Murder, She Wrote

[Khan]

The expression on Angela Lansbury's face in that thumbnail says it all.

[Vee]

I love Jamie Lee but she is asking for trouble with this. Didn't people just kill one of these a few years ago or am I crazy?

[Khan]

Universal attempted to revive the series several years ago with Octavia Spencer as Jessica, who would've been remade into a hospital administrator who self-published mystery novels on the side.  Needless to say, Angela Lansbury spoke against it, and Universal ended up ditching the revival altogether.

[soapfan770]

Yikes at this news. I love Jamie too but I can’t see it. 
 

The only way I could see this even possibly working is if they did a format something akin to the recent Matlock show, in not being a reboot or remake but a complete new show with a twist ie Something like an aging female investigator who’s a big MSW fan or something who’s also has a hidden agenda. 

I remember this. At the time I did think Lansbury’s comments were cringey as I thought it was directed towards Octavia herself but it was really the project itself. Thankfully upon revisiting I realized she praised Octavia in a couple different interviews during and after the fact.

[Khan]

Ugh, don't get me started on the "Matlock" reboot, lol.  That has to be one of the most blatant bait-and-switches I've ever witnessed in all my years of TV watching.

Angela Lansbury didn't need to speak out against Octavia Spencer, as I doing enough speaking out against her for everybody, lol.

[BetterForgotten]

The fact Universal keeps trying to ape it must speak to the enduring popularity and global appeal and popularity of MSW.
 

It doesn’t mean they should, but it’s flattering in a way, lol. 

Edited December 18, 2024 by BetterForgotten

[DaytimeFan]

It's so typically Hollywood: mine old IP, who needs original ideas?

This will not be good for Jamie Lee Curtis, who I like and enjoy in basically everything she does. This is not good casting and this remake is ill advised.

The part is  Dame Angela's - her fingerprints are all over Jessica Fletcher's DNA. Cabot Cove will never be recreated. 

[j swift]

It's one of those stories that I wonder if it is any longer feasible in the current culture and with advanced technology.

I mean, even in a small town, do we need an old lady puttering around when we've got DNA evidence?  And wouldn't people begin to question Mrs. Fletcher's biases in racial and gender profiling?  And what about the liability of having a mystery writer allowed at a crime scene?

[Soapsuds]

ITunes has the entire series for $24.99. Individual episodes in HD for $2.99. 

[Khan]

Even now, in the era of streaming, MSW is so easy to watch.  You can watch an episode here or there, or watch several in a row, and you don't have to worry about missing some convoluted arc that stretches over multiple seasons.  Plus, unlike so many shows produced today, it's not "dark" or "heavy."  You don't feel an existential crisis coming on at the end of every episode.  It's light-hearted and comforting, the way TV is meant to be.

And, of course, there's Angela Lansbury, too.  At a time when there aren't too many TV actors that you know or recognize, it's nice to be reminded of when you needed a lead who was someone you WANTED in your living room every week.

ICAM!!

I feel the same way about "The Equalizer."  Denzel Washington and Queen Latifah have tried their best, but no one - and I mean NO one - can make me erase my memories of Edward Woodward as the original Robert McCall.

Good!  That way, that you can pick-and-choose episodes to watch at your own pace.  I love the MSW Pluto channel, but it's not always easy waiting for your favorite episodes to come back around in the rotation.  I'd really love for Pluto to have episodes available on demand as well.

Edited December 24, 2024 by Khan

[Khan]

Just think: if MSW had premiered in 2024, rather than 1984, we'd probably have to watch Jessica Fletcher spend at least five seasons on-and-off trying to figure out who murdered her husband, Frank, during one of his fishing trips.

BTW, I have to add to my original post like this, since we no longer have the "Edit" function here.  Apologies for spamming the thread.

[Paul Raven]

Did MSW ever do Xmas themed episodes?

[kalbir]

Season 9 had a Christmas episode, A Christmas Secret.

[Khan]

 

It's a MSW rarity: a Christmas-themed episode, and the only one in the series' history where the victim doesn't die!

[Soaplovers]

Sorry... Jamie Lee Curtis doesn't hold a candle to Angela Lansbury.

I could it if she played a former pupil of Jessica Fletcher's and inherited her house and decided to live in Cabot Cove again.. and perhaps solves a mystery that has plagued the town on and off for many years since the mid 1990s.