Weekend at Murdoch's

"Weekend at Murdoch's"
Season	10
Episode	8
Airdate	November 28, 2016
Writer	Jordan Christianson
Director	Eleanore Lindo
Recurring	Cyrus Lane as Roger Newsome Bea Santos as Louise Cherry
Previous	Painted Ladies
Next	Excitable Chap

"Weekend at Murdoch's" is the eighth episode of the tenth season of the Murdoch Mysteries and the one hundred fortieth of the series. It first aired on November 28, 2016.

It was re-aired on January 30, 2017 on CBC with remembrance to MM writer Jordan Christianson.

Summary

Murdoch and Crabtree pretend that a witness still lives in a ploy to catch a killer.

The timely deaths of bird-watchers Alistair Plumlee and Gilford Harrison are no accident. They were two of the three witnesses set to testify against Rex Grey, accused of murdering his business partner. Crown Prosecutor Daniels had turned that investigation over to Murdoch when Station House No. 3 could not close the case since the murder weapon was never found. Now Murdoch and Station House No. 4 must keep the third and last witness safe over the weekend. No easy task for Crabtree because the witness is none other than Roger Newsome of the Mimico Newsomes, who recently spotted the first Inca tern in all of North America.

Crabtree begs the Detective to assign another constable for too much history has accrued between them that George cannot overcome his hatred for Mr. Newsome. As a concession Murdoch assigns Higgins to assist and help ease the burden. George states "Sir, you're taking me out of the pot and putting me in the fire. I might as well watch Newsome on my own." Indeed, in their 'safe room' at the Windsor House Hotel, when George goes to fetch their dinner and Henry lies sound asleep on the sofa, the vain Newsome leaves the hotel to get his hair cut. Not even Murdoch can save him from his fatal fate. His final words are for George: "I had a bird's-eye view".

Their only recourse is to catch the trained killer in the process of trying again to kill Mr. Newsome, and then force him to testify against Mr. Grey. Crown Prosecutor Daniels questions Murdoch's plan: "You want to parade a dead man around town in hopes that his murderer tries to murder him again?" Yes.

Murdoch must get permission from Newsome’s next of kin, and then enlists the help of Toronto Gazette reporter Louise Cherry to convince the public and the hired gunman that Roger Newsome survived the shooting and is very much alive to testify against Rex Grey. 

The mad gambit is afoot – with a uniquely outfitted wheeled-chair.

Character Revelations

• Roger Newsome of the Mimico Newsomes has a sister, Ruth Newsome.
• The truth emerges, as only Julia can ascertain from William, revealing that he returns to Mrs. Kitchen's boarding house every other Wednesday at lunch time to have his hair cut which is an excuse to have her beef stew, one of his favorite dishes.
• Louise Cherry is genuinely disappointed that the reason Crabtree is bringing her the stories is not an excuse to see her more. While admitting for the first time he very much enjoys her company, he is under orders from Detective Murdoch.
• Julia is seen in her first 'pantsuit', a variation of jodhpurs (riding breeches) and jacket, when she takes William bird-watching for the first time.

Continuity

• Inspector Thomas Brackenreid is still away at the 1904 Olympics in St Louis.
• Henry Higgins once again proves his constant incompetence, this time with fatal results (twice!) but without a redeeming moment in this episode.
• Along with Roger Newsome, Louise Cherry of the Toronto Gazette returns causing Crabtree much consternation and reluctant deception.
• Cosmetic rouge returns to the City Morgue as Dr. Ogden and Miss James do the work of morticians.
• Murdoch devises a plan to set-up a "crime" in his home at the Windsor House Hotel which fails its purpose to capture the hired assassin.
• It matters to George that Louise Cherry think him to be honest because he made a point of criticizing her for being sneaky and misquoting his words like "top chums" in Concocting A Killer. This is ironic given that he misleads her about the facts of case, upon orders from the Detective and Inspector.
• Murdoch devises a wheelchair with automated controls to move the arms and neck of an inert body.
• Murdoch's bulletproof vest is used but not worn; first seen in Big Murderer on Campus.

Historical References

• This episode takes place in Toronto 1904 – the Edwardian Era (1901-1910) a the time in which King Edward VII rules the British Empire; It is known as the Belle Époque era, conventionally dated from the end of the Franco-Prussian War in 1871 to the outbreak of World War I in 1914.

Trivia

• MM Writer Jordan Christianson stated the script is a riff on the 1989 American black comedy film Weekend at Bernie's, written by Robert Klane and directed by Ted Kotcheff; one of Christianson's favorite film from the 1980s.
• MM Writer Mary Pedersen revealed before it aired, "It’s going to be one of the funniest episodes, I think, of the season and a good mystery too."
• It features one of the MM Writers’ Room’s most favourite guest characters of all.
• The fourth episode in Season 10 that Thomas Craig (Inspector Thomas Brackenreid) does not appear.
• Actor Geordie Johnson (Crown Prosecutor Daniels) first appeared on Murdoch Mysteries as Barkeley Blake in Dinosaur Fever.

Errors

• Greg David of TV,eh? asked Jordan Christianson, "OK, why is Henry Higgins still on the force?!" Christianson admitted, "He should have been fired after this one and if there is a flaw in this episode—and I’m sure there are many—is that I never quite found a way to do was find that redeeming moment for Higgins at the end of the episode. It was packed with so much stuff that I just couldn’t find that moment."

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

Lachlan Murdoch as Constable Henry Higgins
Mouna Traoré as Rebecca James
Cyrus Lane as Roger Newsome
Bea Santos as Louise Cherry

Guest Cast

Siobhan Murphy] as Ruth Newsome
Geordie Johnson as Crown Prosecutor Daniels
Cliff Saunders as Stanley Faber
Marc Hickox as Rex Grey
Ash Catherwood as Gilford Harrison
Ron Kennell as Alastair Plumlee
Kristian Truelsen as Judge

Non-Credited Cast

Nathan Hoppe as Constable McNabb

Gallery

Gilford Harrison and Alastair Plumlee

The assassin...

Victims...

Two witnesses down...

Protecting Mr. Newsome

Heck of a yarn George wove for Miss Cherry.

Using Bulletproof Vest...

To convince Gazette Reporter Cherry...

Roger Newsome survived second bullet

Prepping for Presentation...

Judge rules on the case...