03. The Filmed Adventures of Detective William Murdoch

[carolion]

I got the feeling the catering on set of The Filmed Adventures of Detective William Murdoch was mainly 'ham' sandwiches.

Overall I didn't like this ep;
Pendrick and Minerva were so out of character. What happened to Minerva to change her cautious ways and how did a society lady end up an actress, a career that was still very much looked down on at that time. What did her family think!!! About the only scene that rang true with Pendrick was when he thought William was accusing him again. I can't believe that a few months with a camera in his hands could create such a personality change. The director, real one, should be shot for mucking around with such a beloved character.

Another thing....why did William, and the rest of the station, crew go to the theatre with out inviting Dr Ogden. This sort plot construction just smacks of lazy writing to me. And I must agree with comment above about the 'just friends' comment. Though it could be put down to not wanting their private life all over the big screen.

Even though I did find this ep overall way over the top and the plot very thin, I did find parts of it very funny.

Williams acting 'skills' were everything they should have been,"Mr Pendrick..." sooooo William.
His sacking and George replacing him was great
George was just a treat the whole ep and the tiff with Emily very funny, as was Williams face as they ran off.
And Brackenreid was true to type, Thank goodness.

I really hope the success of MM hasn't gone to the heads of CBC and they are changing it to make it seemingly more popular for a wider audience.'Don't fix what aint broke.

As a major fan of Doctor Who, I really think the writers could take a leaf out of their book in regards to cannon. Not mucking around with characters and making sure story archs are followed through carefully.

Maybe a rewatch will help me like this ep better.

[Willie]

Julia is still a psychiatrist so she was there with a purpose and more than just arm candy

[carco]

Here is a link for a TV Guide article about last night's episode: 
www.theloop.ca/showbiz/tv-guide/reviews/article/-/a/2815920/Murdoch-goes-to-the-movies

The writer's comment about Julia confuses me, "......I always love when she’s taken down a peg, but only because she’s always trying so hard to be a proper lady."   Huh? Julia?  I've watched this episode a couple of times now and I still can't think of a scene when she was "taken down a peg". What am I missing?  And the only time I can recall when Julia was maybe, close to working hard at being a proper lady (apart from just having to live in Victorian times), was last season when she was trying to obtain a divorce without dragging William's good name in the mud in the process.

I enjoyed this episode and even more so the 2nd time I watched it, when I'd gotten over the initial surprise of it all being so different from past episodes. Then I relaxed and it was a just lot of fun to sit back and watch the writers, crews, actors, etc. all poke fun at their own industry and lots of inside jokes for sure.

 

[LaurenMurdoch]

I liked it, because it was Murdoch Mysteries, but it wasn't my favorite. I predicted who it was as soon as that lady appeared at the very start.
George and Charlotte, though! LOL!

[MelodyPond101]

Julia, taken down a peg? Um... how? She was amazing this episode, with some fabulous lines and a little action scene of her own at the end. If anyone did the 'taking down' this ep, it was her.

Methinks the writer of that article is one of the many Julia-haters. They're overwhelming in their sheer numbers sometimes. I can't believe more people dislike her than Emily. Each to their own, I suppose.

[carco]

Oct 15, 2013 23:37:26 GMT MelodyPond101 said:

Julia, taken down a peg? Um... how? She was amazing this episode, with some fabulous lines and a little action scene of her own at the end. If anyone did the 'taking down' this ep, it was her.

Methinks the writer of that article is one of the many Julia-haters. They're overwhelming in their sheer numbers sometimes. I can't believe more people dislike her than Emily. Each to their own, I suppose.

The more I think about it, it sounds like the writer is mixing up Dr. Grace with Dr. Ogden. ugh! Her comments still miss the mark but make a slight bit more sense in that context. 

[petunia]

Most of the previous MM seasons had a "funny" episode (The Annoying Red Planet, Anything you can do, Blood and Circus, The Kissing Banding, Murdoch au Naturel). The difference with this one was that the other "funny" episodes still managed a decent mystery along with character development. We are all still discussing the true meaning of Miss Minerva's prediction from Blood and Circus. Nobody will be discussing this episode four seasons from now....

We are now in the third season with the "new crew" of writers and I for one am giving up on them. The first four seasons were well crafted and never took any shortcuts. That cannot be said anymore.

[CosmicCavalcade]

^^Harsh but true. I didn't really enjoy rewatching S5 and 6 whereas it's difficult to stop watching S1-4. :/

[murdochic]

The crime and solution weren't very good, that is true. But it was still very funny. I am loving the women getting to be more assertive. Julia is even tougher this series. The kiss scene and Julia's smack down were highlights. I also liked Higgins getting his little moment to shine. They generally play him as a bit of an idiot. Nice to see he is being valued. Though he could have been in more scenes.

This one I appreciated for it's humour and use of characters. But yet again, I had the killer picked out early in the episode. It's getting to be easy to pick out the killer mostly skulking in the background of scenes.

I still dislike S5 for the most part. S6 wasn't bad and this series is entertaining. But the last two seasons haven't been up to the standard of the first four because the crimes aren't thought out enough. Though I do enjoy most of the interpersonal scenes. Other than G/E. They proved yet again that they have chemistry with everyone but each other. They seem more like siblings.

