Turn-of-the-twentieth-century Toronto detective William Murdoch is back for season 7, and so are we. Here’s what we thought of the episodes this time:
- “Murdoch Ahoy” – 6
- “Tour de Murdoch” – 7.5
- “The Filmed Adventures of Detective Murdoch” – 7.5
- “Return of Sherlock Holmes” – 8
- “Murdoch of the Living Dead” – 5.5
- “Murdochophobia” – 4
- “Loch Ness Murdoch” – 7
- “Republic of Murdoch” – 7
- “A Midnight Train to Kingston” – 0
- “Murdoch in Ragtime” – 6
- “Journey to the Centre of Toronto” – 10
- “Unfinished Business” – 7
- “The Murdoch Sting” – 6
- “Friday the 13th, 1901” – 6
- “The Spy Who Came Up to the Cold” – 6
- “Kung Fu Crabtree” – 4
- “Blast of Silence” – 2
- “The Death of Dr. Ogden” – 4
This season’s average rating is 5.8, which is pretty good. There is one standout great episode and one standout awful one, but most of the season is middling to good, which makes it good for comfort rewatching.
On the whole, this season holds up well. It offers a lot of what we have come to expect from Murdoch. There are clever takes on modern stories, like the zombie-ish “Murdoch of the Living Dead,” the turnabout con in “The Murdoch Sting,” and half of “Friday the 13th, 1901” in which Drs. Ogden and Grace get a horror movie plot (meanwhile, the boys enjoy an adorably Canadian story about curling). There are also the usual return appearances by our favorite guest characters, like Terrence Myers and Alan Clegg in “The Spy Who Came up to the Cold,” which uses the assassination of US President McKinley as fodder for an espionage thriller. And James Pendrick, the perpetual inventor of things before their time, is back to invent… Murdoch Mysteries!
This season is five episodes longer than previous seasons, coming in at eighteen episodes, which is great. We’re always in favor of more Murdoch. We also see signs of change starting to show through as this season features more people of color as incidental characters and women pushing against the boundaries of social convention.
Our lowest rating for the season goes to “A Midnight Train to Kingston,” at 0. This episode features the return of genius serial killer and Murdoch fanboy James Gillies. We have made our feelings about genius serial killer detective fanboys clear before, and we still have no interest in seeing more of them.
On the other hand, “Journey to the Centre of Toronto,” which takes up contemporary speculation about a hollow earth with a steampunkish spin, makes for a thoroughly delightful 10. This episode suffers a bit from odd pacing and a somewhat unsatisfying ending, but it presents Detective Murdoch and company with such a unique challenge, and they rise to it with such gusto, that we can forgive these weaknesses. We also love the adventurer character, Elva Gordon. It’s a shame she can’t become a regular guest like Myers and Pendrick.
Few series can stand up to the pressures of a long run without faltering, but Murdoch Mysteries continues to deliver. Long may Murdoch continue!
Have a different take on this season? Let us know!
Image: Detective Murdoch explaining an earth-burrowing mole machine, from Murdoch Mysteries via IMDb
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