Book review - Investigating Murdoch Mysteries

The official companion to the TV series, Murdoch Mysteries (2015) is a lavish reasonably priced hardback with dozens of colour photographs. Ideal for any fan to own. The authors Michelle Ricci and Mir Bahmanyar were given much assistance from the cast and crew; this book covers series 1 thru 8, so there will be spoilers. As usual, Titan Books gives us an excellent book in every respect.

There’s a foreword by the author of the books, Maureen Jennings, enjoying how her characters are being brought to life. The introduction is by Christina Jennings (no relation!), Executive Producer and Chairman & CEO of Shaftesbury films, explaining that some twelve years ago Maureen Jennings’ publisher sent her the books to read, and she decided to adapt three books as TV movies. Although the adaptations were faithful to the books, there was one exception; the invention of another character outside her comfort zone, just like Murdoch, so coroner Julia Ogden was created. The films were successful and the broadcaster was keen for a continuing series to be produced. It was decided to depart from the darker tone of the movies, ‘more Jules Verne, less Dickens’, and introduce steampunk and humour, with knowing nods to the future, and of course there would be romance. Happily, the team assembled provided all that, and more, from good writing, brilliant Victorian and Edwardian sets, to excellent acting.

There are fascinating insights into the characters, Victorian Toronto, and the inventions of the time depicted.  The Toronto police were formed in 1859. By the time of the start of the series (1895) the police have all-night patrols, a mounted unit for outlying areas and to control speeding horses! Bicycles for patrols were introduced in 1894, and as we know Murdoch was a keen cyclist. Up to the early 1890s, the police were also the main source of ‘social services’, until humane societies came on the scene. 

We are presented with blueprints of Police Station No.4 and the morgue. And Prime Minister Stephen Harper appeared as a desk sergeant. We’re given an insight into the music, too, which is an important aspect of the series, helping to create the mood. 

Yannick Bisson (Murdoch) does not, has never, and will never wear mascara or any eye makeup, we are told. Those distinctive eyelashes have been with him since he was born! It could have been a daunting prospect to audition for a character that had already appeared in three TV movies. However, executive producer Val Coons had declared he was looking for someone different, He read about three times to get the part – which he has definitely claimed as his own over eight series.

Considerable coverage is given to the costumes, which again have to reflect not only the period but the characters. The offices, and all the other sets, are painstakingly created to evoke that period feel.

All the main characters are covered in some depth – Julia Ogden, Constable George Crabtree, Inspector Thomas Brackenreid, and Doctor Emily Grace. Then we meet their friends and foes, too, all of whom grow in depth as the series moves forward, not least Chief Constable Percival Giles, tycoon James Pendrick, spymaster Terrence Meyers and arch-enemy James Gillies, among many others.

There’s an intriguing blueprint of Pendrick’s electric car, ‘The Pendrick Bullet’, which took four months to perfect instead of the usual two weeks for inventive props. And it worked, as shown, with the actors in the cab!

And of course we can’t forget the many historical figures who appear in the series: Prince Alfred, Alexander Graham Bell, Winston Churchill, Arthur Conan Doyle, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Harry Houdini, Jack London, ‘Bat’ Masterson, Annie Oakley, Theodore Roosevelt, H.G. Wells, and many more fascinating cameos.

Lastly, we’re given a year-by-year account of the attraction, disappointments, travails and on-off courtship of William Murdoch and Julia Ogden.

Every year, the writing staff  meet a number of months before the next series goes into production and they develop stories and ideas. We’re given a fascinating overview of how a storyline comes together – the 100^th episode, in fact – and how the writers lay out a particular story with all the specifics – the beats – of what happen in each scene. They have to attend to logical progression, clues, red herrings, humorous interludes. The beat sheet is the guide; this becomes 15 pages of prose, scenes in paragraphs. It’s then read and revised and approved and then it becomes a 50-minute script.

As the back-cover blurb says, this is a treasure trove for fans of the series.

Hear, hear!

I was looking forward to watching the 5-part dramatization of Len Deighton’s 1978 novel, SS-GB, which I’d read and enjoyed many years ago. 

Unfortunately, the BBC chose to schedule it in conflict with an ITV series I’m already watching, The Good Karma Hospital. The BBC does this a lot; it doesn’t need to, since it isn’t really competing for paying viewers (or advertising space). So, I consoled myself with the thought that I’d eventually buy the DVD of SS-GB.

Now, I might not bother. There have been so many reports from a variety of sources that the director is an advocate of the Mumbling School of Drama. I won't surrender!

Considering this series is likened to a noir detective drama, I’d have thought the director would have seen the old noir movies featuring Bogart, Mitchum, O’Brien, Lake, Cagney, Robinson, Raft, Lorre, and Duryea to name a few. These had atmosphere, but also good diction (even when mangled American!), and the music never smothered the dialogue.

This is only the latest example of a number of recent productions that I have decided not to watch. I recall some time ago watching an episode of the new Dr Who; at a critical juncture, the good Doctor was making a dramatic announcement, but it was drowned out by the foreground music. I gave up on that series.

SS-GB is directed by Philipp Kadelbach and stars several German actors who spoke their native language on set and on screen, with subtitles. Great authenticity. Interestingly, some viewers commented that they found it easier to understand the Germans than anyone mumbling in English. A number had to resort to subtitles to comprehend what was being mumbled by the English-speakers.

