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Preview: Brackenreid gets arty in Monday’s Murdoch Mysteries

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It was pretty cruel of the CBC scheduling team to have such a heartbreaking Murdoch Mysteries episode like “The Accident” air and then make fans wait weeks until the new episode. Still, we knew there would be breaks between new episodes and hey, the Christmas special “Home for the Holidays” is just around the corner!

As for this Monday’s new instalment, “Brackenreid of the Boudoir,” the CBC has issued the following official information:

To investigate an artist’s murder, Brackenreid picks up his paintbrush again and attracts a wealthy patron’s very personal attention.

And here are some more tidbits we gleaned after watching a screener of the episode written by showrunner Peter Mitchell and directed by Harvey Crossland.

Julia and William go camping
I don’t think enough is said about the comedic talents of Yannick Bisson and Hélène Joy, so I’ll do it now. The two can be flat-out hilarious without the use of scripted words. That is showcased in the first few moments of Monday’s episode as the two use physical comedy to great effect. Also? Julia utters a saying I had to Google to understand and it’s a pretty interesting term.

Brackenreid goes undercover
I’ve been waiting for Brackenreid’s skills as an artist to be utilized in another storyline, so this got me giddy. Monday’s victim seems to have ties to the famous troupe of artists, in particular, one fellow who once bought Brackenreid’s painting. Like his son John did a few weeks ago, Thomas goes undercover to catch a killer. As always, it’s a pleasure to see our favourite cops outside of the station house and this is no different. I got a particular kick seeing Brackenreid’s pride in having his artistic side celebrated, especially by the wealthy patron portrayed by Sonja Smits.

Nina Bloom is back…
… and getting smoochy with our George. And then, well, you’ll have to tune in to find out.

And so is Detective Watts
Watts takes on the case of a young lady who had her bicycle stolen. Now why would a detective do the work more suited to a constable, do you think?

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

 

 

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Murdoch Mysteries, The Ron James Show, This Hour Has 22 Minutes

‘Tis the season for CBC’s holiday programming, including Murdoch Mysteries: Home for the Holidays

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From a media release:

Canada’s national public broadcaster celebrates the 2017–18 festive season with holiday programming across all platforms including CBC, CBC Radio One, CBC Radio 2, CBC Music and CBC.ca. Throughout December, CBC will offer new original movies and specials including the return of Newfoundland’s most dysfunctional family as the Hatching, Matching and Dispatching saga continues in new holiday movie A CHRISTMAS FURY (Dec. 3) starring Mary Walsh; animated special THE GREAT NORTHERN CANDY DROP (Dec. 17), starring Lorne Cardinal and Tantoo Cardinal, which tells the true story of Inuk bush pilot Johnny May; and an all-new two-hour MURDOCH MYSTERIES special: HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS (Dec. 18), filmed on location in Victoria, BC. Additionally, viewers can catch holiday episodes from THE GREAT CANADIAN BAKING SHOW (Dec. 6), DRAGONS’ DEN (Dec. 7), THE GOODS (starting Dec. 11) and CBC ARTS: EXHIBITIONISTS (Dec. 22); classic movie hits including Home Alone, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, A Christmas Story, Scrooge, White Christmas and Miracle on 34th Street; and time-honoured animated family favourites Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Santa Claus is Coming to Town and Frosty the Snowman.

CBC rings in the new year with a fresh lineup of comedy specials on Dec. 31 including an all-new AIR FARCE NEW YEAR’S EVE 2017 and RON JAMES: THE HIGH ROAD, followed by a cross-Canada musical celebration hosted by Rick Mercer, CANADA’S NEW YEAR’S EVE, building on the success of the public broadcaster’s 2017 countdown special, which reached 5.7 million viewers across the country with an average minute audience of 1.8 million.* And on Jan. 3, CBC exclusively broadcasts the star-studded Leonard Cohen tribute concert that took place at the Bell Centre in Montreal this fall.

