Sunday nights, from 1984 to 1995, belonged to CBS's Murder, She Wrote. During the first ten years of its run, the other networks programmed 44 series opposite it, in hopes of knocking it out of the Nielsen Top Ten - all of them failed to do so. Even Steven Spielberg, whose Amazing Stories was widely predicted to be an unstoppable juggernaut that would cream Jessica Fletcher, not only went down to defeat against her, but lead to her viewership increasing.

Obviously, the show was more popular, with a more varied audience, than the Nielsen numbers let on. Much has been said about how popular the show was with older audiences - and this is definitely true. Angela Lansbury became an iconic symbol for older audiences who had essentially been abandoned by the TV networks in favor of younger demographics. But the network (and the fallible ratings system), never understood that families watched Murder, She Wrote, too, with as many children and grandchildren watching the show, as older adults. I distinctly remember my eldest daughter, only about six or seven at the time, couldn't wait to watch the show with my mother; it was their regular Sunday night event. My mother would make tea and some treat for them to eat, and they would both snuggle on the couch and watch the show together. I'm sure they weren't alone in doing that with Murder, She Wrote. It's that kind of show; a reassuring, comfortable show that fans stayed fiercely loyal to. It was safe to watch as a family, too. Murders were always off camera (as per Angela Lansbury's orders), with the mystery aspects in the forefront. And the style of the show never varied; true, it may be said that in some aspects it was formulaic, from the sometimes static way it was shot, right down to the sometimes rigid way the stories unfolded, rarely varying in execution.

But that's not meant to be a negative; this continuity of form and content is exactly why the show became such a monster hit. Viewers knew exactly what they were going to get in a Murder, She Wrote episode; they knew exactly how Jessica Fletcher was going to react to certain situations, and they knew they were going to be entertained - week after week. Murder, She Wrote has that element of "repeatable experience" that Walt Disney always strove for - and that makes for long-running hit series. The viewer knows, regardless of coming in on season two or season eleven, that any particular episode of Murder, She Wrote will contain a handful of guest stars, a fairly complicated mystery, some clever dialogue, and plenty of Angela Lansbury, presiding over all of it in her calm, witty, sophisticated incarnation of Jessica Fletcher.

You really have to hand it to producer/writers Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link (who had developed Columbo) by taking a chance on Angela Lansbury starring in a weekly series. Certainly Lansbury was an actress familiar to audiences in America (although probably not as well known as the first actress offered the part - All in the Family's Jean Stapleton, who turned it down), but the idea of a mature British actress carrying a weekly hour-long mystery series, was outside the American TV network thinking at the time. Certainly the pedigrees of the series' creators were a boon, along with the absolutely brilliant positioning of the series on the schedule (right after mega-hit 60 Minutes, with its built-in family/older audience). But all of that would have been for naught had the public not taken to Lansbury, which they most certain did. Even during the first season, where the creators and Lansbury were still shaking down the character to get it exactly right (Lansbury often fought to keep love interests for Jessica out, as well as having her appear more sophisticated, and less dowdy), the audience flocked to the show, making it an immediate Top Ten hit, and much of that success can be laid at Lansbury's feet. She herself has admitted that it wasn't a stretch to play Jessica; after all, Lansbury is one of film and theatre's most accomplished actors, with numerous awards and memorable, complex roles to her credit. But regardless of the limitations of playing the same character for 12 seasons, Lansbury always brings her professionalism to each scene - as well as a subtlety of reaction shots that economically convey exactly what she's thinking at the time. I love how Lansbury doesn't play Jessica in a stereotypical way. She's not crotchety or rude; she's not overly sweet or sentimental; she's not aggressive; she's not dependent on others; she's not overly polite in a "grandmotherly" way. She plays Jessica as a thoughtful, engaged, vitally active woman - with age having absolutely nothing to do with the characterization. Jessica operates as a self-actualized, independent - both financially and emotionally -- woman who hasn't the need or the time to suffer fools gladly; she is totally autonomous. That's an amazing characterization for a woman on TV at the time, and it's no wonder so many older women responded to her portrayal. Who wouldn't want to aspire to how Jessica Fletcher lives her active life?

