As Season 17 begins, the team is in turmoil. Detective Murdoch and his wife Dr. Ogden have been abducted. Inspector Brackenreid has retired to England; and Constable Crabtree is left to root out corruption at the station house. But soon they’ll be back to solving Toronto’s most mysterious murders with their signature blend of old-fashioned legwork, state-of-the-art forensic science and ingenious inventions.
As they come across real historical figures including Chinese revolutionary Sun Yat-Sen and jazz pioneer Jelly Roll Morton, they investigate cases including a stabbing at the Scottish Highland Games, a strange malady at Ogden’s new women’s hospital, and a fellow cop’s role in a deadly drunken brawl. And when a shooting leaves Murdoch himself in a coma, he experiences the world as a full-blown musical.
What We Thought:
I look forward to watching Murdoch Mysteries when it comes my way. Despite being a murder-mystery drama, it’s humorous with fun characters and era appropriate gadgets. It’s that mix of period costuming contraptions and characters that makes the show an enjoyable watch. Season 17 begins with a two-parter starting off with Murdoch and Ogden being abducted and freshly appointed Inspector Crabtree’s first mission is to find them.
Other fun episodes include the murder of the suspected thief of the Mona Lisa. Episode Five is their traditional Halloween episode. A champion horse is killed days before a race. A Girl Scout type troop is alone in the woods after the man in charge is killed by a madman. The Christmas episode involves the death of a slumlord involving a Santa and Christmas parade. A Scottish dancer is killed during the Highland Games. A professor is killed by bees while another man is killed at a gospel revival. An illness shuts down Ogden’s new women’s hospital. There is a musical episode with Colin Mochrie when Murdoch is shot and ends up in a coma and more.
Season 17 consists of 24 episodes and it took me about 5 days to binge through them. I dig the show so I try to get through 4 or 5 at a time and then another one or two before I go to bed. Yannick Bisson, Hélène Joy, Thomas Craig, Jonny Harris and the rest of the cast have fantastic chemistry and the timeline really works for the show. By having old-timey gadgets to solve crimes and historical figures around Toronto it has a different feel than your regular police procedural. I look forward to every season hitting home video so I can watch it and can’t wait for Season 18 (that’s airing now) to come my way next year.
The Nerds Templar 