Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Murdoch Mysteries: Season 8 Blu-ray Movie Review

Together At Last?

Reviewed by Michael Reuben August 14, 2015

Spoiler alert: This review assumes that the reader is familiar with all previous seasons of Murdoch Mysteries. Readers new to the series should stop here and consult the Season 1 review for a spoiler-free introduction.

Murdoch Mysteries reached its one hundredth episode in Season Eight. It celebrated the occasion by finally allowing the long-delayed marriage of Det. William Murdoch and Dr. Julia Ogden to occur without obstacles, though not without interruption. Given the previous season's cliffhanger, with the announcement of the couple's engagement overshadowed by a potentially fatal attack on Murdoch's boss and a fade to black amidst panicked cries for help, fans might have stormed the offices of Shaftesbury Films in protest if Murdoch's creators had postponed the nuptials yet again. After Murdoch's many hesitations in speaking his heart, Julia's mistake in marrying the wrong man, his refusal to grant her a divorce, her wrongful conviction (and last-minute exoneration) for his murder and Murdoch's repeated rescues of Julia from certain death at the hands of arch-nemesis James Gillies—seriously, how many more near-misses could the show's loyal followers be expected to endure?

Season Eight continued the expanded, eighteen-episode format first adopted the previous year, and the series' creative invention shows no sign of exhaustion. History remains a constant source of inspiration, as Murdoch marches forward into the 20th Century, exploring territory beyond anything the character's creator, novelist Maureen Jennings, originally anticipated. Jennings, who remains a consultant to the series, penned one of the season's most intriguing episodes, which reveals how Murdoch was first introduced to detective work as a child.

It takes a two-part episode to address the cliffhanger that ended Season Seven, which left Station House 4's gruff Inspector Brackenreid (Thomas Harris) beaten and unconscious outside his own headquarters. The culprits are a gang led by Mick and Tim O'Shea (Jonathan Llyr and Nick Nolan) that controls the waterfront, but as Murdoch (Yannick Bison) and Constable George Crabtree (Jonny Harris) pressure everyone in sight, they are stonewalled by merchants and laborers too terrified to speak. That the Inspector survived is not a spoiler, but he is no longer the same man, and Station House 4 has been re-assigned to Inspector Hamish Slorach (Patrick McKenna), who is nowhere near Brackenreid's equal as either a cop or a leader. As the situation on the docks deteriorates, a violent melee erupts between the constabulary and the forces of the O'Sheas, sending many on both sides to the hospital. It's a crisis that finally rouses Brackenreid from convalescence and ultimately leads to a break-up of the criminal organization controlling the waterfront.

Episode 4 sees Murdoch and Dr. Odgen (Hélène Joy) reach the altar, but not before issues arise concerning Murdoch's Catholic faith, which Julia does not share. Even as the couple stand before the altar reciting their vows, they cannot resist doing the very thing that first brought them together: discussing a case, one with a certain urgency, because the bride and groom have just realized that the perpetrator of a crime is about to leave town. After ensuring that justice prevails, the newlyweds depart for New York City, where, as luck would have it, they spend part of their honeymoon averting yet another crime (Episode 5, "Murdoch Takes Manhattan").

As usual, Murdoch's writers find ingenious ways to weave real historical figures into their stories. Former lawman Bat Masterson (Steven Ogg), now a sports reporter, appears in Toronto claiming to be on the trail of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (Episode 3, "Glory Days"). President Theodore Roosevelt (Marty Moreau) passes through New York while Murdoch and Julia are honeymooning. Thomas Edison (David Storch) and his estranged son, Thomas Edison, Jr. (Scott Beaudin), air their family conflicts in Station House 4, after a business associate is found electrocuted in a Toronto hotel (Episode 8, "High Voltage"). A young American comic named W.C. Fields becomes a suspect when a local vaudeville headliner is murdered (Episode 9, "The Keystone Constables").

"Shipwreck" (Episode 15), was written by Maureen Jennings, author of the original Murdoch novels, and it explores William Murdoch's past in more depth than any previous episode. When Murdoch investigates a murder at a local Catholic church, he encounters a figure from his childhood, a visiting priest named Father Keegan, whom Murdoch once served as an altar boy and who, with a young Murdoch at his side (child actor John Paul Ruttan), had to determine whether or not a death was accidental. Moments from that defining experience play in Murdoch's memory throughout the investigation. In a clever feat of casting, Father Keegan is portrayed by Peter Outerbridge, who originated the role of Murdoch in the TV movies that inspired the series. (Acorn Media has released them on DVD.)

