"Downstairs, Upstairs" is the fourth episode of the fourth season of the Murdoch Mysteries and the forty-third episode of the series. It first aired on March 8, 2011 (UK).
Summary
When Percival Jenkins, the master of a wealthy household, is found face down in his morning porridge, Murdoch is plunged into the complex and stratified world of the upstairs rich and downstairs poor.
Murdoch comes to realize that any one of the household's many occupants had reason to murder the malevolent and lecherous old man: his cold-hearted wife, either of his two sons - the lazy, resentful elder and the dutiful, aggrieved younger Nicholas Jenkins, the younger son's snubbed fiancée, or any of the downstairs staff - the butler, Mr. Heward, the footmen, the matron, or any of the various put-upon maids.
Meanwhile, Murdoch is surprised and delighted when Dr. Ogden shows up from Buffalo - she's a friend of the Jenkins' family. Murdoch asks Dr. Ogden to cast a traceless mold of the fatal wound which she declines at first. But Dr. Garland encourages her to assist Murdoch. When Dr. Francis catches the Detective and the Doctor working in his morgue, Francis finally has words with Murdoch and comes to understand why they have been at odds from the start. He tells Dr. Ogden that "we belong were we belong" before he quits - much to the chagrin of Inspector Brackenreid. With Francis out of the picture, Murdoch suggests that Dr. Ogden stay on the case.
Detective Murdoch discovers that many maids have been let go over the years for their "loose morals." Further confusing is the statement by the victim's elderly mother insists that Alma, who had been a maid at the house 20 years previous, is the killer but Alma had died a few years earlier.
Character Revelations
- Dr. Francis gave up his 15 year career position at Scotland Yard to move to Toronto, making his Canadian wife happy, which he realizes was a mistake.
- Brackenreid convinced the top brass to hire Francis from Scotland Yard after Dr. Ogden had left.
Continuity
- In a less than auspicious manner, Murdoch gets Dr. Ogden back working in the morgue.
- Dr. Garland unwittingly encourages Julia to return to the City Morgue and Toronto.
Historical References
- Cleverly, Dr. Ogden pours green Jell-O, a dessert and "all the rage in Buffalo", into a head wound of a corpse to obtain a mold of the lethal weapon, without it adhering to or damaging the brain tissue.
- Crabtree’s idea for a board game references Cluedo (a play on "clue" and "Ludo", which is Latin for "I play")— known as Clue in North America — a murder mystery game devised by Anthony E. and Elva Pratt from Birmingham, England in 1949. Pratt's original playing rules called for ten players, the same amount of suspects that Murdoch has represented by chess pieces.
Trivia
- Simon Williams, who plays the butler James Heward in this episode "Downstairs, Upstairs", played James Bellamy in the original "Upstairs, Downstairs" TV show.
- The exterior shot of the Jenkins' house is the same house, with some added plants, used for the Darcy Garland residence and Julia's private practice in Stroll on the Wide Side, though the interiors are completely different.
Errors
- The Jell-O used by Dr. Ogden is green, presumably lime. The original Jell-O flavors dating to the late 1890s are raspberry, orange, lemon, and strawberry and did not include lime or any other flavours that were green.
Cast
Main Cast
Yannick Bisson as William Murdoch
Hélène Joy as Julia Ogden
Thomas Craig as Thomas Brackenreid
Jonny Harris as George Crabtree
Recurring Cast
Paul Rhys as Dr. Francis
Jonathan Watton as Darcy Garland
Guest Cast
Simon Williams as James Heward
Craig Olejnik as Nicholas Jenkins
Sarah Power as Clara Thorn
Patricia Collins as Mrs. Jenkins Sr.
Lynne Cormack as Nora Jenkins
Thomas Gibson as Victor Jenkins
Brigitte Robinson as Velma Allen
Melanie Leishman as Nancy Booth
Benjamin Blais as Billy Slater
Ramona Pringle as Florence Culliwick
Uncredited Cast
Rebekah Miskin as Alma Parsons
Gallery
| Murdoch Mysteries Season 4 |
|---|
| "All Tattered and Torn" • "Kommando" • "Buffalo Shuffle" • "Downstairs, Upstairs" • "Monsieur Murdoch" • "Dead End Street" • "Confederate Treasure" • "Dial M for Murdoch" • "The Black Hand" • "Voices" • "Bloodlust" • "The Kissing Bandit" • "Murdoch in Wonderland" Web-Series: The Curse of the Lost Pharaohs Season 1 • Season 2 • Season 3 • Season 5 • Season 6 • Season 7• Season 8 • Season 9 • Season 10 |