The day after the transmission, a BBC spokesman said they “will look at the sound levels on the programme in time for the next episode.” You’d have thought that somebody might have considered doing that before transmission, considering that there have been other mumbling issues for the BBC involving Jamaica Inn, the crime series Quirke, and Happy Valley.

There’s no issue with other series, such as Game of Thrones, Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries and Murdoch Mysteries, for example, all of which have dark themes and an international cast; even the Dothraki is intelligible in Game of Thrones!

At least I can hear what all the international cast of actors are saying in The Good Karma Hospital. That’s good karma, indeed.

The Mystery of Murdoch

My wife and I are following the series Murdoch Mysteries. We’re on the fourth series – there have been seven and an eighth is being produced. The TV episodes are based on the books of Maureen Jennings, who was born in Birmingham, England in 1939 and emigrated to Canada when seventeen. The stories centre round police station No.4 in Toronto in the 1890s. The main characters are Detective William Murdoch, Inspector Brackenreid and Constable Crabtree.

Jennings has written seven Murdoch books. The first is Except the Dying (1997), which was shortlisted for the Arthur Ellis and Anthony first novel awards. This book plus the next two, Under the Dragon’s Tail and Poor Tom is Cold were made into TV movies in 2004. This is where the mystery comes in. These three movies starred Peter Outerbridge as Murdoch, Colm Meaney as Brackenreid, and Matthew MacFadzean as Crabtree. The pathologist is male in the first book and underwent a scriptwriter sex-change and became Dr Julia Ogden for the movie, in the guise of Keeley Hawes.

The plot of Except the Dying is followed by the TV movie, judging by the synopsis. I have not been able to see the three TV movies; they don’t seem to be on DVD, though they were released in Canada as Murdoch Mysteries: Movie Collection. The book’s story goes: Detective Murdoch investigates the murder of a young girl found drugged and strangled in an alley. The autopsy reveals the girl was pregnant. Murdoch finds himself investigating prominent members of Toronto society when the girl is identified as Therese Laporte, a chambermaid working for a wealthy family. When a possible witness to the murder is also killed, Murdoch learns that Therese was seen voluntarily getting into a carriage, as if she knew the occupant. Before long, another witness seems to be in danger…

Jennings captures the period well and uses her research subtly, scattering the underworld vernacular judiciously; ‘… you had connections with Therese Laporte?’ Connections is a euphemism for sex.. Brackenreid in the book is Irish, so Colm Meaney was a good fit, I imagine: ‘… He had rigorously tried to expunge his native brogue but it slipped out now and again…’

Murdoch is a devout Roman Catholic. ‘Brackenreid was perfectly aware of his detective’s faith but always tried to get in a jibe or two at Murdoch’s expense...’

Murdoch rents shared accommodation with Arthur and Beatrice Kitchen, who seem to be his sounding board.

Now, the mystery is why the original cast didn’t continue for the series. The Canadian TV series Murdoch Mysteries first aired in 2008 and stars Yannick Bisson as Murdoch, Thomas Craig as Brackenreid, Hélène Joy as Dr Ogden and Jonny Harris as Crabtree. Interestingly, Australian actress Hélène Joy featured in Under the Dragon’s Tail as the wife of a judge. There’s no sign of the Kitchens. Murdoch’s sounding board is Julia – a creation of the screenwriters.

Hélène Joy as Dr Ogden

 

 

Yannick Bisson                                                       Thomas Craig

 

The series scriptwriters – and actors – seem to have nailed the characters. Granted, Brackenreid is now a bluff Yorkshireman, but his mannerisms and speech leap from the book:

            He nodded over at the wall, which the detective was using as a blackboard. ‘What’ve       you got there?’

            ‘It’s a map of the area pertinent to the scene of the crime, sir.’

            ‘I hope that chalk will rub off.’

            ‘If it doesn’t I’ll personally whitewash the wall.’

            Brackenreid went closer. ‘Explain it to me, Murdoch.’

Murdoch’s hesitation and careful, precise manner are from the book, merely enlarged upon by the actor; in the book, he has a moustache, but these days it seems quite rare for a hero to wear one (Tom Selleck excepted, of course!) so Bisson is clean-shaven.

One of the attractions for the books was the period atmosphere. The attraction of the TV series is the main leads, their on-off romance, and the introduction of virtually anachronistic crime detecting inventions. Real history and people from history often figure in the plots – Buffalo Bill Cody, Annie Oakley, H.G. Wells, Nikola Tesla, Jack London, Arthur Conan Doyle, for example. There is plenty of humour as well as gore. The TV series has a big fan base. In 2011, Rogers Media dropped the show after the fifth series, but CBC picked it up.

Reviews of the books have been good, though a few reviewers have complained that the books aren’t like the TV series – which isn’t surprising since the books came first! Then again, the publisher doesn’t really help by putting the series cast on the cover; before the series, the TV movie cast was on the cover, which was fine (even if Dr Ogden wasn’t in the book!) The fact is, the TV series helps to sell the books. It’s a business, after all.

If you like Victorian murder mysteries, you’ll find plenty to appreciate with Murdoch, in either book or TV series.

 
The other books in the series are:

Let Loose the Dogs

Night’s Child

Vices of My Blood

A Journeyman to Grief.