Jessica Fletcher don’t give a damn. She’s snubbed, condescended to, and threatened by police, detectives, friends and the public. But does this matter to her? Not in the least. Push her down the stairs or intimidate her with a gun, and Fletcher just keeps going.
Jessica Fletcher, protagonist of Murder, She Wrote, is the American incarnation of Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple. Instead of knitting like her predecessor, she jogs. Instead of being a spinster, Jessica is a widow. She fills her time keeping tabs on everyone’s life and writing mystery novels. Due to her inquisitive and outgoing nature, she’s invited to picnics and house parties, award ceremonies and archeological digs. Anywhere you go and anything you do, Jessica Fletcher has already been there, seen it and done it.
Murder, She Wrote ran for a mind-blowing 12 seasons, due in large part to the talent and hard work of its leading lady, Angela Lansbury. The first season is lackluster but by season two, cast and crew hit their stride. Lansbury steps into Fletcher’s sensible shoes and becomes unstoppable.
Fletcher arrives, energetic at a time of life when most women are diminishing. Without youth and beauty, older women lose their value and are discarded to the sidelines of life. Fletcher is a widow and without a husband to care for or the desire to remarry, society pronounces her role in life finished.
Not so for our leading lady. She’s learned a lot about people during her lifetime and she’s determined to use that knowledge not to comfort and placate elderly gentlemen, but to solve crime. Instead of playing the passive older care-giver society expects, she pushes outward, traveling across the United States, solving crimes and sending cops into rages.
Every episode is filled with men trying to coerce or intimidate her. Sometimes they’re good men and sometimes they’re bad, but whoever they are, Fletcher regards them with calm blue eyes, a loaded smile and a placid retort. She continues on with her work as they sputter and scoff in the background. Each episode turns a doubter into a committed Jessica believer and after 12 seasons, it’s safe to say the whole of the United States’ police force dials her number whenever a murder occurs.
Most of the show’s many guest stars are former silver screen actors like June Allyson and Ann Blythe. Patrick MacNee-Steed from the old TV series The Avengers-shows up in one episode, helping Fletcher save her look-alike cousin. He wore his signature bowler hat from his Avengers days’ but was not, alas, carrying his trademark umbrella nor a champagne glass. I regularly use IMBD to look up the aged stars and recognize the great classics they formerly starred in- this is one of the show’s particular delights.
Youth and beauty don’t count for much on Murder, She Wrote; it’s a show that reveres old age. Older characters are embroiled in just as much drama as their younger counterparts, and no one’s drama is over till they’re absolutely dead. The elderly may be bed-ridden or just creeping along; it doesn’t matter. They’re still alive with as many emotions, troubles and cares as any other young person.
Free from the dictates of sex or motherhood, Fletcher casts off her robe of invisibility for a life of writing and adventure. The show’s enduring popularity is no surprise. Our society has few older woman as role models. The altered and worried visage of Kim Novak during the Oscars told too common a tale. She should have been beautiful without trying. Losing sexual allure and failing to win it back rains societal scorn and derision down on women.
This needn’t happen. Women’s value does not ride on their looks or their care-taking abilities. Jessica Fletcher is not just a sleuth but a superwoman, pushing back the twin powers of ageism and sexism. In our own recent time, more super ladies have arisen on screen and stage: Helen Mirren, Judi Dench and Maggie Smith. Note that all these women are British, including Lansbury herself.
America’s entertainment business fails older women actors, but there was a recent push (and fail) for a reboot of Murder, She Wrote to star Octavia Spencer (the Help). While I love the idea of a racially diverse Cabot Cove, Murder, She Wrote was the product of a dedicated Angela Lansbury along with her cast and crew. The show quit filming nearly two decades ago and it’s time for Hollywood and TV producers to create new stories and characters worthy of terrific older actors. Maggie Smith’s performance as the Dowager Duchess in Downtown Abbey demonstrates the delightful power that comes to actors in older age. And let’s not forget Helen Mirren in Red. Her terrifying character is equally at home trimming roses for a bouquet or mowing down men with a sub machine gun. These women are far from useless. And their wisdom, intelligence and beauty make our lives richer and better. Let’s embrace this group; they’re incredible.
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Catherine Eaton is a contributor to The Stake. Catherine is a writer living in a western suburb of Chicago. She blogs over at sparrowpost.com and enjoys foraging around the neighborhood in her spare time. Follow her @sparrowpost.
And then there’s Betty White…
Good point. Betty White deserves her own article.
bravelittlemama says
Jessica Fletcher was a badass. I loved Murder, She Wrote!
She was indeed. We need more like her.
Reblogged this on oscarloveviews.
haidadareads says
Reblogged this on Books in My Tea - What's in your cup today?.
lyndedalyn says
Reblogged this on lyndedalyn and commented:
I loved watching this show with my grandmother and sister.
