Tag Archives: Murdoch Mysteries

Featured, Murdoch Mysteries

Baby talk on Murdoch Mysteries

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“There hasn’t been any baby talk yet, but that’s the logical next step. Who knows how long that will take or how it will come about?” Hélène Joy would be a worthy foil for Det. Murdoch. I’m pretty sure she already knew William and Julia were going to adopt back when I spoke to her on the set of Murdoch Mysteries late last year. If so, good on her for keeping things vague from my prying questions.

The addition of Roland—the pair adopted him last week—made an immediate impact on our favourite couple: he threw their lives into complete disarray. Adding an infant to a television series is always a challenge, and it will be interesting to see how Murdoch Mysteries handles the little fellow from week to week. Will he be handed off to a nanny? I don’t think so, as Julia and William seem intent on having him there all the time. Perhaps he’ll be shown cooing in a corner, leaping about in William’s latest contraption, the Gleeful Bouncer—a.k.a. Jolly Jumper. One of the great strengths of the series continues to be the not-so-subtle nods to things we use in everyday life that were on the cusp of being realized in Murdoch’s world. Having a Gleeful Bouncer made me laugh out loud and be inspired by the creativity in the writers’ room.

Monday’s “The Big Chill” also paid homage to the 1922 documentary Nanook of the North. The murder of a man on-board the CGS Arctic introduced viewers to Nuniq, an Inuit man who struck me as a nod to Nanook. The thought was proven true when Crabtree befriended Nuniq and proposed he document him in the city’s hot spots and call it “Nuniq of Toronto.” Crabtree has had some pretty serious storylines so far this season, so it was fun to not only see him create play-by-play and colour commentating last week but serve as a drunken wingman for Nuniq this week.

Real Canadian history was covered as well. Captain Joseph Bernier—played with aplomb by InSecurity‘s Rémy Girard—really did explore the islands of the north and claimed the area for Canada and was given the Royal Geographical Society’s Back Award for his work.

“The Big Chill” had all the hallmarks of a classic Murdoch Mysteries episode, the perfect tonic for a cold January night.

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

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Murdoch Mysteries

Link: Murdoch Mysteries puzzles American critics

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From John Doyle of The Globe and Mail:

Murdoch Mysteries puzzles American critics
Also, on Ovation, Murdoch Mysteries is called The Artful Detective. The title, which is just silly, came about because Ovation is an arts channel and it wanted an arts signal in the title.

It is, as far as many U.S. TV critics are concerned, a mystery show. Not because Inspector Murdoch solves crimes. But because hardly anyone writes about it – ever. Ovation brought star Yannick Bisson and executive producer Christina Jennings here to the opening session of the TV Critics press tour and, immediately, the show’s status as a puzzler was obvious. Continue reading.

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Featured, Murdoch Mysteries

Comments and queries for the week of January 8

Canada’s Worst Driver careens into Season 11

Why must they use classic cars? They can use brand-new cars all day long … it’s the classic cars that are hard to find. l would enjoy the show a lot more if didn’t have to watch the classics get destroyed. —Carl

Win a 2016 Murdoch Mysteries calendar

My favourite episode would be “Twentieth Century Murdoch,” in which Murdoch investigates a man claiming to have built a time machine. It’s my favourite mostly for the New Year’s Eve party at the end, at which Julia appears. Hélène Joy looks absolutely stunning and the scene, which features the revelation that she’s left her husband, will warm any William & Julia “shipper’s” heart. —Dwayne

My favourite episode is “Murdoch and The Temple of Death.” The episode was filmed in one of the most beautiful spots in Ontario which is the Thomas Foster Memorial in Uxbridge, Ontario. In addition to the great acting as usual, the special effects done for the show are reminiscent of the Indiana Jones movies. Inspector Brackenreid and his sons find a body in the river when they are fishing. Detective Murdoch and Constable Crabtree not only locate where the man was shopping in Markham, but Detective Murdoch invented a system for aerial photography using a balloon. They find the Temple of Death and the alleged troll that is protecting it. —Steve

“Holy Matrimony Murdoch!” Love that they finally got married, even though in true Murdoch fashion they almost missed their own wedding to solve a case. —Shonah

It’s hard to choose, but my favourite episode is “The Incurables,” with Doctor Ogden and Murdoch investigating the murder of a nurse at the asylum, they reunite with some of previous murderesses, with Rose Maxwell seeking revenge on Julia for surviving the cabin. Later on, Julia gets trapped with the patients and while Rose is attacking Julia (but Julia is one hard girl to beat!), Murdoch races to the asylum where he has to let Eva Pierce escape to save Julia. It’s my favourite episode because we get to see all the old best villains in one amazing episode that is scary but not too scary. —Isobel

