This is one of my favorite episodes in the entire series, it's such a good fun mystery and the main characters all shine. A great ending to the first season of this long running series.
4 Reviews
One of my favorite episodes
labenji-1216320 July 2022
Strange things in the sky and on the ground
miles-331085 December 2016
Warning: Spoilers
An elderly couple walking across farmland in the Rouge Valley see a neighbour, Henri Gaston, hanging in a tree. However, Constable Crabtree observes that there are no footprints leading to the tree, and while the field was ploughed the previous day, the man has only been dead a few hours. Dr Ogden confirms that Gaston was killed before being hanged.
Murdoch interviews Gaston's sister in Jerseyville, who says that while his business was failing, she never expected him to hang himself. Murdoch and Crabtree visit Gaston's woodworking workshop, where they discover Gaston was making observations both of the heavens, in particular Mars, and the local landscape.
Following up on a letter found in Gaston's papers, Murdoch visits the Rouge Valley Lands company and learns from the land agent, Terrence Meyers, that RVL was trying to buy Gaston's land, in order to dam the river, and build an electricity generating station, but Gaston would not sell, so they changed the planned location of the dam, moving it upstream.
Brackenreid suggests that Murdoch look into who else would lose from Gaston's decision. The MacIsaac brothers have a plot of land downstream from Gaston, where they operate a blacksmith's forge. Gaston's refusal to sell meant that RVL withdrew its offer on their land, though they maintain they did Gaston no harm. In fact they had been a bit worried about him recently, because he always seemed to be uneasy about goings on in his cornfield.
Investigating in the cornfield, Crabtree sees some tracks which he is sure must be Martian footprints, and as they explore the cornfield, they discover some unnatural clearings in the midst of the field. While Murdoch busies himself trying to recreate the crime scene at Police Station 4, Constable Crabtree asks people around the area if they have seen or heard anything strange recently, and soon has quite a catalogue of strange lights and sounds.
When Murdoch returns to Jerseyville, he discovers Dr Ogden has travelled on the same train, having received a telegram from Crabtree asking her to come and perform a post- mortem on a cow, which has a very strange injury. When Crabtree shows Dr Ogden the cast he made of the strange footprints, Murdoch recognises a pattern he has seen before, at the MacIsaac forge, and goes to arrest the brothers.
Meanwhile, Chief Constable Stockton visits Police Station 4, accompanied by Terrence Meyers, with a request to keep Meyers' name out of things. So, when Murdoch's questioning of the MacIsaac brothers gets to the matter of whether or not they were working for RVL, Brackenreid steps in to end the interrogation. Just then, Constable Higgins has news of another death in the Rouge Valley, this time a man with a suspicious injury. The policemen show his picture round, but nobody recognises him.
Dr Ogden confirms the man has similar injuries to the cow, and that he was wearing a false moustache. Once that detail is known, the man's local lodgings are found, along with fake papers and a disguise kit. Brackenreid then realises that he is a confidence trickster wanted by the North West Mounted Police.
Due to a mishap on the railway, Toronto's finest are forced to stay overnight in the Rouge Valley, and they pair off, the Inspector with the Constable, and Murdoch with Julia. They spend the evening discussing the case and the great mysteries of life, only for their discussions to be abruptly ended by a weird noise, shortly followed by the sight of an illuminated flying object in the sky above them. Murdoch decides they must follow the craft, though he has no idea of how to proceed if they find it.
So, what is the link between the crop circles, the cow and man with weird injuries and the unidentified flying object? Who killed Henri Gaston and why? What influence does Terrence Meyers have over Chief Constable Stockton?
This episode's mystery takes a long time to be solved, with many zany features. We see just how easily Crabtree is led away on flights of fancy, and how even Murdoch takes the opportunity to poke gentle fun at him because of it. Nevertheless, the four principal characters all bring something unique to the task of solving crime. This is a very suitable series finale, with much promise of more to come.
Murdoch interviews Gaston's sister in Jerseyville, who says that while his business was failing, she never expected him to hang himself. Murdoch and Crabtree visit Gaston's woodworking workshop, where they discover Gaston was making observations both of the heavens, in particular Mars, and the local landscape.
