09. Victoria Cross

[petunia]

This preference for S1 to S3 and to a lesser extent S4 is of course personal. I read comments on facebook all the time about Season 6 being the best ever so I am obviously in the minority. Nevertheless if I were to rank the best episodes ever, all of my favourites would be in the first three seasons. I like the topics that were tackled in those seasons: open marriage and homosexuality in S1, serial killers and abortion in S2, mental illness in S3 and the list goes on. While attempts have been tried in S5 and S6 at more serious subjects, they seem to fall flat to me.

[barbarama]

Thank you very much for your insight indeed Petunia (as well as everybody else's comments) that was quite interesting to read.

I think, as some of you already mentioned that after a few years into a show it's hard to find new plots and to be as fresh but I think season 6 has done a good job so far considering how bad at least half of season 5 was. That after 6 years they still come up with clever subjects but are able to add humor, wit and mystery is great to watch. I think in an ideal world we would have the same team of writers for the entire show and these inconsistencies in characters or plots would no exist but that is what it is in the reality of scripted TV. I remember reading from Iden Ford on FB (Maureen Jennings' husband) that the new writers of the show didn't even read the books contrary to the original team of writers. The books are different from the show in tone and atmosphere for sure but at least they set the tone for the period and I found it interesting that as a TV writer some would not be interested to read "the root" of the serie so to speak. That could be an explanation for your feelings regarding the past 2 seasons Petunia

[hannikan]

Yes, James Danby, the 1st victim in the web series, was also written on the chalkboard. Not reading the books the series is based on is a problem, even though it has a lot of differences. I've encountered that happening with the later writers of another favorite TV series, too. :/ I would probably say that I like S1-3 most, then 4 & 6, then 5. But there are at least a few great episodes in each season. While we're talking about dropped plots, one I also find odd is the Ava Moon story. Sure he got the side eye from Giles and even Thomas about it, but there has been no real fall out. And we've not seen him discuss it with Julia so that she would know that that was why he didn't go talk to her before she married Darcy. I did love Thomas' run for public office part of S4.

[barbarama]

I would put season 6 before season 4 though (even if we haven’t seen all the episodes yet) but the facts that Helene will be in all the episodes – which hasn’t happened since season 3 – as well as the atmosphere that is more upbeat than season 4 are what make this new season a plus for me

[LaurenMurdoch]

Random input into this conversation but I find Maureen's episodes a little darker and more case focused too.

[barbarama]

I agree Lauren with what you just said. I enjoyed that episode way more than the one she co-wrote last year "Staircase to Heaven", darker in tone also but I got confused by the all thing so I was happily surprised how "Victoria Cross" turned out

[iheartmurdoch]

I think you guys are off about the writers - most of the names are really familiar. If you look them up on IMDB you'll see that one has been there since the beginning, two others since season 2. Another since S4. And Cloud of Doom was written by a writer who was there in S1-2. So there are only 2 writers who started in S5.

And from what I know the backlot didn't exist until S5, then in S6 they built it up even more. They were shooting in a different studio before then. So it's a new thing also. I'm pretty sure the props guy said as much on the facebook page.

I also think we have to remember that once they've done a story they can't do it again. So, yes, I agree that S1-2 was more issue-based, but it's been done. So they can't do abortion again, or home children, or psychics, or visiting royalty, or closeted gay men etc. or everyone will complain, like people did with S5 when there were some similar settings (even though IMO the cases were completely different, but then, I actually liked most of S5).

The world of Murdoch is changing with the times, and Murdoch and Ogden are changing. So I personally enjoy watching the show evolve, rather than repeat itself. And I agree with barbarama, this show isn't Ripper Street. It doesn't work as well for me when it's dark. It's more of a steampunky world than a realistic one, and that's what I like about it - the fantasy for me is more fun and less dismal. But I do find the issues of the day very interesting.

I also think it's not cool for Maureen's husband to be saying things like that (that the writers couldn't be bothered to read the books - which can't be true given that many of them have been on the show for ages) on his FB page where everyone can see. If he has a problem with the writers, he should talk to them, not make a public show of it. Just my opinion.

