Back in October, NBC announced that it was exploring the idea of a Murder, She Wrote remake starring Oscar-winning actress Octavia Spencer. It’s always notable when a network tries to reboot a beloved franchise from the past, but this was especially notable because the star of the original series, Angela Lansbury, was not happy about it, saying this at the time:
“I think it’s a mistake to call it Murder, She Wrote,” Lansbury said, “because Murder, She Wrote will always be about a Cabot Cove and this wonderful little group of people who told those lovely stories and enjoyed a piece of that place, and also enjoyed Jessica Fletcher, who is a rare and very individual kind of person …
“So I’m sorry that they have to use the title Murder, She Wrote, even though they have access to it and it’s their right.”
I bring this all up again today because the reboot has already been killed, and if you were hoping Angela Lansbury would take the opportunity to throw some shade at its corpse, I have tremendous news for you.
“I couldn’t believe that they would even consider doing such a thing,” Lansbury told The Associated Press.
“I think it was an awful mistake and it was a terrible disservice” to Spencer, she said. “I have too much admiration for her to saddle her with the awful responsibility of having to bring that title into a different venue.”
So, there are two things going on here.
First of all, as we discussed last time, you need to run that quote through your Lansbury to Standard English translator to fully grasp it. Angela Lansbury calling something an “awful mistake” and saying she “couldn’t believe they would even consider” doing it is basically her version of the C*nt Punt email. This is serious. Please don’t mistake that.
And second, read what she said about Octavia Spencer very carefully. Depending on how you spin that, and whether you’re willing to jump to the conclusion that Angela Lansbury is a power-mad egomaniac despite having no evidence to prove it beyond your own belief that it would be funnier if it were true (I am), it looks kind of like she’s taking to the press to say that Spencer — who signed up for this reboot willingly, and was excited about it — had no business trying to fill her shoes, talented actress or not.
The lesson here is that you should never cross Angela Lansbury.
