If you like upbeat stories and are prone to a little bit of history, fantasy and old school mystery crime, Murdoch Mysteries is your go-to program. Don't mind the freedoms the writers are taking every once in a while. For 11 seasons, this show was targeted at viewers of all ages and vintage enthusiasts. It expressed a deep love for literature and music, included a quirky sense of humor and could best be described as Canadian to boot. It's always been progressive, but didn't fail to add viewpoints and issues of the times it's set in (1895-1906).
The main character is Detective William Murdoch, a devout Catholic in the very Protestant town of Toronto, who's trying to solve cases from a different point of view. He's self-educated and well-read on scientific procedures and progress of humankind. When presented with a problem he cannot solve by following established procedures, he's coming up with an idea that foreshadows future gadgets and possibilities. Throughout the seasons, his inventions have included everything from household gizmos to useful investigative tools and for 11 seasons, his mind never stopped inquiring.
ATTENTION: Spoilers ahead (s01-15)
Aside from Murdoch, Dr. Julia Ogden is adding wisdom to the weekly investigations, along with Inspector Brackenreid, Constables George Crabtree and Henry Higgins (for comic relief). Dr. Ogden started out as the city's Coroner, then became Murdoch's love interest, butted heads with him over the topic of abortion, left town, changed careers and married another man. Back in Toronto, she worked as a doctor, coroner and psychiatrist, and frequently stirred up trouble as a part-time suffragette while Murdoch tried dating other women and failed miserably at doing so. If it wasn't Julia, it simply didn't feel right.
If you are exhausted now, this is where I'm giving you a chance to take a breath, because we've only just reached the end of s5 and I didn't even get started on George's journey yet. But for the sake of simplicity perhaps let's focus on the titular character and say that after s5, things were looking up for William on the relationship front (although it took another two seasons for him to finally catch Julia for good). And when he did, the magic between him and newlywed wife suddenly vanished and didn't reappear until that moment in s9, when she was rising from a coma to rescue her husband from one of their lunatic nemeses like a female knight in shining armor.
When revisited in print, these developments might sound completely out there and a bit annoying perhaps. On screen, however, the characters keep pulling you in. They are just so entertaining. Up until s11 at least, when after a doomed adoption attempt, Julia was risking her life to become pregnant with her own child only to please her husband. (If that's not the story the writers intended to tell, well, that's how it came across to me and considering the treatment she volunteered to be a lab rat for) I wasn't exactly thrilled to see her getting pregnant quite so easily. Her miscarriage then, however, was handled believably well, so I was pleased in retrospect, although the friction that loss caused between her and William threw us right back to season 2 for a while. Their reconciliation and growth in the s11 finale then felt like a perfect wrap to a wonderful storyline though and I couldn't have been happier if the show had ended right there and then. Everything that's happened since, feels like a totally different show.
Granted, S12 and beyond still have their moments and I do appreciate the introduction of Llewelyn Watts, Miss Cherry and Ruth Newsome as more regular characters. I do like the humorous Halloween episodes they have added and even the very modern Murdoch mansion has grown on me over time (although I'm still mourning the omission of Murdoch's self designed dream house). What I don't like is the darker tone, Dr. Ogden's constant career changes, the introduction of Violet Hart as a borderline sociopath whose actions are constantly overlooked or pardoned, Rupert Newsome's weird wife, George's abysmal luck with women and the sudden appearance of surprise children for both Brackenreid and Murdoch. The latter has annoyed me especially because to me it feels as if Murdoch's son was introduced for melodramatic purposes only and now that Julia is pregnant again (simply because the actress who plays her was with child herself), his existence parches the last drops of what made this couple so special and uplifting to watch. After all the ordeals they have been through, embracing their childlessness would've been a refreshing perspective. But no: apparently only children bring true joy and fulfillment. No mention of Julia's traumatic miscarriage, her advanced age, the consequences of a pregnancy to her career or the constant threats they are living with. Nothing. Just happy smiles and the idea of a perfect life with baby Murdoch and William's "bastard" son (Harry).