[petunia]

I also feel some of the characters have regressed more than evolved. Thomas in S1 and S2 always had his funny moments but when the time came to be serious, he was. We see it early in S1 when William applies to be Inspector at another station. Thomas backs up William and protects him from the truth. Now we see whole episodes where none of this seriousness comes up. I thought the season 6 Murdoch Air episode was especially bad for this. Thomas was portrayed much too "simple" in my view. That he was having a mid-life crisis I can believe, but that he would manifest itself in going to war, seemed out of character for him. I know that popular TV, mostly commercials, are big into showing married middle-aged men as simpletons these days, so maybe it's part of that vogue.

I too found the Maureen episode, Staircase to Heaven, quite bad last year and had set myself for a mediocre episode again this year, but I was proven wrong. This attempt was much much better than last year. Thomas' character was treated with much more respect and intelligence than he has been for most of seasons 5 and 6.

[hannikan2]

No, the backlot was built in 1996 for the CBC show Wind at my Back. I know that for a fact. It was a Sullivan Entertainment production (the same people who did Anne of Green Gables and Road to Avonlea). People I know have visited the backlot as early as 1998! And I am in contact with people involved with the production of those shows who have told me that MM uses the same backlot. So it has definitely been there for a long time. If you watch both WAMB and MM, you will see it is the same backlot. They have remodeled it a lot after the fire of 2010 (which was reported in the Toronto news, you may even be able to still find those articles) so that it has a more distinctive look for the more recent seasons of MM (S5-6).

It's not that the earlier writers are still not somewhat involved, most of them are. But they were much more involved with the writing of the earlier seasons, and have taken a more backseat role since S4 and increasingly since S5. There is a new show runner (sort of like a head writer) since S5, which has changed things somewhat. It is these new writers that may not have read the books. I don't know about that for certain, but it is not uncommon for later writers who come in. They are not necessarily to blame for that though because they have less time to do so, picking things up in the middle. It's not an easy job to come into an established show and try to put your own stamp on the production while maintaining the stuff that everyone loves about it. I agree that the episodes that Maureen writes are darker than some of the others. I like the balance of darker episodes and lighter ones.

BTW, this is hannikan. I had to set up a new acct.

[lea]

Another episode!

1. The episodes with a darker tone are great, I'd love to have more of them.

2. I hate when they taste things to figure out what they are! Grosses me out every time.

3. Looks like George & Emily accidentally invented the spoiler alert, lol.

4. . Having Brackenreid be somewhat of the central character is nice. He often is just on the side.

5. I've never been into Julia's psychologist role much but I do think it was utilized well in this episode.

[murdochfan1000]

Question about Season 6 Episode 9: Victoria Cross
SPOILER:

Main Characters:
1. Louise Butler: Girl who witness 3 people committing the crime in McGuinnes Pawn Shop
2. Potter: Prison Guard
3. Nathan Turnbow: Ring Leader in Prison
4. McGuinnes: Ruthless Pawnshop Owner whom everyone hated. Murder number #1
5. Regie Pullman: First man found hanging dead in his prison cell. Murder #2
6. Richard Walker: Prison inmate who wanted to spill the beans but was murder #3
7. Hobson: Prison Councillour
8. Mr. Browning: Warden of the prison.

Here is what I don't get:
1) What's up with the one-eyed man. Why did Murdoch say, "What's more disturbing is that the one eyed man was supposed to be in prison that the time his glass eye was found in the pawn shop"

2) What is key to the glass eye-ball? I don't get its importance in the plot

3) The 3 men who attacked McQuinnes in the beginning was Nathan, Richard and Hobson. So why did Reggie Pullman have $50, so much money in his shoe? How did he come to get it? What was his involvement in the robberies?

4) Why would Nathan want to live in Prison? Seems like only Hobson was the one who was benefiting financially from the robberies. What was Nathan doing with his share of the loot?