Line #4 YMMV/MurdochMysteries


1	* AdaptationDisplacement: The TV series is much more famous than the series of novels it was originally based on. It's also markedly different from the original series of novels. In the books, Murdoch is much more of a DeadpanSnarker and is outright contemptuous of Brackenreid, and solves his cases through legwork and talking to people rather than any form of science. Inspector Brackenreid is depicted as an incompetent drunk who's also bigoted against the Catholic Murdoch. George Crabtree is described as having a large build and is a married father of five.
2	* BaseBreakingCharacter: Louise Cherry. Some fans find her to be a compelling sometimes friend sometimes enemy to the main cast, others simply hate her.
3	* CompleteMonster:
4	** [[FauxAffablyEvil James Gillies]] is Detective William Murdoch's ArchEnemy. Murdering a professor before escaping execution by switching places with another man, Gillies savagely saws a man's head off while he's still alive. He then initiates a [[CriminalMindGames twisted mind game]] with Murdoch that culminates in him [[BuriedAlive burying Julia alive]], with her only being narrowly rescued by Murdoch. Gillies returns to frame her for the murder of her husband as part of a ploy to force Murdoch to [[SadisticChoice choose between his own life and Julia's]]. Arranging for the escape of a group of violent criminals aboard a train, Gillies uses the free murderers as a diversion for his own escape. Years after his supposed death, Gillies, now seeking to end his own life, drives a man to insanity, resulting in the man killing two innocents as well as himself, all just to draw out Murdoch and force his nemesis to kill him.
5	** "[[Recap/MurdochMysteriesS4E2Kommando Kommando]]": [[SociopathicSoldier Major Gregory Cole]] is a British officer in charge of a squad of Canadian soldiers. Although seemingly a stern, but devoted commander, Cole is revealed to have experimented on his men, dosing them with methamphetamine to test the drug's effectiveness. On a training mission in South Africa, Cole, in an [[FalseFlagOperation attempt]] to justify British colonialism, drugged his troops and manipulated them into murdering innocent British families, then had them launch an equally brutal assault on a Boer militia camp, with Cole only revealing the truth to his men after the deed was done, forcing them to keep the atrocity secret. When one soldier, Corporal Matthew Larson, proves unable to cope with his actions, Cole [[HeKnowsTooMuch gives him an overdose of methamphetamine]], leaving Larson deranged and permanently damaged, then discards him, later having his troops hunt for Larson to silence him, caring nothing when several soldiers are killed in the attempt. When confronted for his crimes, Cole is unapologetic, coldly dismissing his actions as "preserving" the British Empire.
6	** "[[Recap/MurdochMysteriesS7E5MurdochOfTheLivingDead Murdoch of the Living Dead]]": [[NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist Dr. Luther Bates]] is a vile and amoral [[PsychoPsychologist psychiatrist]] who [[https://www.cbc.ca/murdochmysteries/noqs/ lost his license]] due to his unethical practices. Later employed as a prison doctor, Bates uses the prisoners to test his theories about brain surgery, intending to [[ItsAllAboutMe gain fame and fortune]] by eliminating aggression and violence from humanity. Performing lobotomies on dozens of inmates, Bates' experiments leaves them, at best, barely conscious shells of their former selves, and at worst, psychotically violent, faking the deaths of his successes to release them back into society. After an abused woman {{blackmail}}s Bates into performing his procedure on her husband, leaving him nearly catatonic, Bates has the woman murdered by throwing her to his psychotic failed experiments to avoid the flaws in his procedure being exposed. When Detective Murdoch uncovers the extent of Bates's crimes, Bates, with a smug smile, tries to have him killed by one of the psychotic inmates as well before releasing the rest of them on the streets of Toronto to cover his own attempted escape, intending to resume his experiments elsewhere.
7	** "On the Waterfront" [[Recap/MurdochMysteriesS8E1OnTheWaterfrontPart1 two]]-[[Recap/MurdochMysteriesS8E2OnTheWaterfrontPart2 parter]]:
8	*** [[AWolfInSheepsClothing Cecily McKinnon]] is the seemingly benign Toronto harbormaster, but is later revealed to be the equally vile O'Shea brothers' cold and ruthless employer, profiting from the violence and fear they enact on the docks. Having Inspector Brackenreid attacked by the O'Sheas, [=McKinnon=] turns up to watch the beating for her own amusement and leaves the Inspector to die for investigating her criminal activities. When fellow businessperson Richard Dawkins uncovers [=McKinnon=]'s HumanTrafficking business, [=McKinnon=] has him brutally murdered and tries to [[FrameUp frame Dawkins]] for her own crimes, nearly succeeding in avoiding justice and selling off several innocent women into slavery. When Brackenreid fights back against the O'Sheas, [=McKinnon=] murders the brothers to try and frame Brackenreid, and when confronted herself, she proves to be utterly shameless about her atrocities, making a final attempt to murder Brackenreid before being finally being brought to justice.
