Murder, She Wrote: Why the Spin-Offs Failed

hello welcome again to cabot cove murder she wrote was a mega hit for cbs the hour-long cozy mystery ran for 12 seasons my goodness each week criminals tried to get away with the perfect murder you think you've got it all planned and some weeks the producers tried to get away with the perfect spin-off there's been a dreadful accident here on the set when angela lansbury started murder she wrote the actress was pushing 60. imagine the demands it puts on a senior citizen carrying her own network show no wonder she released a fitness video after five years of this exhausting routine lansbury was ready to call it quits i'm gonna put a stop to this nonsense don't worry we all know she doesn't quit the show runs another seven seasons plus four made for tv movies and for you hardcore fans 55 original novels but back to 1989 when faced with a new contract angela lansbury did something extremely rare she bargained for less screen time the new season would have 22 episodes and angela lansbury agreed to star in 13 of them so what about the remaining nine hours of television you're out of luck these entries are known as bookend episodes because jb fletcher only appears at the top and tail of each story some weeks she's out of town while her nephew is house sitting fletcher residents and chess how are you i'm wonderful but more to the point how are you other weeks she's opening her mail and reading about her friend's adventures jessica darling i've just finished up the most fascinating adventure which i couldn't wait to tell you about and some weeks she's setting up a potential new series years ago she was involved in a real life mystery the producers knew that if lansbury left they'd be out of a job and the viewers would be out of a weekly cozy mystery so why not use these one-offs as backdoor pilots to introduce characters who could become the next j.b fletcher [Music] first up have you ever wondered what jb fletcher's books are about the episode goodbye charlie is a fletcher novel come to life and it's all about a wisecracking private eye yes in the tradition of axel foley david addison and harry crum here comes bill maher smile and say cheating [Music] that's right the political talk show host was taking his shot as a leading man maher plays frank albertson a down on his luck investigator who's trying to scam a small town police department and collect a missing fortune how many zeros in fortune in this one's six six so frank gets to work and we get a sense of what his spin-off might look like during the episode he cons a small town coroner coroner's office uh yes sir i was uh reading about this uh poor john doe feller and i got the crazy notion he might be my brother bubba sir frank is less like jb fletcher and more like fletch like when frank receives a back rub from his wife played by murphy browns faith ford oh that is the spot that yes seems familiar perfect perfect nice and hard yeah yeah later frank does some investigating at a good old boy saloon it's a classic bit in a jail cell he does some witty banter hi i'm al capone again poor man's fletch hi there i'm a harry s truman you're a wise guy ain't you no he's just ripping off chevy chase well no i'm no lawyer but uh i do believe that's a violation of my rights and i have to mention the best scene in the episode when frank reveals a woman's been having an affair with her cousin who's played by brian cranston you you just can't barge into a lady's bedroom looks like jerry's a kissing cousin in his book me and murder she wrote show runner peter s fisher says marr proved to be a so-so actor so maybe that's why the frank albertson show never went to series not to worry the writers were coming up with more potential spin-offs like jack and bill jessica starts the episode by telling us about her friend who we've never even heard of bill boyle i'm sure you know him he used to play linebacker for one of those teams in the black and blue division of the nfl but these days bill is working as what else a private eye aren't you supposed to take the cap off the lens before you shoot our story begins when bill gets a surprise visit from an old pal what kind of a greeting is that johnny then he meets johnny's poodle oh uh bill say hello to jack jack bill boyle how are you johnny asks bill to dog-sit but then johnny doesn't come back and in a surprise twist johnny gets killed so it's up to jack and bill to find out who done it whoever killed johnny is coming after poochie when they do they're gonna have to come through me in another twist bill finds out that jack is a government trained killer like a canine jason bourne you see jack has been carefully trained since birth to do undercover work and from then on it's an odd couple detective show there's action romance and a buddy comedy starring man's best friend it's worth noting that this episode aired the same year that turner and hooch and canine were hits at the box office learn more about backdoor pilots involving crime-solving dogs by watching our video about the bionic dog before it became a bookend episode jack and bill had been pitched as a series it was created by chuck bowman who'd been a writer on shows like tj hooker and macgyver bowman even got to direct this episode according to the la times jack and bill was being developed as a spin-off but plans fell apart when the programming chief of cbs resigned tough break meanwhile angela lansbury was enjoying some down time and the murder she wrote producers kept plugging away another backdoor pilot was a period piece set in 1947 the episode begins with jessica fletcher remembering a mysterious author lady austin was like that an enigma shrouded in mystery the grand old lady follows this writer aboard the queen mary lady abigail austin is on board to witness a real-life murder mystery and because she writes murder mysteries she's ready to solve the crime i am an honorary constable with scotland yard and i have the badge to prove it just like adam west and the failed pilot look well i'm an honorary member of the force this was given to me in 1972. she plans to crack the case with the help of a nerdy news man didn't i help figure out who killed maro dwyer's bodyguard sure sure kids for reporter you make a great detective look if you want to be a cop like your old man go join a force his father is also working the case which is good because on this ship everyone is a suspect [Music] the whole thing