New Original Holiday Movies & Specials:

A CHRISTMAS FURY (new two-hour comedy movie) – Sunday, December 3 at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT)
Newfoundland’s most dysfunctional family returns to CBC as the Hatching Matching and Dispatching story continues with an outrageously funny TV movie, A CHRISTMAS FURY. Starring comedy icon Mary Walsh, A CHRISTMAS FURY begins with matriarch Mamie Lou (Walsh) about to make a big life change. Her plans are derailed, however, by the arrival of a child who puts the chaos back in Christmas and sends everyone reeling. With the family business up for grabs, the siblings are at each other’s throats. Meanwhile, there’s a wedding and a funeral to plan. What could possibly go wrong? Co-starring Mark McKinney, Susan Kent, Shaun Majumder, Jonny Harris, Sherry White, Joel Thomas Hynes, Adriana Maggs, and Rick Boland.

DREAMING OF A JEWISH CHRISTMAS (new one-hour documentary) – Thursday, December 7 at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT)
Where would our modern Christmas season be without songs like Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, Have A Holly Jolly Christmas, Do You Hear What I Hear?, The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire) and, of course, White Christmas? DREAMING OF A JEWISH CHRISTMAS is an offbeat, irreverent musical documentary that tells the story of a group of Jewish songwriters who wrote the soundtrack to Christianity’s most musical holiday. It’s an amazing tale of immigrant outsiders who became irreplaceable players in pop culture’s mainstream — a generation of songwriters who found in Christmas the perfect holiday in which to imagine a better world, and for at least one day a year, make us believe in it.

THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES: STATE OF THE WORLD (new one-hour special) — Tuesday, December 12 at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT)
In this one-hour special, THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES turns its satirical eye to how the world sees Canada, with some surprising answers. One year into the Trump administration, what role do we play in the world, and what does the world think of us? Heroes to some, villains to others, you won’t ever look at Canada the same way again.

THE GREAT NORTHERN CANDY DROP (new half-hour animated special) – Sunday, December 17 at 7:30 p.m. (8 NT) and Thursday, December 21 at 7 p.m. (7:30 NT)
Featuring the voices of Tantoo Cardinal and Lorne Cardinal and based on a children’s book published in 2015 by the Canada Aviation and Space Museum, THE GREAT NORTHERN CANDY DROP tells the true story of Inuk bush pilot Johnny May, who has flown over Kuujjuaq in the Nunavik region of Northern Quebec to drop candy, toys and warm clothing to the children and residents of the community each holiday season for more than 50 years.

MURDOCH MYSTERIES: HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS (new two-hour special) – Monday, December 18 at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT) and Monday, December 25 at 6 p.m. (6:30 NT)
Murdoch  (Yannick Bisson) and Ogden (Hélène Joy) travel to Victoria, B.C. to visit Murdoch’s brother, RCMP officer Jasper Linney (Dylan Neal). There, they investigate a murder connected to an archaeologist (Megan Follows) who has uncovered an ancient Indigenous settlement, leading to a trek through the rugged beauty of British Columbia and encounters with the Songhees and Haida nations. Meanwhile, the Brackenreids are offered a surefire investment opportunity that may not be all it seems, and Crabtree and Higgins plan a ski-chalet holiday with their girlfriends Nina and Ruth, but learn it may be more dangerous than expected.

JFL GALA – MONTREAL: AN INTERVENTION (BECAUSE WE LOVE YOU) – Tuesday, December 26, 2017 at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT)
This no-holds-barred celebration of Montreal features affectionate jabs and playful mischief by Jimmy Carr, Alonzo Bodden, Mark Critch, DeAnne Smith and more.

AIR FARCE NEW YEAR’S EVE 2017  – Sunday, December 31 at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT), Monday, January 1 at 12:05 a.m. (12:35 NT)
Air Farce is back with an all new New Year’s Eve special, satirizing the insanity that was 2017. This year, Wonder Woman battles America’s biggest threat, President Trump; The Handmaid’s Tale gets a musical treatment with Taylor Swift; special guest David Suzuki gets schooled on climate change; and the dropping of the annual F-Bomb on the most deserving targets of the year. Cast members include Don Ferguson, Luba Goy, Craig Lauzon, Jessica Holmes, Darryl Hinds, Chris Wilson, Isabel Kanaan.

