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.
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.