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.
After the very well done "The Wind Around the Tower" (despite the accents and the whole secret passage stuff being hard to buy), Season 9 is back to disappointing territory with "The Dead File", another example as to why to me Season 9 is one of the weakest 'Murder She Wrote' seasons. There was an interesting idea here and any show that tries to do something different once in a while deserves credit, but "The Dead File" just doesn't execute this idea very well.
It is a pity, because Angela Lansbury is terrific as always as Jessica (even though agreed Jessica does seem a little more blustery than usual in the latter stages and much of it is to do with the rushed-seeming writing) and there are game supporting performances from Sally Kellerman, Patrick Macnee and particularly Harvey Fierstein (with the only real semi-interesting character of the episode).
Production values are slick and stylish. 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.
Unfortunately, the rest of the performances are forgettable at best, with the only standout being the really awkward acting of the murderer in the denouement.
The story is neither fun or absorbing sadly. It's mostly pretty dull, have always found it a difficult episode to get into, though the denouement itself is underwhelming in how rushed and underdeveloped it feels and that it is one of the show's worst acted denouements to me. It's not just the pacing, some of it is rather too convoluted and the whole impetus stretches implausibility to breaking point.
Writing has lost most of its thoughtfulness and light-hearted energy, being both dreary and contrived.
Overall, disappointing. 4/10 Bethany Cox