Murder, She Wrote (Season 3)

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Happy 40th Anniversary to Murder, She Wrote! On this date 40 years ago, the series premiered with a two-hour episode called "The Murder of Sherlock Holmes". That episode now airs in reruns as two one-hour episodes. The beloved series, starring Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher, would go on to last 12 seasons. I have already reviewed seasons 1 and 2, and today, in honor of the 40th anniversary I am finally reviewing season 3.

Most of this season is very much like the first two. They are one-hour episodes where a murder happens and Jessica Fletcher does her amateur, but intelligent, sleuthing to help the authorities get to the bottom of each mystery. Some of the murders happen in Jessica's hometown of Cabot Cove, but she also travels a lot. So while the murder rate in Cabot Cove isn't as high as some people say it is, murder does seem to follow Ms. Fletcher wherever she goes.

There are two episodes in season 3 where Ms. Fletcher isn't featured prominently as the sleuth. In one episode she is in bed recovering and in another episode she narrates a book. They were okay, but these are my least favorite episodes in the season. I prefer the ones where she is up and about doing the sleuthing. The other problem I have with this season is that in one episode the word "retard" is improperly used. I will say that back in the 80's when the episode first aired, it was much more widely used than it is now. Thankfully, that probably wouldn't be acceptable on television these days.

My favorite episode from season 3 was the one that took place on the plane called "The Corpse Flew First Class". This was very much like a locked-room mystery, except that it was on airplane, not in a room. I also really enjoyed the episode called The Days Dwindle Down. This episode was partially filmed in black and white since it dealt with a crime that was committed in the 1950s. I thought it was very well done.

Murder, She Wrote is well-known for having notable guest stars on each episode. One I need to mention in season 3 is Daryl Wood Gerber. She is now the author of several cozy mystery series, including one of my favorites, The Fairy Garden Mysteries. In season 3 of Murder, She Wrote, she had a small role in the episode called "Simon Says, Color Me Dead" It was so fun to see her in this episode.

As someone who enjoys listening to audiobooks, I found the last episode, "Murder, She Spoke", in this season especially interesting. Ms. Fletcher was recording an audiobook for one of her books. She was doing this for the blind. Nowadays, unless it's a memoir, authors usually do not record their own books. And nowadays, audiobooks aren't just for the blind. It's amazing to think how far we've come in 40 years.

So overall, I really liked this season. For the most part, it maintained the same vibe as the previous two, with the exception of the two episodes that did not prominently feature Ms. Fletcher as the sleuth. I'm excited to watch the next season, and now that I've posted my review of season 3, I can do that!