The stupidity of the characters, written into the script, is becoming quite tedious. If they can screw something up, they definitely will. It is now expected.
18 Reviews
Becoming tedious
jastpeel-37-4836553 August 2021
I don't know what everyone is talking about
iman-adem22 February 2019
Yes it's bad but not as bad as all that
miles-3310816 November 2016
Warning: Spoilers
As all the other reviewers have said in one way or another, this episode is not one of the best.
However what all of the reviewers who have complained about the story seem not to have noticed is that the original arrangements for transporting the prisoner involved a special car separate from the rest of the train. If that had happened as the plan was, then almost none of the other things that they are complaining about could have come to pass.
As to the comments about the police who are brilliant behaving like buffoons, it is true that stress makes people do things they would not normally do, including being stupid.
All that having been said, the scriptwriters really should have thought twice about this. Surely Chief Constable Giles would have entrusted this particular mission to the staff of a different station house...
However what all of the reviewers who have complained about the story seem not to have noticed is that the original arrangements for transporting the prisoner involved a special car separate from the rest of the train. If that had happened as the plan was, then almost none of the other things that they are complaining about could have come to pass.
As to the comments about the police who are brilliant behaving like buffoons, it is true that stress makes people do things they would not normally do, including being stupid.
All that having been said, the scriptwriters really should have thought twice about this. Surely Chief Constable Giles would have entrusted this particular mission to the staff of a different station house...
Absolutely, Positively, Incoherently, Infinitely, Embarrasingly Absurd
alex2085020 April 2020
Warning: Spoilers
I was slow to come to Murdoch Mysteries, but once I got through the first episode I have been a big fan. I have pretty much stopped watching anything else. HOWEVER, when I watched this one I had to take a break. The writers have adult policemen and a brilliant female doctor do things that pre-school children would know better.
1) Rumor... RUMOR... of the hangman being bribed to save Gillies so what they do - get another hangman? no. Increase security at the hanging room? no. change the date and time of the hanging? no. Go to another town on a night train. Oh, yeah, great idea! HUH??
2) OK, they decide to take the train, BUT they don't get the separate car they were promised so do they cancel the trip? no. take a later train? no. Double the police escort? No. They make do with the bar car. WCGW - What could go wrong? Liquor, fire, cigars, cabinets. Nope, looks good to me.
3) Mysterious scraggly last minute passenger offers Julia drink from flask in front of Murdoch. Does she say no thanks? no. Does Murdoch sniff the flask or taste the drink. no. She takes a swig. WHAAATT??
4) Gillies is handcuffed. Gee... what could go wrong? Does he get leg irons? no. Does get tied to railing? no. Just left in handcuffs.
Infuriatingly Absurd Episode Unworthy of Murcoh Mysteries
karmacca23 November 2015
Warning: Spoilers
I am thankful to discover that our household isn't the only one in which this travesty was recognized as such. I agree with the previous negative reviews, except that I couldn't even give this awful episode more than one star.
I absolutely adore Murdoch Mysteries! Overall, it's got so much to offer. The mysteries are compelling, the setting is appealing, and the occasional campiness is fun and helps alleviate the grimness that can sometimes (understandably) weigh down murder-centric shows.
I love that our hero, Murdoch, does not prize violence or bigotry, but truth and justice. And, bloody'ell, I love that the while Inspector Thomas Brackenreid is blustery, pig-headed, impatient, and sometimes violent, he is also very funny to watch, and is basically a decent man who can usually admit when he's wrong and can be very supportive of his men.
Constable George Crabree is an absolute joy to behold. Jonny Harris is an excellent actor, both dramatic and comedic. He's so good that I'd bet he's made Crabtree more than the writers even hoped for. Dr. Julia Ogden is also generally a character I enjoy. I love her independence and feminism, her kindness and intelligence.