[murdochic]

Oct 15, 2013 23:19:24 GMT carco said:

Here is a link for a TV Guide article about last night's episode: 
www.theloop.ca/showbiz/tv-guide/reviews/article/-/a/2815920/Murdoch-goes-to-the-movies

The writer's comment about Julia confuses me, "......I always love when she’s taken down a peg, but only because she’s always trying so hard to be a proper lady."   Huh? Julia?  I've watched this episode a couple of times now and I still can't think of a scene when she was "taken down a peg". What am I missing?  And the only time I can recall when Julia was maybe, close to working hard at being a proper lady (apart from just having to live in Victorian times), was last season when she was trying to obtain a divorce without dragging William's good name in the mud in the process.

I enjoyed this episode and even more so the 2nd time I watched it, when I'd gotten over the initial surprise of it all being so different from past episodes. Then I relaxed and it was a just lot of fun to sit back and watch the writers, crews, actors, etc. all poke fun at their own industry and lots of inside jokes for sure.

 

I think this writer was watching a different episode. Julia wasn't taken down a peg at all. She was actually made to look even tougher. And she still kept her refinement. I sense this writer has a personal issue with the character and is projecting.

Unless he did mean Emily, because she was taken down a peg.

[carolion]

Oct 15, 2013 23:19:24 GMT carco said:

Here is a link for a TV Guide article about last night's episode: 
www.theloop.ca/showbiz/tv-guide/reviews/article/-/a/2815920/Murdoch-goes-to-the-movies

The writer's comment about Julia confuses me, "......I always love when she’s taken down a peg, but only because she’s always trying so hard to be a proper lady."   Huh? Julia?  I've watched this episode a couple of times now and I still can't think of a scene when she was "taken down a peg". What am I missing?  And the only time I can recall when Julia was maybe, close to working hard at being a proper lady (apart from just having to live in Victorian times), was last season when she was trying to obtain a divorce without dragging William's good name in the mud in the process.

I enjoyed this episode and even more so the 2nd time I watched it, when I'd gotten over the initial surprise of it all being so different from past episodes. Then I relaxed and it was a just lot of fun to sit back and watch the writers, crews, actors, etc. all poke fun at their own industry and lots of inside jokes for sure.
  

  Great review apart from that confusing paragraph. Julia was brilliant in this episode, as always. I loved it when she clothslined  the protagonist at the end, brilliant. 
I have rewatched the episode and though there are some lovely one liners and bits of business, I am still overall disappointed for the reasons i have already stated. 

[barbarama]

Oct 16, 2013 19:33:49 GMT murdochic said:

The crime and solution weren't very good, that is true. But it was still very funny. I am loving the women getting to be more assertive. Julia is even tougher this series. The kiss scene and Julia's smack down were highlights. I also liked Higgins getting his little moment to shine. They generally play him as a bit of an idiot. Nice to see he is being valued. Though he could have been in more scenes.

This one I appreciated for it's humour and use of characters. But yet again, I had the killer picked out early in the episode. It's getting to be easy to pick out the killer mostly skulking in the background of scenes.

I still dislike S5 for the most part. S6 wasn't bad and this series is entertaining. But the last two seasons haven't been up to the standard of the first four because the crimes aren't thought out enough. Though I do enjoy most of the interpersonal scenes. Other than G/E. They proved yet again that they have chemistry with everyone but each other. They seem more like siblings.

I really feel the exact same way as you Murdochic, not only regarding this specific episode but for the rest as well. Although I have to admit that I liked season 6 better than season 4 which although very good had a darker atmosphere that I didn't really care much for.

I took this episode for what it was, an entertaining one where all the characters were in great form and were made fun of. The humor is what got me to MM in the first place because I didn't watch much period or procedural shows before so obviously I like these kind of episodes even though it was lacking in the mystery and romance areas imo.

Finally after 7 seasons it is very hard and would be on any team of writers to maintain the freshness and innovation of the first seasons, it is the same with every series and I think that MM still is able to maintain a really good quality in terms of stories and characters even after all these years.

[barbarama]

I thought for a second this thread had been deleted but it was on the 2nd page silly me :/

Any UK member have something to say about this episode they saw on last Monday (unless all of you have seen it last October like us )

[snacky]

When William confronts Pendrick after walking onto the movie filming on the street, he calls him James! Verrrrry personal!

Also I noticed that right before William's walk with Julia at the end, he gazes at the family teaching the little girl to ride a bicycle. Maybe he is thinking about passing on his own sprocketing skills...?

[lea]

I have never been thrilled with this episode.

1. I saw someone on the forum refer to some of the newer episodes as Murdoch Mysteries Lite and I'd say this one is the epitome of that. Of course a lot of the episode was supposed to be meta and funny but the characters and mystery really took a big hit from it.

2. I really hate that they put Pendrick into the film making business. It's not very science-y. Sure, I may have bought him trying to invent new sound & film technology, and of course something happening to stop his success, but an over the top director? No. I don't get it.

3. An occasion of that sort you would have thought William & Julia would have attended together, even though she was watching the crowd or whatever.

4. Minerva as an actress just doesn't make sense to me either. Her entire character seems out of whack. She goes by another name so perhaps she's completely dissociated with her family and this is what she ended up doing, but it just doesn't seem to fit even then.

5. At least William's view on the industry is on point. He'd be horrified by what it's become today.