9	*** [[CoDragons Mick and Tim O'Shea]], who debuted in "[[Recap/MurdochMysteriesS7E18TheDeathOfDrOgden The Death of Dr. Ogden]]", are a pair of [[AxCrazy psychopathic]] Irish immigrants who control the Toronto waterfront for [=McKinnon=]. The O'Sheas control the docks through violence and extortion, keeping people too afraid to challenge them, smugly reveling in their power over others. When Inspector Brackenreid investigates the O'Sheas' crimes, the brothers savagely beat him and leave him for dead, later threatening the Inspector's family to force his silence. They are revealed to be involved in HumanTrafficking as well, selling women from Hungary into slavery. When businessman Richard Dawkins discovers the human trafficking and tries to save some of the women, the O'Sheas drown one of the women who managed to escape before brutally beating Dawkins to death. When Detective Murdoch tries to arrest the O'Sheas, the brothers sic their gang on the police, staying out of the fray until they have a chance to try and beat Murdoch to death.
10	* DiagnosedByTheAudience:
11	** Murdoch displays some social anxiety and a number of characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorder. His interests tend toward a specific type of scientific bookishness, coupled with a mechanical aptitude, as opposed to literature or sport (though [[HiddenDepths he has recognized quotations from Shakespeare and played sports well enough on occasion]]). At times, he is an adult version of the "little professor" [[MrExposition explaining things]] to [[TheWatson his boss Brackenreid and the various constables, among others]]. He often fails to understand the popularity of things like fads, fictional movies and spectator sports, and certain forms of humour leave him cold (making him an excellent [[StraightMan straight man]]). Some of his personal conversations (even those with his beloved Julia) end abruptly when he sees something that brings his mind back to his current case, and he hastily takes his leave to follow up an idea. All that said, his colleagues and friends seem to regard him as merely a bit unusual.
12	** Detective Watts also displays a number of traits that those around him view as odd. He speaks his thoughts out loud, without regard for social cues, often to the displeasure of those around him. He fidgets with and picks at various props and costume pieces, and he has difficulty with motor skills (like holding a fork or proper penmanship). Watts also has a very different way of solving crimes compared to the rest of Station House 4.
13	** Other occasional characters will show evidence of a variety of mental disorders which go unnamed, in this case justified by the relatively undeveloped state of psychiatry at the time.
14	* EnsembleDarkhorse:
15	** There are many fans who are quite fond of Henry Higgins, and would very much like to see his character become part of the main cast. He and Constable Jackson have both been making more appearances since the beginning of season 8, often together with Crabtree, so it seems the writers have listened to some extent. [[spoiler: At least before Constable Jackson was shot and killed at the end of season 10.]]
16	** Inspector Brackenreid's wife Margaret is a very popular character outside the four core (Murdoch-Ogden-Crabtree-Brackenreid) because she's unpredictable, independent and fun.
17	** The Newsome clan, a hilariously ditzy and posh Toronto family, is always welcome, and especially Ruth Newsome. She marries Henry Higgins and keeps appearing in many B-story-lines.
18	** Detective Watts is widely liked both for his BunnyEarsLawyer quirks, his poignant background and [[spoiler:living as a gay man in the very homophobic Edwardian era Toronto.]]
19	** Creator/ArthurConanDoyle played by Stratford Festival veteran Creator/GeraintWynDavies is a favourite among Stratford Festival patrons and Doyle fans.
20	** Hall of Records administrator Dilton Dilbert is only in two episodes, but is very popular for the comic relief he provides in his first appearance and the emotional HiddenDepths he displays when he reappears two seasons later.
21	* FanonDiscontinuity: A few of the more sympathetic past culprits being mentioned as hung on the blackboard in "Murdoch in Toyland" can inspire this feeling.