RON JAMES: THE HIGH ROAD – Sunday, December 31 at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT) and Thursday, January 4 at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT)
Ron James and his poetically charged brand of funny return to CBC for his 9th stand-up special. He will weigh in on a surreal year, where Ringling Brothers was forced to fold up their tent because they couldn’t compete with the full-time circus going on at the White House. He will look at the pros and pros of legalized marijuana, and will also go to town on the hunky hijinks of our world-famous Prime Minister, a man who will happily give you the shirt off his back if he thinks it’ll make for a sexier selfie.

CANADA’S NEW YEAR’S EVE – Sunday, December 31 at 11 p.m. (11:30 NT)
Hosted by Rick Mercer, this countdown will ring in 2018 with musical performances, special guests and fireworks across the country. More details to come.

JFL GALA – JANE KRAKOWSKI: GET HAPPY– Tuesday, January 2 at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT)
Tony Award-winning and Emmy nominated actress and singer Jane Krakowski graces the Just For Laughs stage to host a night of uproarious stand-up comedy. Starring the hilarious Chris D’Elia, Steve Simeon, Randy, Sean Emeny, Eman El-Husseini and with a special appearance by Tituss Burgess.

TOWER OF SONG: A MEMORIAL TRIBUTE TO LEONARD COHEN – Wednesday, January 3 at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT)
CBC broadcasts the star-studded Leonard Cohen tribute concert that took place at the Bell Centre in Montreal this past fall. The commemorative event was held one year after Cohen’s death and features renowned artists including Sting, BØRNS, Basia Bulat, Elvis Costello, Coeur de Pirate, Lana Del Rey, Feist, k.d. lang, Courtney Love, Damien Rice, Seth Rogen, Ron Sexsmith, Patrick Watson and Adam Cohen.

New Holiday-themed Episodes:

THE GREAT CANADIAN BAKING SHOW: HOLIDAY BAKING WEEK – Wednesday, December 6 at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT)
During Holiday Baking Week, the top five bakers celebrate and commemorate the season with three delectable holiday-themed challenges.

DRAGONS` DEN HOLIDAY SPECIAL – Thursday, December 7 at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT)
The halls of the Den are decked and every entrepreneur who enters has a deal on their wish list. Holiday-themed businesses face the Dragons with great gifts, stocking stuffers, and some shocking proposals, all with hopes of getting the Dragons to channel their inner Santas.

THE GOODS SEASON 2 HOLIDAY SPECIALS – Monday, December 11 through Friday, December 15 and Wednesday, December 20 at 2 p.m. (2:30 NT)
Get THE GOODS this holiday season! Join co-hosts Steven Sabados, Jessi Cruickshank, Shahir Massoud and Andrea Bain as they share entertaining tips, hot holiday fashions, gift guides, and a whole lot of fun! Special guests include designer Jillian Harris, singer Matt Dusk, and an extra-special gift wrapping tutorial by Red Green.

CBC ARTS: EXHIBITIONISTS HOLIDAY SPECIAL – Friday night, December 22 at 12:30 (1 NT)
Host Amanda Parris presents intriguing holiday-themed art from creators across the country.

 

 

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Featured, Murdoch Mysteries

Murdoch Mysteries: Mary Pedersen discusses the show’s latest death

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Spoiler alert: Do not continue reading until you have watched Murdoch Mysteries‘ Season 11, Episode 7: “The Accident.”

Murdoch Mysteries writer Mary Pedersen’s goal was to make fans cry with Monday’s newest episode, “The Accident.” I say mission accomplished. Dilton Dilbert (David Hewlett), city clerk, became the latest victim of a murder plot when he was pinned between a car and carriage while on his morning walk to the office. Unable to move him because he’d die, Dilbert professed his love to Mildred Ash (Angela Vint) moments before he expired.

“The Accident” was unique on a couple of fronts. First, in confined all of the major and supporting characters within the Murdoch Mysteries backlot. Secondly, it was set in real time, adding to the strain of the situation. We spoke to Pedersen about the episode and the inspiration behind it.

