Neal Justin: 'Murder, She Wrote' still holds up, but not for the reasons you think

Unless Ted Lasso is called in to arbitrate, the SAG-AFTRA strike could last for a long time. That's put the TV industry in a semi-frozen state, which means no fresh episodes of "Chicago Fire" for the foreseeable future.

Don't panic. Open-minded viewers can take this opportunity to take a trip down memory lane. During the pandemic, when we faced a similar dilemma, I got acquainted with classics like "Room 222" and "The Waltons."

Last week, I binged on "Murder, She Wrote."

I avoided the CBS drama during its initial 1984-96 run. At the time it sounded about as inviting as Scrabble Night at a nursing home, especially when compared with hipper offerings like "Miami Vice" and "Moonlighting."

Based on the seven episodes I watched on Freevee (you can also find it on Peacock and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries), I didn't miss much.

The setup is ridiculous. Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) is a novelist in small town Maine who keeps stumbling into crime scenes. The murder rate in Cabot Cove is so high, you'd assume the mayor was Al Capone.

The cases aren't nearly as juicy as the ones on "Columbo" or even newer fare like "Poker Face" and "Knives Out."

So why bother?

First of all, Lansbury is a ball of energy. In the pilot episode, the actor climbs a trellis, jogs like she's training for Grandma's Marathon and battles muggers, one of whom is played by an uncredited Andy Garcia. But by the end of the first season, she's getting by on contagious charm and quick wit. She's also a first-class flirt.

In a crossover stunt with "Magnum P.I.," the chemistry between her and Tom Selleck is so electric, you half expect them to re-create the beach scene in "From Here to Eternity."

You see why Lansbury, who died last year at age 96, was nominated for an Emmy for 12 consecutive years.

But the real draw is the show's nods to old Hollywood. It's a kick to see future stars like George Clooney and Courteney Cox pop up, but the show relies much more on veterans like Van Johnson, Elliott Gould and José Ferrer, all relishing their curtain calls.

Len Cariou and George Hearn, who both appeared with Lansbury in stage productions of "Sweeney Todd," also make guest appearances.

True film buffs will savor other shoutouts to the past.

Lansbury never appeared in an Alfred Hitchcock film, but "Murder" more than makes up for the slight. The 1992 episode "Incident in Lot 7" takes place on the set of "Psycho" with the theme of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" as background music.

In Season 3's "Crossed Up," Fletcher solves a crime without leaving her bed. If that isn't enough to signal that it's a tribute to "Rear Window," then maybe the wind knocking over her bedroom telescope will do the trick.

"The Days Dwindle Down," also from that season, is a sequel of sorts to 1949's "Strange Bargain," with three of that film's original cast members reprising their roles.

"Murder Takes the Bus" from 1985 is a clever takeoff on "Murder on the Orient Express" with a passenger list that includes Larry Linville, Rue McClanahan and Linda Blair, B-listers who couldn't get a ticket to "Fantasy Island."

The series even has an episode honoring women-in-prison films with genre queen Adrienne Barbeau as a chief suspect.

Too elementary for you? Then see if you can spot the more obscure Easter eggs. For example, staff writer Donald Ross liked to name characters after big-band and jazz musicians.

Hunting for those tributes turns out to be more compelling than figuring out the killer.