A NEW "MURDER, SHE WROTE"?

NBC is once again giving the TV series remake idea a spin, this time with a new version of 'Murder, She Wrote'.

I think this is a misleading statement, as they are not trying to bring back a new version of Jessica B. Fletcher.  (And a black one

at that since the project will star Oscar winner Octavia Spencer.

Instead she would play a hospital administrator who self-publishes her first mystery novel.  She ends up becoming an active participant in the investigations which she hears about in the news because of her interest in true crime.

Supposedly Angela Lansbury, who starred in the original CBS series for twelve years and several follow-up TV movies, was approached to take part in some way.  (Perhaps JB Fletcher might meet Spencer's character at a publishing function and - in a way - give her blessing to the other character's pursuits; perhaps even provide the needed insight to the solution.)

But now it looks like Ms. Lansbury has thrown some cold water on her participation at least if not on the whole project.  She stated in an interview that she thinks the whole idea was wrong-headed:

"I think it's a mistake to call it Murder, She Wrote, because Murder, She Wrote will always be about a Cabot Cove and this wonderful little group of people who told those lovely stories and enjoyed a piece of that place, and also enjoyed Jessica Fletcher, who is a rare and very individual kind of person." 


And not much has been heard of the project since that was published back on November 11.

As for me, I would have no problem with it, so long as Ms. Spencer was NOT playing Jessica Baines Fletcher.  Based on the scant description given so far, there are plenty of differences between her hospital administrator and the former school teacher from Cabot Cove, Maine.  There are plenty of female authors out there, so why can't more than one be an amateur sleuth?

But yeah, why re-use the title?  

Of course, if they did something foolish - as was done earlier this year with 'Ironside' - and make Octavia Spencer be named Jessica Fletcher, then the project would lose the support of Toobworld Central (such as it is.)  It would be cast off into the alternate dimension of Black Toobworld, where it would likely wither away from neglect.

So far, it's still a moot point as NBC has only committed itself to a pilot episode.  But that's all that is needed for inclusion into the great mosaic that is the Toobworld Dynamic.  So we'll see how it goes.....

BCnU!