Detective William Murdoch Trivia Quiz

Answer: Catholicism

Detective Murdoch is a Catholic, while the majority religion in turn-of-the-century Toronto (in which the series is set) is Protestantism. Subtle reminders of Murdoch's religion do come up quite often; for example, he makes the sign of the cross every time he comes across a dead body, which is often in his line of work.

More overt references to his Catholicism do occur occasionally, such as in a season one episode when Murdoch is denied a promotion because of his religion.

Answer: False

Murdoch is definitely not a big drinker, and usually turns down offers of drinks. However, he has been shown to drink on occasion. For example, in a season two episode, he and Julia consume the better part of a bottle of absinthe. He has also had a glass of scotch with the inspector on a few occasions, such as in season seven when he announces his intention to ask Julia to marry him.

In the book series, Murdoch is a more of a regular drinker.

Answer: Nun

Susannah Murdoch appears in the season four episode "Voices". In this episode, Detective Murdoch is called to the convent to investigate the death of a supposed priest, and is surprised to find Susannah is there. They reconnect, and Susannah confesses she is suffering from a terminal illness. She later passes away off-screen.

Murdoch's estranged father, Harry, and half-brother, Jasper, have also been seen in the series, and Murdoch has mentioned his deceased mother, Mary, once or twice.

Answer: Butterflies

In "Murdochophobia", Julia treats several patients with intense fears. Some of the fears are considered to be a bit ridiculous by others, such as a fear of feathers. During the course of the episode, William tells Julia that he has a phobia of butterflies.

It's revealed that the fear stems from when, as a young boy, he discovered his mother's dead body. She was surrounded by butterflies. Julia helps William overcome his fear.

Answer: Pans for gold

In the first episode of season five, "Murdoch of the Klondike", Murdoch has relocated to the Yukon and earns money panning for gold. He is on leave of absence from the constabulary as he is suspended at the end of season four. Due also to Julia having married Darcy Garland at the end of the previous season, Murdoch is unsure if he ever wants to return to being a detective.

His love for policing is revived though, when he and Jack London (yep, that Jack London) investigate a murder to help out a wrongly accused friend. Murdoch returns to Toronto at the end of the episode.

Answer: French

Though Canada is now a bilingual country with French and English being official languages, it was pretty uncommon for people in Toronto in this time period to speak French. Murdoch hails from the Maritimes though, where there were French settlements, and he was educated by French-speaking Jesuits.

He is shown to speak French in a couple of episodes, such as when he needs to communicate with the police department in Montreal.

Answer: Kayak

In turn-of-the-century Canada, horse drawn carriages and bicycles are the most common modes of transportation, and Murdoch is seen using both quite often. Murdoch and Julia both ride in a hot air balloon at the end of the second season finale, "Anything You Can Do...". Murdoch gets to pilot both an electric car and an early airplane/flying machine courtesy of genius inventor James Pendrick, Murdoch's sometimes-enemy, sometimes-ally.

The electric car is seen in the season five episode "Who Killed the Electric Carriage?", in which Pendrick lets Murdoch take the car for a spin. In this episode, Henry Ford's gas-powered automobile is deemed to be a better choice than an electric car. In season six's "Murdoch Air", Murdoch ends up flying the plane when Pendrick is injured and cannot fly it himself. In the end, the plane is pushed off a cliff to avoid it falling into the wrong hands.

Answer: Mad Hatter

In this episode, Murdoch attends a Wonderland party with Julia and her sister Ruby. At the party, Murdoch is drugged and when he awakes, he discovers that a murder has taken place - and all signs point to him as the murderer. In the end, it is revealed that the killer is a young woman whom the victim raped and beat many years previously.

At that time, it was Murdoch's testimony in court that set the rapist free, so Murdoch is framed for his murder. Ava Moon, the murderess, is ultimately set free from jail by Murdoch.

It is his actions in this episode that lead to Murdoch's suspension from the constabulary and his temporary move to the Yukon that we see in the first episode of season five.

Answer: False

Julia does indeed reveal to William, in "The Tesla Effect", the final episode of season three, that she can't have any children due to an abortion she had several years earlier (she had already told him about the abortion in season two). She indicates that this means they shouldn't continue their relationship. William does not break up with her, though; instead he buys an engagement ring and writes her a letter expressing his feelings, including that he is willing to adopt children.

However, he is too late getting to the train station, and Julia has already left for Buffalo, where she has been offered a job.

When William next sees her in Buffalo in the fourth season, she has already gotten engaged to Darcy Garland.

Answer: DNA matching

Detective Murdoch keeps up to date on scientific advances, and uses them to his advantage in his work. He also creates or modifies existing technology to build devices that are helpful to him. He makes his own night-vision goggles, and uses them, in the season two episode "Convalescence".

His 'scrutiny camera', as he calls it, is used in a few episodes, such as in "Buffalo Shuffle" and "The Kissing Bandit" (both from season four), when it is used to catch criminals red-handed. Blood typing is essential to an investigation in season seven in "Tour de Murdoch", when athletes are injected with each other's blood; blood typing helps Murdoch figure out why one combination of blood is lethal and others are not. Dr. Grace is very instrumental in assisting Murdoch with the blood typing.