5×5 With The Hook: Peter Mitchell Of Murdoch Mysteries.

Season Ten of Murdoch Mysteries is almost upon us so it’s time for a Murdoch Monday 5×5, friends.

Peter Mitchell is literally the man with the plan.

As the showrunner/executive producer for one of television’s greatest dramas of all time (set in any time period), Murdoch Mysteries, Peter is the puppet master, the captain, the guiding light that brings the cast and crew through the darkness that lies between script-readings and first airing. He’s also one of the nicest devils to ever helm a turn-of-the-century detective whose skills are ahead of their time – and whose name is William.

Hey, there’s more of those than you’d think…

Peter (far left, obviously) and his peeps.

Peter’s responsible for scribe duties on dozens of MM episodes as well as being the captain of the “Mystery Ship”. (And yes, I said “duties”. Grow up.) In addition, Pete has done pretty much everything one can do in the television industry short of hiding the bodies of interns mysteriously mauled in the execution of their duties. (Yes, he likes to be called Pete. Shut up again.)

And I can neither confirm nor deny whether interns actually disappear under mysterious circumstances in the television industry. But one can only hope, right? My point is, Peter can be a one-man-television-producing-show if necessary.

The vast majority of my readership – all ten of you – know just how much Murdoch Mysteries means to me and my family. It’s not just a TV show; it was a lifeline to my late father-in-law as he battled emphysema and it still brings us together as a family. How many family units can say they have the same taste in television programs, never mind being able to spend sixty minutes together in front of the screen without exploding into violence?

Peter Mitchell has a lot to do with that and so my clan will be forever in his debt. Of course, being the humble, understated man he is, Pete would say he has some help each week (some guy named Yannick, among others) but at the end of the day, the weight of MM’s world rests on Peter Mitchell’s shoulders and he makes that weight look light as a feather.

And he’s also one of the funniest sentient beings with opposable thumbs on Twitter. When you ignore my own contributions, of course.

Peter is apparently quite the taskmaster too…

“I swear I’ll take direction better next time, Peter… can I go home now?”

All right, let’s get right to the point, shall we? I asked five queries and Peter, in spite of his ridiculously-busy schedule, graciously answered, so here we go…

ONE)  The Canadian television industry is under fire from multiple sources these days (an innumerable number of platforms, the CRTC’s disturbing lapses in judgement, government interference and cuts) but you’ve been in the business awhile; what’s the most positive change you’ve seen in the biz so far?

I’d say the two most positive things in the business is the awareness Canadians have about Canadian shows. The second is the proficiency and quality of work the crews can do.

TWO)  If you could be any form of aquatic life (from real like a piranha to fictional like Nemo) what would you be and why?

A jellyfish, you float around and food comes to you and you can kill your enemies without moving.

(Personally, I think Peter’s a genius.)

THREE)  Murdoch Mysteries has covered a lot of ground in ten seasons; are there any mountains you’d still like to conquer with the show?

New mountains appear with each horizon we cross.

(I’ll say it for you… awesome!)

FOUR)  If you actually could spend twenty-four hours in turn-of-the-century Toronto, what would you do?

Pretty much what I do now, laugh, eat, drink, repeat.

(I guess I deserve that one, don’t I?)

FIVE)  Would you be interested in solving a real-life classic mystery or is that just your day job?

Just my day job. My real life is a procedural.

(Honest and to the point. I’ll take it.)

I don’t know about you, folks, but this has been one of my favorite 5×5 interviews of all time. Then again, I’m a ginormous Murdoch fan so I’ll admit some bias. Many thanks to today’s guest and of course, all of you for taking time out of your lives – and YouTube cat shaming videos – to be here.

See you in the lobby – and on the CBC – kids…