angel of death (Murder, She Wrote)

Member Name: west_jenn

Product:	Murder, She Wrote
Date:	17/02/05 (153 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: trashy tv

Disadvantages: trashy tv

The first few months I was at home with Scarlett, I was a bit of a daytime tv addict. I’m sure most of you will agree that the worst tv seems to be put on during the day, some of it really is very dire. However, a new baby is very demanding so when I could I spent my time blanked out in front of the nonsense that is on during the day, trisha, this morning, moving day I watched it all.

As the fog of new parenthood cleared a little I started to cut down on the tv watching as I was worried about rotting my brain. I do have a shameful secret from those daytime tv days I like murder she wrote, there I’ve admitted it! I like it and I’m not sure why the acting is bad, the costumes are often ridiculous and the storylines are just silly a lot of the time

When I first started watching it I was often not sure what was going on as I would look at the screen and not really follow it. My other half is still at that stage. He compares it to alien abduction Jessica Fletcher goes to stay with someone, someone dies, a man in a bad wig appears and then someone confesses.

Murder she wrote follows the adventures of middle aged murder mystery writer Jessica Fletcher. Hence the title, she writes about murder. It seems to have been filmed some time in the 1980s judging by the clothes. In most episodes of Murder She wrote there is always someone wearing clothes that look as if they have been picked out whilst the wearer is tripping on LSD. There is also the obligatory man in a wig, sometimes there is more than one man and often the wig looks like a small creature desperately trying to escape from the man’s head.

Jessica lives in the New England town of Cape Cove, some of the episodes are set there, but usually she goes to stay with a friend/relative or goes on some kind of book related event. During the course of this stay/book signing/ social event someone is murdered and Jessica in her important position as murder mystery writer assists the local police in solving the murder.

I’ll give you a run through of Wednesday’s episode. Jessica goes to stay with her cousin’s Anne and Helen in advance of Anne’s wedding. Helen and Anne live in a large white washed house and the set looks familiar from lots of other episodes. Anne has not told her fiancée Bill the truth about her brother George. Bill thinks George is being treated for depression, however it becomes clear that there is more to it than that.

George unexpectedly turns up, cue dramatic pause, tinny music and swift cut to next scene. It turns out that George has been released from the mental hospital he was sent to after murdering Anne’s then fiancée 15 years ago. George was wearing the obligatory episode’s wig.

Meanwhile Bill has his own secrets with Rosemary, the local reporter. Rosemary gets the prize for clothes picked whilst on LSD, her clothes were bizarrely patterned and shaped even for this programme! During the wedding reception (thrown before the wedding) Bill is lured down to the cellar by a mysterious note, he is then killed by an unseen person.


When the body is found Jessica leaps into action. She argues with the local sheriff who thinks George killed Bill, because the murder is identical to the one 15 years ago. This is what I always find strange about this programme and programmes like Miss Marple. People without police credentials are listened to by the police and are allowed to tail around after them and solve their crimes. In real life they would be told “you are a mystery writer/ old busybody please leave police work to the police”. I know I should suspend disbelief as its not real.

I won’t give anymore of the plot away. It ends how all Murder she wrote episodes end. Jessica solved the crime and the culprit confesses after very little pressure is put on them and when there is very little evidence of their culpability. Its almost as if they are saying “oh you’ve got me it’s a fair cop, put the handcuffs on” Murder she Wrote episodes always end with a jolly little giggle, because death is always funny!

So its kind of predictable, cheesey and the acting is bad and often quite camp, but I like it and I just can’t explain why!

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