My favourite episode is from Season 5, “Who Killed the Electric Carriage?” I use this episode as an introduction to our discussion about electric cars in my science class. It also gets them hooked on the show!!! Support Canadian programming!!! Science and history shows are cooler than pseudo-reality TV!!! Go CBC, Yannick Bisson, Hélène Joy, Thomas Craig and Jonny Harris. —Jennifer

Series 4’s “Confederate Treasure.” It’s got Peter Keleghan’s suave and sinister Meyers and it even features Wilfred Laurier … plus some extra-historical cross-border treasure hunting. —Will

My favourite episode is “What Lies Buried,” where a skeleton is found buried under the concrete floor of the basement in Station House No 4. I loved the showdown between Murdoch and Giles. Great scenes between two great actors who seemed to bring out the best in each other. Truly memorable. —Mireille

 

Got a question or comment about Canadian TV? greg@tv-eh.com or @tv_eh.

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Awards, Industry News

The 14th Annual ACTRA Awards in Toronto Nominees

From a media release:

ACTRA Toronto is delighted to announce the nominees for the 14th Annual ACTRA Awards in Toronto. The ACTRA Awards in Toronto will take place at The Carlu on Saturday, February 20, 2016.

Nominees for Outstanding Performance – Voice:

  • Christian Distefano (Artie) Creative Galaxy, “Christmas Memories” (9 Story Media Group)
  • Andrew Jackson (Buford) Numb Chucks, “Flock of Steven Seagulls” (9 Story Media Group)
  • Julie Lemieux (Granny Butternut) Numb Chucks, “Tough Love” (9 Story Media Group)
  • Bryn McAuley (Quills) Numb Chucks, “Quills and Present Danger” (9 Story Media Group)
  • Adrian Truss (Armand the Sasquatch) Camp Lakebottom, “The Abominable Dr. Squatch” (9 Story Media Group)

Nominees for Outstanding Performance – Female:

  • Torri Higginson (Natalie Lawson) This Life, “Gut Punch” (Sphere Media Plus)
  • Christine Horne (Jennifer) Hyena Road (Rhombus Media)
  • Tatiana Maslany (various) Orphan Black, “History Yet to Be Written” (Temple Street Productions)
  • Catherine O’Hara (Moira Rose) Schitt’s Creek, “Wine and Roses” (Not A Real Company)
  • Shailyn Pierre-Dixon (Young Aminata) Book of Negroes, Episode 1 (Conquering Lion Pictures)

Nominees for Outstanding Performance – Male: 

  • Nigel Bennett (Giles) Murdoch Mysteries, “What Lies Buried” (Shaftesbury Films)
  • Kevin Hanchard (Detective Art Bell) Orphan Black, “Formalized,
  • Complex and Costly” (Temple Street Productions)
  • Dylan Harman (Eugene) The Rainbow Kid (Other People’s Films)
  • Christopher Plummer (Zev Guttman) Remember (Serendipity Point Films)
  • Rossif Sutherland (Ryan) Hyena Road (Rhombus Media)

Sarah Gadon will pick up the 2016 ACTRA Toronto Award of Excellence. The Award of Excellence recognizes an exceptional body of work and a commitment to advocacy on behalf of all performers. The show will be hosted by comic Martha Chaves.

ACTRA Toronto is the largest organization within ACTRA, representing over 15,000 of Canada’s 22,000 professional performers working in recorded media in Canada.  As an advocate for Canadian culture since 1943, ACTRA is a member-driven union that continues to secure rights and respect for the work of professional performers.

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Featured, Murdoch Mysteries

Win a 2016 Murdoch Mysteries calendar

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The new year is upon us, and what better way to celebrate 2016 than with a Murdoch Mysteries calendar? Courtesy of TV, Eh? and Shaftesbury, this 16-month calendar features 12 full months, plus four small bonus months boasting images from beloved episodes from the last two years.

Winning this calendar couldn’t be easier! Simply comment below listing your favourite Murdoch Mysteries episode of all time—including the episode title, a short episode synopsis and why it’s your favourite. We’ll select a random winner from the comments. The contest closes on Friday, Jan. 8, at 3 p.m. ET/noon PT, so get typing. And don’t forget to vote for Murdoch Mysteries in our TV Ehwards poll!

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