Tag Archives: Jonny Harris

Featured, Murdoch Mysteries

Murdoch Mysteries flies high with spies

James Pendrick and Terrence Meyers are two galvanizing characters in my household. Simply put? My family doesn’t like them. I’ve never been able to nail down exactly why they have an aversion to the duo, but I suspect it’s because Pendrick is a bit on the arrogant side and Meyers never really answers a question or comes clean when he screws up.

The two, along with Allen Clegg, returned for a rollicking good story written by Paul Aitken. The timing of the episode couldn’t have been better. With Spectre in theatres, Murdoch Mysteries’ take on spy capers involved a devious plan, a 1903 angle on the Cold War, a massive $4 million ransom delivered before a 24-hour deadline ran out and … superheroes. In what may very well have been Aitken’s twist on Thunderball, there was a plot not to drop an atomic bomb on Miami, but a missile loaded with TNT aimed at New York City. The missile was based on Pendrick’s own rocket design, something he’s been planning to use to, eventually, become the first man on the moon. (By episode’s end, it appeared Meyers may in fact claim that title or crash-land in Borneo instead.)

If Murdoch is ever interested in another career, spy would be a fantastic option. After all, he did flit around the sky alongside Pendrick in those pressurized suits and dismantled the doomsday device. My favourite MM episodes are the ones involving scientific devices, so I was positively giddy at the contraptions and tongue-in-cheekiness of that scene where Pendrick spun the wardrobe around to reveal the pressure suits hanging like Batman’s cowl and cape.

Notes and quotes

  • “I flew!!!” That might be the quote of the year from Murdoch Mysteries.
  • “Is that a bird? Some kind of airplane?” Second-best quote of the year.
  • Who else was cackling when Murdoch complained A Trip to the Moon (Le voyage dans la lune) wasn’t scientifically accurate? William may be loosening up, but … baby steps.
  • Rebecca, it was revealed after she helped solve the case, attended medical school in the U.S. until her patron died and is Julia’s new assistant. I’m looking forward to she and Julia working together on cases.

Murdoch Mysteries airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on CBC.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Featured, Murdoch Mysteries

Murdoch Mysteries introduces new character in Rebecca James

2 Comments

Just a week after a tearful goodbye to Dr. Emily Grace, Murdoch Mysteries is introducing a new character.

Rebecca James, played by Mouna Traoré (Rookie Blue, The Book of Negroes), appears for the first time in tonight’s new episode, “Barenaked Ladies,” as the morgue’s cleaner. Julia is back as the coroner in Station House No. 4 and working on a corpse when Rebecca shows up for her overnight shift.

“Over time I become suspect that she knows a lot more than she’s letting on,” Hélène Joy told me during a set visit earlier this year. “She knows anatomy, she seems to be pulling in the environment, so Julia starts giving her books to read, and over time it becomes really obvious that she’s much more than she admits.” Not much is known about Rebecca at this point, but that changes in the weeks ahead when a bit of detective work reveals much more about Rebecca’s life and what brought her to Canada.

Mirroring real events in history as Murdoch Mysteries does, not everyone is happy with the attention Julia is giving to an African American woman.

As for the rest of Monday’s episode, it’s much lighter in tone than last week’s swan song. There’s still a body count, but Carol Hay’s script calls for several light moments too, including the usual stuff from Crabtree and a couple of zingers from Julia.

And the case of the week? A brilliantly twisted story based on an iconic piece of art you’ll have to see to believe.

Murdoch Mysteries airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on CBC.

 

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Featured, Murdoch Mysteries

Review: Murdoch Mysteries frees Crabtree

1 Comment

All right Murdoch Mysteries fans. I think we all knew Constable Crabtree wasn’t really guilty of killing Archibald Brooks, but who did it and why were the questions I had bugging me all summer long. And, judging by the tweets I read with #freeCrabtree attached, I wasn’t the only one.

Those questions were answered during “Nolo Contendere,” Monday’s Season 9 premiere where Crabtree was exonerated, Murdoch got hit on the head and Emily planned her exit from Toronto in favour of London with Lillian. Turns out it was Simon who’d shot Archie, and he and Edna escaped Toronto for parts unknown, breaking Crabtree’s heart in the process.

“Nolo Contendere,” which is Latin for “I do not wish to contend,” began dourly, with Crabtree and former Chief Constable Giles wiling their day away in the prison yard. The murder of a fellow inmate named Foster who’d warned Crabtree people were looking for Edna got the copper’s mind racing. Who was looking for Edna and why? (I’m always amazed the way TV shows can transform a space to suit their needs, and MM is no exception, turning an old mill site in Guelph, Ont., into the Don Jail Crabtree and Giles rotted away in.)

