01. Murdoch of the Klondike

[Lucy]

Murdoch joins the Gold Rush in the Yukon and meets radical author Jack London.

[hannikan]

Yannick Bisson directed this episode.

[shangas]

Gold-panning is a frustrating venture. I've tried it a couple of times in a living history museum. I did manage to get a few grains of the stuff, which I stored in a bottle, but it's hard work for very little reward unless you're really dedicated.

In most cases, gold-prospectors or miners died poor. Some people did strike it lucky and became wealthy from gold-mining or prospecting, but the people who made the REAL money were the merchants who sold the shovels, gold-pans, sluice-boxes and camping-supplies to the miners.

[hannikan]

Feb 27, 2012 9:37:41 GMT shangas said:

Gold-panning is a frustrating venture. I've tried it a couple of times in a living history museum. I did manage to get a few grains of the stuff, which I stored in a bottle, but it's hard work for very little reward unless you're really dedicated.

In most cases, gold-prospectors or miners died poor. Some people did strike it lucky and became wealthy from gold-mining or prospecting, but the people who made the REAL money were the merchants who sold the shovels, gold-pans, sluice-boxes and camping-supplies to the miners.

Yep, very true. I was in the Yukon on a trip to Alaska. We took a restored antique train all the way from Skagway, AK up the White Pass to the Yukon, the route the miners took. It was 20 miles straight up. So many miners died on the way through the harsh environment. They had to cross rapids and got pulled under or trapped in deep valleys and starved. Very often their horses died and going such distances on foot, the exposure could be deadly. I forget the percentage of miners that died in the Yukon, but it was high. Many of the Victorian Era mansions in San Francisco were built for the men who made their fortunes in the Calif Gold Rush, who rarely did any actual mining themselves. Some started out as miners but they made their money later in the industries that built up around mining.

[hannikan]

Mining the miners was mentioned! That Dr. Grace sure is perceptive about Julia's marriage! I'm curious what this women's group is that she wanted Julia to go to. I like her already. I liked Jack London, too. I doubt this will be a favorite episode but it was still good. The landscape shots were gorgeous! And familiar for me with my trip to Alaska! I loved hearing them reference Skagway, AK since I've been there. I thought the murder in the Yukon plot was good. Nice twists and turns. The one in TO was a little sparse but George was great as always. It was interesting to see he and Henry have some tension over his promotion. It was funny how relieved he was when William was back and how nervous he was as acting detective since he's done it before. But I guess he was worried about possibly doing it permanently. I liked that Thomas had protected William and that that will be continued plotline. I don't actually think that the Eva Gardner plot is tied up. I liked William's conflicting feelings about letting her go. He understandably felt that he was setting things right about the past but then he also let a murderer (of a serial murderer) go.

[akarana]

As I watch the episode I will write this review, so sorry if it's a bit chaotic... and maybe not always free of my personal opinion Here we go:

So Murdoch is a cowboy now and in the first scene we see that what happened when he let the murderer go free still keeps him up at night. He says to the other men, that "your thoughts can consume you at night".
Brackenreid defends Murdoch next, he seems to have said that a faulty lock was the reason why the woman got free, but his boss doesn't really believe him.
George works with Julia now (and the backgrouns is so obviously a screen it's ridiculous) and she introduces him to Ebony at a crime scene.
William meanwhile thinks about Julia's letter while staring at himself. When he remembers that Brackenreid told him that Julia was happy on her weddingday he throws his badge into the river.
Then he makes a lot of money with gold and checks into a hotel (before he was at some sort of camp). He learns there that a murder happened at the hotel and someone was arrested. someone he knew.
Julia and Ebony work on the body and Julia guides her through the findings and says that it's sometimes best to include clues in the report for the detective. She also says that George, no matter how hard he tries is no William Murdoch.
William asks the employe of the hotel for his belongings that he left behind before., but he doesn't know. Murdoch vistis her to ask her for them at the prison and she tells him she is innocent. She asks him for help and he says he can't, he doesn't know how. Still he asks the employe some questions and learns that the victim and the prisoner argued a lot and hated each other. He asks to examine the body and the people there are disurbed by his request. A brawl starts and Murdoch gets help and they both end up in prison, too.
The stranger observed that from his questions Murdoch must be trained, maybe a policemen or a lawyer and Murdoch admits to being a detective. The woman imprisoned gets angry because he said he didn't know how to help her and yells at him "You're right, you're not a policeman. You're nothing!"
Both Murdoch an the young stranger are set free then and the young man tells him that he hopes he will find what he is looking for.
George meanwhile has problems because the men don't take him seriously and Brackenreid yells at him.
William thinks about the accusations of the woman and dresses up as his old self, what doesn't go too well with the man he lived in the camp with. He goes back to the police station and tricks the policeman so he gets the woman out of jail and can take a look of the body. He then interviews the accused about the circumstances of her arrest and then goes back to the station (out west). the policeman knows immediately that Murdoch worked for the law once. William then interviews others and meets the young man again, down by the lake.
He then admits to the suspect that he is down at this place because he has suffered a loss.
George then cracks me up by being incredibly uncomfortable in his role while he tries to tell a wife that her husband is dead. He catches though that she knows how he was killed, even though she didn't know he was dead.
Murdoch and the young guy then find their suspect dead in a cave, also killed.
He then finds out that the two could be killed for their claims, but the police doesn't believe him, because the gold rush is over and Crabtree still struggles with Higgins disrespect.
Jack (the young guy) asks William then how he ended up there and William said he made a mistake and compromised what e believed in and that it cost him. Jack replies that it's our mistakes that define us.

Higgins complains to George that all he oes is ordering him around and doesn't talk to him anymore. George says it's because he's his boss now.
Ebony invites Julia to an evening at a women's group, but Julia declines, saying she has to accompany her husband to a dinner.
William tells his "suspect" the story of Constance, after she tries to kill the real suspect. He sends her back to custody and tells her to trust the law.
He then interviews the new suspect and asks him who would gain from the big mining operation.
George solves the case meanwhile (the wife hired someone to kill her cheating husband).
William interviews the barkeeper out west and finds out that the watch he has has a filed off inscription. And William knows he did it and gets the guy because of the watch.
George discusses why a woman would kill her husband and it turns into a talk about marriage and Julia says that there can be a good marriage without passion. Love and mutual respect without a schoolgirls sentiment would be enough. When Julia leaves her new assistant then asks George if he thinks Julia is talking about the murderers marriage. George only sighs.
William decides to go back where he nelongs and Jack hands him his badge which he fished out the creek. and Will adds that he thinks it's what you do to righten your mistakes what defines you. Only then does he learn the surname of his new friend. It's London... Jack London.
Back at the station the men are happy he is back but no one is marore relieved than George. Murdoch tells Brackenreid that he wants to confess, but Brackenreid tells him it's not possible becausehe would go down with him and he shold do his penance by solving murders.
Murdoch then gies to the morgue where Julia sits and cleans out a cabinet. he looks at her through the glass and she sees his reflection in the glass of the cabinet door, but doesn't react. he then leaves and once she turns around he is gone. She looks shaken and seems not sure if she only imagines him being there.
End of episode 1

I have to say I found it more enjoyable than I thought I would. Mainly because there wasn't too much heartache between William and Julia... I guess that will follow. Her look in the last scene was hard to take and knowing what kind of marriage she has herself contented with doesn't make it easier.
However I liked this episode and am now a bit scared aor next week when the two will officially seee each other again...

Sorry, for all mistakes.. as I said, writing while watching

[Lucy]

It was a really good episode. It always breaks my heart to know that they want to be together but they can't! Only time will tell...

Hmmm... I wonder if we will be seeing Jack London again, we didn't really get to know anything about him so hopefully we will

[susie]

Wow Delighted to have Murdoch back on our screens.

This was a good start to the new series. I like to see Murdoch out of his comfort zone as it gives us a different view of him. Similar to Episode 1 of S4 when he was lost in Bristol. It's interesting to see him put on his suit, like it's a uniform, and then he becomes a detective.