It always blew my mind. You got to be crazy to be around here for death is everywhere. No one dies a natural death, it is always murder and we really know she does them in and then pins it on someone else.
Reblogged this on By the Mighty Mumford and commented:
OH YEAH!!!!!
ANGELA….is worth seeing again!!!
Very well written. Congrats.
Thank you!
You have officially inspired me to go and watch “Murder, She Wrote” for the first time in my life. You’ve also reminded me that, as an aspiring writer, not all characters have to be young and svelte in order to have adventures. Thank you. 😀
How great. Watch out for that First Season, it’s not the best. And it’s true- I used to think my fiction characters needed to be young and hot too but anyone can have adventures. Anyone. Thank goodness!
No worries. I made it through the first season of Star Trek: TNG, and still loved the show afterwards. So I should be able to take season 1 with a grain of salt. 😉
I just finished STNG a month ago! I was so sad to finish it. Oh yeah, the first seasons are weirdly stiff- particularly Stewart. And he’s such an amazing actor. He makes it up for all of it in the later seasons.
Yay! TNG is probably one of my all-time favorite shows. Growing up with it on my TV had a profound influence on the person I eventually became. But yes, the first two seasons are *incredibly* awkward. Then in Season 3, everybody seems to hit their stride. It’s like they were getting to know each other in the first two, and then finally managed it in S3. After that, their chemistry is on lockdown and they make up for all of the previous awkwardness. 😀 Might have also been the writers, trying to “recapture” what made the Original Series so popular in the 60’s. It was only when they realized that TNG’s success came from it being radically different to the OS that they, too, were able to hit their stride.
Apparently I have a lot of Feelings about Star Trek. XD
That show inspires the feels. Ten forward is another great addition they made. That kind of community space adds so much! It was a stroke of genius. Yeah, I could talk about TNG all day.
Me too. 😀 (And I agree about Ten Forward wholeheartedly! “Quark’s” is the DS9 equivalent, imo)
I’ve been revisiting ‘As time goes by’ and find it and Judi Dench just as enjoyable as the first time I watched it. Praise Angela Lansbury all you like. Praise the chance for older actors to have a good go. That’s great. And Lansbury is an excellent actress but Jessica Fletcher is annoying. Perhaps it’s the first lacklustre season that you mention, but men are always kissing her hand and can’t possibly do it without her advice, particularly the Cabot Cove sheriffs. I can’t imagine how they manage to catch a killer when Jess leaves for parts unknown. No episode would be complete without a ‘what is it, Jessica?’ when Jessica has one of her light bulb moments. Last but not least, Jessica tut tuts and gives headmistressy I’m disappointed in you looks at the culprit at the end of each episode.
Chalkboard Quotes says
Enjoyed reading this. Excellent topic and very well written!
Thank you and thank you! It was great fun to write.
virtualspanishclassroom says
I like Jessica Fletcher, what is more, I love Angela Lansbury.
Excellent. Both ladies are utterly fantastic.
virtualspanishclassroom says
I totally agree.
sjaroschka says
Reblogged this on jaroschka and commented:
Love her..
Fantastic post! I love Jessica Fletcher. Such a role model!
She is a great role model. Never say die!
cobrunstrom says
Re Jessica Fletcher and Miss Marple. I could never understand why people were so pleased to see them? It’s been statistically proven that 98% of all murders to occur in Britain between 1940 and 1960 took place within half a mile of wherever Miss Marple happened to be. Likewise, the murder capital of the USA is not LA South Central or Miami or Detroit, but simply wherever Jessica Fletcher has been invited to at any given time.
When Jessica Fletcher knocks at the door people say absurd things like “how delightful, won’t you stay for coffee or tea?” What thay should be screaming is “Oh sweet Jesus it’s the angel of death! Kids, everybody, run, just run, out the back door, over the fence, head for the hills, head for the forest, just put distance between your own sweet selves and Jessica Fletcher.”
Why did we never get to see this?
thatstorygirl says
Love, love ,LOVE this post. Good writing and well deserved praise of a role model who should be more widely celebrated. Thanks for posting
Thank you! Yes, we need to word out there that we want older actresses in our movies and tv shows. They add a special spark no one else can.
I would love to back a campaign to bring back Murder She Wrote, not just a remake. I want to see Jessica get caught for her crimes (as obviously she was guilty all along and was framing everyone). It would be set in a prison and you can bet she would be top dog.
bookishcynthia says
holy cow this is great! love your post, love Jessica, angela, and the show!
Thank you! so glad you enjoyed it.