Peter Mitchell and Paul Aiken’s script quickly shifted to the city as Murdoch and Higgins visited Edna’s old apartment, the site of a burglary. That visit, a chat with Crabtree and a slug to the back of the head later and Murdoch was untying a knot of evidence involving a raw diamond, assumed identities, bicycle grease, roquefort cheese and murderous army buddies.

I wondered how the writers would return Crabtree from a detective—and leaving Station House No. 4—to a constable, and they did it in an ingenious way. As Giles stated, Crabtree’s “Nolo Contendere” plea meant he wasn’t guilty of the crime and it closed the books on the case. Sure, he’s got to work his way back up to being a detective, but at least he’s allowed to be a copper.

And, really, that’s all fans care about, right? What did you think of the episode? Comment below or via @tv_eh.

Notes and quotes

  • It only took Murdoch and Julia one scene to get smoochy with each other, something Hélène Joy told me would be a common occurrence in Season 9.
  • I got a distinct Red and Andy vibe from Giles and Crabtree, didn’t you?
  • “I knew there was a reason I married you!” Judging by the way Hélène Joy reacted, I’m pretty sure that line was ad-libbed by Yannick Bisson.
  • I loved how Crabtree used his fellow inmates’ against one another to find out who killed Foster.

Murdoch Mysteries airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on CBC.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Featured, Still Standing

Preview: Still Standing in Buxton, Ont.

2 Comments

I haven’t been quiet about my fondness for Still Standing. Jonny Harris is the perfect Wayne Rostad of this generation, visiting small communities across Canada and spotlighting their history, liveliness and quirkiness. With just 22 minutes of on-screen time, Harris and his writing team manage to tell a story through jokes and observations; no wonder Still Standing has been renewed for a season season.

For those wondering what all the fuss is about, tune in to Tuesday’s newest episode, when Harris arrives in Buxton, Ont. With a population of just 166, Buxton—near Chatham, Ont.—is a huge part of American history. The last stop on the Underground Railroad, Buxton was the place slaves headed to in search of freedom. As Harris did with his episode in Coleman, Alta.—site of the Frank Slide—he treads lightly when it comes to a heavy topic. But that doesn’t stop him from ending a heartfelt description of the dream sought by those slaves with a harsh reality.

“Canadian winters a bit of a kick in the nuts,” he states in his Newfoundland accent. “All that cotton and what I really need is some wool.”

Harris spends time tooling around the area in a sweet convertible Mustang, describing how much of the community is directly descended from slaves and that businesses have fled. Where once two stores, a gas station and garage once stood, there is nothing, forcing many young folks to flee town in search of opportunity. Ironic that Buxton was the centre for opportunity 150 years ago. African Americans, lured by the promise of free land, an education and protection from racism by Reverend William King, rang the liberty bell in town upon their arrival, signalling another freed slave.

What makes every episode of Still Standing a success is Harris’ curiosity and people skills. With his gap-toothed smile, wide eyes and wacky hair, it takes just minutes for east coast comedian to establish a repartee not only with his interview subjects but during the stand-up portions of Still Standing.

Still Standing airs Tuesdays at 9:30 p.m. on CBC.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Featured, Murdoch Mysteries

Set visit and video: Murdoch Mysteries tightens up for Season 8

Yannick Bisson may look stern in the above photo, but he’s anything but that on the set of Murdoch Mysteries. The veteran actor was almost constantly smiling when the cameras weren’t rolling during an on-location shoot in Dundas, Ont.

The small town has hosted CBC’s hit time period procedural several times during production on Season 8, and Monday’s saw the cast and crew squished into the confines of a bridal shop on the main street for filming of “The Devil Wears Whalebone.” The pink-tinged business had been turned into the site of a fashion show boasting the latest advances in corset technology. Lithe ladies glided by during rehearsals and several takes under the watchful eye of director Eleanore Lindo and director of photography Jim Jeffrey.

IMG_0140

Kari Matchett (Heartland, Blue Murder) guests as corset seller Heloise Kramp, whose exclusive, groundbreaking design of women’s undergarments leads to a heinous crime. I, along with folks from Murdoch’s production company, Shaftesbury, watched rehearsals and takes as Matchett, Bisson and Jonny Harris rolled through their lines as Heloise, Det. William Murdoch and Constable George Crabtree. I’ve posted a rehearsal take below; it always cracks me up that Bisson tops off his period costume with modern running shoes and only wears dress shoes for wide shots.

Production ran smoothly throughout the day, pausing at one point when blackout curtains on the outside of the bridal shop–the scene was taking place at night–came loose and let sunlight into the room. Most of these folks have been working together for the last eight years, so they’re quick to joke or poke fun at each other; everyone came by to wish Harris a Happy Birthday and tease him about his advancing age.

Look for a feature story on Season 8 in the coming weeks.

 

Murdoch Mysteries returns Monday, Oct. 6, at 8 p.m. ET on CBC.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail