Murder, She Wrote: Complete Series 10/1/13 (1 Viewer)

[Andrew Budgell]

It was later on in the series, and I think it was just one season. I can't recall now why they did that,

 

[FanCollector]

In the sixth and seventh seasons, Angela Lansbury was contractually permitted to make only brief appearances in several episodes. The producers generally made those into backdoor pilots, none of which sold.

 

[Matt Hough]

so far, i dont recall any of those. but i am only starting the 3rd season.

They become very prominent around season six or seven. She's only in about half of the season letting other guest detectives take up the slack. She was weary of 14 hour days and was looking for a break from exhaustion. Instead, CBS made her a producer of the show with a piece of the action, and once she had some control, she cut work to no more than 12 hour days, an extra day of filming per episode, and other changes that made it the most friendly and popular set in Hollywood. TV GUIDE did a survey around that time and Angela Lansbury received a perfect 100% vote as the most beloved star/producer in town with glowing reviews from all of the crew members (each of whom she knew by name)..

 

[FanCollector]

I just finished executive producer Peter S. Fischer's memoir and he had almost nothing but enormous and unqualified praise for Ms. Lansbury. He himself wondered about her motivation for making that deal for fewer episodes in the sixth and seventh seasons because, according to him, her deal had always included ending her days by 6:00 and she had been coping very well with the workload after the admittedly grueling first year. Fischer's theory (and he admits he never asked her about it) was that she was interested in pursuing movie roles and hoped that the reduced schedule would allow her more freedom to accept them.

 

[jimmyjet]

thanks for the info.

it looks like the 2 crossover episodes are here

but each disk keeps telling me that they can be accessed on the next disc - LOL.

but the wording on the bonus material menu says

bonus - episode - magnum pi season 7 novel connection the first of 2 crossover episodes which concludes with magnum on ice, which i think is on this current disc that i just put in.

i am not familiar with the term crossover episodes, nor with either of these 2 shows.

but magnum must have come first ? if they are matching up magnum s7 with murder s3 ?

so while i am not positive, it sure leads me to believe that both these episodes are on the discs somewhere !!

are these crossover episodes connected in story line ? and by the wording, should i watch the magnum one first ? and then magnum on ice ?

it sounds like novel connection is considered to be an actual episode from magum, while magnum on ice is an actual episode of murder she wrote ?

 

[FanCollector]

They aired the same week. Part 1 of the story aired on Magnum, P. I. and Part 2 aired on Murder, She Wrote. If you watch Novel Connection first and then Magnum on Ice, you will be seeing them in the same way they aired in the 1986-1987 season.

 

[jimmyjet]

thanks.

i will hunt down novel and watch it first, then - right before i view ice.

 

[FanCollector]

As I understand it, there was some serious negotiating over which show got to have the concluding episode, as it was considered the more desirable spot. I don't know whether it was the studio or the network that made the final decision.

 

[jimmyjet]

thanks for the input !!

just finished dead man's gold

felt that is the weakest episode i have seen so far

the writing was not good

and i did not think the acting was good, either

the guy would not have let the drunk girl out of the car in the middle of the night to call a taxi - that was darn right stupid

and the one girl kills her cuz she was treated like an airhead ?

and i wonder if there was some thing being said about jessica never been kissed yet on the show ? cuz i dont recall her having even the slightest romantic notion towards anyone ?

cuz that was another stupid thing that looked pasted in. not something that happened naturally.

 

[Matt Hough]

The implication is that Jessica's forty year marriage to Frank Fletcher left such a lasting impression on her that Jessica isn't really interested in another romantic attachment. In later years, it seems she and Seth are very, very close (they go places together and seem attached at the hip but without romance), and there are a few other men from her past (Dale Robertson in particular in a season four show) who are ready and willing to claim Jessica in marriage, but she's just not interested.

 

[FanCollector]

She does seem to draw the line at anything permanent, but there are lots of implications about the nature of her relationship with Seth Hazlitt (notice the times Amos comes looking for him at her house, even first thing in the morning). She also seems quite tempted by Arthur Hill in the pilot and William Conrad several episodes later. (Their dialogue about fishing at the end is pretty direct.) But I agree with Matt...whatever temptations she feels with any of these men, and whatever her degree of intimacy with Seth, her marriage stands alone for her and she has no intention of committing herself to anyone that way again. The fifth season finale does have an interesting take on the question, though, when you arrive there.

 

[Matt Hough]

She has an ongoing flirtatious (but I'm sure platonic) dalliance with Len Cariou's Michael Haggerty, too, through the seasons.

 

[jimmyjet]

back to good writing

great line

she just could never find the good in the man

perhaps she lost her microscope

one of the best lines in a long time !!

 

[jimmyjet]

i have heard of magnum and tom selleck. but i had never seen an episode.

i just viewed novel connection

sorry, but i think this is several steps down from murder she wrote, or any good television show.

the writing of this episode seemed almost childish.

and is tom selleck considered to be a good actor ?

from this episode, i think of him as poor.

i cant tell what was worse - the writing or the acting.

the higgins character seemed ridiculous in the show.

i did not find anything of much worth in it.

to me, tom selleck just looked like they wanted to promote a nice looking man in a tv show, cuz it had little else going for it.

angela lansbury was not in much of it, so she couldnt really help build it much.

i know magnum p.i. and tom selleck were very popular, but other than his looks, i cant imagine why ?

 

[Matt Hough]

Tom Selleck even won an Emmy one season as Best Actor in a Drama Series for Magnum P.I.

 

[FanCollector]

Magnum, P. I. was never a personal favorite and it was more popular than I think it deserved, but Novel Connection is not the fairest way to judge the series or Tom Selleck. The crossover was a terrible idea; the two shows were entirely dissimilar in style and tone, and Magnum was forced to stretch itself more than MSW. The characters, and indeed the stars, had no chemistry whatsoever and the result is that Selleck's usual charm (and he has plenty) is erased because he seems like he is alternately trying to patronize and bully an old lady. John Hillerman's Higgins, usually the best thing about Magnum, just feels out of context here.You may or may not ever like Magnum, P.I., but these episodes aren't the way to find out.

 

[jimmyjet]

ok, thanks for the input

 

[jimmyjet]

part 2 was better, but i would still consider it to be a weak episode for murder she wrote.

and i cant see me changing my mind about tom selleck - not even close to good acting skills.

 

[Matt Hough]

I agree; it's not the series' most shining moment. I also got very irritated with Dorothy Loudon's air-headed character.

I seem to remember gossip at the time that Selleck didn't much like Angela Lansbury. At the time, her show was the bigger hit, and I think it burned him up that CBS thought HIS show needed help from Murder, She Wrote.

 

[jimmyjet]

back to good episodes

new character (at least i dont recall him) - wylie

sorta reminded me of stephen collins from seventh heaven