William Henry Murdoch | |
---|---|
Murdoch Mysteries character | |
First appearance | Except The Dying |
Created by | Maureen Jennings |
Portrayed by |
Peter Outerbridge (TV movies) Yannick Bisson (TV series) |
Information | |
Gender | Male |
Occupation | Police Officer |
Title | Detective |
Spouse(s) | Dr. Julia Ogden |
Relatives |
Harry Murdoch (father) Mrs. Murdoch (mother) Susannah Murdoch (younger sister) Sergeant Jasper Linney (older halfbrother) |
Religion | Roman Catholic |
Thomas Charles Brackenreid | |
---|---|
Murdoch Mysteries character | |
First appearance | Except The Dying |
Created by | Maureen Jennings |
Portrayed by |
Colm Meaney (TV movies) Thomas Craig (TV series) |
Information | |
Gender | Male |
Occupation | Police Officer |
Title | Inspector |
Spouse(s) | Margaret Brackenreid |
Julia Ogden | |
---|---|
Murdoch Mysteries character | |
First appearance | Except The Dying |
Created by | Maureen Jennings |
Portrayed by |
Keeley Hawes (TV movies) Hélène Joy (TV series) |
Information | |
Gender | Female |
Occupation | Pathologist, general practitioner, psychiatrist |
Title | Doctor |
Significant other(s) |
Det. William Murdoch Dr. Darcy Garland |
Relatives | Dr. Lionel Ogden, Ruby Ogden |
George Crabtree | |
---|---|
Murdoch Mysteries character | |
First appearance | Except The Dying |
Created by | Maureen Jennings |
Portrayed by |
Matthew MacFadzean (TV movies) Jonny Harris (TV series) |
Information | |
Gender | Male |
Occupation | Police Officer |
Title | Constable |
Emily Grace | |
---|---|
Murdoch Mysteries character | |
First appearance | Murdoch of the Klondike |
Last appearance | Double Life |
Portrayed by | Georgina Reilly (TV series) |
Information | |
Gender | Female |
Occupation | Coroner |
Title | Doctor |
Rebecca James | |
---|---|
Murdoch Mysteries character | |
First appearance | Barenaked Ladies |
Portrayed by | Mouna Traoré (TV series) |
Information | |
Gender | Female |
Occupation | Morgue Assistant |
Murdoch Mysteries is a Canadian drama television series produced by Shaftesbury Films that premièred in January 2008 and was broadcast on Citytv in Canada and on Alibi in the UK. It was picked up by CBC for its sixth and seventh seasons. The show follows the titular character William Murdoch, a police detective working in Toronto, Ontario through the turn of the 19th century into the 20th, who makes use of what was in the late Victorian era the latest in forensic science, to solve crimes. The show was developed for television by Cal Coons and Alexandra Zarowny based on the characters in the Detective Murdoch series of novels written by Maureen Jennings.
Prior to the television series Shaftesbury Films and CHUM Television produced three made for TV movies which were shown on the Canadian cable channel Bravo! in 2004 and 2005. The original three movies, filmed in Winnipeg and Toronto, were collectively titled The Murdoch Mysteries.
Detective Murdoch, who is portrayed by Peter Outerbridge in the TV movies and by Yannick Bisson in the series, is an intelligent, observant detective who uses unusual (for the time) techniques such as blood testing and fingerprinting. It is revealed he comes from Nova Scotia, is a devout Roman Catholic who was educated by the Jesuits and is fluent in French. In one episode it is revealed that he believes that his father beat his mother and may have indirectly caused her death, although this was proven incorrect. Following that incident, he was taken to live in an orphanage.
Although very logical, skeptical, observant, scientific and clear-headed with an excellent photographic memory (possibly Hyperthymesia) and working memory, these become an issue when he needs to connect with people on an emotional level, something he finds difficult. Often his unusual techniques and unbiased opinions of people lead him to clash with Brackenreid (even though they work together well). He is also a Polymath.