Before there was CSI there was The Murdoch Mysteries, a book series penned by Canadian writer Maureen Jennings about Detective William Murdoch, who shocked his peers with wacky new crime-solving techniques - like dusting for fingerprints. Murdoch's exploits in Victorian Toronto are being brought to the small screen for CHUM Television/ Bravo! by way of two MOWs from Winnipeg's Original Pictures and Toronto's Shaftesbury Films.

Except the Dying and Poor Tom is Cold began shooting back-to-back in Winnipeg in early September under director Michael DeCarlo (Hemingway vs. Callaghan).

Peter Outerbridge (Trudeau) stars as Murdoch alongside Colm Meaney (Random Passage), Keeley Hawes (A is for Acid) and William B. Davis (The X-Files).

According to Original president/executive producer Kim Todd, who "loves working with mysteries," using modern-day Winnipeg to recreate 1890s Toronto isn't as much of a stretch as one might think.

"Winnipeg has lots of very old buildings and whole blocks of old 'downtown' areas," she says. "But the films have a very contemporary feel, and with Michael DeCarlo directing, we wanted to make that combination - all of the interest in the period with a feeling of a contemporary story in its pacing and intrigue."

Todd is producing with Shaftesbury's Christina Jennings and co-exec producing with Jennings and Shaftesbury's Scott Garvie. Writer Janet MacLean (Road to Avonlea) adapted Except the Dying solo, and worked with Jean Greig and Cal Coons on Poor Tom.

The combined budget for the two films is under $7 million, says Todd, with funding from Telefilm Canada, CTF's LFP and EIP, Manitoba Film & Sound, Cogeco, CHUM and tax credits. The Shaftesbury Sales Company is handling foreign sales.

Todd hopes the films will be received warmly so that others may follow.

When shooting on The Murdoch Mysteries wraps Oct. 18, Todd says she will enjoy just 24 hours of rest before jumping into preproduction on another Original/Shaftesbury copro, The Shields Stories, a 6 x 30 anthology series for W based on stories by late Canadian author Carol Shields.

Sarah Polley (Go), Lori Spring (The Atwood Stories) and Norma Bailey (The Sheldon Kennedy Story) have signed on to direct episodes, with Polley and Spring also penning their episodes. Spring will write a second episode and serve as story editor for all six. Writers David Young (Mutant X), Dennis Foon (Scar Tissue) and Esta Spalding (Republic of Love) are also signed. Todd and Harbin will produce, while Todd, Jennings and Garvie exec produce.

The series is budgeted at under $4 million, with funding from W, CTF (both sides), the CanWest Western Independent Production Fund, Rogers Telefund, MFS and tax credits. Shaftesbury is distributing.

Todd hopes to have the series wrapped by Christmas Eve.

Panacea opens with MOW

Edmonton's Josh Miller, a former executive with Minds Eye Pictures who worked out of the company's Edmonton office, has opened his own production company, Panacea Entertainment in Edmonton. The writer/producer will still play a limited role with Minds Eye (finishing projects that were already underway before the Regina-based prodco began scaling back its operations due to some financial troubles), and is already developing several projects with it.