This was a killer episode!
Mary Pedersen: Thank you so much. It was really, really fun to do and I’m really proud of it.

It’s kind of a twist on the bottle episode. Not everyone is stuck in the same room, but everyone is in the same place and that made the episode really unique.
Yes, and also having a very short timeline was part of the original idea and that brought a lot of energy and a fresh challenge to writing that episode that was really fun. It’s not our normal plot.

How did the story originally break in the writer’s room?
When we were prepping for our development room in the winter, I watched, with Murdoch in mind, a few Alfred Hitchcock movies. I watched Rope and came to the room saying, ‘Let’s do a dinner party and the killers are trying to catch Murdoch out … essentially let’s do Rope.’ Pete came up with the accident part of it, really with the thought in mind that if it was out there on the street then there is some pressure on the situation. People need to get where they’re going. And one of my favourite early episodes of TV was the ‘Subway’ episode with Vincent D’Onofrio in Homicide: Life on the Street. [Editor’s note: That Homicide episode is entitled “Subway,” but is often referred to as “The Accident.”] Those things came together and started writing itself.

And then, when we were trying to figure out which character to have standing there crushed between two vehicles for five days [of filming], somebody came up with David [Hewlett] and it was genius. He was fantastic; it was such a dream to watch him make that story happen.

I was wondering how you decided on Dilton Dilbert to be the one trapped there. You needed a character that fans already knew and cared about rather than someone no one had met.
Right. And that was sort of my idea going into it, that it would be all new people, but someone in the room came up with David’s name and once they did there was no other conversation. And then we were lucky to get Angela [Vint] as well. I’ve been a fan of hers since Traders way back when so watching the two of them do scenes together was a dream.

Let’s talk about the challenges surrounding this episode. There was such a large cast of characters to juggle alongside our regulars. Was that tough to write?
By the time it gets to [production] that’s the challenge of the director. I had envisioned going around and around and around the accident and making it work inside of our backlot. [Director] Alison [Reid] and the assistant directors and the art department had to make that work. The art department had to come up with streetcar tracks in our backlot. At one point it seemed like an impossible task and Bob [Sher] was like, ‘Well, let’s give it a go,’ and that was fantastic. I did get dirty side-eye from the ADs for sure. And, when we wrote it we thought it might be a bit shorter of an episode for filming because it was all in one location but I don’t think we wound up saving any time on it. And it also wound up being one of the hottest weeks of the summer so the crew and cast were out on the backlot just broiling the entire time. But they’re total pros and troopers.

The other cool thing about this episode was when Alison pulled back it allowed viewers to see not only the full backlot but the CGI work to show the growth of Toronto.
I love that, and being able to walk down the street to where the streetcars are parked. It was a real team effort.

Those were quite the emotional scenes between Dilbert and Brackenreid.
If you’re going to care about the murder and spend an hour with the guy, we had to feel something. What is that like? You know now that your time is limited. One of the reasons that I gravitate towards Murdoch and shows like it is they’re not typically focused on the tragedies and the sadness and the loss. For the most part, you’re able to focus on the puzzle and the mystery and what the detective is doing to solve the crime. It’s really a part of the show that we don’t normally see and that’s on purpose because we want to focus on Murdoch’s own detective work.

This story required some emotional bang.

You certainly get the emotional bang when Dilbert is speaking with Mildred Ash. They flirt a bit when he says he’s admired her shorthand. Him viewing himself as just a cog in the machine. It’s heartbreaking, Mary! How could you do this?
[Laughs.] If you were dying too soon, at least I would reflect on the great thing that I thought that I would accomplish. And it is kind of heartbreaking.

Mary, people will have cried watching this episode. Are you happy with this knowledge?
I am so happy! This is one of my great accomplishments as a writer. [Laughs.] After we did the read-through and we were walking down the hall back to the writer’s room, Paul Aitken turned around with tears in his eyes. And I was just, ‘Yes, everything is going to be all right.’

