Novel Connection

Occasionally, one successful show is used to help another show. A great example is when Barnaby Jones was teamed with Frank Cannon to work a case...and one part of the two part episode was shown on "Cannon" and the other on "Barnaby Jones". Well, in the case of "Novel Connection"/"Murder on Ice", Magnum is teamed with Jessica Fletcher....and part one was shown on "Magnum, P. I." and part two on "Murder, She Wrote". I'm not sure why this teaming occurred. Unlike the case of "Barnaby Jones", BOTH "Magnum P. I." and "Murder, She Wrote" were established and successful shows.

I should point out that I had never seen an episode of "Magnum P. I." before I saw this episode. I only saw it because I started watching all of the "Murder, She Wrote" episodes and had to watch "Novel Connection" before I watched "Murder on Ice". So, I have no idea if Magnum is treated this abominably during the course of the show...and considering it occurred in season 7, it' seemed weird. Hadn't he already solved a ton of cases in the previous 6 seasons? So why is nearly everyone (other than Jessica) treating him so badly? I just didn't understand.

The show begins with someone trying to kill someone or all of the people in a carload of people. Higgins is driving and three annoying ladies are with him. Which is the target? Well, oddly, instead of asking for Magnum's help (since he IS a private investigator), Pamela Bates keeps saying that Magnum is a bum and that she wants a REAL investigator on the case! Even when one of the women vanishes and Magnum locates her, he's nearly killed AND Pamela keeps treating him like dog barf. She insists she wants some competent person to investigate...and eventually Jessica Fletcher arrives, as she's Pamela's choice to help.

After LOTS more disrespect and maltreatment of Magnum by her and others, Magnum springs into action...but by then I'd lost interest.

I sure hope "Magnum on Ice" is a lot better. In this one, apart from Magnum being constantly mistreated, Jessica Fletcher was pretty much wasted....and the show could have taken place without her.

As a Magnum or a Murder She Wrote episode, this episode wasn't that great. The story makes no sense, nobody knows what happens, and it doesn't get resolved.

But I think that's the joke. The whole joke is about what a detective is, and how they work their deductions. I imagine the writers had a lot of fun writing this and it's just so much fun seeing Magnum and Jessica together.

Sure, they could have "worked together" and gotten along, but it wouldn't have been this witty TV Essay.

It's like the set pieces of an episode are there: pursuit, disparition, discovery, gun fight. But it's all running on empty. The real action is in the dialogues and each character alleging they are the victim.

And who Jessica Walter hitting on Magnum!!?? Amazing.

It's either a no so great episode or a brilliant TV crossover Essay. I'll take the second interpretation.

By Season 6, Magnum P. I. was running out of steam. It had been usurped in the ratings by Simon & Simon. It was still a good show but viewers were moving on to other things. One of those things was Murder, She rote, starring ngel Lansbury.

Lansbury turn up in thiscrossover episode. Ere Mgnum's producers going for the geriatric demographic? Nothing againt Lansbury or her sho, but by god you'd have to be 80-plu to be into that gtha Christie-level nonsense. It's so fr from Magnum P. I., hich as basically a good-looking doofus bumbling his ay through various investigations that nobody took seriously. In other ords, Haaiin Rockford Files.

Didn't mke me ant to atch Murder, he rote, and I love ngela Lansbury.

On the other hand, Jessica alter is the B guet and she's easily orth the price of admission. Va-voom!

This is a really bad crossover. Having two different networks and creators and writers working on two successful shows does not mean it will be a successful crossover.

Chicago Fire, Chicago Med and Chicago Med, plus NCIS and their spin offs all work together in successful crossovers due to the same creators, writers and locations.

But in this case of Magnum and Murder She Wrote fails big time as you have different creators, plus CBS, Universal and Belisarius Productions, Inc. And Glen A. Larson Productions all working together it does not work.

Although both shows are fine as standalone creations, it just does not work out as a crossover, you will be extremely bored with this attempt at crossover.

This was not a very good ep. There was far too much play up about Fletcher and I think she was poorly used. I also have to say that I don't like Angela Langbury very much. Her style reminds me a bit of Shatner in the original Star Trek series. I'd have to read to see if she started out as a stage actor which is what a lot of tv actors end up doing over-acting if they had spent much time on the stage because they have to overact so as to be more viewable to people in the audience.