" could qualify although "Murder to a Jazz Beat" could give it a run for its money. As to the least worst, "Death Takes a Curtain Call" with William Conrad playing a major in the Russian army wasn't bad. And there was actually one good episode in the season. "Footnote to Murder" with Paul Sand was actually quite funny and the mystery itself wasn't bad. Sand does a great job playing the drunken poet Horace Lynchfield. But these are the exceptions. The typical episode features a confused plot performed by actors who once were famous (Cesar Romero, Jose Ferrer, Herschel Bernardi), who were never famous, or were on the D-List at the time. The best part of the episodes is the opening credits when you can play "try to recognize the name". The worst part is the usually incredibly stupid joke that is inserted at the end of most episodes. They are generally not funny but more the type of joke that makes you roll your eyes in disbelief.

OK, I am willing to admit that Angela Lansbury is probably the reason that this show was on for so long. She generally plays the character of J.B. Fletcher quite well in spite of the terrible scripts that she must endure. Lansbury is a fine actor and she deserved much better than the words she is forced to regurgitate but she does a good job nonetheless. In fact, Lansbury keeps this from being a one-star rating, as tempted as I am to give it only one star.

Anyway, in spite of all this, I can recommend this show as a guilty pleasure. It is so bad that it is good (well, sometimes).

I can remember watching this show on television before it went off the air, and then I wondered where would I ever watch it again? Then, I was lucky enough to find reruns of the show and started watching it all over again, and fell more in love with it then when it currently aired. I find this DVD collection to be the best collection ever, because you hardly find reruns of the first episodes that really explained what the show was. For instance, who knew about the pilot episode? I sure didn't, but when I watched it on the DVD I was blown away by how different it was from the actual episodes that occurred during the run of the show. Most pilots don't even keep some of the re-occurring characters, but I was pleasently surprised to see that the character of "Brady" stuck around in future shows. Naturally they could have replaced that character or taken him out of the show completely, but I liked how he stayed around, and by the same actor. This collection is definetly worth the price, and definetly worth re-watching. Being a junior in college right now, I'm hooked all over again by the mysteries Jessica had to solve, and how she figured out the killer by the end of each episode.

I remember this show growing up. It was a solid tv show. Solid stories and acting. I watch it now and think . . . geez . . . it was pretty violent. Showing screw drivers and knives sticking out of people. Blood dripping off of people. And of course the plots revolve around people killing other people. (Just like the 70s had all the police shows [and the 80s continued that of course] the 80s had the murder plot shows--Matlock, In the Heat of the Night, Murder She Wrote, etc No wonder American society is so violent.) It was no wonder that after a season or two it lost its shine and appeal. It became stale after a while and back then I just stopped watching it. But I will say that back then as a kid I had the impression of Angela Lansbury's character as kinda stiff and schoolmarmish. She was. But watching season one I didn't know how goofy the character was too, and how much sexual innuendo there was as well. Anyway it was and still is a good show. I am enjoying watching the DVD.