Welcome to the definitive guide to "Murder, She Wrote" (1984 - 1996), one of the longest running drama series in television history. This site is a work in progress, evolving and growing as we get our hands on new material, so bookmark us and visit often!
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NEW! Donald Bain's latest book, Trouble at High Tide, has been released! - It was made available on April 3rd, 2012. My review is now posted on the Book Reviews page. The next book in the series, Domestic Malice, is due out in the fall of 2012.
All the News That's Fit to Post! - Want to keep up with everything current in the world of MSW? Join the discussion on the Definitive Guide's Facebook page and Google+ page. I've been trying to post news almost every day, so check it out and be sure to "Like" us!
Angela Lansbury Stars in Revival of Gore Vidal's "The Best Man" - Great news for fans of her work on Broadway! Rehearsals started on January 30, 2012, the first preview performance was on March 6, 2012, and the official opening was Sunday, April 1, 2012. Reviews have been quite positive thus far. Read about this new project at broadwayworld.com.
New Fan Fiction! - Anne's "In Another Voice" treatment of Donald Bain's Trouble at High Tide, "Yon Distant Isle" is now posted in the Writer's Workshop: In Another Voice Challenge Results page.
Legacy Interactive to Release Second MSW Hidden Object Computer Game in Spring 2012! - Three new cases. Eighty-odd levels. Better artwork! What's not to like? Check out the new game's page at Legacy's website: http://www.murdershewrotegame.com/ They also promise that next year both the original game and this sequel will be coming to an iDevice near you, so that's something else to look forward to in 2012.
An Interview with Peter S. Fisher - The co-creator of Murder, She Wrote has come out of retirement to write The Hollywood Murder Mysteries, a series of novels following the adventures of film studio publicity agent Joe Bernardi. Like Jessica Fletcher, Joe seems to have a penchant for finding trouble as he stumbles across bodies littering the sets of some of the most famous movies of the late 40's and early 50's. I was fortunate enough to be granted an opportunity to interview Mr. Fischer about his new series of novels as well as his past work, particularly on MSW - read the complete transcript here!
Got an Apple iDevice? - Want to have the Definitive Guide's website at your fingertips? Want a cool little MSW icon on your home screen? Make the Definitive Guide a webapp on your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad! How do I do this, you ask? It's easy. Open up the Definitive Guide in your Safari app. Then touch the little box with the arrow in it at the top of the page. Select "Add to Home Screen." Badda-bing, badda-boom.
A complete listing of every MSW episode ever aired, chronologically and in alphabetical order. Expanded guides with cast lists and synopses for each episode are also available, linked to each season.
- An exclusive interview with Peter S. Fischer, co-creator of Murder, She Wrote, who has come out of retirement to write a series of new mystery novels, The Hollywood Murder Mysteries.
The crown jewel of this website, this page displays the works of several talented MSW fan writers, all for your enjoyment. (PS: We are once again taking fan fiction submissions - click on the Fan Fiction page link for details.)
Now big enough to deserve a main index link of its own, the Writer's Workshop is home to writing challenges and other exercises for novice and experienced writers alike.
There's a surprisingly large body of MSW related literature out there, and it's all listed here, with a little book review of each one by yours truly.
NEW! When you start collecting newspaper clippings in 1984, you end up with ... a really big scrapbook. Twenty-five-plus years of archival materials are in the process of being posted here.
A collection of images from my personal archives, grouped by season.
Providing a concise biography of the legendary actress that brought Jessica to life, including complete film, theater, and television credits, and a listing of awards that she has been nominated for and won.
The most comprehensive chronology detailing the history of MSW, from its inception to the present day.
Enjoy crunching the numbers? The statistics page has a nice collection of them, along with some interesting trivia, a list of my personal favorite episodes, and a Who's Who-style guide to recurring characters.
Can you find Cabot Cove on a map? Sure, depending on whose map you use. Check out this photo collection, and see for yourself.
The Corpse Danced at Midnight may have launched Jessica's career, but it would prove to be only the first of many, many titles written by this prolific author. The ones we know about are all listed here.
News, screenshots, and reviews of Legacy Interactive's Murder, She Wrote hidden object games for PC and Mac.
A page of peer-reviewed links to other interesting websites and pages related to MSW.
How well do you think you know Murder, She Wrote? Test your knowledge of all things trivial, then score yourself and see how much you really know. (Maybe you know too much!)
Frequently Asked Questions: We try to answer the burning questions asked by MSW fans - and other questions that are just kind of interesting.
"Postcards from Cabot Cove," the Definitive Guide's MSW blog, is open and ready for comments.
Share your list of favorite MSW episodes, and see which episodes other readers picked!
"A Walking Tour of Gin and Daggers London" - When we went to London in 2008 we checked out some of the landmarks mentioned in Donald Bain's first MSW book, Gin and Daggers. Check out our photo album and see how we did.
A brief bio about your humble webmaster.
A complete list of the source material used to make this website what it is.
Now that I have an e-mail address with an adequate spam filter, you can once again make your voice heard to the webmaster. E-mail your questions, comments, complaints, and suggestions - if I'm not too busy dealing with my Real Life, I'll try to respond.
Please click on the image above to sign and view our guestbook.
DISCLAIMER: None of the persons responsible for this fan website have any official ties to anyone involved in the production of Murder, She Wrote or with CBS, Universal Studios, or Corymore Productions. Despite this lack of connections, I guess we've done a pretty fair job, don't you think?