Welcome to Mr. Murdoch’s Neighborhood…

…Hope you survive the experience.

Mr. Murdoch’s Neighborhood, this week’s installment of Murdoch Mysteries is another shining example of how much this series has grown in ten seasons. Most shows would be content to sit on their laurels but Peter Mitchell and company strive for excellence every week. Not only was this week’s title a nice warm slice of nostalgia, it was clever and just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the treats the writing team had in store for us.

ONE)  Bloody hell, Murdoch! What’s going on here?  I’m going to deviate slightly here and use tweets to demonstrate my impressions of the MM action as it unfolded. To begin with, here’s how I felt about what was most likely the shortest opening in Murdoch history: Namely, the Murdochs burying what we can only assume is a body in the dead of night…

All right, that was the quickest – and most originating – opener ever…#MurdochMysteries

— The Hook (@TheTerribleHook) February 7, 2017

You’ll excuse my typo, won’t you?

TWO)  The closest we’re ever going to get to a MM/CSI crossover.  The forensics day camp premise was brilliant; it gave us the triple threat of Jackson, Crabtree and Higgins combined with Miss James, two new female med students and William and Julia – all for the price of one. 

The banter and hi-jinks (mostly courtesy of the incomparable Lachlan Murdoch) were as razor-sharp and entertaining as ever, but Julia’s “Uh-oh, that’s not my corpse!” moment wasn’t exactly a shocker – this is Murdoch Mysteries, after all – but it was pure genius nonetheless. And when more bodies turned up? Well, only one thing came to mind:

This is why you always use a Realtor, William…#MurdochMysteries

— The Hook (@TheTerribleHook) February 7, 2017

For the record, my wife loved this one – and considering she’s my toughest critic, I consider this a milestone.

THREE)  The turn-of-the-century welcome wagon leaves something to be to desired, to say the least.  Meeting the “Deliverance twins” was interesting, as they appeared to be the killers. But then that seemed too obvious, so you were sure they weren’t. But then the looked too darn shady to be innocent.

It was a wild ride – and the ride was only beginning.

FOUR)  Slugger hits a home run!  Nothing woos a lady like a widower pouring out his soul. I’m certain Jackson was genuine as he discussed his deceased bride (that sure came out of left field, didn’t it?) but you could practically see his new lady friend foaming at the mouth.

Good for Augustus “Gus” “Slugger” Jackson. (Man, that’s a mouthful, isn’t it? Good thing they didn’t have driver’s licenses back then.)

FIVE)  Is George’s Cherry turning sour?  Don’t get me wrong, I like Bea Santos’ Louise Cherry, but she appears to be setting poor Crabtree up for a fall. And was I the only one who wondered why Samuel Bloom wasn’t a little perturbed by the presence of Miss Cherry? After all, it wasn’t that long ago Crabtree was dating Sam’s sister, Nina.

Still, we’ll have to see if George allows his new gal pal to drive a wedge between him and his business partner. Personally, I’m tired of Crabtree’s roller coaster love life, but you can’t look away…

SIX)  Three Murdochs for the price of one!  Lachlan Murdoch tweeted this message to fans prior to broadcast:

Tonight on @CBCMurdoch it'll be extra Murdochian! My father Laurie Murdoch appears for the second time. So much Murdoch! …#Murdoch

— Lachlan Murdoch (@lachmeup) February 6, 2017

So we really lucked out this week, gang…

SEVEN)  More Wattage.  Daniel Maslany’s Detective Watts continues to peel back the layers surrounding the ultimate fate of Toronto’s missing women. Sadly, the slow burning storyline is starting to test my patience, but only because I could watch an entire hour devoted to Maslany’s performance.

EIGHT)  Hélène Joy‘s accidental accent.  This is a deeply personal observation, but I love it when Ms. Joy’s Australian accent appears, as it did at the beginning of this ep. She rocked this installment, nonetheless; the “slip-up” just makes me love her even more.

NINE)  The behind-the-scenes mastery.  This ep was directed by the brilliant Jill Carter, the gruesome – but awesome – special effects make-up was top notch, and of course, Prop Monkey and his team were firing on all cylinders as usual. In fact, the Monkey gave us a glimpse at how Mother Nature can impact production if she feels like it:

Remember that rain storm on Sept 29, 2016. Tonight's episode was filmed during that. @CBCMurdoch #MurdochMysteries pic.twitter.com/g0HCa9sJLt

— Prop Monkey (@MonkeyLairLabs) February 7, 2017

TEN)  A brilliant wrap-up to an even more brilliant episode.  I have to admit, I was genuinely lost by the time William closed the case. Peter Mitchell and Company gave us so many twists and turns, I really didn’t know who put the nefarious family six feet under.

And then when the Murdoch’s neighbors gathered, angrily clutching farm utensils? Well, I was wincing! Poor William and Julia. To top it off, the near-catatonic mother starting growling at William!

Brilliant.

And then… Ole Slugger got laid! (Though to be fair, we all saw that coming didn’t we? Then again, so did she.)

And then William and Julia got frisky in the tent!

Brilliant again.

All right, this ep wiped me out; I’ll see you next week when we finally get Brackenreid back. (I hope.) And apparently, the fountain of youth, courtesy of James Pendrick. (You just know this endeavor will fall apart too, right?)

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

Here’s one more behind-the-scenes pic, courtesy of Prop Monkey again.

A few corpses. Most curtesy of David Scott. Steve curtesy of his life coach #MurdochMysteries @CBCMurdoch pic.twitter.com/cOM4cQKN1n

— Prop Monkey (@MonkeyLairLabs) February 7, 2017