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Post by Lucy on Feb 3, 2010 13:21:04 GMT
 Murdoch, Brackenreid and Station House Four are dreaming up ways to win the upcoming police games when they are called to Station Five's district – Constable Cooper has been murdered and their Detective is ill. The constabulary is in uproar. Who would want Felix Cooper, a decorated police officer and respected member of the force, dead? But as Murdoch investigates, he finds the constables of Station Five single minded about who committed the murder – an older member of the Chinese Community, Fong Choy. Murdoch's investigations tell him the murder had something to do with Fong Choy's granddaughter Mei-Li but she is nowhere to be found and Fong Choy won't talk. |
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Post by kengivens on May 14, 2014 19:18:58 GMT
What was the meaning of the reference to Winnipeg to Murdoch at the end of this episode? I suspect a Canadian May "get it" but this Yank is in the dark.
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Post by wildhorseannie on May 19, 2014 1:19:00 GMT
This is coming from an American, so I'm not sure it's the right answer to your question, but I took it simply to mean that because Murdoch now had a reputation for being able to investigate his fellow officers that he may wish to relocate. However, he realized that this would only be running from his problems, which is never a wise thing to do. Hope I was able to voice my thoughts correctly in this issue. And hope it helped you, kengivens. On an different "Great Wall" note, did anyone else want to see more of the Police Games?  |
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Post by snacky on May 19, 2014 2:03:54 GMT
This is coming from an American, so I'm not sure it's the right answer to your question, but I took it simply to mean that because Murdoch now had a reputation for being able to investigate his fellow officers that he may wish to relocate. However, he realized that this would only be running from his problems, which is never a wise thing to do. Hope I was able to voice my thoughts correctly in this issue. And hope it helped you, kengivens. On an different "Great Wall" note, did anyone else want to see more of the Police Games? I want to see more of the Police Games! I also really liked this element of William's character development: the tension between his personal integrity and his desire to fit in with his fellow police "family". This conflict was extremely moving, and I wish the ramifications had carried over into future episodes. Even if William was "right", he probably would have been widely distrusted and regarded as a sort of "narc" or "internal affairs" type from then on. He might have had to face personal insults or professional sabotage over it: incidents too petty for Brackenreid to be able to protect him from, but that could eventually add up to "death from a thousand cuts". That ship has sailed now, but perhaps the writers will take another go at it and this time recognize that it's tragic character development gold, and they shouldn't just wrap it up at the end of an ep. |
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Post by wildhorseannie on May 19, 2014 2:40:02 GMT
I was hoping there would be some "behind the scenes" showing more of the Games, but alas :/
I think that that particular part of William's development was able to happen because of the interaction between station houses. It showed how unique and cutting edge his methods were in his own time. But I think the camaraderie of the Games and George's little inspirational speech helped to rally the Station House No. 4 men around Murdoch as one of their own. Granted, I think the ramifications of Murdoch's actions would have been greater than the show let on, but I also think that he was somewhat "insulated" by the goodwill of the men he worked with everyday.