Unfortunately, there are a few episodes that severely disappoint. A Midnight Train to Kingston is perhaps the worst of them. The uncharacteristic failure of this show's main characters to show even a small fraction of their previously prodigious brainpower is simply maddening! If Julia really felt the need to witness the hanging of psychopath James Gillies--the maniac who, amongst other acts of unmitigated evil, buried her alive--then why not take another train? Or, at least stay out of the car that holds the monster.
Why do Murdoch and Brackenreid allow this? And why is everyone moronically convinced that handcuffing is enough to keep this maniacal killer from doing harm. After all they know of him from previous encounters, this just makes absolutely no sense. Also implausible: the small number of constables on the train, allowing the latecomer aboard, Murdoch jumping off the bridge, all of them--after Murdoch has survived that jump--opining that there's no way Gillies could have survived due to having been handcuffed! I could go on, but I can feel my blood pressure rising precipitously just remembering this insanely annoying episode. As I say, there are two or three other major disappointments, all suffering the implausibility of generally intelligent characters behaving incredibly stupid, but this one rises to the level of desecration of one of my favorite shows. I honestly don't understand how this script got submitted and approved.
I absolutely adore Murdoch Mysteries! Overall, it's got so much to offer. The mysteries are compelling, the setting is appealing, and the occasional campiness is fun and helps alleviate the grimness that can sometimes (understandably) weigh down murder-centric shows.
I love that our hero, Murdoch, does not prize violence or bigotry, but truth and justice. And, bloody'ell, I love that the while Inspector Thomas Brackenreid is blustery, pig-headed, impatient, and sometimes violent, he is also very funny to watch, and is basically a decent man who can usually admit when he's wrong and can be very supportive of his men.
Constable George Crabree is an absolute joy to behold. Jonny Harris is an excellent actor, both dramatic and comedic. He's so good that I'd bet he's made Crabtree more than the writers even hoped for. Dr. Julia Ogden is also generally a character I enjoy. I love her independence and feminism, her kindness and intelligence.
Unfortunately, there are a few episodes that severely disappoint. A Midnight Train to Kingston is perhaps the worst of them. The uncharacteristic failure of this show's main characters to show even a small fraction of their previously prodigious brainpower is simply maddening! If Julia really felt the need to witness the hanging of psychopath James Gillies--the maniac who, amongst other acts of unmitigated evil, buried her alive--then why not take another train? Or, at least stay out of the car that holds the monster.
Why do Murdoch and Brackenreid allow this? And why is everyone moronically convinced that handcuffing is enough to keep this maniacal killer from doing harm. After all they know of him from previous encounters, this just makes absolutely no sense. Also implausible: the small number of constables on the train, allowing the latecomer aboard, Murdoch jumping off the bridge, all of them--after Murdoch has survived that jump--opining that there's no way Gillies could have survived due to having been handcuffed! I could go on, but I can feel my blood pressure rising precipitously just remembering this insanely annoying episode. As I say, there are two or three other major disappointments, all suffering the implausibility of generally intelligent characters behaving incredibly stupid, but this one rises to the level of desecration of one of my favorite shows. I honestly don't understand how this script got submitted and approved.
Keystone Cops!
wallyvinson-563-47376518 June 2018
This episode makes the Toronto Constabulary look totally incompetent. The actors must have cringed when they saw the final product. Larry, Curly, and Moe would have fit right in and at least provided a little levity.
The WORST episode of the series so far...
pdanielhu8 December 2019
Warning: Spoilers
The policemen act as a bunch of idiots during a stupid trial of escape. Every cop denies orders all the time. The only weapon is at the inspector, and while Gillis tries to escape, Breckenreid tries to catch the woman instead of shooting dead the prisoner. Murdoch - without weapon - follows him... Full of errors! I would FIRE the whole team who did this piece of trash...
