The Accident

"The Accident"
Season	11
Episode	7
Airdate	November 13, 2017
Writer	Mary Pedersen
Director	Alison Reid
Guests	David Hewlett as Dilton Dilbert Angela Vint as Mildred Ash
Previous	21 Murdoch Street
Next	Brackenreid Boudoir

"The Accident" is the seventh episode of the eleventh season of the Murdoch Mysteries and the one hundred-fifty-seventh of the series. It first aired on November 13, 2017.

Summary

After an accident on the streets of Toronto, Murdoch is racing against the clock to solve the case with all hands on deck from the Station House.

A morning traffic accident involving multiple vehicles and victims must be solved posthaste (in real-time). City Record's Mr. Dilton Dilbert suffers life-threatening injuries when a motorcar collides with Todd and Sons Toronto Tour's horse-drawn carriage.

Detective Murdoch's investigation reveals sinister motives and a case that he is determined to solve before Mr. Dilbert dies.

Character Revelations

• When his friend Tom Brackenreid says "some people are daft as muck", Mr. Dilbert tells him that his father used to say the same - being from Yorkshire.
• Before becoming manager of City Records, it was Dilton's job to file death certificates, putting them all in their correct places. He confesses the he didn't think about their lives.
• Detective Watts appears to be taken, somewhat awkwardly, by pretty Nurse Liston.

Continuity

• Constable Crabtree discusses robots with Murdoch and Watts which leads to his coming up with "...robot constable, robo-copper..."
• After introducing Detective Watts to Mr. Dilbert, Murdoch mentions Brackenreid's dismissal from the Station House and sent to work at City Records under Dilbert (ep.916). Watts assesses, "Got along like chalk and cheese I'd imagine."
• Thomas Brackenreid’s unlikely friendship with Dilton Dilbert comes to a poignant end but not before Tom shares a bottle of scotch with Dilton while giving him needed honesty, comfort and strength.
• When a metal cutter is needed, George sends a lad to Bloom and Crabtree's to find Sam Bloom to provide one.
• When Louise Cherry informs George that she is tired of apologising for doing her job (as the reporter for the Toronto Telegraph), George tells her to "stop taking photos of a man who is having the worst day of his life" and find some way of helping instead.
• The Tipsy Ferret's barmaid Miss Quigg is introduced in this episode.
• This episode reveals visual evidence of the expanding growth and prosperity of Toronto the Good.

Historical References

• This episode takes place in Toronto 1905 – in the Edwardian Era when Edward VII (Albert Edward;1841-1910) is King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and and of the British Dominions beyond the Seas. In general usage the monarch came to be called the King-Emperor, especially in the Crown's overseas possessions and in British India and the princely states.
• 'Like chalk and cheese' is the most commonly expression that explicitly refers to the difference between things. It is an old expression and the earliest citation is in John Gower's Middle English text Confessio Amantis, 1390: 'Lo, how they feignen chalk for chese'.
• Mention of the largest distiller in Canada, Gooderham & Worts, when Mr. Todd announces, "In a few minutes, we will encounter two prime examples of Toronto's prosperity and modern architecture in the form of the Gooderham Building, and the Board of Trade Building, home to Gooderham and Worts; it is a notable flatiron building".
• There were no automobile driving regulations at the time, so one could drive at any age, and there was no protocol for handling traffic accidents.

Trivia

• The entire Murdoch Mysteries' backlot was put to use and filled with plenty of extras.
• This episode combines two unique elements: Like a 'bottle episode', it is confined to one location and the action is in real time. The short timeline is not like Murdoch Mysteries normal plot line pacing.
• MM Writer Mary Pedersen was inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's Rope and the TV episode Subway from Homicide: Life on the Street.
• As Detective Murdoch looks at what happened in the accident he discovers a strap was used to restrain the driver. He describes what will eventually be called a 'seatbelt injury': when a person wearing a seatbelt is thrust forward during impact the seatbelt can cause injuries to the abdomen area. The seatbelt was invented by a French engineer in the 1880's but not put into production until the 1950's.
• Showrunner Peter Mitchell has been teasing MM Fans that they will have cause to cry in Season 11; this is the episode.
• Recurring cast member David Hewlett, who plays Dilton Dilbert, calls this one the 'hood ornament episode'.
• MM Props Master Craig Grant custom built the car, note the name he put on its front grille.
• While there may be a similarity to the plot of Akira Kurosawa's film "Ikiru", it was not a reference film for the MM Writers' Room (see episode writer Mary Pedersen's note above).
• Angela Vint returns as Mildred Ash; she was first seen in Victor, Victorian as Miriam Winters.
• Nicastro's Butcher's delivery boy, Artie, is played by Thamela Mpumlwana who is also Trudy Clarke's younger brother Jacob in Frankie Drake Mysteries. This episode aired the same night as Jacob's first appearance in Ladies In Red (2017-2021).
• Crabtree's idea of a "robo-copper" is a reference to the 1987 sci-fi action film, RoboCop.

Errors

• The word "Robot", used to mean a mechanical worker, was not coined until Czech playwright Karel Čapek used it in his play "R. U. R." in 1920. The word is derived from the Czech word for drudgery.

Main Cast

Yannick Bisson as Detective William Murdoch
Hélène Joy as Dr. Julia Ogden
Thomas Craig as Inspector Thomas Brackenreid
Jonny Harris as Constable George Crabtree

Recurring Cast

Daniel Maslany as Detective Llewellyn Watts
Charles Vandervaart as John Brackenreid
David Hewlett as Dilton Dilbert
Bea Santos as Louise Cherry

Guest Cast

Ian Lake as Mr. Flannery
Angela Vint as Mildred Ash
Elisa Bauman as Abigail Liston
Tony Nappo as Mr. Hubert
Roger Dunn as Mr. Todd
Kirsten Johnson as Miss Quigg
Thamela Mpumlwana as Artie
Emily Nixon as Mrs. Sommer
Nicholas Fry as Urchin

Non-Credited Cast

Nathan Hoppe as Constable McNabb

Gallery

Morning traffic noises...

Crash and screams...

Dilbert is a victim...

Chaos to clear...

Lives to save and a mystery to solve...

Looking for a woman...

With a pram...

Wearing an orange coat...

A good time for a morning drink!