Mrs. R and I have been watching the Murdoch Mysteries series, about a police detective in turn-of-the-century Toronto.
We’ve been enjoying them a lot. The setting is nicely realized, and the supporting characters (eager Constable Crabtree and irascible Chief Inspector Brackenreid) are well-played. The female lead, Doctor Julia Ogden, the pathologist, is a charming nerd.
The lead actor, Yannick Bisson, who of course plays Detective William Murdoch, was a bit of a stiff in the first couple episodes, but now he’s more comfortable in the role; and to be fair, the character, an inhibited, workaholic Roman Catholic, is a bit of a stiff, too. His very very very slow-developing romance with Doctor Ogden is a delight to watch.
The show has a certain subtle wit, too, which I enjoy.
And there are interesting guests: Conan Doyle, Tesla, a man who may be Jack the Ripper, a pair of dinosaur hunters perhaps modelled on Cope and Marsh, a proto-zeppelin, Roentgen’s rays…
I got so enthusiastic that I bought all three seasons, and am rationing them so as to prolong the pleasure. And I hear there’s a fourth season on the way! Hurrah!