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"Murdoch of the Living Dead" is the fifth episode of the seventh season of Murdoch Mysteries and the eighty-third episode of the series. It first aired on October 28, 2013.

Summary[]

Murdoch Mysteries meets Night of the Living Dead in this spooky episode directed by Yannick Bisson, featuring another crazy Crabtree theory or two. Detective Murdoch investigates the death of Harriet Fuller whose body is found on the riverbank near Corktown. They question her husband Jeremiah who is indifferent and passive. Their 13yr. old daughter Betty says he looks like her father and he talks like him, but it isn't him. With Dr. Ogden’s help, Betty opens up to reveal that her father went away for a few days and after he returned he doesn't smile or shout, “…nothing. I don't know who is inside of him, but it's not my pa.”

Dr. Grace determines that Harriet did not drown, as they had initially suspected, but was strangled by someone with a very large hand. Returning to Corktown, the team questions the neighbors who are unwilling to talk except for Rosina Denman who tells them that Jeremiah used to beat Harriet senseless, but she never spoke a word against him because he worked and provided for his family. But then he changed, like a different person got inside him somehow.

Meanwhile, Constable Crabtree finds that Jeremiah Fuller is officially dead already according to the city records. Perhaps Jeremiah Fuller is a revenant, a walking dead, explains Crabtree, “ they continue to inhabit its own dead, decomposing corpse. It was a real problem in Medieval England, to the point that people would have to be buried with stones in their mouths to keep them from rising from the grave.”

Then a second body is found, "Knuckles" Johnson, petty thief, and mean, forever knocking heads just for the fun of it. “He took his beating and went down like a sack of spuds,” explains Brackenreid.  Another known violent man, acting in an uncharacteristically docile manner, what else do the two men have in common? With another death certificate signed by a Dr. Sabet, Murdoch is convinced a conversation with him should help dispel Crabtree’s new Haitian zombie theory, but there are no records of Dr. Sabet anywhere, no medical license, no address, and neither Dr. Grace nor Dr. Ogden have ever heard of the man.

After Dr. Grace discovers that the second victim's brain has been operated on and with an X-ray of Jeremiah’s head to confirm that his brain has been altered in the same manner, Murdoch and Dr. Ogden are reminded of another case – involving Dr. Luther Bates.

Character Revelations[]

  • George's sinuses often get inflamed and he uses his Aunt Nettle's little teapot to pour some water up the nose just to clear things out – a tongue-in-cheek wordplay with Nettle and Neti (see Historical Reference).

Continuity[]

Historical References[]

  • This episode takes place in Toronto 1901 -  Edwardian Era (1901-1910) was the time in which the late Queen Victoria’s son, Edward VII is on the throne.
  • Phineas P. Gage (1823-1860), long known as "the American Crowbar Case", was an American railroad construction foreman remembered for his improbable survival of an accident in which a large iron rod was driven completely through his head, destroying much of his brain's left frontal lobe, with reported effects on his personality and behavior over the remaining twelve years of his life.
  • The neti pot is the oldest form of nasal irrigation, an ayurvedic yoga tradition developed in ancient India.
  • Corktown

Trivia[]

  • Murdoch Mysteries premieres for the first time in the Fall and includes this first Halloween-timed episode.
  • This episode is one of Yannick Bisson's favorites.
  • Key makeup artist Deb Drennan demonstrates how to create a convincing zombie.

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[]

Lachlan Murdoch as Henry Higgins
Mike Shara as Luther Bates

Guest Cast[]

Arcadia Kendal as Betty Fuller
Grant Nickalls as Jeremiah Fuller
Tyler Murree as Gus Smalls
Cara Ricketts as Miss Rosina Denman
Katy Grabstas as Factory Girl
Lada Darewych as Neighbor
David Vena as Biter
Julian Lewis as Snarling Man
Monica Dottor as Harriet Fuller

Gallery[]


Murdoch Mysteries Season 7
"Murdoch Ahoy" • "Tour de Murdoch" • "The Filmed Adventures of Detective William Murdoch" • "Return of Sherlock Holmes" • "Murdoch of the Living Dead" • "Murdochophobia" • "Loch Ness Murdoch" • "Republic of Murdoch" • "A Midnight Train to Kingston" • "Murdoch in Ragtime" • "Journey to the Centre of Toronto" • "Unfinished Business" • "The Murdoch Sting"•"Friday the 13th, 1901"•"The Spy Who Came Up to the Cold"•"Kung Fu Crabtree"•"Blast of Silence"•"The Death of Dr. Ogden"
Season 1Season 2Season 3Season 4Season 5Season 6Season 7Season 8Season 9Season 10Season 11Season 12Season 13Season 14Season 15
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