History Series / MurdochMysteries

** The template for a title troped as JoyOfX is also used quite often: "I, Murdoch" (ICommaNoun), "Me, Myself and Murdoch" (Me, Myself and X), "Dial M for Murdoch" (Dial X for Y), and "Murdoch in Wonderland" (X in Wonderland).

* AlliterativeTitle

* CreepyDoll: "Murdoch in Toyland" had several of these, all with creepy recorded messages for Detective Murdoch. One doll's head was cut off. The concept of doll as a toy and its disturbing features is lampshaded by Inspector Brackenried: "I know it's supposed to be adorable, but to me it just looks bloody creepy."

** "Belly Speaker": The belly speaker's puppet was very disturbing. The fact that it was made to look like its owner, complete with MismatchedEyes, added to the creepiness.

** The episode where Murdoch wakes up to find himself in the wrong country, with no memory of how he got there and everyone trying to kill him is of course, named "[[Literature/TheBourneSeries The Murdoch Identity]]" (the episode even included a character called Treadstone).

* CreepyDoll: "Murdoch in Toyland" had several of these, all with creepy recorded messages for Detective Muroch. One doll's head was cut off. The concept of doll as a toy and its disturbing features is lampshaded by Inspector Brackenried: "I know it's supposed to be adorable, but to me it just looks bloody creepy."

** "Belly Speaker": The belly speaker's puppet with MismatchedEyes.

'''Inspector Brackenreid:''' ''Especially'' the wife!\\
''([[FunnyMoment ominous music starts playing]])''

* DaydreamSurprise: Used frequently from Murdoch's perspective, mostly involving Doctor Ogden and kissing. In one daydream Murdoch saw his older self camping with his wife and son. While Murdoch sees and seems to know the identity of the wife (he smiles when he sees her), [[TheFaceless the audience doesn't]].
** Doctor Ogden's point of view was used at least once as well. When the case involving a 'HemoErotic vampire' was solved, she imagined herself to be lifted up and seated on a table by the wall by Murdoch, and the two start to make out violently. The imagination involved [[spoiler: Julia's fiancé]] Doctor Darcy Garland walking in on them

* OneOfOurOwn: the show can handle this plot gracefully.
** In "The Great Wall", a constable from station five is murdered, but the case is assigned to Detective Murdoch from station four. The whole constabulary still consider themselves to be a family and things get pretty ugly when the evidence leads to somebody from the police force.
** "Murdoch in Wonderland": A man is found murdered at Lewis Carroll costume party. All clues point to the Hatter, which was Murdoch... He himself demands a detective from a different station house as nobody of his colleagues could be objective. But the constables of station four stay involved, as well as Murdoch's superior Inspector Brackenreid.
** In "Let Loose the Dogs", Murdoch's father was a murder suspect. Murdoch doesn't want the case, but his boss refuses to comply. Interestingly, Murdoch was ''prejudiced'' against his father because they have serious issues.

** Plegmatic -- Julia Ogden

-->'''Constable Crabtree''': Sir? What? Even your wife?
-->'''Inspector Brackenreid''': ''Especially'' the wife! *[[FunnyMoment ominous music starts playing]]*

* MoralDissonance: While Murdoch and Dr. Ogden are quite ahead of their times, the setting is definitely ''not''; classicism, racism, and sexism are rampant, and Murdoch & Co. even run into the odd anarchist, eugenicist, and virulent anti-papist (RealLife turn-of-the-century Toronto was under the complete control of the Orange Order, every mayor up to 1955 was a card carrying member). Inspector Brackenreid isn't above [[PoliceBrutality beating up a suspect during interrogation]] to try and get answers. Going in the other direction, abortionists were treated as complete pariahs, even by Murdoch until Ogden shook him out of it.

* MoralDissonance: While Murdoch and Dr. Ogden are quite ahead of their times, the setting is definitely ''not''; classicism, racism, and sexism are rampant, and Murdoch & Co. even run into the odd anarchist, eugenicist, and virulent anti-papist (RealLife turn-of-the-century Toronto was under the complete control of the Orange Order, every mayor up to 1955 was a card carrying member). Inspector Brackenreid isn't above [[PoliceBrutality beating up a suspect during interrogation]] to try and get answers. Going in the other direction, abortionists were treated as complete pariahs, even by Murdoch until Ogden shook him out of it..

* PoeticSerialKiller: An Indian guide kills men who accidentally wounded him and left him stranded.

* PoeticSerialKiller: An Indian guide kills men who left him to die with a very serious wound.
kills men who left him wounded

* HistoricalDomainCharacter / InThePastEveryoneWillBeFamous: Several well-known figures make appearances, including Creator/JackLondon, Buffalo Bill and Annie Oakley, HarryHoudini, Creator/ArthurConanDoyle, Creator/HGWells, NikolaTesla and Prince Albert Victor.

* AllPartOfTheShow: The production of ''Theatre/LaBoheme'' in "Murdoch at the Opera". [[spoiler:Knowing that she will be arrested for murder after the performance, Elvira Cummings takes a fatal dose of poison and plays out Mimi's death scene, expiring after singing Mimi's last words. The audience isn't any wiser for it and applaud wildly; the other players only realise she has died after the curtains have fallen.]]

* RunawayFiancee: Doctor Grace is one. Her fiance has not gotten over it.

* EternalSexualFreedom: In the dawning century of 1900, no consequences are mentionned for...
** Devout catholic Murdoch chasing divorcee Ogden.
** Doctor Grace breaking convention in a manner that creates shock even today with the spurning of her would-be-husband just before the wedding.

* DrugsAreBad: Played for laughs and CulturalDissonance. Brackenreid has a tendency to fall for the latest in patent medicine and has taken Laudanum, morphine, cocaine, and Heroin, all for innocent pain management problems. Murdoch delivers the contemporary anti-drug Aesops, which sounds hilariously weak and nonsensical as the negative properties of addictive drugs was not well known at the time.

* AnachronismStew: The story seems to be set in a "greatest-hits of Late Victorian/Edwardian Era" world.

* MoralDissonance: While Murdoch and Dr. Ogden are quite ahead of their times, the setting is definitely ''not''; racism and sexism are rampant, and Murdoch & Co. even run into eugenicists and anti-papists. Inspector Brackenreid isn't above [[PoliceBrutality beating up a suspect during interrogation]] to try and get answers.