Big Murderer on Campus

"Big Murderer on Campus"
Season	2
Episode	7
Airdate	March 17, 2009
Writer	Carol Hay
Director	Laurie Lynd
Guests	Michael Seater as James Gillies Marc Bendavid as Robert Perry Ted Atherton as Albert Godfrey
Recurring	Lachlan Murdoch as Henry Higgins
Previous	Shades of Grey
Next	I, Murdoch

"​Big Murderer on Campus​" is the seventh episode of the second season of the Murdoch Mysteries and the twentieth episode of the series. It first aired on March 17, 2009.

Summary

Detective Murdoch investigates the murder of university professor Samuel Bennett, who was shot through the head while looking through his telescope at his university residence. He becomes aware that another member of the faculty, physics professor Albert Godfrey, frequently argued with Bennett. Throughout the investigation, Murdoch is shadowed by two inquisitive students.

Constable Crabtree puts an ad in the paper in an effort to locate his biological mother. As a baby, he was left on the church steps and was raised by the Minister and his family. His newspaper ad produces two women who claim to be his mother. When he is (supposedly) shot during the investigation, Murdoch takes the opportunity to identify which of the two is his mother. Murdoch's relationship with Dr. Julia Ogden is at a low ebb. With her recent revelations, a chill has descended on their budding romance and they have returned to being very formal with one another.

Character Revelations

• George Crabtree was a foundling. He searches for and finds his mother.

Continuity

• William and Julia remain at odds about her having had an abortion. At the end of the episode William asks her to accompany him to a battery exhibition. She declines since she has work to complete.
• This episode marks the first appearance of recurring villain James Gillies.

Historical References

• This episode takes place in Toronto 1896 – Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria 1819 - 1901) is Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, and Empress of India.
• Euclidean is the system of geometry based on the work of Euclid (300 BC).
• Romans roads were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, using a groma, wooden stakes, and geometry.

Trivia

• The two women who answer to George's ad are named Emily and Gracie, which is similar to George's future sweetheart Emily Grace. Gracie, George's real mother, additionally has the last name of Brooks, which is the same last name of Edna Brooks (née Garrison), another one of George's future sweethearts.
• The exterior shots at the university were filmed at Trinity College School (Port Hope, Ontario).
• In 2012, Canadian veteran actor and longtime performer with the Second City improv troupe, Paul O'Sullivan died in a car crash near his home outside Peterborough, Ont.

Errors

• The song playing at the beginning of the episode, "The Honeysuckle and the Bee", was not released until 1901.
• The Union Jack flying outside at the university is upside down.

Cast

Main Cast

Yannick Bisson as William Murdoch
Hélène Joy as Julia Ogden
Thomas Craig as Thomas Brackenreid
Jonny Harris as George Crabtree

Recurring Cast

Lachlan Murdoch as Henry Higgins
Michael Seater as James Gillies

Guest Cast

Marc Bendavid as Robert Perry
Ted Atherton as Professor Albert Godfrey
Paula Boudreau as Emily Richardson
Elizabeth Saunders as Gracie Brooks
Laura McLean as Harriet Burchill
Michael C. Newsome as Professor Samuel Bennett
Paul O'Sullivan as Man With Cart
Craig McDermott as Student #1
Tim Daughulis as Student #2

Gallery

Julia and Gillies the first time

Physics of hanging

Bulletproof Vest revealed