From Bill Harris of Postmedia Network:
Yannick Bisson on the staying power of ‘Murdoch Mysteries’
To the naked eye, it doesn’t appear Yannick Bisson has aged much through nine seasons of Murdoch Mysteries.
But the man himself obviously would have a more intimate view. Continue reading.
20 Stars, 20 Room Renovations: Home to Win debuts
OMG. I would love to enter my husband in this challenge. He is a farmer but I call him my jack-of-all-trades. I don’t know what heart palpitating challenges you will give him, but I’m sure my heart will be palpitating watching him do these challenges. Please consider him as a contestant. (P.S. – We love to watch HGTV.) —Joan
Murdoch Mysteries‘ showrunner explains heartbreaking episode
Maria, when did you start watching the show? Julia cannot have children, due to a past and painful abortion. My only solution would be for the Murdoch’s to have a surrogate; but, that was the early 1900. No surrogate then? I believe before the season finale, they will have a child. We now know that they are open to adoption, so anything now is possible and acceptable with Julia and William. —Joanne
Joanne, thank you so much for clarification. I watched all the seasons (not in order though) and most certainly I missed that information. One episode, however, sunk in my memory and made me think that it is possible for them to have a child. This was when Det. Murdoch went to the so called “Future Showing†show and got somewhat hypnotized inside the machine. In this episode, he could foresee his future (10 to 12 years from the present time) with Julia and (must be) their son. This story made me think that it is possible for them to have a son, maybe even an adopted one. But it really doesn’t look like anymore. How sad. —Maria
Link: Why Canadian TV producers don’t want to make a Downton Abbey
We arguably did have a Downton Abbey. It was the 90s period drama Road to Avonlea, a Canadian story set in Canada with a large ensemble of great characters with great writing and great acting. It got great ratings on both sides of the border and it holds up rather well today, unlike many shows which become corny with time. That being said, its been a couple decades since the show ended and Emily of New Moon failed to live up to its predecessor. I wish we could get something else; none of the networks really seem to embrace the idea. —Alicia
Curses on Curse of the Frozen Gold
You think it is respectful disrespecting a B-25 bomber war grave on your show? Rooting through it like vultures; you should be slapped for your ignorance of the men that lost their lives and their families. I believe that is a protected war grave and I hope you are reprimanded. —Bill
Got a question or comment about Canadian TV? Fire off an email to greg@tv-eh.com or on Twitter @tv_eh.
“Bl**dy H*ell” indeed. With just two episodes left in this season, Murdoch Mysteries rid itself of another villain intent on taking down anyone associated with Det. William Murdoch. OK, so it wasn’t a serial killer or Gillies back from the dead, but Chief Constable Davis was a wily fellow.
Where Chief Constable Giles became a character fans could feel compassion for, Davis was a straight-up jerk to the end, framing Brackenreid for racketeering when it was Davis who’d been shaking down businesses in Station House No. 5’s territory since he was a lowly constable. Unlike most Murdoch Mysteries episodes, Monday’s newest—written by Paul Aitken—got right into the action, first by having Rebecca rush to the aid of a man who’d fallen off a ladder and had a piece of glass pierce his chest and following with the arrest of a pawn broker selling stolen goods. Before long, Murdoch and Brackenreid were up to their eyeballs in corrupt cops led by Davis. But the moustachioed Chief Constable successfully stayed ahead of the two and Brackenreid was framed. Brackenreid quite understandably took the job in City Records—that meant he could keep his police pension—and ran into one of the show’s most colourful people not based on a real-life character.
David Hewlett was simply fantastic as the uptight Mr. Dilton Dilbert, the head of City Records whose Swear Jar was 10 cents richer mere seconds after Brackenreid had joined the office. Yes, putting Brackenreid in that spot was humorous, but it also contributed to the main story, as he uncovered deep corruption within the city. With help from Murdoch, Crabtree and Higgins, Brackenreid proved Davis was the one in charge of the racketeering ring and sent the bad cop packing … right into City Records. Bloody hell, indeed. (Favourite moment of the night? Higgins eating a spoiled sandwich to throw Davis off the trail. A close second? George going through his repertoire of Italian, Swedish and Hungarian voices to help identify the “woman” involved in the money drop plot.)
Murdoch Mysteries airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on CBC.
Murdoch Mysteries showrunner explains heartbreaking episode
I don’t agree with Peter Mitchell that “the mystery of where [Roland] came from was ultimately solved.†Detective Freddie Pink’s research was fuzzy on details that just did not add up. Example: there was an official record of the mother going into labour and a midwife attending, so how could the record also say, without raising eyebrows, that no baby was born? The record said that the mother went into labour “before her time,†but it must have been close to full term because Roland was a fully developed, healthy, energetic baby at nine months. (Julia made a point of saying he was physically “perfectâ€.)
