The Murdoch Mysteries

The pace is too slow and the atmosphere is too dark and grimy. I've seen countless period pieces of this era and this is by far the darkest. Watching the destituteness was too depressing.

Murdoch and Ogden are good characters. The mysteries in and of themselves are intriguing and enjoyable, and there is a wee bit of humor. However, many, perhaps most of the characters and their dialog is ugly. Perhaps this is realistic, but I prefer movies that build me up, not gross me out. Much of the casting and acting was mediocre.

A commendable effort on behalf of the director and producers. somewhat similar to the Great Detective Series from a few decade back.

This is what we need, more quality mysteries from any period in time, made in CANADA. about CANADA.

Took me sometime to fathom out that the story was set in Toronto, and still unsure about the time frame. I suspect that the piece was set somewhere around 1900.

Which would have made it somewhat dubious that a Woman Coroner would have been there.

But who am I to knock a very good mystery.

Everybody knows that the Brit's are the tops in this area of TV, but now we have some good shows of our own, DaVinci's Inquest, Cold Squad, Blue Murder, Lets keep them coming.

When I bought my first Murdoch Mysteries boxset years ago, these original adaptations of Maureen Jennings novels were included. Back then, I didn't know much about them, all I knew was the long running show starring Yannick Bisson as Murdoch. So when I first started watching these TV movies, I had trouble adapting to the dark and gritty style. On second viewing, however, I fell heads over heels in love. The cast is great, the characters are edgy and the cases suspenseful. So if you like the novels and a good murder mystery, do yourselves a favor and watch these films. You might even learn a thing or two about the late 1800s and Toronto the Good.

PS: As a treat to fans of today's Murdoch Mysteries, Hélène Joy played a crucial character in the last made-for-TV movie, a part that (as rumor has it) ultimately resulted in her playing Dr. Ogden in the following TV show.

Politically Correct high school stuff. Women doctors, black women coroners, women in taverns...pathetic beyond belief.