That was a very patient pig that you had John Brackenreid holding.
We had the pigs and the chickens and the fire hydrant. The fire hydrant was on the bubble several times and Pete just kept rescuing it from getting cut. It was great that we were able to keep all of the farm animals and people were so delighted with that pig. It was a pretty rough week shooting but the pig really brought people’s spirits up.

Despite all of the difficulties, this episode really helped to expand the world of Murdoch Mysteries in my mind. Even the off-hand comment about the Gooderham & Worts building being a flatiron building helped me place where in Toronto we’re set.
That’s awesome and I’m so glad. It was so interesting looking up things like traffic accidents at the time. The boy whose cart rolls over in the street it was originally written as a 13-year-old with a little motor van because, of course when you think of it, there were no regulations at the time. You could drive at any age, it was all so new. And, I think, there had only been one car fatality at the time and it was kids playing in the street and man ran over a kid and was like, ‘OK, I need to be on my way.’ There wasn’t the same protocol for an accident that we have today. Or even Murdoch going, ‘Wait a second, I think there is some fishy business going on here,’ would have been very unlikely for the time.

What did you think of “The Accident”? Did you enjoy it as much as I did? And confess: did you cry? Let me know in the comments below.

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

 

 

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Murdoch Mysteries: Introducing Season 11 writer Natalia Guled

It’s not often that you jump from one high-profile television series to another, but that’s exactly what happened to Natalia Guled. She served as a writer’s assistant on Orphan Black before moving into the position of story editor during the award-winning sci-fi series’ last season. Then, just a short time later she had joined the Murdoch Mysteries’ writer’s room.

Guled’s first Murdoch writing credit was Monday’s latest episode, “21 Murdoch Street,” so we got her on the phone to talk about her experiences in the Canadian TV industry and what it’s been like working on two popular shows.

How did you get into television writing in the first place?
Natalia Guled: I graduated from university in 2014 with the intention of getting into TV. I pursued it on and off. I got into various incubators that were informal and crafted my skills through that. I eventually met enough people who began to give me some real insight into this industry and one of them, Deb Nathan, told me to take a screenwriting course, which I did. Deb really took to my work and from that point on championed me. With her recommendation, I got into the Writers Guild of Canada Bell Media Diverse Screenwriters Program. I developed a screenplay that [Murdoch Mysteries showrunner] Peter Mitchell read and he hired me based off that script.

What was the screenplay about?
It was a 1950s con drama set in Birmingham, Alabama. If was the first script where I really figured out how to write. That program really helped guide me and I’d recommend it to anyone. I did apply to the Canadian Film Centre twice in a row before and didn’t get in, and I received my second rejection letter when I was staffed on Orphan Black, which was my first job in the industry. Another mentor of mine is friends with Graeme Manson, the co-creator of Orphan Black, and recommended me for a job there, which I got. The moral of that story is it really comes down to who you know and who connects with your work because that’s all that really matters in this industry. It’s a social, cooperative and collaborative industry and the connections I made are rich.

Let’s talk about Orphan Black a bit. Was it a learning curve to join that show as a story editor?
Oh my god, it was unbelievable. [Laughs.] The writers on that show were in complete command of their craft. I remember the first day that I arrived at work as a writer’s assistant and doing an internship that blossomed into story editor, and it was like learning a new language. There is so much jargon used in the writer’s room and shortcuts that are needed to get a story broken and it was overwhelming. But it was so clear that of all the places to cut your teeth in the industry, that was a fantastic opportunity so I really took it seriously. I really connected with the writers in the room and spent every day trying to learn something new and contribute.

How did you go from Orphan Black to Murdoch Mysteries?
Deb Nathan put my name in the list of people for Pete to meet with. He read my script, we had a nice interview and he hired me. It was pretty fast and I was very surprised to get the job. It was really a dream to join Murdoch Mysteries and work with Pete, who is so calm and masterful a showrunner and running a room in general that it was an easy transition.

This is quite the episode to get your first writer’s credit on. Crabtree and John Brackenreid go undercover in a boy’s school, Nina and Watts were both back. A lot was going on in this episode. There were funny moments and shocking ones too, like when John punched his dad.
[Laughs.] Yeah, that was a great moment.