Really enjoyed the new characters - Jack London (Jimmy from Smallville) was great so I do hope we will see him again. I liked the look of Dr Emily Grace and I guess she will become a regular character.

I agree about the beautiful mountain/landscape scenes from the Klondike - good ad for Canada.

[shangas]

Right, I got a chance to watch the episode and I just finished it.

Just one point - Akarana - Murdoch was a PROSPECTOR. That's very different from a cowboy.

Now, my thoughts...

- I really don't know why Murdoch would throw away his police-badge like that. I suppose it was to signify letting go of the past. But surely he went to the Yukon to do that already. So why the hell did he even take the badge with him?

- I liked the goldrush town set. Looks very realistic. With the mention of the NWMP, I half-expected to see Murdoch's half-brother somewhere in this episode (he was a Mountie, wasn't he?)

- The dual murder-cases were very interesting, but I felt that the one in Toronto was rushed through. Not enough detail was really given, or entered into and Crabtree kinda stumbles across all the information and clues far too conveniently for my liking. I don't think it showed him having to really struggle and learn what it's like to be a detective fulltime.

- I DID like the bit with Crabtree speaking to the widow in 'his' office. Granted the sob-show she put on was totally fake, but it showed Crabtree the extraordinary necessity for tact in the policing business (especially when Victorian women are concerned).

- The relationship between Crabtree & Higgins was an interesting one in this episode. You can see how Crabtree is so uncomfortable. He probably feels very bad having to boss around his best friend and having to yell at him. It can't be easy remaining friends when you're not on the same level anymore. And how Higgins brings this up and says that they used to sit down and chat, and now all Crabby does is boss him around everywhere.

- I'm fairly sure this is an anachronism (I MAY be wrong, but I don't think so), but in this episode, the watch of the victim's late husband is a key piece of evidence. This is the 1890s. Why do they call it a 'pocketwatch'?

As far as I know, the designation 'Pocketwatch' only came out in the 1910s/20s, to differentiate it from the 'wristwatch' (formerly also called a 'wristlet'). In Victorian times, without a wristwatch to confuse it with, surely a pocketwatch is just...a watch? Or a 'timepiece' or a 'timekeeper'? Why tne need for extra clarification?

In the episode "The Great Wall", the dead constable's timepiece is only called "a watch", and in "Let Loose the Dogs", Murdoch just calls his pocketwatch his "timepiece".

Why 'pocketwatch'? Back then, all watches were pocketwatches...

- That little rant aside, I think the ending was nice, if a bit rushed. I wish that Murdoch's return to the station was a little more drawn-out and detailed. It seemed almost like an add-on at the end without much real thought.

I liked how Crabtree just rattles on and on and on. He mumbles about names and events and how the typebars on Murdoch's typewriter got jammed up...

- I did like the bit at the end, with Brackenreid & Murdoch arguing about their little secret. I can see how trying something like that would be and how neither of them can say ANYTHING to ANYONE for fear of losing their jobs. I wonder if that pops up in future episodes?

- Also, that new lady doctor or coroner or whatever she was (I don't think her position was made very clear to me), I think that could be interesting. Having her and Dr. Ogden (strange, she keeps her maiden name after her marriage? Perhaps it's for professional purposes, since her hsuband is also a doctor. Can't have two 'Dr. Garlands'; it'd get too confusing!) chatting away while casually examining a corpse together.

All in all, I think it was a goodish episode. I felt it was rushed, though. Especially the bits done in Toronto.

In all, I'd give it a 3.5/5.0.

It was good, not great, but not terrible. I reckon I'd rewatch it. It's nice to know that the end of the episode brings things back into the Status Quo with Murdoch back at his old post.

[CosmicCavalcade]

i enjoyed it! though i do agree with everyone that the Toronto murder wasn't very good or interesting. it kinda seemed like it purposely had to be bad so Crabtree would be able to solve it. i mean, if the widow hadn't said something about being shot, would he really have been able to solve it, even with Julia's extra help? As she herself said, "He's no William Murdoch."

i also agree about the badge. i don't understand why he had it with him. He took it off last season and then for some reason took it with him so he could throw it in the river months later? i gather it was supposed to be dramatic but it seemed rather strange.

another thing that bothered me but only ever so slightly, was Elizabeth's chastising, ringing in Murdoch's ears like right after we just saw that scene! it wasn't really necessary IMO, especially after all the other flashbacks he had previously had.