Maybe the midwife, Joanne Braxton, pretended that the mother went into labour before the baby was developed and so it was a miscarriage, not a birth? OK, the birth took place on an “out-of-town†homestead, but it wasn’t all that isolated because a midwife was summoned from Brantford. Wouldn’t there be at least one person (a sister, mother, neighbour, friend, her husband) who knew the mother and would know how far along she was? Even if a baby is stillborn, it would have to be recorded as such and buried in a legal manner. With so many details not known, could it be that the mother did not have a complicated pregnancy after all, but Joanne Braxton, as midwife, murdered her in order to steal her baby? Murdoch should order the mother’s body exhumed. If the midwife’s report was correct, an autopsy would find the body of an unborn fetus in the mother’s womb. That would confirm that Roland was not Harold Connor’s child. An autopsy could also determine if a live birth took place, but not that the baby was Roland. The Braxtons were professional thieves and could have stolen baby Roland from any one of many couples, or from a hospital, orphanage, or even just bought him from a poor mother. —Patricia
I said on Twitter a few weeks ago that it is not just good Canadian TV, it is just good TV.
I do wish people spoke their native tongues all of the time. But, I imagine that would require the main cast to speak German and French which might be difficult. I think audiences are no longer afraid of subtitles (if they ever were).
Seek out Heavy Water War (a Norwegian show about the German nuke program) and Generation War (a German show about WW2, amazing), they are both excellent. —Dave
Why are there subtitles for the German speakers when they are, at times, not on the screen long enough to read? Of course the Germans speak German. I get that! The French speakers speak English! It seems an unnecessary frill that does not add to the story and, in fact, takes away the obvious struggle of emotions that the German officer and his wife are dealing with. And, to top it off, “The Corporation†will slap a banner ad across the bottom of the screen at the most inopportune times: when there is a subtitle being displayed. Otherwise, we both love the series. It was an amazing period of history when ordinary people became extraordinary and made huge differences to the outcome of the war. We have been aware of the Camp X/Oshawa/ Whitby/Bowmanville contribution to the war for years. Thanks for letting me gripe about the language thing. —DB
Wolverine documentary: A CBC-TV first
I always record The Nature of Things and in particular I like the wildlife docs. I’ve only seen a wolverine once in the wild, while at a place called Wolverine Lake, B.C. (maybe three hours north of Prince George) and it was swimming. It took me a while to figure out what it was because it was all wet and I was looking through binoculars but after it went on land it dawned on me. I also saw a caribou swimming in the lake as well later the next day. Having spent a lot of time up in the northern forests of western Canada, I’ve seen plenty of wildlife but that remains my only wolverine sighting and it was incredibly exciting. —Alicia
Got a comment or question about Canadian TV? greg@tv-eh.com or @tv_eh.
**SPOILER ALERT: This story contains key plot points about Monday’s newest episode of Murdoch Mysteries, “Wild Child.”**
And just like that, William and Julia no longer have a child. Monday’s latest episode was a heartbreaker for fans who loved seeing the series’ lead characters as parents. By the conclusion of “Wild Child,” Freddie Pink had learned the Braxton’s weren’t Roland’s parents after all. Turns out his real father was Harold Connor, a carpenter. By episode’s end William and Julia had done the right—if painful—thing by presenting Harold with the son he never knew he had.
Fans who’d grown attached to the little sprite—me included—were quick to take to social media, asking why Roland was brought onto the show, only to be taken away weeks later.
We contacted Peter Mitchell, Murdoch Mysteries‘ showrunner, to explain the situation. Here’s his answer:
“Hard question to answer. I guess that it was just a chapter in the ongoing story of ‘William and Julia.’ There are many more chapters to play out and we don’t really know where it is going to end.
We thought it would be interesting to see another side of both Murdoch and Ogden, and giving them a child was a way to examine their paternal instincts and give us opportunity to play them as both husband and wife and mother and father. I think we were also aware that as this show is a procedural-based drama as opposed to a domestic drama and that the situation could not last. We wanted to keep the baby around long enough that the decision to return him to his father was of consequence (as well as allowing for some humour—William becomes a dad and immediately takes up golf). It was also important that this decision to give up the child was not thrust upon them. Instead, the appearance of the natural father was a result of one of our characters doing “the right thing.” In doing so the surrendering of Roland illuminated the strong character of both our leads.
Pragmatically, we wanted this to play out over part of the season as opposed to dropping a baby on them in the finale. Much like with their wedding, we didn’t want what, on the surface, is usually considered the “big event” of a TV season to be our “big event.” I think this forces us to work harder to come up with engaging stories. On a practical level, it leaves open the possibility that ANYTHING could happen in the last four episodes if THEY have already done that to US.
It is also true that one of the reasons for the success of Murdoch is that the engine under the surface of the engaging characters, amusing lines and nice hats always has to be driving forward. Murdoch is one of those shows that gives me little leeway in the editing room. The scenes feed into each other in a way a multi character ensemble drama doesn’t. The narrative drive can occasionally be interrupted by domestic moments but the show would not ‘click’ if we have too many of them. As Paul Aitken, one of our writers, constantly reminds all of us when we are coming up with stories, ‘where’s the mystery?’ is the one question we always have to address. In the Roland arc the mystery was there from the beginning—who is this kid? Many of the fans doubted the people who were purported to be his parents actually were and in the end, the mystery of where he came from was ultimately solved. For some, the result was heartbreaking. For others, Murdoch and Ogden once again demonstrated why they are heroes.
But the kid(s) who played Roland were cute as a button. And much like real life the biggest fight we had in the room was not how long to keep the kid around but what the heck we should name him.
Some are still divided on it….”
—Peter Mitchell
What do you think, Murdoch fans? Sound off below in the Comments section.
Murdoch Mysteries airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on CBC.