How did the gambling storyline come about?
That was something that was broken in the room. We knew that we wanted to do a play on 21 Jump Street. I had entered the room about a month after it had convened and the story had already been loosely broken and that it would be two kids who were missing and had been up to no good at the school. It came together quite quickly, it took about two days to break it, and then I took it away to write a beat sheet, get notes on that and then work on an outline.

You dealt with something that continues to be timely regardless of the setting: racism with regard to the Banerjee brothers.
They just wanted to give another layer to these characters. We wanted them to be up to no good but sympathetic at the same time. The idea of two guys who normally would have been ostracized figuring out a way to create a social connection to these boys through gambling was sort of interesting to the room. There was actually a deleted scene between Brackenreid and Mr. Banerjee where they are discussing what it means to be part of the empire. In that scene, Brackenreid is glad to be part of the empire and Mr. Banerjee is like, ‘I’m only part of the empire because I’m trying to learn the master’s tools and gain independence from my country.’ There was more to the story but we had to cut it for time, unfortunately. It was a depiction of what the Commonwealth was at the time and Canada was part of that, so was India and a lot of other nations around the world.

Watts questions John about why he’s a cop. Will John question his decision throughout this season?
I think it was something that we definitely wanted to explore. We’re interested in the concept of walking in your parent’s shoes and if you’re doing it for the right reasons. We’re definitely going to be seeing more of John and more of what it’s like to be cop John.

Let’s talk about Crabtree and how fantastic it was to have him not only be a professor but also to bring in Curse of the Pharaohs as the book to study.
That was a lot of fun and Jonny had fun with it too. He ad-libbed a lot of that. He will always deepen whatever is on the page with another layer of humour or serious moments like when John Brackenreid comes into the room where Crabtree is and is upset he was wrong about Moore. He says to John, ‘Your father would tell you this, as would Detective Murdoch: you’re wrong until you’re right.’ Jonny added that emotive, mentoring attitude to the line. He always makes a great choice and that’s actually the case with all of our actors on the show.

It’s tough to add to a storyline after 11 seasons, but the one Julia is currently on with regard to infertility has been really interesting so far.
That’s something everybody has been really excited about this year. We get to have a deeper depiction of this marriage for sure.

After a season on Murdoch Mysteries writer’s room, what’s your experience been like overall?
It’s such a specific and special room. We come in at 10 and we usually leave and 5 and somehow 18 episodes and a Christmas movie get made. We crack each other up … it’s been a really lovely process for sure and I’m going to miss everyone in the off-season.

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

Images courtesy of CBC.

 

 

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Preview: Murder at a private school haunts Murdoch Mysteries

After a week off for Halloween, some gremlins got into Murdoch Mysteries‘ scheduling at CBC. “The Accident,” originally scheduled to be broadcast this Monday, has been bumped to Nov. 13. Instead, we’ll see “21 Murdoch Street,” on Monday. We’re not sure why the swap occurred, but it puts off the crying showrunner Peter Mitchell has been teasing for another seven days.

As for “21 Murdoch Street,” here’s what the CBC has revealed about the episode written by Natalia Guled and directed by Harvey Crossland:

Crabtree and Constable John Brackenreid go undercover at a prestigious boys’ school to break up a gambling ring and uncover murder.

And here are some non-spoilery additions from us after watching a screener.

John Brackenreid steps up
Inspector Brackenreid may not like it, but the murder case Station No. 4 is investigating means John (Charles Vandervaart) trades his work uniform for a school one. The send-up of 21 Jump Street involves George too, as he takes advantage of the situation to make an impression on some young minds via a certain published novel.

Julia continues her journey
We’re loving Julia’s storyline this season. Her attempting to further the science behind infertility is inspiring and emotional; look for a sweet and all-too-brief moment between Julia and William.

Watts returns
Speaking of too brief, we get a spare few minutes with Det. Watts. Of course, he makes the most of his screen time.

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

 

 

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