Murder, She Wrote: The Complete Fourth Season finds the show running true to form, with Lansbury comfortably established as Jessica Fletcher. There's a little globe trotting to this season, including trips to Paris, Quebec, Saskatchewan, and New York City. I know it became limiting for the writers (as well as for Lansbury, who wanted broader locales to diversify the stories), but I still prefer the mysteries that take place in her hometown of Cabot Cove, Maine (recreated in Mendocino, California). It gives a cozier feel to the proceedings, an Agatha Christie feel that heightens the insular nature of the mysteries (as well as jacking up the body count in Murder City, U.S.A.: Cabot Cove, Maine). The guest stars are abundant this season -- always a great selling point for Murder, She Wrote. Some of the stars you'll see in Murder, She Wrote: The Complete Fourth Season include: Juliet Prowse, Barbara Rush, Fritz Weaver, Tom Bosley, John Glover, Michael Lembeck, Kenneth McMillan, Dack Rambo, Shelley Smith, Marilyn Hassett, Simon Jones, Patrick McGoohan, Juliet Mills, Claire Trevor, Eileen Brennan, Clu Gulager, Evelyn Keyes, Ed Nelson, Jane Powell, Robert Proskey, Audrey Totter, Joanna Barnes, Richard Beymer, Nancy Dussault, Richard Jaeckel, Joanna Pettet, Ray Walston, Cornel Wilde, Richard Johnson, Anthony Newley, Julie Adams, Gloria Dehaven, Dody Goodman, Kathryn Grayson, Ruth Roman, William Windom, Bradford Dillman, Yaphet Kotto, Doug McClure, Gail Strickland, Macdonald Carey, Betty Garrett, Roy Thinnes, Stuart Whitman, Theodore Bikel, Gary Lockwood, Janet Leigh, Monte Markham, Charlotte Rae, Colleen Camp, Henry Gibson, Anne Meara, Barbara Rhoades, Guy Stockwell, George DiCenzo, Dean Jones, Jeffey Tambor, Clive Revill, Larry Linville, Rene Auberjonois, Frank Gorshin, Barry Nelson, Lois Nettleton, Linda Purl, Laurence Luckinbill, Robert Reed, Gregory Sierra, Karen Valentine, Ina Balin, John Saxon, Eli Wallach, Billy Zane, Brian Bedford, Sonny Bono, Jack Carter, Norman Fell, Dick Gautier, Brenda Vaccaro, Paul LeMat, Kristy McNichol, Cassie Yates, Lloyd Bochner, Rich Little, Dean Stockwell, Eddie Albert, Robert Fuller, George Grizzard, and Shirley Jones. WOW!

Here are the 22 episodes of Murder, She Wrote: The Complete Fourth Season:

DISC ONE:

A Fashionable Way to Die
Ooh la la! Jessica travels to gay Paris to spend some time with an old friend...herself entangled in a case involving fashion, finance and murder.

When Thieves Fall Out
A walk down memory lane is anything but pleasant for Jessica when she re-examines a 20-year-old case involving her close friends and former students.

Witness for the Defense
Jessica goes to great lengths for a comrade when she travels to Quebec, Canada, to testify on his behalf when he goes on trial for killing his wife.

Old Habits Die Hard
When a young nun's body is discovered, Jessica works with her old college roommate, who is now a mother superior, to prove that the deceased woman did not commit suicide.

DISC TWO:

The Way to Dusty Death
The business world can be murder, as Jessica learns when her position as a board member leads her into a scenario of cutthroat business tactics, hostile takeovers, and homicide.

It Runs in the Family
Emma MacGill, Jessica's vivacious cousin, must quickly learn the family gumshoe business when she is suspected of poisoning a member of the British aristocracy.

