The Filmed Adventures of Detective William Murdoch

"The Filmed Adventures of Detective William Murdoch"
Season	7
Episode	3
Airdate	October 14, 2013
Writer	Peter Mitchell
Director	Gail Harvey
Recurring	Peter Stebbings as James Pendrick Charlotte Sullivan as Charlotte (formerly Minerva Fairchild)
Previous	Tour de Murdoch
Next	Return of Sherlock Holmes

"The Filmed Adventures of Detective William Murdoch" is the third episode of the seventh season of the Murdoch Mysteries and the eighty-first episode of the series. It first aired on October 14, 2013.

Summary

While investigating a murder in a movie house, Murdoch is pulled into the drama of James Pendrick's filmmaking venture.

Detective Murdoch, along with Inspector Brackenreid, Constable Crabtree and Emily Grace and many others, attend a special showing of a film that will include sound. The man behind the show is James Pendrick. His main competitor, Thomas Edison, is also present, accusing Pendrick of stealing his patent. Among the many scenes with sound in the film astounding the audience, there a one where a shot is fired and when the lights come up, one of the patrons, Pendrick's principal investor, is discovered shot in the head. Thanks to a keen observation by Dr. Ogden, Murdoch concludes that the shot may have been intended for Pendrick.

Then, while filming his new moving picture about the cases of Detective Murdoch, the actor playing Murdoch is shot by a real bullet. In the original script a character called Constable Tom, played by Pendrick himself, was to be shot instead – Pendrick is the target. Detective Murdoch finds that the movie making process proves to be a distraction in solving the murder and preventing the next one from happening.

Character Revelations

• Julia Ogden has the strength and the knowledge to knock down Eleanor Grimes with one blow.
• Detective Murdoch cannot abide inaccuracies in film, and since he can't do that he is unable to act without addressing them.
• Constable Crabtree is brilliant at imitating Detective William Murdoch. 
• Inspector Brackenreid also enjoyed acting and was briefly starstruck, but can take the acting a bit too personally.
• Minerva Fairchild from Still Waters returns as Charlotte, who plays Julia Ogden less accurately, but brings her passion to the surface.

Continuity

• James Pendrick addresses Murdoch's constant suspicions about him and his projects.
• Pendrick's headphones are are introduced and worn by viewing audience.

Historical References

• This episode takes place in Toronto 1901 – the Edwardian Era (1901-1910) is the time when King Edward VII rules the British Empire; Queen Victoria died January 22, 1901. It is also known as the Belle Époque era, conventionally dated from the end of the Franco-Prussian War in 1871 to the outbreak of World War I in 1914.
• Thomas Edison was a prolific inventor who accumulated 2,332 patents in his life time, and serves to reason he'd be very protective of them.
• Thomas tries to bribe Pendrick into moving out to West California with him and other filmmakers to start a film industry, referencing the beginnings of Hollywood.
• Pendrick's vision of sound and moving pictures as the future would be proven as the film industry progressed.

Trivia

• This episode has the longest title with 50 characters. Ironically, this is mentioned near the end where George Crabtree suggests shortening the name to The Murdoch Mysteries
• Pendrick's headphones are used in Raised On Robbery, A Study in Pink, The Murdoch Sting, 8 Footsteps and A Heavy Event.
• The actors who play James Pendrick (Peter Stebbings) and Charlotte (Charlotte Sullivan) are married in real life as well as being a couple on screen.
• This is the episode that James Pendrick smiles the most, this might be due to the fact that his wife appears in this episode with him.
• When Charlotte asks to portray the police detective may be a reference to Charlotte Sullivan’s character in the television show Rookie Blue, in which she portrays Police Officer Gail Peck.

Cast

Main Cast

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

Recurring Cast

Peter Stebbings as James Pendrick
Charlotte Sullivan as Charlotte (formerly Minerva Fairchild)

Guest Cast

David Storch as Thomas Edison
Gregg Lowe as Gregory Skinner
Jefferson Brown as Lincoln Prescott
Michael Healy as Alphonse
Trish Lidstrom as Eleanor Grimes
Mark McGrinder as Propsmaster
Kevin Dowse as Gunman
Ben Irvine as Wallace

Gallery

Crabtree as Detective Murdoch

Pendrick directs...all respond to the kiss.