Familiar faces from previous seasons reappear, including Murdoch's old adversary, Chief Constable Giles (Nigel Bennett), who becomes a witness when renovations to Station House 4 reveal a corpse buried beneath a concrete floor laid during Giles's time there as a detective (Episode 7, "What Lies Buried"). Dr. Ogden encounters a bevy of female perpetrators from previous cases—including Rose Maxwell (Emma Campbell), the demented killer from Season Seven's "cabin in the woods" episode—when an attending nurse is murdered in the disturbed ward of an asylum where Julia is on staff (Episode 13, "The Incurables").

Murdoch's creative team continues to exploit their nation's history for story ideas. A season-long arc traces the early development of the women's suffrage movement, in which Toronto was a leading battlefront. Both Dr. Ogden and her successor as coroner, Dr. Emily Grace (Georgina Reilly), are immediately drawn to the movement, which coalesces around the candidacy of activist Margaret Haile (Nicole Underhay) for the Legislative Assembly. Although women cannot vote, there is no legal prohibition against their standing as candidates—a point confirmed by Clara Brett Martin (Patricia Fagin), the first female lawyer both in Canada and in the entire British Empire. Margaret Haile and Clara Brett Martin are real historical figures, and Haile did run in the 1902 election depicted in Episode 17, "Election Day". The intricate (and largely fictionalized) maneuvers surrounding that event weave throughout the lives of Murdoch's characters, including a case of a murder at a corset factory being picketed by the suffragettes (Episode 12, "The Devil Wears Whalebone"). As a single professional woman, Dr. Grace plays a pivotal role in these efforts, through her friendship with activist Lillian Moss (Sara Mitich), who becomes increasingly radicalized during the season.

Aside from the marriage of Murdoch and Dr. Ogden, the most substantial shift among the regular characters concerns Constable Crabtree, who, for seven seasons, has served primarily as the show's comic relief. In Season Eight, Crabtree gradually hands off that function to his frequent partner, Constable Henry Higgins (Lachlan Murdoch), while his own life takes a more serious turn with the appearance of an old flame, Edna Brooks (Tamara Hope). Now a widow with a young son named Simon (Percy Hynes White), whom Crabtree rescues from a life of petty crime, Edna is initially cautious in her friendship with George, but the pair gradually recognize in each other a kindred spirit. As if to confirm that Crabtree's life is finally moving in the right direction, word arrives of an open spot for a detective in a neighboring station house, for which Crabtree has been recommended. Murdoch could not be prouder of his long-time assistant.

But then, in the final episodes, shocking developments sweep through Murdoch Mysteries, upending the lives of the characters and changing everything. Further surprises are promised when the show returns this fall for Season Nine. Meanwhile, several fates hang in the balance.

Murdoch Mysteries: Season 8 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Murdoch Mysteries' regular cinematographer, Jim Jeffreys, shot the whole of Season Eight. Judging from both past history and the behind-the-scenes footage, the series continues to be photographed on the Arri Alexa, and the photographic style and Blu-ray image are comparable to previous seasons—with one major change. Unfortunately, the change is not for the better.

The eighteen episodes of Season Seven, plus extras, were spread over five BD-50 Blu-ray discs (four episodes on each of discs 1 through 3, three episodes on each of discs 4 and 5). In an apparent effort at cost-saving, Acorn Media has placed roughly the same amount of material for Season Eight on four discs (five episodes on discs 1 and 2; four episodes on discs 3 and 4). In theory, at least, there is no reason why this tighter packing should not yield a perfectly acceptable image, since five episodes of Murdoch amounts to about three and a half hours. But Acorn has made some bizarre mastering choices. I knew I wasn't imagining the problem when my wife, who is a huge Murdoch fan but has little interest in technical minutia, asked me why these episodes looked less detailed than those from previous seasons.