Sad that Golden Girls and Murder She Wrote haven’t had legit successors in the last 20 years. I guess there’s that show on cable with Betty White now, but from what I’d seen they joked a lot about their aqe. Like you said, MSW was not about Lansbury being old, she was just doing her thing solving crimes.
that’s the thing about Betty now. It’s all jokes about her age rather than focusing on her talent. I saw that show too. Eh.
Murder She Wrote is great to bad they don’t have it on-demand.
love it! thanks for posting
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What a grin you’ve brought to my face today! You are correct in all you say about Lansbury and the show. I loved Murder She Wrote and Angela Lansbury is my heroine. I even went so far as to move to New England, thinking it would be like Cabot Cove. Eek! Not quite so! My mother and I would call each other cross country and talk about every episode. I refused to watch “Friends,” the wildly popular show that knocked Murder She Wrote out of its time slot. Lansbury helped acting friends made over the years by employing them on the show. At one point during the show’s run, she saw herself personally gaining weight and slipping toward dowdiness. She took up an exercise program (and released a DVD of her workout) and updated her hairstyle and wardrobe. Her character’s move to New York reflected that significant change. The show may have been formulaic to an extent, but it was a great romp with memorable characters, and the good woman always won.
I love that you moved to New England! I bet it was different, hahah. I did notice that Lansbury came out with exercise videos while I was digging around for this article but I didn’t know she did it because she felt dowdy. She is quite the lady. I have to admit- I haven’t watched through the whole show. I’m going to be sorry when it ends so I’m pacing them out. So glad you got a kick out of this.
MicByMic says
Reblogged this on meulugarzinho.
Golden Girls needs to be Rebooted again!
You captured her perfectly: “Anywhere you go and anything you do, Jessica Fletcher has already been there, seen it and done it.” Thank you for pointing out ALL the reasons we love Cabot Cove.
Thanks! I’m glad you enjoyed it. Fletcher and Lansbury are terrific inspiration.
I loved this post and it belongs on Pinterest.
you’re right- what a great idea. thanks!
TheStoryteller01 says
Great article! Over here in Austria the german dubbed version of MSR is more or less always running on some channel during afternoons
Most investigating characters who are intelligent, sophisticated and cultivated also appear complacent and/or arrogant (just like the Dennis Stanton character from the show) but Angela Lansbury manages perfectly to appear wise without being a smartass and if Jessica is right she’s so without being bossy. J. B. Fletcher is truly a Lady, thats why I still drop by her Cabot Cove home from time to time.
She is a classy lady. I didn’t grow up watching Murder She Wrote but I’m addicted now. There’s something about Cabot Cove- despite the murders!- that’s restful. It’s an easy to watch show. I had no idea it was over in Austria too. Very cool.
I saw this fiction when i was younger (and now if i can find it on tv lol), love it and remember me when i was only 8 and stand with my mother in the kitchen while she was cooking…those are good days
(sorry for my bad english, i’m italian lol, we don’t have a good feeling with the other languages)
Thanks for sharing your sweet memory. I didn’t know murder she wrote was over in Italy too. That show got around!
Margie Brizzolari says
Did you know that Angela Lansbury also starred in live theatre and musicals? I think she is an amazing lady. I would give anything to be like her or Judi Dench or any of the mature actresses you mention. Good article.
I didn’t know she sang. I’ve been searching out her old B&Ws- haven’t gotten my hands on Gaslight yet but I heard she’s fabulous in it.
greatredwoman says
I hope to be like them when I grow up… (I’m 61)
I watch reruns of Murder She wrote every week night and love it, wouldn’t miss it.
ekphrasia says
Reblogged this on Just Because I Liked It.
carissacarnahan says
Reblogged this on Not so Magical Adventures and commented:
I loved Murder, She Wrote. One of my favorite shows. I always wondered why there were not more shows with people who have made it through life. We always over look the value they bring.
So true. Not only in entertainment like tv and films but in life too.
I still love Murder She Wrote and often watch the re-runs with my children. I can remember watching the series as a child with my Mother and Grandmother. It has staying power. I have to say that I am glad that they did not do a reboot of this series, but I would love to see a reunion type episode set in Cabot Cove.
Indeed, hats off to the British ladies, stoic individuals . There is an older lady who is in my gym every morning, meditating on a yoga ball and then swimming, full of energy and life, it is inspiring. I am hoping to catch Lansbury still on full power in BLITHE SPIRIT in London at the moment.
I have an older lady in my life who’s introduced me to the wonderful world of Chicago theater. She’s a huge inspiration in my life and I view her as my fairy godmother. She’s a big reason I wrote about the power of older women. The older ladies rock. Also- Lansbury’s in Blithe Spirit?! You are so lucky to see her and that play.
prayernotesbycynthia says
I love “Murder, She Wrote,” and will continue to watch it, as long as it runs on Hallmark and other channels. Angela Lansbury is one of my favorite actresses! Cheers to Jessica!!!