Gillies is an average criminal.... All the sudden last 3 episodes he's pure genius
tert729 December 2020
Warning: Spoilers
It's a terrible nemesis character.... He was an average criminal and all the sudden he has everytjing planned to a T, nothing EVER goes wrong for him.... Even when he is shot it's a flesh wound. Just horrible TV. Not only is he a genius he is a master craftsman, master scientist, master forger, have 6 cops on one side that allow him to escape.... Again.....hes not a super Cillian when the writers keep trying to show us he is... Not believable at all. I watched the first 10 and last 10 and glad I didn't watch the middle..... Don't they have a right to shoot a prisoner when he's escaping? Seems A LOT of prisoners easily escape the noose in Toronto.... And I'm sure we will see him again, which will be another episode mostly skipped.
And the writers are really shoe horning Julia in every episode..... And watching the start of the next episode.. They all assume he is dead..... Come on writers...gotta do. Better. Because we know he is not dead.
Just DUMB!
CDTrannyLez28 November 2015
I, like many of the reviewers, is a big fan of The Murdoch Mysteries. But this episode is the worst. I'm not partial to the "Gillies" episodes. It has too much of a Joker / Riddler quality to it. He's this effeminate, maniacal, supposed genius, who likes playing games with his adversary. In his first appearance, he's just a homicidal and intelligent college student. Since then, he's become a "Moriarty" like super villain with unlimited resources. I find Michael Seater's portrayal of Gillies too contrived. He's not fun or scary to watch as a foe for Murdoch. Of all the interesting bad guys on the show that could have become a recurring antagonist, why Gillies? I'm not sure why, but its been a trend for a lot of these British detective shows to have the ultra villain be a gangly, gay, mewling, man/boy, like the recent depiction of Moriarty in the show Sherlock starring Benedict Cumberbatch. And why did this episode have to have Gillies kissing Murdoch?
Worst Episode So Far
katherinemch20 August 2021
Warning: Spoilers
I'm so weary of the Gilles stories! How depressing to find they plan to keep him around for more garbage episodes. But I'm the sort who can't skip any so I just endure them lol.
He doesn't act like real people act, he's just the sort of overused boogeyman that appears in too many bad scripts, evil cackling and fixation on toying with the protagonist and all the usual silliness.
And why in the world would the gang be in charge of transporting him? I know things were different in the past but surely there were people whose jobs were prisoner transport. At least someone on the execution or prison staff would make more sense, than sending a bunch of crime investigators. And so few? This guy has a history of causing chaos, there should be ten guards on him at all times. But no, they send only a handful of officers, who often forgetfully leave him unattended briefly or in the company of only an ancient cop who might be past his prime, or one who while young and beefy acts as helpless as if it were his first day on the job. It's as if the constabulary were TRYING to let Gilles escape.
Then in the final scene they choose to show Murdoch having a dislocated shoulder popped back in place- but they have it be the shoulder near the camera, which we can plainly see is normal, rather than the far one, which we could imagine actually was dislocated.
Really the entire thing feels like a story a preteen dashed off the night before it was due for a class. 100% plot holes, senseless behaviours, cliches and other mess, 0% interesting, realistic moments.
The only thing I liked at all was when Gilles was saying all sorts of nasty things to try to goad Murdoch into hitting him, and Crabtree showed up just in time and snapped Murdoch out of it with a simple head shake. I like it when Crabtree has the guts to behave authoritatively to his superiors when needed. It shows that they're all good people and it's a healthy work team, that someone of lower rank is comfortable speaking up with advice for his boss. So there it was, the highlight of the episode: thirty seconds of modest character development lol. Not high praise.
He doesn't act like real people act, he's just the sort of overused boogeyman that appears in too many bad scripts, evil cackling and fixation on toying with the protagonist and all the usual silliness.
And why in the world would the gang be in charge of transporting him? I know things were different in the past but surely there were people whose jobs were prisoner transport. At least someone on the execution or prison staff would make more sense, than sending a bunch of crime investigators. And so few? This guy has a history of causing chaos, there should be ten guards on him at all times. But no, they send only a handful of officers, who often forgetfully leave him unattended briefly or in the company of only an ancient cop who might be past his prime, or one who while young and beefy acts as helpless as if it were his first day on the job. It's as if the constabulary were TRYING to let Gilles escape.
