I received the DVDs for the first two seasons of Murdoch Mysteries, and I'm loving them so far. Clever plotlines, an engaging protagonist and supporting cast, and great use of historical figures like Arthur Conan Doyle, Harry Houdini and Nikola Tesla. Picking the series up after it was cancelled was one of the best moves the CBC's made, in my view.

What I find really interesting is how the series contrasts with the original Maureen Jennings novels it was adapted from. In the novels, Murdoch wasn't a science whiz-instead, he solved most of his cases by doing legwork and talking to witnesses and suspects, which is what Constable Crabtree usually does in the series. In the novels, Crabtree is a background character who usually only appears to gather people for the juries they used as inquests. Inspector Brackenreid was also more of a pompous jackass than the boisterous but reasonable boss we see in the TV series. Dr. Ogden was older than she is on the show, and she only appears in one of the three novels I've read so far.

Any other fans of this show?

   

I've watch it all the time. It's a great show but if someone were to start watching it now they may not get the story line.

   

I only started watching on CBC last year. I didn't have too much trouble.

   

The first few years were simple times and simple crimes. The relationships were cordial, polite and friendly. The show is moving into more modern thinking and behavioral sciences. Which I hope won't turn into a CSI/Profiler type show set in the early 1900's.

   

I don't like how they keep tinkering with actual history (flying machines and electric cars) and wasn't a fan of "Sherlock Holmes" making an appearance. Otherwise, it's OK watching when I'm bored.

   

Got all 5 seasons on DVD and I'm glad that CBC picked up the series. It is a show that the CBC should have produced from the start as decent Canadian television. Though I agree with Regina and BeaverFever it's become quite trite and unrealistic. Still it's the one show that the whole family watches.

   

In fairness, they were already doing the CSI/Profiler type thing way back in Season 2. I just finished watching the second DVD today, and a couple of episodes (the one with the killer who wrote messages with his victims' blood and the Native killer who sliced his victims' throats with wolf fangs) had Murdoch visiting a Toronto mental hospital to talk to a psychiatrist to get some insight into what the killers were thinking.