That's not what Murdoch Mysteries is about. Give William, Julia, George and Brackenreid interesting crimes to solve and don't turn their lives into just another dystopian soap opera. We have enough of those already, so just keep it entertaining, Murdoch people, and stop writing juvenile fan fiction instead of decent scripts.
*Edited for clarity and structure (apologies for submitting too early by mistake)
The main character is Detective William Murdoch, a devout Catholic in the very Protestant town of Toronto, who's trying to solve cases from a different point of view. He's self-educated and well-read on scientific procedures and progress of humankind. When presented with a problem he cannot solve by following established procedures, he's coming up with an idea that foreshadows future gadgets and possibilities. Throughout the seasons, his inventions have included everything from household gizmos to useful investigative tools and for 11 seasons, his mind never stopped inquiring.
ATTENTION: Spoilers ahead (s01-15)
Aside from Murdoch, Dr. Julia Ogden is adding wisdom to the weekly investigations, along with Inspector Brackenreid, Constables George Crabtree and Henry Higgins (for comic relief). Dr. Ogden started out as the city's Coroner, then became Murdoch's love interest, butted heads with him over the topic of abortion, left town, changed careers and married another man. Back in Toronto, she worked as a doctor, coroner and psychiatrist, and frequently stirred up trouble as a part-time suffragette while Murdoch tried dating other women and failed miserably at doing so. If it wasn't Julia, it simply didn't feel right.
If you are exhausted now, this is where I'm giving you a chance to take a breath, because we've only just reached the end of s5 and I didn't even get started on George's journey yet. But for the sake of simplicity perhaps let's focus on the titular character and say that after s5, things were looking up for William on the relationship front (although it took another two seasons for him to finally catch Julia for good). And when he did, the magic between him and newlywed wife suddenly vanished and didn't reappear until that moment in s9, when she was rising from a coma to rescue her husband from one of their lunatic nemeses like a female knight in shining armor.
When revisited in print, these developments might sound completely out there and a bit annoying perhaps. On screen, however, the characters keep pulling you in. They are just so entertaining. Up until s11 at least, when after a doomed adoption attempt, Julia was risking her life to become pregnant with her own child only to please her husband. (If that's not the story the writers intended to tell, well, that's how it came across to me and considering the treatment she volunteered to be a lab rat for) I wasn't exactly thrilled to see her getting pregnant quite so easily. Her miscarriage then, however, was handled believably well, so I was pleased in retrospect, although the friction that loss caused between her and William threw us right back to season 2 for a while. Their reconciliation and growth in the s11 finale then felt like a perfect wrap to a wonderful storyline though and I couldn't have been happier if the show had ended right there and then. Everything that's happened since, feels like a totally different show.
Granted, S12 and beyond still have their moments and I do appreciate the introduction of Llewelyn Watts, Miss Cherry and Ruth Newsome as more regular characters. I do like the humorous Halloween episodes they have added and even the very modern Murdoch mansion has grown on me over time (although I'm still mourning the omission of Murdoch's self designed dream house). What I don't like is the darker tone, Dr. Ogden's constant career changes, the introduction of Violet Hart as a borderline sociopath whose actions are constantly overlooked or pardoned, Rupert Newsome's weird wife, George's abysmal luck with women and the sudden appearance of surprise children for both Brackenreid and Murdoch. The latter has annoyed me especially because to me it feels as if Murdoch's son was introduced for melodramatic purposes only and now that Julia is pregnant again (simply because the actress who plays her was with child herself), his existence parches the last drops of what made this couple so special and uplifting to watch. After all the ordeals they have been through, embracing their childlessness would've been a refreshing perspective. But no: apparently only children bring true joy and fulfillment. No mention of Julia's traumatic miscarriage, her advanced age, the consequences of a pregnancy to her career or the constant threats they are living with. Nothing. Just happy smiles and the idea of a perfect life with baby Murdoch and William's "bastard" son (Harry).
That's not what Murdoch Mysteries is about. Give William, Julia, George and Brackenreid interesting crimes to solve and don't turn their lives into just another dystopian soap opera. We have enough of those already, so just keep it entertaining, Murdoch people, and stop writing juvenile fan fiction instead of decent scripts.
*Edited for clarity and structure (apologies for submitting too early by mistake)