22	* FoeYayShipping: Some fangirls began to ship Murdoch and James Gillies together after the latter kisses the former on the mouth for a full three seconds in "Midnight Train to Kingston".
23	* HarsherInHindsight: "Let Us Ask the Maiden"'s AssholeVictim Isaac Begelman became even less sympathetic after his actor was found to be at the middle of a sexual harassment scandal and lost his artistic director job at Toronto theatre company Soulpepper.
24	* HoYay:
25	** Between Crabtree and one-off character Nuniq, including a goodbye kiss (on the cheek).
26	** The Season 11 premier has a moment between Murdoch and George, when he learns George survived the ambush after he was originally reported killed. Lampshaded with amusement by Brackenreid and Julia, when they both note Murdoch was more overjoyed to see ''George'' than he was to see them. Yes, even moreso than his ''wife''.
27	* JerkassWoobie: Ralph Fellows is an egotistical, deeply vindictive man with a violent streak, but he has had his career and personal life sabotaged in a disproportionate and calculated way for most of his life.
28	* MagnificentBastard:
29	** "[[Recap/MurdochMysteriesS6E6MurdochAndTheCloudOfDoom Murdoch and the Cloud of Doom]]": Russell Bowes is a chemical company employee whose fiancee Mary is sentenced to hang for killing her sexually abusive father. He plots to break her out of prison before her execution in the middle of a city-wide evacuation, posing as a masked extortionist with access to poisoned gas by faking receipts from his factory and discards dozens of gas bottles at the delivery address and sending a film that appears to demonstrate the lethal gas to the police. He leaves enough clues in the film for the police to find where he shot it, with Russell killing all of the grass in the area with bleach and suffocating several rats to make it appear that the gas is lethal to everything and far-reaching. In truth Russell has no desire to hurt anyone as part of his plan and takes his failure hard yet gracefully and wins the sympathy of the police with his story, causing them to work to get Mary a new trial.
30	** "[[Recap/MurdochMysteriesMurdochS12E13MurdochAndTheUndetectableMan Murdoch and the Undetectable Man]]": [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge Fiona Rossini]] is the former [[LovelyAssistant landlady and lover]] of Professor Bosworth, a scientist trying to make an invisibility device. After Bosworth is robbed and murdered by his investors, a vengeful Fiona [[BestServedCold kills them one by one]] while pretending that Bosworth survived and has turned himself invisible to seek revenge. Fiona thoroughly convinces both the police and her targets that Bosworth is indeed invisible, and kills her final target while he's in police custody while still maintaining the illusion that an [[DeceasedFallGuyGambit invisible Bosworth did the deed]]. Fiona is resourceful, graceful, and unwilling to kill anyone besides her targets. Upon being caught, Fiona merely asks how Murdoch figured out her trick, showing [[GracefulLoser no animosity]] towards the detective.
31	* SeasonalRot: From Season 15 onwards, the show underwent heavy {{Soaperizing}}, focusing more on character-driven subplots than actual murder mysteries, often to the point of [[FourLinesAllWaiting episodes jumping between four or even more plotlines.]]
32	* ShockingMoments: Viewers all across the board were completely stunned when Gillies kisses Murdoch rather passionately in "Midnight Train to Kingston"; ''no one'' saw that coming!
33	* StoicWoobie: Whenever Murdoch breaks down and is NotSoStoic, especially when Julia told him about her abortion and that it left her barren and implied that she wanted to break up their relationship.
34	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter:
35	** David Kingsley, the amateur detective convinced he's Sherlock Holmes has a lot of novelty and charm to the character but is only in two episodes.
36	** Watts' foster brother Hubert Marks, whose role as his ally, tie to his childhood and protectee suffering from being an AngstySurvivingTwin is mostly just in a flashback.
37	** Dr. Roberts, the ahead-of-his time, insightful mental health professional had a departure from the show which didn't resonate well with some.
38	** Nina Bloom's relationship with George failing and her character leaving disappointed a lot of fans more-so than most failed relationships of the show.
39	* TheWoobie: Detective Watts has had a number of horrible things happen to him over the years. His parents died when he was 12, his sister abandoned him, he moved in with a family and gained two brothers, but then one of his brothers was tortured and murdered by a neighbor who had been bullying them for years. He also became friends with Constable Jackson, [[spoiler:before the Constable ended up getting shot and killed.]] And that's not even getting into his struggles as a gay man in a homophobic society.

Context YMMV / MurdochMysteries