Then in the final scene they choose to show Murdoch having a dislocated shoulder popped back in place- but they have it be the shoulder near the camera, which we can plainly see is normal, rather than the far one, which we could imagine actually was dislocated.
Really the entire thing feels like a story a preteen dashed off the night before it was due for a class. 100% plot holes, senseless behaviours, cliches and other mess, 0% interesting, realistic moments.
The only thing I liked at all was when Gilles was saying all sorts of nasty things to try to goad Murdoch into hitting him, and Crabtree showed up just in time and snapped Murdoch out of it with a simple head shake. I like it when Crabtree has the guts to behave authoritatively to his superiors when needed. It shows that they're all good people and it's a healthy work team, that someone of lower rank is comfortable speaking up with advice for his boss. So there it was, the highlight of the episode: thirty seconds of modest character development lol. Not high praise.
A bland and pointless villain!
qtfetan27 January 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Gillies is a really boring and cliché villain, his only character trait is that he laughs, that's it, he has no personality. The writers keep making episodes with that character and expect us to feel something but it just makes the episodes bland and boring. Also he has escaped death in all the episodes so far, there is no suspense or reason to watch if I know that he will be alive again for another episode, laugh at the camera and escape so he can be back again. This is a really lazy writing from series that I enjoy.
From now on when I hear that Gillies name I'm gonna skip the whole episode, he is completely pointless and he adds no lore in the series whatsoever.
From now on when I hear that Gillies name I'm gonna skip the whole episode, he is completely pointless and he adds no lore in the series whatsoever.
Spoiler alert this show has really bad writing.
ellenry-238-10928013 February 2016
Warning: Spoilers
Who has been writing this crap? I suspect the son of the producer was suddenly turned loose and allowed to try his hand at writing . This is normally a great show, but this plot had holes so big you could walk through ..and it happened again a few episodes later. Its like suddenly Murdock is stupid. I am so disappointed. normally it is one of my favorite shows. Anyone know what happened? There was never a problem with the writing in the last seasons and I have watched them all. Don't know if I will continue if this is going to be the standard for the show. What a disappointment to two big fans, me and my husband. If any one can answer my review I would be grateful to know what happened.
I didn't like this episode
nomad4720024 December 2013
Warning: Spoilers
Contains possible spoilers. First of all, it was as predictable as a sunrise. Secondly, it entirely improbable. Thirdly, it was poorly handled. Here they are, transporting one of the most infamous serial killers to be executed the following morning at Kingston Penitentiary. I found this implausible. Firstly, I found it implausible that he would be transported the night before his scheduled execution. He would have been transferred relatively soon after sentencing. Why not execute him at the Don Jail? There was a scaffold there, and executions did take place there.
I also found it implausible that only Inspector Brackereid was armed, and with a double-barrelled shotgun at that. They all should have been armed.
The ending was purely Keystone Kops. I found it ridiculous.
I also found it implausible that only Inspector Brackereid was armed, and with a double-barrelled shotgun at that. They all should have been armed.
The ending was purely Keystone Kops. I found it ridiculous.
Pure rubbish
skay_baltimore18 November 2015
Warning: Spoilers
This episode is pure rubbish. To begin with, as another reviewer pointed out, the entire premise is implausible. Secondly, we've basically already seen this before (i.e. the manipulations of James Gillies). Thirdly, along with the very premise being implausible, the entire sequence of events is equally if not more implausible.
There are some good things about Murdoch Mysteries. For example, the incorporation of real life historical figures like Tesla, Edison, Houdini, Emma Goldman, Arthur Conan Doyle, and others.
And the show is to be commended for the way in which it portrays racism and sexism as it existed at the start of the 20th century.
And there are some nice interesting plots in which a high level of deductive reasoning is displayed on the part of Murdoch and others. It's like a period piece CSI.
But in THIS particular episode, that all goes out the window and the otherwise uber competent cops turn into The Keystone Cops. And that REALLY gets under my skin. There are so many instances of such buffoonery in A Midnight Train to Kingston that I won't even bother to list them.