has a death on the nile vibe despite being set in the 1940s this really feels like imitation murder she wrote a novelist who plays detective yeah yes lady abigail seems like a replacement for jessica fletcher but according to show creator peter s fisher this episode was written over a decade earlier it was a never produced script of the 1975 detective show ellery queen which was set in 1947. regardless this concept didn't get crowned as a series after cbs passed the producers pitched it to abc and nbc it will be such fun working together yeah they also passed the next book end is about another writer it's murder according to maggie maggie had been a student of jessica fletcher you know of all the ones who came through my classroom mary margaret mccauley was the brightest she created a hit tv show called beat cop so maggie is living in la a modern 80s woman with an exciting tv career and a romance with a police officer i gotta go back to work kid so do you things are going great until a network executive gets murdered and everyone thinks the killer is the star of beat cop wait a minute you can't do this i didn't kill him so the network is gonna cancel the show b cops have proven hit with burt rogers but at the moment you don't have burt rogers unless someone can clear the actor's name so then you'll help me yes oh god i love you yes to save her show from cancellation maggie must solve the murder look i'm not a detective but you uh think like one she'll combine her deductive thinking with her trademark wit the killers are real and so were the caps yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah this is a really fun episode that mocks the tv industry trust me it's like murder she wrote meets 30 rock maggie is the liz lemon writing a mainstream show that's beneath her that means that dana and andy go to the sex clinic posing as the couple from cleveland there's a jack donaghy type with good hair and bad ideas do you think that's all i care about numbers wake up and smell the demographics bry and a big headed star like tracy jordan every week millions of little children look forward to seeing me in action you shut up honestly it's unclear if this was supposed to be a spin-off but i wish it had been freeze sucker the next backdoor pilot from the season is o'malley's luck lieutenant o'malley is played by pat hingle who you might recognize as commissioner gordon from tim burton's batman thank you for that little tidbit of information but before we go any further the atomic game research team has determined the o'malley's luck episode is too boring to be included in this video oh i feel so foolish the final backdoor pilot from the season is class act lieutenant jake ballinger is an honest cop who doesn't know when to quit back off sorry but my engine doesn't run in reverse after asking too many questions the captain gives jake a new assignment you're off the case you're kidding here comes the premise you're going to replace charlie greer at fremont university the department has a contract with the university to supply them with an experienced instructor hold on ballinger is a meat and potatoes cop will he fit in at a fancy university jake figures he won't have to teach if he can scare away the co-eds now those of you who wish to stay enrolled in this class will learn a new definition of the word work that ought to do it but the next day two students come back so jake decides to use the college to solve his current case this is going to be more like a lab course with lots of practical application he tricks the dean into giving him an office thank you so much if i need anything else i'll let you know huh and even gets a free gal friday the dean sent me up on your new secretary who delivers old-timey lines like what am i chop liver then his students get their hands dirty there's a wannabe detective i'm a private investigator i mean i will be as soon as i pass this course and a know-it-all divorcee slash insurance investigator i hope that satisfies you as to my reasons for being here and you won't continue to look upon me as just another pretty face who might become a love interest if you ever decide to commit murder don't do it on that block if i ever decide to commit murder you'll be the first announcement adorable so with the help of his student detectives jake cracks the case where did you get that those records were sealed the captain gives jake his old job back but the class won't have it we don't want a replacement lieutenant we intend to learn from you besides what other detective on the force has three leg persons working for him for free okay folks you want an education i'm gonna give you one lieutenant ballinger didn't go to series but there's another tough guy who did get a spin-off from the look on your face casey this has got to be good news for me jerry orbach aka the dad from dirty dancing appeared on murder she wrote as private eye harry mcgraw freeze turkey and after only three appearances harry got a spin-off i made a deal with the tv people but even that series only lasted one season the showrunner blamed cancellation on a bad time slot tuesday on cbs but maybe it's because harry was no jessica fletcher lois came out of the bedroom looking for another round of bed sheet bingo but don't worry jerry urback would find success on another show about the law after season six there weren't any more backdoor pilots on murder she wrote oh this is terrific and eventually the bookend episodes went away i guess there's nothing else to do but to make amends maybe the lesson with these failed spin-offs is that viewers loved jb fletcher and they loved visiting cabot cove how else do you explain those 55 tie-in novels thanks for watching be sure to subscribe to atomicabe and watch our other videos about backdoor pilots including the failed chip spin-off about a team of ninja cops typical [Music]

Channel: Atomic Abe

Views: 158,804

Keywords: Angela Lansbury, Murder She Wrote, CBS, 1980s, tv, backdoor pilot, spin-off, Bill Maher, Faith Ford, Jack & Bill, Ken Howard, Poodle, Turner & Hooch, K-9, Dog, Ellery Queen, Gary Kroeger, Peter S. Fischer, Me & Murder She Wrote, Diana Canova, Dobie Gillis, Tim Thomerson, Grant Heslov, Pat Hingle, Harry McGraw, Jerry Orbach, Murder She Wrote spinoff, RIP Angela, RIP Angela Lansbury, RIP Angela Landsbury, RIP Jessica, RIP Jessica Fletcher, Rest in Peace Angela

Id: UDp384778H0

Length: 13min 47sec (827 seconds)

Published: Tue May 03 2022