The television show Murder She Wrote was one of the best murder/mystery shows of all time. It consisted of more than 300 episodes, 14 of which were nominated for a television award. One episode won the "Best Episode of a Television Series" Emmy. Ironically, the episode that won was the second part of the pilot.

Murder She Wrote's episodes revolved around Jessica Thatcher (Angela Lansbury). Living in a small town I Maine, she solves an endless series of murders and mysteries that seem to come from nowhere. The show takes the genre in an interesting direction by employing Jessica as a writer. It's an interesting element because she writes about the very mysteries she solves.

The series premiere featured Jessica as an accomplished novelist. She was writing a new mystery novel and had contracted a nasty case of writer's block. To help her progress with her new book, an out of town friend came to visit. After they have had a fun evening, her friend returned to his hotel. The next day he turns up dead, washed up on a beach. The corner says he died from a boating accident 3 days earlier, but it's impossible as Jessica saw him only the day before. I won't ruin it for you, but the plot is something David Lynch would create. It's a who's who that leaves you amazed at the delicate complexity of the show.

The "Best Episode of a Television Series" award measures how well a show competes with similar programs on an episode for episode basis. Shows that use lots of "fill" time will never even get nominated for the award. Murder She Wrote won it in 2. When a show's writers sit down and manufacture a story, there is a tenancy to try to "drag it out" to appeal to advertisers. Murder She Wrote keeps you guessing without unnecessarily prolonging the story.

Murder She Wrote was the best murder/mystery of its time, and one of the best ever. It had good writing, clever plots, and great acting. If you have the chance to catch an episode, you owe it to yourself to give it a shot.