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"Home for the Holidays" is the third stand-alone two hour Christmas special that first aired on December 18, 2017, on CBC, followed by a second airing on December 25, 2017, in Canada.

Home for the Holidays premiered on UKTV’s Alibi channel on Thursday, December 21, 2017, at 8pm and on AcornTV (US) December 24, 2017.

On Dec. 4th, Shaftesbury, CBC, and Cineplex Events announced advance screenings of Murdoch Mysteries’ third annual holiday special, Home for the Holidays, on Saturday, December 16 across Canada. Free tickets for the special event screenings, taking place in 11 cities across Canada includes Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Ottawa, Victoria, Winnipeg, and Halifax, were available starting Tuesday, December 5 at 12 p.m. ET via Eventbrite. As a Cineplex Events exclusive, screenings of Home for the Holidays feature additional behind-the-scenes footage with the cast.

Summary

Murdoch and Ogden travel to Victoria, B.C. to visit Murdoch’s brother, RCMP officer Jasper Linney. There, they investigate a murder connected to an archaeologist Megan Byrne who has uncovered an ancient Indigenous settlement, leading to a trek through the rugged beauty of British Columbia and encounters with the Songhees and Haida nations.

Meanwhile, the Brackenreids are offered a surefire investment opportunity that may not be all it seems. At the Station House, Crabtree and Higgins prepare for a ski-chalet holiday in Vermont with their girlfriends Nina and Ruth, but learn it may be more dangerous than expected.

Character Revelations

  • George and Henry find out exactly what snow skiing is, with some consequences.
  • Jasper is married to Daphne Linney and they have two daughters.
  • Ruth's nickname for Henry is "Henny-penny" which George uses on occasion to make a point.
  • Ruth gives Henry her beloved deceased brother Roger's Alphine skis.
  • Ruth Newsome surprises Henry, George, and the Inspector with her knowledge of an age-old bunco (bunko) scheme. "Mimico was not built entirely on mills and railroads".
  • Thomas and Margaret risk losing their home when Thomas takes out a second mortgage to invest in a to-good-to-be true Financial Exchange Company.
  • When Ruth ask what's the most revolting thing in the world, George say, "... a decaying body. No! Moths."
  • Both Dr. Ogden and Megan Byrne had mothers who told them they have a brain and "It is your responsibility to use it."
  • While Julia's father Dr. Lionel Ogden may not have wanted her to become a doctor, he never discouraged her curiosity.

Continuity

  • William tells Julia to "... mind yourself. According to Jasper, people from the west coast don't have much time for us Torontonians." Julia asks, "What could they possibly find wrong with Toronto?"
  • This marks the long awaited reunion between William and his half brother Jasper; last seen together in Anything You Can Do...
  • The Star Room is presenting a skit about "Naughty" (Nina) and "Nice" with Santa.
  • It wouldn't be Christmas without George mentioning his Aunts.
  • Jasper coins "Criminal Science Investigators" to describe Murdoch and Ogden's revolutionizing work.
  • Once again, Julia performs an autopsy in a 'makeshift' morgue, with some consequences.
  • Mrs. Brackenreid's desire to 'keep up with the Jones' circuitously threatens her family's home.
  • Once again, Inspector Brackenreid orders Miss Cherry to get out of his Station House, warning her, "... if you dare to print any of this nonsense I'll make sure the Toronto Telegraph has a Christmas bonfire to remember!"
  • George employs yet another accent in the execution of a sting created by Ruth Newsome.
  • Again, Margaret gets a "Christmas Miracle", last time was in Once Upon a Murdoch Christmas.
  • Shopping at Eaton's is mentioned, concluding with Mrs. Brackenreid inviting Miss Newsome to accompanying her to shop for a crystal vase and other appropriate items for the home.
  • Another "busman's holiday" for William and Julia, until at the end a Haida canoe tour of the West Coast on Christmas Day is shared, courtesy of Ak'aanáa and his band.