If it's Thursday, It Must Be Beverly
When the wife of Amos's night deputy is found dead from what appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Jessica makes some surprising discoveries about their marriage -- and about the women of Cabot Cove.

Steal Me a Story
It's lights, camera, action when Jessica realizes that the plot for her new book has been stolen for use on a TV show -- whose producer turns up murdered.

Trouble in Eden
While staying at the Garden of Eden hotel, Jessica poses as a dead woman's sister in order to investigate the case. Will she find the tree of knowledge and uncover the truth?

DISC THREE:

Indian Giver
The natives are restless in Cabot Cove when a man wearing traditional Indian dress and war paint interrupts a "Founder's Day" celebration by showing a land grant that states he owns the town and surrounding territory.

Doom with a View
Jessica's friend Grady spends time with some old school pals, but his loyalties are put to the test when one of his friends is discovered dead.

Who Threw the Barbitals in Mrs. Fletcher's Chowder?
Amos's sister makes the surprise announcement that she has left her husband, but things really take an unexpected turn when Jessica's consolatory chowder causes her guests to pass out at the dinner table.

Harbinger of Death
Expecting an out-of-this world trip when she travels to upstate New York to see the reappearance of a rare comet, Jessica really sees stars when her niece is suspected of murder.

Curse of the Daanav
Seth's reconciliation with his brother is short-lived, but only because the man is killed in this story of polio, jewels, and an ancient Indian curse.

DISC FOUR:

Mourning Among the Wisterias
Jessica's life suddenly reads like a gothic novel when her famous Southern playwright friend confides that he is dying, proposes marriage, and later is found holding a gun while standing over a dead body.

Murder Through the Looking Glass
Her quiet life in Cabot Cove is drastically changed when a hit man's dying confession involves Jessica in a top-secret government plot.

A Very Good Year for Murder
It's sour grapes when a wealthy vintner's 75th birthday celebration is interrupted by the discovery of a body.

Benedict Arnold Slipped Here
An elderly Cabot Cove woman is found dead in her dilapidated home, and Jessica is surprised to find that she has been named executor of the estate -- and even more shocked to hear rumors that the house contains hidden treasure.

Just Another Fish Story
When Jessica's nephew recommends that she invest in a trendy New York City restaurant, she makes the change from author to tycoon. But when the eatery becomes a crime scene, she finds herself in hell's kitchen.

DISC FIVE:

Showdown in Saskatchewan
Jessica's jumping through hoops to find a killer when a traveling rodeo show's doctor is found dead.

Deadpan
All the world's a stage when the critic who raved about a Broadway play based on one of Jessica's books becomes a murder victim.

The Body Politic
When her good friend Kathleen enters the cutthroat world of politics, Jessica works as her speechwriter, but soon finds herself doing much more when the campaign manager is killed.

The DVD:

The Video:
The image quality is mint for Murder, She Wrote: The Complete Fourth Season. Always a class series with high production values, Murder, She Wrote: The Complete Fourth Season looks particularly good here in its fourth DVD release.

The Audio:
The Dolby Digital 2.0 mono English soundtrack sounds excellent -- there's no distortion, and the clever dialogue comes through cleanly.

The Extras:
The only extra for Murder, She Wrote: The Complete Fourth Season is a bonus episode from Season Five, entitled Snow White, Blood Red, starring Barry Newman and Bo Svenson. It's a good mystery located in the snowy mountains, providing a nice incentive to buy the next season.

Final Thoughts:
Murder, She Wrote: The Complete Fourth Season is a total treat for the legions of fans of Angela Lansbury and of the series. You get over 18 hours of quality mysteries, great guest stars, and family entertainment. If you're new to the series, it's a good season to start with, since Lansbury and company have already shaken out the bugs of the series (what few ones there were to start with) into a smooth running operation. TV doesn't get better than this. You can't go wrong with Murder, She Wrote: The Complete Fourth Season. Highly recommended.