I freely admit to having the bias of a fan, so perhaps I am more willing than some to ignore the shortcomings of the story, however, I feel that both of the reviews of this story (which were given in response to the first part of the story) were unduly harsh.
I like the fact that occasionally there are characters who reappear, especially because it gives the writers the chance to flesh out aspect which were not fully explored first time round.
So here we have the return of Anna Fulford, the pub landlady who took pity on Murdoch in Bristol, England, when he had lost his memory; Murdoch feels honour-bound to help her, which leads him into a compromising situation, ethically speaking. We revisit the sporting (or rather, unsporting) rivalry between stations 4 and 5, though this time it is in baseball, rather than tug-of-war. Once more we see how easily Dr Grace wraps Constable Crabtree round her little finger. Plus there is a murder mystery that involves a librarian, a birdwatcher, various assorted seedy folk, coded messages, and erotica literature hidden between the covers of an innocuous library book. For the fan, what is there not to love?
I was beginning to wonder what had happened to Murdoch's delight in scientific advances, when the only new information we gleaned about him in the first part was his familiarity with the Derby Decimal system for classifying books, but that was all redeemed in part 2 with Murdoch's explanation of the aerodynamics of a baseball pitch.
According to Shakespeare, all's well that ends well, and this two-part story ends very well indeed for all the good guys, except, perhaps for Dr Ogden, in a story arc that I'm sure will continue in future episodes. The evildoers are brought to justice, and even Inspector Brackenreid makes the great sacrifice of half a decanter of Scotch. Add in the fact that Crabtree makes a start on his next novel, inspired by events.
I think it's a much better episode than the other reviews would suggest. Don't be put off. Enjoy.
I like the fact that occasionally there are characters who reappear, especially because it gives the writers the chance to flesh out aspect which were not fully explored first time round.
So here we have the return of Anna Fulford, the pub landlady who took pity on Murdoch in Bristol, England, when he had lost his memory; Murdoch feels honour-bound to help her, which leads him into a compromising situation, ethically speaking. We revisit the sporting (or rather, unsporting) rivalry between stations 4 and 5, though this time it is in baseball, rather than tug-of-war. Once more we see how easily Dr Grace wraps Constable Crabtree round her little finger. Plus there is a murder mystery that involves a librarian, a birdwatcher, various assorted seedy folk, coded messages, and erotica literature hidden between the covers of an innocuous library book. For the fan, what is there not to love?
I was beginning to wonder what had happened to Murdoch's delight in scientific advances, when the only new information we gleaned about him in the first part was his familiarity with the Derby Decimal system for classifying books, but that was all redeemed in part 2 with Murdoch's explanation of the aerodynamics of a baseball pitch.
According to Shakespeare, all's well that ends well, and this two-part story ends very well indeed for all the good guys, except, perhaps for Dr Ogden, in a story arc that I'm sure will continue in future episodes. The evildoers are brought to justice, and even Inspector Brackenreid makes the great sacrifice of half a decanter of Scotch. Add in the fact that Crabtree makes a start on his next novel, inspired by events.
I think it's a much better episode than the other reviews would suggest. Don't be put off. Enjoy.
