Murdoch Mysteries (TV Series) Why is Everybody Singing? (2024) User Reviews

A mostly laudable effort

[lotekguy-1 · 6/10 · 23 April 2024]

As I write this, 5 of the 7 posted reviews are either 9-10 or 1-2. I find those extremes amusing. When Murdoch strays from its normal tenor, it tends to trigger strong fan responses in both directions. Getting folks to care that much is a tribute to the series. I'm usually in the plus camp on these novelties.

This one is a mixed bag. I was pleasantly surprised by most of the musical performances, with Julia's voice leading the pack. The choreography was also admirable. But the quality of the songs was not up to snuff in terms of melody or relevance to the story. The opening production number came out of nowhere, and did nothing to introduce the plot.

Other light series have tossed in an outlier musical episode. A couple that come to mind are Psych and Scrubs. The former was pretty good, but the latter set the gold standard, with several Broadway-worthy melodies, and lyrics that were spot-on for the characters and the story, rewarding those who'd come to know them best. Perhaps if I hadn't seen than one (several times by now), my score for this one would have been higher.

A triumph

[imdbbaz · 10/10 · 26 March 2024]

I have to admit being of two minds about the prospect of a musical episode of "Murdoch Mysteries"--frankly, it wasn't something I had ever imagined watching in the seventeen seasons that I have been following the series. Having seen it tonight, however, it is clear to me that "Why Is Everybody Singing?" is one of the cleverest and best executed ones the production team have ever put together. It was a wise decision on their part to frame the musical numbers within a fairly standard mystery plot rather than creating an all-singing-all-dancing episode; that said, all the main characters--as well as one returning guest villain!--had an opportunity to display their talents in a way that fans of the show won't soon forget.

Wow unique and well written

[nagypd · 10/10 · 26 March 2024]

The emphasis on singing was very well laid out in the plot where Murdochs injury was the factor. More than that was how it played into the solution of who was the true suspect. I was somewhat surprised about how good the singing was. Being a long time fan of the show I was very pleased at this exceptional episode.

The story did not take away from what makes Murdoch mysteries entertaining which is the logical thinking and meticulous attention to details that Murdoch uses in finding the criminal.

Granted some folks may not like singing in what is considered a serious character driven crime solving show and in the past some of the "halloweenish" episodes tended to diminish the integrity of the show but definitely not this time. Well done!!

Bloody Hell! Why Not?!

[kjdestun · 9/10 · 19 April 2024]

Maybe not for everyone, but I loved it! Convoluted yes. Entertaining yes! With the number of episodes Murdoch Mysteries has under their belt, I think they can afford to pull this off.

I was impressed by the musical score, and melodies. While not all voices were particularly fabulous, I enjoyed the authenticity of each actor using their own voice. The harmonies were well executed as too.

Thanks for a fun episode with the delightful twist of an attempted murder mystery.

Bravo. As a musical lover, this episode brought a lovely lilt to the story. I loved the perspective from the comatose brain. Well done!

Just awesome

[GoodSOVeryVeryGood · 10/10 · 16 April 2024]

Such a joy - it's what I love about Murdoch, and this from the start, always daring to expand the narrow confines of storytelling to include horror, music, sci-fi, noir, and all manner of genres.

I feel bad for those who cannot expand their minds and tastes to dare to try something different. "Normal" Murdoch is not a thing and I for one am so grateful the team isn't limited in their thinking, or in the cast's abilities.

The interweaving of what is happening inside Murdoch's mind and the investigation is such a clever way to tell the story. The musical numbers are amusing, touching and well produced.

This episode is the kind of thing that keeps the series fresh and engaging. Pity the person who cannot enjoy such creativity.

Getting worse

[jillyhelders-46946 · 2/10 · 5 April 2024]

What the heck! This last series has got weirder and weirder what is going on . There have always been the odd strange episode in each series but this new series is full of them and they're terrible. Have they run out of ideas or got new writers? Whatever it is I wish it would stop and just go back to being a good mystery story with clever dialogue and references to actual events and characters from history. Maybe it's run its course now which is a shame but it's not enjoyable anymore, just plain daft. I thought the episode when the Newsomes invented their own country was crazy but this is worse.

A weak "very special" episode

[ddumble · 5/10 · 10 April 2024]

The musical episode of Murdoch Mysteries reminded me of the musical episode of Psych; it was written by someone who believes that a "musical" means every so often people begin speaking their lines in a sing-song tone where their sentences end with words that sort of rhyme. The "songs" have no structure, no verses or choruses, and other than some tempo changes they all sound similar to one another. The Buffy musical episode, still the gold standard, mixed love songs, rock numbers, and "I Want" songs, all distinctive and all forwarding the plot while remaining songs and not simply dialog that's hummed, not spoken.

There is also the fact that almost none of the cast could sing well. They cast member with the best singing vote seemed to be the actor playing Higgins, who couldn't be given his own song because he's a minor character. Again, the Buffy cast had some non-singers but they worked around it; here the lack of strong voices dooms the project.

I guess you have to give everyone credit for trying, but this is one of the weaker musical episodes of a weekly TV series.

Atrocious

[rzdhzkyhxt · 1/10 · 12 April 2024]

I ADORE Murdoch Mysteries, and have for many, many years.

However, I literally could not watch more than 5 minutes of this garbage episode. I am not a musical fan and it just simply didn't work, and was totally unnecessary in my opinion. Whilst I appreciate them trying something different, this was outrageously bad.

What's sad about it is upon fast forwarding the episode in an attempt to understand the story and avoid the singing, it looked to be quite an interesting storyline including Ralph Fellows, so a real shame that it was just rammed with silliness.

Please don't repeat this and let normal Murdoch resume.