The Big Chill

"The Big Chill"
Season	9
Episode	10
Airdate	January 18, 2016
Writer	Jordan Christianson
Director	Eleanore Lindo
Guests	Rémy Girard as Captain Joseph Bernier
Previous	Raised On Robbery
Next	A Case of The Yips

"The Big Chill" is the tenth episode of ninth season of the Murdoch Mysteries and the one hundred twenty-fourth episode of the series. It first aired on January 18, 2016.

Summary

At an arctic exhibition in Toronto, a renowned sea captain fundraising for his expedition to the North Pole is accused of murdering a crew member. As Murdoch investigates the claim, he and Julia struggle to adapt to their new life as parents.

Someone is trying to sabotage Captain Bernier grand expedition to the North Pole. He accuses the Swedes.Bjorn Nordenskjold wants nothing more than to beat him to the North Pole.  Before Murdoch investigates the sabotage, he must first determine the validity of murder accusations made at the exhibition.

Three months earlier Arthur Pimblett, a man of science and nature who served as navigator or doctor on all Bernier’s expeditions, had died. Whenever the ship was stationary, he explored the surrounding areas, with dreams of discovering new species of wildlife, but he never returned from that last fateful day. The four-day search cost valuable time, the ship had to turn back or risk running out of provisions. His body was preserved using salt and awaits burial. 

Ogden tries out a new technique to re-hydrate his mummified body with a sodium hydroxide bath to provide a more complete picture of the circumstances of his death, while her preliminary examination reveals that hypothermia did not kill him: he was throttled. The Pimblett's death was no accident.  

Murdoch suspects the Arctic explorer Captain Bernier and his crew of withholding evidence.

Character Revelations

• William and Julia start out as clueless new parents.
• Brackenreid coaches Murdoch on how to bounce his new son on his knee.
• Miss James has a weak stomach when it comes to brain dissection. Dr. Ogden reassured her that she will get over it, "Now come get your hands dirty," offering her the honour of cutting the first slice.

Continuity

• William and Julia are now proud parents of young master Murdoch, Roland.

  

• Baby Roland will be cooing in the office at Station House No. 4, in the City Morgue and at home, happily bouncing about in William’s latest contraption, "the Gleeful Bouncer" (a.k.a. Jolly Jumper).

Historical References

• Sir John Franklin (1786 - 1847), a British Royal Navy officer and explorer of the Arctic attempted to chart and navigate a section of the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic; his icebound ship was abandoned and the entire crew perished.
• S. A. Andrée (1854–97), the first Swedish balloonist, undertook a voyage by hydrogen balloon from Svalbard to either Russia or Canada, in an effort to reach the North Pole but all the expedition members perished.
• The CGS Arctic, commanded by Captain Joseph-Elzear Bernier, was one of Canada's first Arctic patrol ships. A wooden vessel built of oak and pitch-pine by the German government, it was originally intended for service in the Antarctic. However in 1904 it was purchased by Canada and put to use in the Arctic.
• Joseph-Elzéar Bernier (1852 - 1934) was a Quebec mariner who led expeditions into the Canadian Arctic in the early 20th century and was given the Royal Geographical Society Award for his work.
• Joseph-Elzéar Bernier and his Northern expeditions are featured on pages 12 & 13 of the 36 page Canadian Passport.
• Qalupalik, Inuit (Eskimo) mythological creature, is a human-like creature that lives in the sea, who wears an amautiit (a pouch that Inuit parents wear to carry their children) so they can take children away who disobey their parents. The story was used to prevent children from wandering off alone, lest the qalupalik take them underwater, forever.
• Linguists believe that "Eskimo" is derived from a Montagnais (Innu) word ayas̆kimew meaning "netter of snowshoes." The people of Canada and Greenland have long preferred to be known by the names they use in their own languages, such as Inupiaq or Yupik. "Eskimo" is now considered unacceptable by most Alaska Natives.

Trivia

• Crabtree's Nickelodeon idea “Nuniq of Toronto” pays homage to the 1922 documentary Nanook of the North.

Cast

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

Mouna Traoré as Rebecca James

Guest Cast

Rémy Girard as Joseph-Elzéar Bernier
Johnny Issaluk as Nuniq
Luke Humphrey as Julian Philips
Ian Matthews as Bjorn Nordenskjold
David Tompa as Derek Frewen
Steve Arbuckle as Fosier Blair
Briana Caitlyn Palmer as Sally

Gallery

Bernier's North Pole Expo

George explores the exhibit

With young Roland

Murder accusations and sabotage

Coroner and mother does not impress Bernier

Baby Roland's happy with his new mom

The Swedes are rivals and suspects

The morgue is not be a safe place?

Bounce the little fella on your knee, Murdoch!

George with Nuqut, another adventure!

George films the Swedes meeting with the new captain

A brilliant discovery and a missing map