Murdoch Mysteries, 2008-

Creator: Maureen Jennings

Stars: Yannick Bisson, Helene Joy, Thomas Craig, Jonny Harris

I found this lovely Canadian gem on Netflix! Detective William Murdoch (Bisson) investigates murders in 1890's Toronto, with the help of his medical examiner Dr. Julia Ogden (Joy), Inspector Brackenreid (Craig), and Constable Crabtree (Harris).

It has a Sherlock Holmes-style of solving crimes, using new forensic evidence to catch the killers. The introduction of modern items also comes into play, such as periscopes, motorcycles, lie-detectors, wireless communication, finger-printing, and other things in forensic police shows that you wouldn't expect to see in this era.

It's too bad only one season is on Netflix. But I'm really enjoying this season 1. I wonder when Murdoch and Julia are going to get together?!

Sabah: A Love Story

Director: Ruba Nadda

Stars: Arsinee Khanjian, Shawn Doyle

Sabah (Khanjian) is a 40-something, single Muslim woman, who dutifully takes care of her mother, and deals with the strict rules of her religion within her close-knit family in Toronto. She decides to take swimming lessons (a big no-no, apparently) and meets a non-Muslim named Stephen, and falls in love. Keeping the relationship from her family is complicated, and eventually they decide to tell them.

It's one of those quiet, slow-moving stories. A kind of real life story. It was a lot like Sweet Land, which I reviewed a few weeks ago. I liked Sweet Land better, but still this was sweet, and definitely worth watching.