Have always been quite fond of 'Murder She Wrote'. It is a fun and relaxing watch that makes you think as you try to unwind in the evening. If one wants more complex, twisty mysteries with lots of tension and suspense 'Murder She Wrote' may not be for you, but if you want something light-hearted and entertaining but still provide good mysteries 'Murder She Wrote' fits the bill just fine.
"A Lady in the Lake" is one of those episodes that has grown on me significantly. On first viewing, will be perfectly honest in struggling to completely make sense of it with so much going on and a lot of it pretty complicated. "A Lady in the Lake" on re-watches has proved to be a much better episode than initially thought, not quite one of my favourites of Season 2 or the show but it is a lot of fun and very clever with everything that didn't make sense before making sense now.
Maybe some of the events are solved perhaps too much by all-too-convenient coincidence. While most of the cast are very good, Lauren Tewes has always come across as ill at ease to me, there are some melodramatic facial expressions and eye contact going on and she overdoes it in the line delivery.
However, "A Lady in the Lake" looks great. 'Murder She Wrote' has always been very nicely shot, this is no exception. It is agreed that it does boast some of the most spectacular scenery of any episode of 'Murder She Wrote', there is a lot of that in the show but "A Lady in the Lake" is one of the finest examples of it. The music has energy and has presence but also not making the mistake of over-scoring, while it is hard to forget or resist the theme tune.
The writing is tight, thought-provoking and typically amiable, although exposition-heavy in places it adds to it rather than irrelevantly padding things out. The story is well paced and an incredibly clever one with lots of surprises and an ending that one doesn't expect by a long-shot. As said, what didn't make sense or come together before did when re-watching the episode over-time.
As always in 'Murder She Wrote', Angela Lansbury is terrific, while Tom Bosley, William Windom and John Astin give her rock solid support. Most of the supporting cast have fun, class and charm, only Tewes doesn't work.
In conclusion, very good episode that has grown on me significantly over time. 8/10 Bethany Cox