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Season 1 – Murder, She Wrote

1984 Drama Mystery & Thriller List
83% Tomatometer 35 Reviews 91% Audience Score Fewer than 50 Ratings
Mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher - a down-to-earth, middle-aged widow - ferrets out the criminals in idyllic Cabot Cove, Maine, which apparently is the murder capital of the United States for the show's 12-season run. Though while traveling, she uncovers a fair number of killers as well. Read More Read Less
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Murder, She Wrote — Season 1

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Murder, She Wrote — Season 1

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Critics Consensus

Murder, She Wrote strikes the tightrope balance of wholesome murder mysteries, with a marvelous Angela Lansbury proving to be the perfect foil for tasteful investigations into heinous crimes.

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Critics Reviews

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Richard Zoglin TIME Magazine For civilized crime fighting, Angela Lansbury is delightful as a mystery writer who solves whodunits in her spare time. Oct 11, 2022 Full Review Geraldine Walsh Sydney Morning Herald The saving grace of Murder, She Wrote is Angela Lansbury, an English expatriate who plays with verve and charm the lead role of Jessica Beatrice Fletcher, a Miss Marple-type figure. By and large, the rest of the actors are plastic and forgettable. Aug 3, 2021 Full Review Marie McNamara The Age (Australia) The accomplished Lansbury (who at times looks disarmingly like Bette Davis) shines in Murder, She Wrote... The humorous touches in these self-contained episodes also add to what is otherwise unremarkable entertainment. Aug 3, 2021 Full Review Stuart D. Bykofsky Philadelphia Daily News Network executives always like to pretend they don't know exactly know what quality is. Murder, She Wrote is quality, even if it needs more vinegar and less honey. Aug 3, 2021 Full Review Tom Long Santa Cruz Sentinel Murder, She Wrote is a nicely done TV series, and it will probably never be painful to sit through an episode, but, so far at least, it seems to lack any real flair about it. Aug 3, 2021 Full Review Michael Dougan San Francisco Examiner A formulaic mystery in the Columbo mold is enhanced by the presence of Angela Lansbury, who makes it all work. Aug 3, 2021 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (6) audience reviews
Jolige D The entire show is great. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 05/13/24 Full Review Weldon G this and all seasons are terrible. i know this is unpopular. people seem to thing this is a great show but i am certain it is because TV was not all that great when it was on and people have nostalgia for the show. the acting, direction, cinematography, and writing are all mediocre at best. the character is written as being so clever but she is only clever because the other characters are written as buffoons. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 11/20/23 Full Review alessio w A wonderful concept together with a magnificent Angela Lansbury and a very clever, yet quite funny script make for a unique amusing piece of television. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review sean g Love this show, always hard to find the killer, Jess is the best, could watch her in Cabot cove all day . Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member One of the best shows ever. Nothing like watching Jessica put the pieces together. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/09/23 Full Review indie a My review is for all the seasons of Murder She Wrote. This is one of the best light mystery shows ever made. Angela Lansbury is perfect in her role as Jessica Fletcher, the widowed schoolteacher turned mystery writer who travels the globe and finds dead bodies everywhere she goes. She also found that she had a knack for solving the murders because of her expertise developed during learning her mystery writing craft. Everything is pitch perfect, IMO, starting with the delightful theme song that makes my heart happy and mimics the cadence of typing. The town in which she lives, Cabot Cove, looks like a dream Maine town, the homey characters with ideosyncratic flaws, the charming shops. Making guest appearances throughout the series are former big stars, no longer in their heyday, appearing as comic characters, victims, or murderers. The whole thing just works, which is why it ran so long. Highly recommend. Suggest starting with Season 1 and working your way through them all. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Murder, She Wrote — Season 1