Following up on a letter found in Gaston's papers, Murdoch visits the Rouge Valley Lands company and learns from the land agent, Terrence Meyers, that RVL was trying to buy Gaston's land, in order to dam the river, and build an electricity generating station, but Gaston would not sell, so they changed the planned location of the dam, moving it upstream.
Brackenreid suggests that Murdoch look into who else would lose from Gaston's decision. The MacIsaac brothers have a plot of land downstream from Gaston, where they operate a blacksmith's forge. Gaston's refusal to sell meant that RVL withdrew its offer on their land, though they maintain they did Gaston no harm. In fact they had been a bit worried about him recently, because he always seemed to be uneasy about goings on in his cornfield.
Investigating in the cornfield, Crabtree sees some tracks which he is sure must be Martian footprints, and as they explore the cornfield, they discover some unnatural clearings in the midst of the field. While Murdoch busies himself trying to recreate the crime scene at Police Station 4, Constable Crabtree asks people around the area if they have seen or heard anything strange recently, and soon has quite a catalogue of strange lights and sounds.
When Murdoch returns to Jerseyville, he discovers Dr Ogden has travelled on the same train, having received a telegram from Crabtree asking her to come and perform a post- mortem on a cow, which has a very strange injury. When Crabtree shows Dr Ogden the cast he made of the strange footprints, Murdoch recognises a pattern he has seen before, at the MacIsaac forge, and goes to arrest the brothers.
Meanwhile, Chief Constable Stockton visits Police Station 4, accompanied by Terrence Meyers, with a request to keep Meyers' name out of things. So, when Murdoch's questioning of the MacIsaac brothers gets to the matter of whether or not they were working for RVL, Brackenreid steps in to end the interrogation. Just then, Constable Higgins has news of another death in the Rouge Valley, this time a man with a suspicious injury. The policemen show his picture round, but nobody recognises him.
Dr Ogden confirms the man has similar injuries to the cow, and that he was wearing a false moustache. Once that detail is known, the man's local lodgings are found, along with fake papers and a disguise kit. Brackenreid then realises that he is a confidence trickster wanted by the North West Mounted Police.
Due to a mishap on the railway, Toronto's finest are forced to stay overnight in the Rouge Valley, and they pair off, the Inspector with the Constable, and Murdoch with Julia. They spend the evening discussing the case and the great mysteries of life, only for their discussions to be abruptly ended by a weird noise, shortly followed by the sight of an illuminated flying object in the sky above them. Murdoch decides they must follow the craft, though he has no idea of how to proceed if they find it.
So, what is the link between the crop circles, the cow and man with weird injuries and the unidentified flying object? Who killed Henri Gaston and why? What influence does Terrence Meyers have over Chief Constable Stockton?
This episode's mystery takes a long time to be solved, with many zany features. We see just how easily Crabtree is led away on flights of fancy, and how even Murdoch takes the opportunity to poke gentle fun at him because of it. Nevertheless, the four principal characters all bring something unique to the task of solving crime. This is a very suitable series finale, with much promise of more to come.
Best Episode Ever
roastpuppy-256-7460713 January 2012
Warning: Spoilers
This episode -- which contains crop circles and other mysteries and has Constable Crabtree convinced Earth is being invaded by Mars -- is the best Murdoch episode of the first four seasons. In fact, I began purchasing the series on DVD after seeing a photo of a crop circle in one of the advertisements. Some parts of the show are a little slow, e.g., Murdoch's interview of the dead man's sister, but this is more than offset by Murdoch and Constable Crabtree's adventure in the cornfield, Crabtree's first time on a horse and his attempts to convince Murdoch, Brackenreid and others that the area is being stalked by Martians.
an extreme departure from the norm
sarajimi16 February 2024
Warning: Spoilers
Many aspects of this episode reminded me of the end of the pilot for the adventures of brisco county jr. But what worked for that show doesn't do much for Murdoch mysteries because the former was a show that never intended to take itself too seriously and so the science-fiction element fit right in. Murdoch mysteries has often pushed the envelope of scientific discoveries by having the inspector invent technology that is now commonplace but this episode suddenly jumps into the realm of steampunk. The moralizing at the end about how far the government's reach should extend was heavy handed at best and saw Murdoch persisting in the claim that two people had been murdered when, even by today's standards, the first would not be considered such.
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