Murder She Wrote (Murder, She Wrote)

Member Name: jesperado

Product:	Murder, She Wrote
Date:	03/03/09 (64 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to follow, fun

Disadvantages: Ridiculous, hammy acting

WHAT IS IT:
Murder She Wrote is an American murder mystery show starring Angela Lansbury. Lansbury plays crime novellist Jessica Fletcher, a resident of Cabot Cove (one of those villages that has a far higher than normal murder rate, sort of like one of the Midsomer villages) who has an incredible ability to solve mysterious murders and seems to know practically everybody - she is always being invited to a murder scene by an old friend or relative, perhaps they are trying to tell her something.

GOOD AND BAD POINTS:
I usually write these as separate lists but the good and bad points of Murder She Wrote seem to intermingle into a fabulous mess.

It's like Miss Marple meets a daytime American soap opera. The acting is ridiculously hammy and the plots are like a high school student's first attempt at a murder mystery. To make up for its flimsy storyline, most episodes are pretty fast paced so you kind of get swept along in some ludicrous wave of shoulderpads and double takes. Although this sounds like a criticism, it isn't; it is completely immersive and really easy to watch. There is so much gasping that it seems like half of the actresses are about to hyperventilate and the male actors aren't much better. There is a ginger deputy cop who has the weirdest accent I have ever heard. Unfortunately, this becomes a theme in some episodes where Angela Lansbury plays Jessica Fletcher's relatives from various English regions and some parts of Scotland. This is where it all gets a bit weird. But most of the episodes make for really fun watching.

Summary: A bit of silly daytime TV