So bad, in fact, that the broadcast networks would never even think about scheduling a series like Murder, She Wrote today.
"It's considered old fashioned now. So is Columbo. If you want to sell a new series, it's got to have forensics in it,” Link says. “Oh, well. That's television."
Fortunately, even if the networks aren't interested in Old School whodunits, the studios have discovered that there are big profits to be made from repackaging shows like Murder, She Wrote and Columbo on DVD. So once again, Jessica Fletcher might be a trailblazer—this time, hopefully, as one of the advance scouts for the eventual DVD return of TV detectives like Cagney and Lacey, Joe Mannix, and Barnaby Jones.
As they say in television, stay tuned..
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AHMM, June 2005 Page 18