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Post by snacky on May 19, 2014 2:53:52 GMT
I was hoping there would be some "behind the scenes" showing more of the Games, but alas :/ I think that that particular part of William's development was able to happen because of the interaction between station houses. It showed how unique and cutting edge his methods were in his own time. But I think the camaraderie of the Games and George's little inspirational speech helped to rally the Station House No. 4 men around Murdoch as one of their own. Granted, I think the ramifications of Murdoch's actions would have been greater than the show let on, but I also think that he was somewhat "insulated" by the goodwill of the men he worked with everyday. The interesting thing is that incident may have upgraded his good will at the station. In the early seasons there are little clues from time to time that Willliam isn't exactly a popular guy there, and Brackenreid is not really on board with his methods yet. I really liked that he had a fight on his hands to be understood. George, however, has always come across as being loyal. I wonder why? Did they know each other when William was a constable? I'm very curious about what William was like as a constable. (And as a logger for that matter). He certainly didn't make any friends when he testified his boss beat a confession out of a witness and let a murderer get off the hook. (I think that's in a future episode for you, but I don't think it will spoil anything about that episode). Also - around the episodes where you are now - William comes to some sort of reconciliation between totally dedicating his life to a pursuit of justice and cultivating a personal life. Sadly, that realization comes a little too late. XD The thing is, it wasn't clear to me that this was a big problem for him before the writers made it a big problem for him in Tattered and Torn. I thought his bigger conflict was between his way of doing things and the "old school" ways of doing things. If he had any problem with his personal life, it seemed like he was just awkward around women. |
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Post by wildhorseannie on May 19, 2014 3:54:27 GMT
I am coming to the close of Season Four..."Voices" is latest one I've seen (which needs a whole thread in itself to discuss its indications of his personal life). But it's so interesting that you would bring up William's past, because my dad (my only Murdoch convert so far) and I were just discussing it! We wondered if he was a constable at Station House No. 4 or elsewhere. We agreed it had to be somewhere else, because otherwise he would have already known the previous detective (darn, I forgot his name). We also agreed that William appears to have trouble relating to those around him - another sign of Asperger's if anyone was wondering. A curious idea if George knew him then. It would be true to George's nature to befriend an awkward young man on the force, and then to remain loyal through that man's rise to the top. We are also going back through Season 1 (nothing else to do while waiting on Netflix  ). Tonight we watched "Elementary, My Dear Murdoch." I found William's attitude about Liza interesting. I would have thought that William would have either loved her so passionately that her death absolutely destroyed him, or that he would have bottled up his emotions so much that they eventually break him down. I think that the latter is what the writer's had in mind, except that this episode kind of ruined that a little. Not sure if I conveyed that the way I'd hoped, so I hope it makes some sense, lol. |
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Post by snacky on May 19, 2014 4:14:52 GMT
I am coming to the close of Season Four..."Voices" is latest one I've seen (which needs a whole thread in itself to discuss its indications of his personal life). But it's so interesting that you would bring up William's past, because my dad (my only Murdoch convert so far) and I were just discussing it! We wondered if he was a constable at Station House No. 4 or elsewhere. We agreed it had to be somewhere else, because otherwise he would have already known the previous detective (darn, I forgot his name). We also agreed that William appears to have trouble relating to those around him - another sign of Asperger's if anyone was wondering. A curious idea if George knew him then. It would be true to George's nature to befriend an awkward young man on the force, and then to remain loyal through that man's rise to the top. We are also going back through Season 1 (nothing else to do while waiting on Netflix ). Tonight we watched "Elementary, My Dear Murdoch." I found William's attitude about Liza interesting. I would have thought that William would have either loved her so passionately that her death absolutely destroyed him, or that he would have bottled up his emotions so much that they eventually break him down. I think that the latter is what the writer's had in mind, except that this episode kind of ruined that a little. Not sure if I conveyed that the way I'd hoped, so I hope it makes some sense, lol. I think it did have to be somewhere else because he didn't know that guy that was in Tattered and Torn. That makes me wonder where William was, whether Brackenreid hired him away, and whether he left on bad terms. You never see him have visitors from another station house. You're right about George - he's "recommended" several people into police jobs: but if he helped William that way, I don't think William knows it. That might make a good topic for the "memories" episode that carco wants. Regarding Aspergers: in another post I was speculating on low dopamine conditions. Some neurological disorders are also strongly associated with "social anxiety disorder": which I think might be better considered as "social apprehension disorder" - people who get worn out by dealing with the logical consequences of social consequences, especially when complicated by a variety of perspectives. Anyway, I thought that was actually a better fit for William. Watch and see if he has a tremor. (might make it hard for him to deal with those tiny gears, though.  ) In regard to Liza: I wonder where William met her, how he approached her, and how he even managed to propose to her when he practically had to be forklifted into asking Julia out on a date. |
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Post by wildhorseannie on May 19, 2014 15:08:53 GMT
William may not be fully aware of George's contributions to his career (especially as continues to take advantage of him throughout the series) but I think there's at least a little recognition there. Now that I'm thinking about this, I wonder if William brought George with him from whatever Station House he started at.
