groovekittie: Julia Ogden (MM - Ogden)
groovekittie ([personal profile] groovekittie) wrote in [community profile] shes_awesome2010-05-17 03:49 pm

Murdoch Mysteries: Dr. Julia Ogden

So "what is Murdoch Mysteries?", you may ask. It's a wee Canadian series that airs on City TV in Canada and on UKTV's Alibi in England. I hear it's way more popular overseas than it is here, which is a shame. Not that it does so well over there, that's great! But that it isn't appreciated at home as well as it should be. It's a great show.

The show is centered around Det. William Murdoch, a Catholic detective in the Toronto constabulary in the late 19th Century. The show is part forensics and part historical drama. It's so great and fun to watch!

But one of the reasons I love this show so much is the character of Dr. Julia Ogden. Julia is the pathologist and mortician who works closely with Murdoch. While she is often considered the love interest for Murdoch, she is also so much more. The reason she intrigues Murdoch so much is that she is so wildly intelligent, independent, strong, and nobody's damsel in distress. I mean, she's a doctor in 19th Century Toronto! And she's single! AND she cuts up dead people and solves crime for a living! She has a CAREER! She's not afraid to speak her mind!

My favourite episodes are when she speaks for herself. I'm debating whether or not to keep this spoiler-free or what ... lol But there are so many wonderful specific moments where Julia just proves that she's plain ol' AWESOME2.


In this episode, Murdoch is on the case of an apparent serial killer who has the pattern of killing 8 working women before moving on. An inspector from England is helping with the case, as he has been tracking the killer since Europe into Toronto.

At the end, the killer comes after Julia, just when Murdoch figures out who the killer is and he and Brackenried (his boss) rush off to rescue Julia. By the time they get to her, she's collapsed against a wall covered in blood. When Murdoch rushes to her side you find that it's the killer's blood as she's stabbed him.

Like I said, Julia is no damsel in distress requiring some prince to save her. She does it all on her own. To top it off ... she shows up at her dance lesson the next day to learn how to dance with Murdoch despite his expectation that she would want to stay home to recover. THAT'S HOW AWESOME SHE IS! She's no delicate flower! NO SIR!

And there are TONS more examples like that. That one just comes to mind because it's early in the show, smack dab in the two seasons that have aired already, and I saw it yesterday on a rerun. :P

But really, is there any better of an example of just how awesome a character can get? I don't think so.

So again, Julia is an highly educated woman in the late 1890s Toronto, who isn't afraid to speak for herself, stand up for herself, has a career - oh yeah and is gorgeous. That's pretty much an afterthought in light of all the other awesome things she is. Because she's AWESOME!

The show has wrapped the 3rd season in the UK, and is halfway through the 3rd in Canada.

Some LINKS:
Interview with Helene Joy on Alibi

Murdoch Mysteries Official site (S3)

My Untitled fic - I wrote this for [personal profile] medie's Because We're Awesome Drabble-a-thon quite some time ago. Unfortunately, I wrote in between the first and second season hiatus and then information surfaced in S2 that rendered it non-canon. :P Ah well. C'est la vie, as they say.

Also, there needs to be more fic about her that isn't all about her and Murdoch because that's all there is at the moment. I tried to find just Julia fic but couldn't find anything. :( If anyone knows of any, let me know! I'd love to read it! :D
scintilla10: close-up of the Greek statue Victoire de Samothrace (Winged Victory)

[personal profile] scintilla10 2010-05-19 01:49 am (UTC)(link)
Oh, I love Murdoch Mysteries! And you're so right, Julia is AMAZING. <3