History Series / MurdochMysteries

* PlayingAgainstTheType: Mary Walsh and Gavin Crawford, playing a grieving mother of a murdered daughter and a possibly insane puppeteer, respectively. Both are best known as anchors on the comedy news show ''ThisHourHas22Minutes''.

Four seasons have been produced so far. A fifth series has been confirmed for broadcast in 2012 by Citytv; it was to be the final series, but rival broadcaster CBC has [[{{uncancelled}} picked up the series]] and has already commissioned a sixth series for broadcast in late 2012.

The series was preceded by a trilogy of [[MadeForTVMovie TV movies]] in 2004, which were more direct adaptations of the ''Murdoch Mysteries'' novels. With Peter Outerbridge as Murdoch, KeeleyHawes as Dr Ogden and ColmMeaney as Inspector Brackenreid. Overall much darker and gritty than the TV series.

* HistoricalDomainCharacter / InThePastEveryoneWillBeFamous: Several well-known figures make appearances, including Jack London, Buffalo Bill and Annie Oakley, Harry Houdini, ArthurConanDoyle, [[HGWells H. G. Wells]], NikolaTesla and Prince Albert Victor.

* CaliforniaDoubling: Set in Toronto, filmed in Cambridge, Ontario as none of the streets of modern Toronto like 1890s Toronto.

* GambitPileup: A minor case, a RomeoAndJuliet pair of lovers forms a suicide pact to escape their abusive parents, but both of them tried to replace each other's poisons with a harmless drug because each can't bear to see the other die, at the same time, the parent's adopted child overhears the pact and swaps out what he thought was poison, and another adopted child was was just trying to swipe candy (from the same shelf where the 3 drugs were kept). When the flurry of bottle swapping ended, it was the abusive parents who died. The best outcome possible under the circumstances.

* AbusiveParents: Murdoch's father is an abusive alcoholic [[spoiler:(or so he thinks)]]; after his mother's death, Murdoch spent the rest of his childhood in an orphanage.

** In season one, [[spoiler: George, who was a DoorstopBaby]] meets his birth mother.

* DashinglyDapperDerby: Murdoch's got one, after Crabtree made detective, he gets the same hat too.

[[caption-width-right:350:This '''is''' your grandfather's ''[[CSICrimeSceneInvestigation CSI]]''.]]

* IconicItem: Murdoch's bowler hat, after Crabtree made detective, he gets the exact same hat.

* TheCoroner: Dr. Julia Ogden, and also Dr. Llewellyn Francis.

* HistoricalDomainCharacter / InThePastEveryoneWillBeFamous: Several well-known figures make appearances, including Buffalo Bill and Annie Oakley, Harry Houdini, ArthurConanDoyle, [[HGWells H. G. Wells]], NikolaTesla and Prince Albert Victor.

* CanadianAccents: In the original TV movies, only Murdoch speaks with a (slightly anachronistic) neutral modern Canadian accent, while everyone else talks with varying shades of Irish, Scottish, English, French, and other European accents--historically accurate considering Canada's history of immigration. The TV series tone this down, but not by much.

The series was preceded by a trilogy of [[MadeForTVMovie TV movies]] in 2004, which were more direct adaptations of the ''Murdoch Mysteries'' novels using an entirely different cast.

* AbusiveParents: Murdoch's father is an abusive alcoholic; after his mother's death, Murdoch spent the rest of his childhood in an orphanage.

* ChekhovsGunman: A few times, since in at least two episodes there have been brief mentions of escaped convicts that usually don't have anything to do with the case, only for the criminals to show up near the end.

** And also Scottish-Canadian Inspector Brackenreid is played by Thomas Craig, a British actor.

* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: [[spoiler: When William decides to unlock Ava Moon's cell and let her escape in the series four finale.]]

* TheCameo: One was filmed by BigNameFan Stephen Harper, the ''Prime Minister of Canada'' himself.

Four seasons have been produced so far. A fifth series has been confirmed for broadcast in 2012 by Citytv; it was to be the final series, but rival broadcaster CBC has [[{{uncancelled}} picked up the series]] and has already commissioned a sixth series for broadcast in 2013.

Four seasons have been produced so far. A fifth ([[TooGoodToLast and final]]) series has been confirmed for broadcast in 2012.

* HeyItsThatGuy: [[{{Alias}} Jack Bristow]] turns up in the series four premiere as Murdoch's retired predecessor.