The issue of Liza always intrigued me. I think you're definitely on the right track about how hard it must have been for him to get to know her and to propose. Which is exactly why I thought her death would have affected him a lot more than what they portrayed. It's like after the first season, they just forgot about her. :/
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Post by snacky on May 20, 2014 1:57:35 GMT
William may not be fully aware of George's contributions to his career (especially as continues to take advantage of him throughout the series) but I think there's at least a little recognition there. Now that I'm thinking about this, I wonder if William brought George with him from whatever Station House he started at. The issue of Liza always intrigued me. I think you're definitely on the right track about how hard it must have been for him to get to know her and to propose. Which is exactly why I thought her death would have affected him a lot more than what they portrayed. It's like after the first season, they just forgot about her. :/ haha, the limit was when William made George dig when he himself totally didn't have anything better to do. Poor George. But it's better that William is not a total goody two shoes. I also wonder what happened to that horse locket William had in his pocket. Is William still carrying it? Liza was mentioned in one of the MM books I was able to read, but both he and she are different characters there. She was kind of a Catholic Red Emma who probably took charge of proposing. William, who was hiding books on sex in the closet, probably just sweated a lot and nodded. |
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Post by wildhorseannie on May 20, 2014 2:52:06 GMT
Haha, yes! I don't know how well "Caltrans" jokes translate outside of California, but that what a classic example! (Basically a bunch of guys standing around while one does all the work). I've wondered about the horse necklace too. I also wonder how the medium Ms. Pensall found out about it...coming from the mindset that she got her information from her snitch. And does William not have any photos of Liza? How said not to be able to see your loved one's face after they pass. |
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Post by snacky on May 20, 2014 4:30:43 GMT
Haha, yes! I don't know how well "Caltrans" jokes translate outside of California, but that what a classic example! (Basically a bunch of guys standing around while one does all the work). I've wondered about the horse necklace too. I also wonder how the medium Ms. Pensall found out about it...coming from the mindset that she got her information from her snitch. And does William not have any photos of Liza? How said not to be able to see your loved one's face after they pass. lol Caltrans (I get it!)  It's good when people take advantage of George, though...because later it's all the sweeter when he stands up for himself. When he does get into the interrogation room, he kicks ass. I don't know why he doesn't get in there more often. I found William's advice about interrogating interesting: presume they are guilty - it's up to the person being interrogated to prove they are innocent. Precisely the opposite of what it is in the U.S. O.o Regarding Liza - good thing William has a photographic memory. He probably has a photograph, as well. But another thing I've been wondering: how common were photographs? They were probably very expensive back then. I think Ms. Pensell actually saw Liza and the necklace in her vision, just as she saw William's "death" in that grim reaper episode. I think she saw exactly what William saw. One reason I like (the TV) Liza is she is pretty but unusual looking. It makes me appreciate William as a character and Murdoch Mysteries as a show more when the women don't all look like super models. |
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Post by wildhorseannie on May 23, 2014 1:28:02 GMT
There are definitely a lot of "normal" looking people on the show; like you said, snacky, not everyone is a supermodel in real life and I think MM does a great job of "keeping it real."
As far as having a photo of Liza, I used to think photography at the turn of the century was less common, until I started watching Murdoch! It seems like they are always snapping pictures! Especially at crime scenes...I wonder when crime scene photos actually became common practice?
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Post by snacky on May 23, 2014 1:41:53 GMT
There are definitely a lot of "normal" looking people on the show; like you said, snacky, not everyone is a supermodel in real life and I think MM does a great job of "keeping it real." As far as having a photo of Liza, I used to think photography at the turn of the century was less common, until I started watching Murdoch! It seems like they are always snapping pictures! Especially at crime scenes...I wonder when crime scene photos actually became common practice? I think during Murdoch on the Corner some reference was made to limits pertaining to the cost of film. It's possible police officers had more access to photographs just because of their jobs. But I would be surprised if they were common possessions of average people. Behold, a Wikipedia article: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_forensic_photography |
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Post by wildhorseannie on May 23, 2014 3:36:10 GMT
Oh, Wikipedia, you always have my back! Looking purely at the article, it sounds like crime scene photography was developed much later than the mug shot (which Murdoch often puts to good use as well). Looks like I'll be checking out a book on the history of photography on my trip to the library tomorrow!
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). Tonight we watched "Elementary, My Dear Murdoch." I found William's attitude about Liza interesting. I would have thought that William would have either loved her so passionately that her death absolutely destroyed him, or that he would have bottled up his emotions so much that they eventually break him down. I think that the latter is what the writer's had in mind, except that this episode kind of ruined that a little. 
)