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Cast & Crew

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Episodes

Episode 1 Aired Sep 30, 1984 The Murder of Sherlock Holmes Newly successful mystery writer J.B. Fletcher gets involved in a murder at a New York publisher's costume bash. Details Episode 2 Aired Sep 30, 1984 The Murder of Sherlock Holmes With her first hit mystery, Maine widow Jessica Fletcher makes a promotional trip to New York, and becomes involved in a murder at a publisher's costume bash. Details Episode 3 Aired Oct 7, 1984 Deadly Lady A financier (Howard Duff), reportedly swept overboard during a hurricane, turns up in Jessica's yard disguised as a handyman. Details Episode 4 Aired Oct 14, 1984 Birds of a Feather Jessica travels to San Francisco for a family wedding and discovers that the groom (Jeff Conaway) faces a murder charge. Details Episode 5 Aired Oct 28, 1984 Hooray for Homicide Jessica is suspected of a producer's murder after people hear her threatening to stop the victim from filming her new novel. Details Episode 6 Aired Nov 4, 1984 It's a Dog's Life Jessica delves into two investigations when both her wealthy Southern cousin and his daughter die mysteriously. Details Episode 7 Aired Nov 18, 1984 Lovers and Other Killers Jessica sets out to prove her secretary isn't a murder suspect. Details Episode 8 Aired Nov 25, 1984 Hit, Run and Homicide Jessica helps clear her neighbor (Van Johnson), an eccentric suspected of murdering with one of his inventions. Details Episode 9 Aired Dec 9, 1984 We're Off to Kill the Wizard Murder ends a tycoon's (James Coco) plan to have Jessica design a house of horrors for one of his theme parks. Details Episode 10 Aired Dec 16, 1984 Death Takes a Curtain Call A friend (Hurd Hatfield) asks Jessica to help two Soviet dancers defect, unaware one (George de la Pena) is a murder suspect. Details Episode 11 Aired Dec 30, 1984 Death Casts a Spell A hypnotist (Jose Ferrer) is murdered before a host of would-be witnesses who all were in a deep trance at the time. Details Episode 12 Aired Jan 6, 1985 Capitol Offense Jessica is asked to complete the last weeks of an expired congressman's term, and discovers politics is murder. Details Episode 13 Aired Jan 13, 1985 Broadway Malady A Broadway legend's (Vivian Blaine) life is threatened after her daughter (Lorna Luft) is seriously injured in a mugging. Details Episode 14 Aired Feb 3, 1985 Murder to a Jazz Beat A talk-show host (Clive Revill) and a cab driver (Garrett Morris) help Jessica solve the murder of a New Orleans jazz musician. Details Episode 15 Aired Feb 10, 1985 My Johnny Lies Over the Ocean On a pleasure cruise, Jessica's niece (Belinda Montgomery) receives flowers and messages from her late husband. Details Episode 16 Aired Feb 17, 1985 Paint Me a Murder Murder is part of a legendary artist's (Cesar Romero) birthday celebration on a Mediterranean island paradise. Details Episode 17 Aired Feb 24, 1985 Tough Guys Don't Die Jessica cooperates with private detective Harry McGraw (Jerry Orbach), whose partner died while researching a murder trial. Details Episode 18 Aired Mar 3, 1985 Sudden Death Jessica inherits part of a pro football team, but the owner's murder convinces her there is more roughness off the field than on. Details Episode 19 Aired Mar 10, 1985 Footnote to Murder Jessica opposes an ambitious district attorney (Pat Harrington) who believes her poet friend (Paul Sand) killed a novelist. Details Episode 20 Aired Mar 17, 1985 Murder Takes the Bus Stranded at a roadside diner by a storm, bus passengers Jessica and Sheriff Tupper investigate the murder of a fellow traveler. Details Episode 21 Aired Mar 31, 1985 Armed Response Hospitalized in Dallas after an airport accident, Jessica endures the inconvenience of a leg cast to probe an in-patient murder. Details Episode 22 Aired Apr 7, 1985 Murder at the Oasis Jessica reunites with her college roommate at a desert resort and probes the murder of the woman's ex-husband. Details Episode 23 Aired Apr 21, 1985 Funeral at Fifty-Mile At a Wyoming rancher's grave, a man shocks mourners -- including the deceased's daughter -- by claiming to be the true heir. Details

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Murder, She Wrote — Season 1

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Season Info

Director
John Llewellyn Moxey, Walter Grauman, Allen Reisner, Charles S. Dubin, Seymour Robbie, Corey Allen
Creator
Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson, William Link
Executive Producer
Peter S. Fischer, Peter Fischer, William Link, Richard Levinson
Screenwriter
Robert E. Swanson, Robert Van Scoyk, Gerald K. Siegel, Tom Sawyer, Peter S. Fischer
Network
CBS
Rating
TV-G
Genre
Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date
Sep 30, 1984
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