From Murdoch to Eternity

"From Murdoch to Eternity"
Season	10
Episode	14
Airdate	February 13, 2017
Writer	Simon McNabb
Director	Jill Carter
Guests	Evan Marsh as Young Brackenreid
Recurring	Peter Keleghan as Terrence Meyers Peter Stebbings as James Pendrick Bea Santos as Louise Cherry
Previous	Mr. Murdoch's Neighbourhood
Next	Hades Hath No Fury

"From Murdoch to Eternity" is the fourteenth episode of the tenth season of the Murdoch Mysteries and the one hundred forty-sixth of the series. It first aired on February 13, 2017.

Summary

Murdoch creates a mysterious tonic that restores youthful vitality, but his pursuit of a partnership alarms Crabtree.

Detective Murdoch gives a presentation with a tribute to the late James Pendrick and announcing the inventor's nearly perfected potion - a revolutionary break-through that Murdoch himself has unlocked– Pendrimine. The promise of eternal youth in just one dose, with the proof in the shocking appearance of Inspector Thomas Brackenreid, but is it worth going to jail for? Or is it a ruse?

When diplomats from all over the world are interested in bidding for the Pendrimine formula, Murdoch may just find someone with sufficient capital to make enough for the entire world, but Canadian Intelligence agent Tanner is sent by the Prime Minister to obtain the formula on behalf of the federal government of Canada. Murdoch welcomes him to make a bid for it – starting at one hundred million dollars – "for a formula that will change life as we know." But Canada's offer is zero. Agent Tanner suggests Murdoch do the right thing; it would be a shame "if you were to be convicted of... treason." A hanging offense.

Suspicious of Murdoch's intention and uncharacteristic behaviour, Crabtree's own investigation leads him to inadvertently let James Pendrick's killer escape while uncovering the Pendrimine ruse. The ruse is simple, pretend that Murdoch's key "additive" and that the stolen formula actually works. Pendrimine as a whole would be valuable to everyone but the additive alone would only be worth something to the person who'd stolen the formula and killed Pendrick. 

Character Revelations

• Murdoch reveals a huckster side to his character, which alarms Crabtree.
• Pendrimine has given Inspector Brackenreid "...eternal bloody youth!"
• The return of Terrence Meyers, last seen trapped in a launched rocket in 24 Hours Til Doomsday.
• Louise Cherry speaks fluent Spanish because she has a Spanish grandmother.
• George is devastated when he learns that Murdoch lied to him.
• A sceptical Margaret tests the younger-looking Thomas Brackenreid with "Where were you when John was born?"

Continuity

• Thomas Brackenreid and James Pendrick return, both last seen in Excitable Chap.
• When Brackenreid asks Murdoch, "Do you know what it's like seeing your wife kissing another man?" Murdoch recounts Pendrick kissing Julia but he was able to subsume his feelings knowing that Julia herself clearly had nothing to do in the matter and obviously has no feelings for James Pendrick or any other man.
• Sam hands George a box from Nina, returning his stuff including an inscribed copy of his novel.
• The Motorized Bicycle appears again, being an upgraded version.
• Terrence Meyers is charged with treason, previously being framed in The Spy Who Came Up to the Cold.

Historical References

• The alias "P.D. Lion" is a play on Ponce de León who was searching for the Fountain of Youth when he traveled to what is now Florida in 1513, although this is a myth.
• Polonium is a rare and highly radioactive metal with no stable isotopes. Present day well-known cases of polonium poisoning include Alexander Litvinenko and Yasser Arafat.
• Henry James was an American-born British writer and is regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism. The "interminable new Henry James" is a reference to his 'bestseller' of the time The Golden Bowl, published in 1904.
• The Panama Canal is a waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a key conduit for international maritime trade.

Trivia

• The episode title may be a possible allusion to the 1953 book, movie, and song title "From Here to Eternity".
• Ari Millen makes a guest appearance. He got cast after auditioning ten times for Murdoch Mysteries.
• According to Peter Mitchell, Evan Marsh studied Tom Craig, then did the scenes. Tom Craig dubbed all the lines a couple months later.
• Director Jill Carter tweeted that the scene about Pendrick's kiss is her favorite Jilliam scene in this episode.
• Filmed in Cambridge, Ontario.
• Rebecca James (Mouna Traoré) does not appear in this episode.

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

Lachlan Murdoch as Constable Henry Higgins
Arwen Humphreys as Margaret Brackenreid
Peter Keleghan as Terrence Meyers
Peter Stebbings as James Pendrick
Bea Santos as Louise Cherry
Sean Connolly Affleck as Samuel Bloom
Glenda Braganza as Ashmi

Guest Cast

Evan Marsh as Quinton Prout
Ari Millen as Agent Tanner

Non-Credited Cast

Nathan Hoppe as Constable McNabb

Gallery

Introducing Pendramene

Meet the youthful Brackenreid

Mr. X, another bidder among many

Agent Tanner

Louise translates Panama City Police Report

Mysterious Motorized Bike rider

Murdoch, Young Brackenreid and Crabtree

Ashmi returns

Murdoch and Agent Tanner interviewing...

Mr. X aka Terrence Meyers

George and Louise's tug-a-war with the book

Tanner drinks Pendrimine

Truth be told...

Postcard from James...