I remember reading a column in either A slip-in syndicated Sunday news magazine' question and answer readers feature or it may have been a column in a TV-Guide, regarding this cross over and the writer - whose name escapes me - claimed that Lansbury was not thrilled with the whole idea! Especially with the fact that the Magnum episode was written by their writers- and that she did not like the way her character was portrayed. One point made was that she found it somewhat demeaning and that she did not need the ratings boost but apparently the Network wanted it to bolster the Magnum position- especially with her fans. I remember seeing both episodes - at the time they were initially broadcast and several times since then and I have to say initially I was very pleased with the two episodes - but after reading the column I mentioned above- I have picked up the discrepancies in both ways the lead characters were written by the other series writers- in each - The guest character is treated in a somewhat diminished way. Although I think that Jessica on Magnum was made out to be less than the way the Murder She Wrote writers portrayed Magnum. He was still not as well portrayed as he usually was on his own show, but the Murder She Wrote writers certainly treated him better than the Magnum writers treated Jessica.
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