Also, was it just me or did Helene look somewhat odd? I dunno, there was just something about her face that didn't look quite right. and i just watched the S4 finale beforehand so it's not like i didn't recall how she normally looks. maybe they just used less makeup on her as she is married now?

so basically the only reason Murdoch didn't confess was because it would ruin Brackenreid and potentially destroy his family. If Brackenreid hadn't been involved, Murdoch would surely have been unable to struggle with his conscience and confessed.

First impressions of the protege, i liked her, especially her keen perception of the people around her. rather like Ruby in that regard, indeed she kinda reminds me of her. as for what her woman's group is, i'm not really sure but it sounds like some sort of intellectual/political thing where women of ambition go to discuss matters of import to them.

I liked the ending scene where Murdoch appears to Julia as if a ghost. Like her protege's words are beginning to haunt her. I'm not entirely sure she did realize that he was back as he disappeared before she turned around.

So now we've got 3 characters keeping secrets and struggling with their consciences. Sooner or later someone is going to crack under the strain. my bet is on Julia seeing as how if the others did, it would be end of show.

anyways, i'm eagerly awaiting to see how this will all play out.

[Lucy]

I'm interested to see how things will develop with the Giles-Brackenreid-Murdoch thing. It's funny to see Brackenreid getting angry and the fact that they could both lose their jobs will cause a lot of friction between them.

I agree somewhat with the Toronto storyline but Crabtree was funny as always and it was sad to see him bossing Higgins around but Higgins seemed to understand that towards the end. Now neither of them have to worry about that now that Murdoch is back!

[susie]

Feb 29, 2012 13:01:46 GMT shangas said:

- I liked the goldrush town set. Looks very realistic. With the mention of the NWMP, I half-expected to see Murdoch's half-brother somewhere in this episode (he was a Mountie, wasn't he?)

Oh, that would have been good. Was his name Jasper? Or perhaps I imagined that. He is a character I think should return at some point, but may be too much for this episode.

I also agree about the ending being a bit rushed. Returning to Toronto and the station was a big deal ... does it mean Crabtree will be back as a constable again next week? This is the third time he has acted as detective I think, perhaps its about time he got a permanent promotion.

[Lucy]

Feb 29, 2012 20:23:47 GMT susie said:

Feb 29, 2012 13:01:46 GMT shangas said:

- I liked the goldrush town set. Looks very realistic. With the mention of the NWMP, I half-expected to see Murdoch's half-brother somewhere in this episode (he was a Mountie, wasn't he?)

Oh, that would have been good. Was his name Jasper? Or perhaps I imagined that. He is a character I think should return at some point, but may be too much for this episode.

If my memory serves me correct it was Jasper Linney?? Don't ask me how I remember!

[akarana]

shangas: Well, forgive me I didn't think too much about the term. I saw the hat and the outfit and thought cowboy without thinking too much about the real the job.
And I have to agree with you, I am not too sure that Julia realized that he was 'real'.

[shangas]

You are forgiven.

Yes, his name was Jasper Linney (perhaps now, it will be Jasper Murdoch?)

The whole 'triangle' (for want of a better term) with Murdoch, B'reid and Giles is extremely interesting. I have a feeling it's going to really damage M & B's relationship/friendship. It would be one of those things that they can NEVER...EVER...talk about. But Murdoch can be too much of a moralist sometimes, and perhaps that will cause friction between him and Brackenreid, who just wants to forget the whole damn thing.

Really, if I were Murdoch, I'd just tell him that I understood and forget the whole thing and let everything return to how they were. The strain on Brackenreid must be incredible.

Julia's assistant (Dr. Emily Grace, was it?), I think she's a good character. I could see the two women developing a strong friendship, and perhaps Julia confiding her feelings about Dr. Garland and Murdoch, to Grace. Kind of like a sounding-board, looking for another opinion or advice about how to get out of this mess she seems to have fallen into.