The ten episodes on discs 1 and 2 have been compressed to about half the size of those on discs 3 and 4 (about 4 GB vs. 8 GB), the latter being the typical size used in Acorn's previous sets of Murdoch. As a result, the average bitrate for the first ten episodes is approximately 12.60 Mbps, whereas a typical episode has averaged, until now, around 21 Mbps. While digitally acquired material compresses efficiently, at a certain point compression artifacts are inevitable, and the first ten episodes of Season Eight exhibit them almost constantly, though not in the usual manner. Rather than the typical macro-blocking or pixelization familiar from the DVD era, these artifacts present themselves as minute instabilities in areas of the frame that should otherwise be solid and stable. The result is a kind of subtle digital "noise" that obscures fine detail and might even be overlooked, if one were not already familiar with the visual quality of previous seasons of Murdoch Mysteries. The larger the screen (and the closer one sits), the more obvious the difference. The quality of the last eight episodes is comparable to earlier sets.

What is particularly frustrating is that there was no need to compress the episodes to such a small size. The disc image for discs 1 and 2 is just under 30 GB, which means that ample space remained for episodes 1-10 to be mastered at or near the same size as episodes 11-18. The degree of compression may have been dictated by automatic settings, but that is lazy behavior for a company that prides itself on delivering a premium product and charges a premium price accordingly.

Season Eight will be the first set of Murdoch Mysteries I have reviewed that is not eligible for my year-end top ten list. The show itself has not dropped in quality, but Acorn's presentation, while watchable, is not up to their usual standards. In this case, one cannot blame the master tapes supplied by Shaftesbury. This is strictly a matter of Blu-ray authoring, and whoever supervises the compression and authoring facility should demand better work on Season Nine.

Murdoch Mysteries: Season 8 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The news is somewhat better on the audio front. Season Eight of Murdoch Mysteries is the first to be released with a 5.1 track, encoded on Blu-ray in lossless DTS-HD MA. The discrete format provides tighter definition and improved clarity across the front soundstage, but Murdoch's sound team does not yet appear to have fully adjusted to the availability of separate rear channels. They are used sparingly, if at all, even in an episode like "Murdoch and the Temple of Death" (Episode 10), where the visuals cry out for showy sound effects. Perhaps we'll see bolder sonic experiments in future seasons.

Murdoch Mysteries: Season 8 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Each episode of Season Eight is accompanied by an entry in the series called "Making Murdoch", which is tailored to the particulars of the episode. "Making Murdoch" typically includes interviews with the episode's writer and director, one or more actors and usually the curator or PR representative of a historical site or location used for filming. Behind-the-scenes and on-location footage is common. Every entry in "Making Murdoch" provides valuable insight into an episode's origin or historical context, not to mention a useful checklist for a sightseeing tour of Ontario. A full listing is provided below, with times and disc numbers:

• Making Murdoch (1080p; 1.78:1)
• Disc 1
• 1. On the Waterfront: Part One (6:58)
• 2. On the Waterfront: Part Two (6:30)
• 3. Glory Days (5:58)
• 4. Holy Matrimony, Murdoch! (7:11)
• 5. Murdoch Takes Manhattan (6:56)
• Disc 2
• 6. The Murdoch Appreciation Society (6:21)
• 7. What Lies Buried (6:31)
• 8. High Voltage (6:07)
• 9. The Keystone Constables (6:27)
• 10. Murdoch and the Temple of Death (6:34)
• Disc 3
• 11. All That Glitters (6:31)
• 12. The Devil Wears Whalebone (6:25)
• 13. The Incurables (6:27)
• 14. Toronto's Girl Problem (7:38)
• Disc 4
• 15. Shipwreck (7:11)
• 16. CrabtreeMania (6:52)
• 17. Election Day (6:12)
• 18. Artful Detective (6:35)
• Celebrating 100 Episodes (8:24)



• Behind-the-Scenes Photo Gallery (disc 4) (1080p; various; 1:13): A slide show of stills.



• Additional Trailers: At startup, disc 1 plays trailers for Acorn Media, Murdoch Mysteries: The Movies and Still Life: A Three Pines Mystery, which can be skipped with the chapter forward button and are not otherwise available once the disc loads. Discs 2-4 have no additional trailers.

Murdoch Mysteries: Season 8 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

In writing, production values, cast and performance, Murdoch Mysteries remains as vital as ever, and it is sustained by a loyal fan base that, as reflected in "Making Murdoch", follows the production around Ontario as it moves from one location to another. Season Eight even contains a winking tribute to the fans in Episode 6, "The Murdoch Appreciation Society". Acorn Media's Blu-ray set drops down a notch from their previous excellence, but it's still a worthy addition to any fan's library. Recommended, with the caveat that Acorn can (and should) provide better video quality on its next outing.