SUGGESTION: Do yourself a favor and skip this utter total waste of time episode.
There are some good things about Murdoch Mysteries. For example, the incorporation of real life historical figures like Tesla, Edison, Houdini, Emma Goldman, Arthur Conan Doyle, and others.
And the show is to be commended for the way in which it portrays racism and sexism as it existed at the start of the 20th century.
And there are some nice interesting plots in which a high level of deductive reasoning is displayed on the part of Murdoch and others. It's like a period piece CSI.
But in THIS particular episode, that all goes out the window and the otherwise uber competent cops turn into The Keystone Cops. And that REALLY gets under my skin. There are so many instances of such buffoonery in A Midnight Train to Kingston that I won't even bother to list them.
SUGGESTION: Do yourself a favor and skip this utter total waste of time episode.
Just a piece of crap
danapatra13 February 2020
Not Worthy of the "Murdoch" Name
championbc-99-500531 August 2016
Warning: Spoilers
What can I say that has not been said already? This show has the potential to be the best thing on TV -- British, American, or Canadian. I find it usually brilliant and refreshing.
But suddenly, for the last four (count 'em 4) episodes, we have had a blatantly homosexual emphasis forced on us. I expect these things in 21st century shows, but I have a problem believing that everyone was openly gay in the late 19th and early 20th century.
A mouth-to-mouth kiss? Really? And as others have noted, the usually ingenious Murdoch and Crabtree are suddenly the Keystone cops.
This show had an agenda that was only hinted at in the last three, but blatant in this one: we will write a bad episode just so we can make you watch something you really don't want to see.
When these shows are about Murdoch and George and their delightful co-workers, they are as good as it gets. When somebody is allowed to distort them like this episode did, we all feel as violated as Murdoch was in the last scene.
But suddenly, for the last four (count 'em 4) episodes, we have had a blatantly homosexual emphasis forced on us. I expect these things in 21st century shows, but I have a problem believing that everyone was openly gay in the late 19th and early 20th century.
A mouth-to-mouth kiss? Really? And as others have noted, the usually ingenious Murdoch and Crabtree are suddenly the Keystone cops.
This show had an agenda that was only hinted at in the last three, but blatant in this one: we will write a bad episode just so we can make you watch something you really don't want to see.
When these shows are about Murdoch and George and their delightful co-workers, they are as good as it gets. When somebody is allowed to distort them like this episode did, we all feel as violated as Murdoch was in the last scene.
Keystone Cops
vintagegeek-974655 May 2024
Horrible episode. Not worthy of broadcasting. They make Murdoch and team look like utter fools throughout the entire episode. Prisoner should have been gagged and shackled and cuffed to a railing in the car. The writing was atrocious. The original private safe car was locked from the inside. Come on. Blow the lock with your shotgun if you have to. It was clear from the start he was going to escape. It was just a matter of what stupid set of circumstances would the writers inflict on the actors to make it happen. We fast forwarded to the last few minutes to see what idiocy would lead to his escaping. God , this was awful.
Completely illogical
jenny_dios27 August 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Seasons 1-5 have been so far the strongest seasons of Murdoch. Season 6 got a bit annoying with the whole divorce storyline, didn't really put Julia in a good light. I wasn't sure what seasons 7 would hold but this was the worst, most illogical episode so far. They finally bring Gilles to Justice only to have to transport him to a different province just because it was assumed the Gilles bribed the hangman. Why not just get a new hangman? Then they transport a known serial killer with just handcuffs and a group of inept constables. Murdoch doesn't even arm himself. Of course the inevitable happens and Gilles manages to get away. Murdoch gives chase without a gun only to tackle him and then linger awkwardly over him and of course Gilles plants one on him. He manages to get away and jump of a bridge where of course they don't find a body. I might add I already noticed a theme in the two episodes prior along with this one, that gives you an idea of the ideology that this show is heavy handily pushing. In my opinion the writing got lazy yet somehow it's lasted 16 seasons!
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