Historical References

  • In 1904, King Edward VII conferred the title of "Royal" upon the North-West Mounted Police.
  • In 1905, Oldsmobiles were built by Packard Electric Co., the first plant in Canada designed and built specifically for automobile manufacturing in St. Catharines.
  • "Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days." - Benjamin Franklin
  • The Songhees and Haida nations of British Columbia.
  • Both tribe and band are old words, languages as different as Old Norse and Middle French used variants of 'band' to describe groups of people that were bound or bonded together; several other meanings of the word, such as “a decorative stripe”, denote some of the ways in which such groups expressed their membership, likewise by collectively wearing garments displaying a colourful stripe or by wearing a wrist or armband.
  • Modern Alpine (downhill) skiing dates back to the 1850s when Norwegian legend Sondre Norheim popularised skis with curved sides.
  • "To rob Peter to pay Paul"
  • Charles Ponzi (1882 – 1949), was an Italian swindler and con artist in the U.S. and Canada.
  • The combination of the fine craftsmanship and the superior quality of the cedar available on Haida Gwaii literally made Haida canoes the Cadillacs of the Pacific coast.

Trivia

  • Haida/Cree artist Kristi Lane Sinclair served as consulting producer and source for authentic props and set decoration – not only research but connections with First Nations artists, craftspeople and crew members on the west coast.[*]
  • Murdoch Mysteries hadn't filmed outside of Toronto or Southern Ontario since they went to Newfoundland back in Season 7.
  • Marking its first West Coast filming, Murdoch Mysteries production team turns Cattle Point into a Songhees village where Murdoch first encounters Vancouver Island's Indigenous people. The three-day local shoot included filming at Gowlland Tod Park.
  • Port Alberni-raised executive producer and UVic grad Peter Mitchell reveals the shooting location was a race between Victoria and Winnipeg. “Since my parents live in Qualicum Beach, I opted for Victoria,” he joked, adding the location was ideal for its West Coast element.
  • Co-writer Simon McNabb:" When we did the first one, we never thought we’d do another one so we used as many possible Christmas movie references, ideas, themes and tropes as we possibly could. And then we had to do another one, so we came up with even more. This time we felt that if we did the same thing over again we would be wearing a little thin. We wanted to do something that was unusual, or at least unusual for us. And, at the same time, there was a desire to travel the show somewhere..."
  • There wasn't snow in British Columbia (at the time of filming), but the lush vegetation and coastline are breathtakingly captured by the MM production team.
  • Jake Epstein played Eddie Driscol in Murdoch Night in Canada.
  • Aiden Bushley makes his first appearance as Bobby Brackenreid, replacing Jayden Greig, and is the fourth actor to play Brackenreid's younger son.
  • Award-winning MM Composer Robert Carli returns to The Star Room Theatre's piano in a cameo appearance.
  • George references a Christmas Caper which is not only a breakout game but is also a 2007 TV original movie which was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Errors

  • Mildly toxic Poinsettias contains chemicals called diterpenoid euphorbol esters and saponin-like detergents: While poinsettias are commonly hyped as poisonous plants, they rarely are. When ingested by animals, mild signs of vomiting, drooling, or rarely, diarrhea may be seen.

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

Dylan Neal as RCMP Officer Jasper Linney
Lachlan Murdoch as Constable Henry Higgins
Arwen Humphreys as Margaret Brackenreid
Siobhan Murphy as Ruth Newsome
Erin Agostino as Nina Bloom
Bea Santos as Louise Cherry
Aiden Bushley as Bobby Brackenreid

Guest Cast

Megan Follows as Megan Byrne
Kate Hewlett as Daphne Linney
Simon R. Baker as Ak'aanáa
Kevin McNaulty as Robert Duncan
Jim Treliving as Wealthy Man
Hattie Kragten as Georgina Linney
Marin Stephens as Rudolphina Linney
Jake Epstein as Charles Ponzi
Wayne Baker as Songhees Chief
Trevor Carroll as Kwiiga
Sphenia Pansy Jones as Slh eni sela
Mark Gibson as Thomas Bernard
Danielle Bourgon as Wealthy Woman
Derry Robinson as Santa
Sangita Patel as Sangita
Carolers: Julie Nesrallah, Michael Killinger
David Statham, Jean Phillipe Fortier Lazure
Jordan Collalto
Puppeteers: David Powell, Ann Powell

Non-credited Cast

Robert Carli as Piano Player
Nathan Hoppe as Constable McNabb

Gallery


Murdoch Mysteries Season 11
Up From AshesMerlot Mysteries8 FootstepsThe Canadian PatientDr. Osler Regrets21 Murdoch StreetThe AccidentBrackenreid BoudoirThe Talking DeadF.L.A.S.H.!Biffers and BlockersMary WeptCrabtree à la CarteThe Great White MooseMurdoch SchmurdochGame of KingsShadows Are FallingFree Falling
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