7.6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Mystery | 100% |
Period | 54% |
Crime | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English
Blu-ray Disc
Four-disc set (4 BDs)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Though they’re closer to us geographically speaking, some may feel that Canadians may resemble their British cousins across the pond
considerably more strongely than they do
we Americans, with regard to being reserved, polite and generally well behaved. What’s so odd about that thesis, at least in terms of a generally
"proper" populace, is that murder mysteries have long
been a staple of British literature and of course films and television outings courtesy of such redolent characters as Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot and/or Miss Marple. And in that regard, the reserved,
polite and generally well behaved Canadians have their own expert sleuth who is often tasked with solving some pretty grisly killings, a Toronto
detective named William Murdoch (portrayed by Yannick
Bisson in the series), who was the creation of
novelist Maureen Jennings. Murdoch Mysteries has been a long running series in Canada and across various cable channels, and it offers
a fun blend of kinda fact (courtesy of its historical milieu and various supposedly real life characters who waft in and out of various episodes) and
outright fiction (in terms of some of its more outlandish and even whimsical elements). The mysteries here may not always reach the giddy
heights
of some of Christie’s best work, but they’re frequently well constructed, and the show continues to be very handsomely produced now well into its
second decade.
For reviews of the previous seasons of Murdoch Mysteries, please click on the following links:
Murdoch Mysteries: Season 1 Blu-ray
review
Murdoch Mysteries: Season 2 Blu-ray
review
Murdoch Mysteries: Season 3 Blu-ray
review
Murdoch Mysteries: Season 4 Blu-ray
review
Murdoch Mysteries: Season 5 Blu-ray
review
Murdoch Mysteries: Season 6 Blu-ray
review
Murdoch Mysteries: Season 7 Blu-ray
review
Murdoch Mysteries: Season 8 Blu-ray
review
Murdoch Mysteries: Season 9 Blu-ray
review
Murdoch Mysteries: Season 10 Blu-ray
review
Additionally, we have listings for both Murdoch
Mysteries: Season 11 and Murdoch
Mysteries: Season 12 which as of the writing of this review have not yet received official reviews.
Murdoch Mysteries: Season 13 is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Acorn Media and RLJ Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. My colleague Michael Reuben has mentioned Arri Alexas as having digitally captured previous seasons, and while I was able to see only Season Six technical data listed on IMDb, I'm assuming that things continued apace for this season. This is an often strikingly sharp and well detailed presentation, especially impressive in terms of some of the finely patterned costumes that both women and men wear. Things like fabrics or even some of the props have palpable seeming textures which typically resolve very well. I found the palette a little underwhelming, frankly. It is never unnatural looking, but it just doesn't look very vividly suffused, which may have been a stylistic choice. A few passing moments of CGI can look soft in comparison to the bulk of the presentation.
Murdoch Mysteries: Season 13 features an intermittently immersive DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that nonetheless sports excellent fidelity even if it doesn't consistently engage the surrounds. Score frequently does waft into the side and rear channels (the series' theme kind of reminded me of the bass line to Henry Mancini's inimitable "Baby Elephant Walk" from Hatari! combined with an overall ambience somewhat like the theme to The X-Files. Some episodes, like one featuring our heroes out on a camping expedition gone awry, do offer nice placement of ambient environmental effects. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout all episodes.
Unlike some previous releases of this series on Blu-ray which had some relatively bounteous bonus features, this thirteenth season offers only one lone supplement which can be found on Disc Four of the four disc set:
I'm coming to my reviewing duties of Murdoch Mysteries "cold", so to speak, with all the previous reviews here having been done either by Michael (as mentioned above) or Casey Broadwater. I have watched individual episodes of this series at various times through the years (decades?), and it was fun to reacquaint myself with these characters, though even after not having really religiously followed the series, I still felt like I was seeing some elements in this season that I had seen before. Technical merits are solid, though supplemental features are a little slim this time. Recommended.
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