Midsomer Murders, Set Three

Rating:
Summary: Correction to Frank Behrens
Review: in his review of March 2004 "Complex plots and enjoyable viewing, March 14, 2004
Reviewer: Frank Behrens from Keene, NH USA wrote that Inspector Morse was assisted by Troy.

I do not wish to nitpick but the name of Sgt. Lewis was Robbie.

Much as though this series is an enjoyable puzzler, the plots are nowhere as complex as those of Morse but they are pleasant enough sojourns into the bloodied fields of merrie Englande.

Rating:
Summary: Murder, Mayhem, and Marvelous Music
Review: in his review of March 2004 "Complex plots and enjoyable viewing, March 14, 2004
Reviewer: Frank Behrens from Keene, NH USA wrote that Inspector Morse was assisted by Troy.

I do not wish to nitpick but the name of Sgt. Lewis was Robbie.

Much as though this series is an enjoyable puzzler, the plots are nowhere as complex as those of Morse but they are pleasant enough sojourns into the bloodied fields of merrie Englande.

Rating:
Summary: Complex plots and enjoyable viewing
Review: Many of you might have watched "Midsomer Murders" over the commercial-ridden A&E channel and have joined millions on both sides of the Atlantic in becoming devoted fans. For you, good news. Acorn Media has issued the third set that includes five more episodes in boxed sets of 5 DVDs.

Briefly, in the first set, "Death's Shadow" deals with several weird murders in Badger's Drift, "Strangler's Wood" with the seeming renewal of serial killings after many years, "Blood Will Out" with the effect of nomadic groups on local problems, and "Beyond the Grave" (the most gothic of the four) with ghostly doings in a museum.

In the second, we have "Dead Man's Eleven" dealing with a cricket bat as a murder weapon and a cricket game as the scene of yet another murder; "Death of a Stranger" dealing with fox hunting, strange tramps, Oscar Wilde, and murder; "Blue Herrings" dealing with suspicious deaths in a home for the elderly; and "Judgement Day" dealing with a "perfect" village trying to win an award as the bodies pile up.

In this latest set, "Garden of Death" involves local outrage at the commercialization of a local treasure; "Destroying Angel" is about murders concerning a hotel; "The Electric Vendetta" centers around those who do and do not believe in UFOs; "Who Killed Cock Robin" is about a love affair, while "Dark Autumn" is about multiple love affairs.

In a former review, I said that I found the first two series just a little less striking, a little more low-key, than those I have raved about in the Wimsey, Poirot and Miss Marple series. I added that "Midsomer Murders" seems a recycling of the Inspector Morse series but without that character's idiosyncrasies. But by now, I am pretty hooked on the show and complain only about extremely complex plots that will make you want to view them a second time. But that is the point in owning recordings.

I should interject here that some television series are rich and enjoyable enough to deserve repeated viewings. Poirot for its humor and period settings, Marple for its characters, Wimsey for all three of those elements, and now "Midsomer Murders."

John Nettles plays Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby with a droll sense of humor that is most appealing and most of his ongoing problems stem from his job's keeping him away from his lovely wife (Jane Wymark) and daughter (Laura Howard). His sidekick, Sergeant Troy (Daniel Casey) is simply Barnaby's sidekick but there is a humorous interplay between them. Notice that Inspector Morse's assistant is also named Troy.

And it is very good to see that gorgeous English scenery with its old inns and the like. Oh yes, and no foul language, but some unnecessary nudity of the "we may do it so we must do it" variety adds nothing to the quality of the show.

Rating:
Summary: Complex plots and enjoyable viewing
Review: Many of you might have watched "Midsomer Murders" over the commercial-ridden A&E channel and have joined millions on both sides of the Atlantic in becoming devoted fans. For you, good news. Acorn Media has issued the third set that includes five more episodes in boxed sets of 5 DVDs.

Briefly, in the first set, "Death's Shadow" deals with several weird murders in Badger's Drift, "Strangler's Wood" with the seeming renewal of serial killings after many years, "Blood Will Out" with the effect of nomadic groups on local problems, and "Beyond the Grave" (the most gothic of the four) with ghostly doings in a museum.

In the second, we have "Dead Man's Eleven" dealing with a cricket bat as a murder weapon and a cricket game as the scene of yet another murder; "Death of a Stranger" dealing with fox hunting, strange tramps, Oscar Wilde, and murder; "Blue Herrings" dealing with suspicious deaths in a home for the elderly; and "Judgement Day" dealing with a "perfect" village trying to win an award as the bodies pile up.

In this latest set, "Garden of Death" involves local outrage at the commercialization of a local treasure; "Destroying Angel" is about murders concerning a hotel; "The Electric Vendetta" centers around those who do and do not believe in UFOs; "Who Killed Cock Robin" is about a love affair, while "Dark Autumn" is about multiple love affairs.

In a former review, I said that I found the first two series just a little less striking, a little more low-key, than those I have raved about in the Wimsey, Poirot and Miss Marple series. I added that "Midsomer Murders" seems a recycling of the Inspector Morse series but without that character's idiosyncrasies. But by now, I am pretty hooked on the show and complain only about extremely complex plots that will make you want to view them a second time. But that is the point in owning recordings.

I should interject here that some television series are rich and enjoyable enough to deserve repeated viewings. Poirot for its humor and period settings, Marple for its characters, Wimsey for all three of those elements, and now "Midsomer Murders."

John Nettles plays Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby with a droll sense of humor that is most appealing and most of his ongoing problems stem from his job's keeping him away from his lovely wife (Jane Wymark) and daughter (Laura Howard). His sidekick, Sergeant Troy (Daniel Casey) is simply Barnaby's sidekick but there is a humorous interplay between them. Notice that Inspector Morse's assistant is also named Troy.

And it is very good to see that gorgeous English scenery with its old inns and the like. Oh yes, and no foul language, but some unnecessary nudity of the "we may do it so we must do it" variety adds nothing to the quality of the show.

Rating:
Summary: It gets better and better....
Review: The Midsomer Murders series is the best contemporary British mystery series available on DVD for Anglophiles who want to believe England has not changed for the worse. I am a big fan of the older Mystery series as seen on PBS, and have purchased most of the DVDs available for `Morse', `Poirot', `Marple" as well as others that reflect `crime' in earlier imaginary ages. Most of us who travel to the UK from time to time are painfully aware that England as a Never-Never land disappeared long ago, if indeed it ever existed, but the Midsomer series allows us to play "adult pretend" as it portrays England as it might have been and might still be if you know where to look in Kent and the Cotswolds.

While other excellent mystery series depict the UK (especially London) as it really is -- gritty and not terribly different from many major cities in the US (BBC-America `Mystery Monday' lineup, i.e., `Murder in Suburbia' and `Wire in the Blood.'), the `Midsomer Murders' series fits the definition of "cozy" as given by PBS Mystery host Diana Rigg (I think these shows are A&E products that have never been shown on PBS, however). Although the series is set in modern times with cell phones and computers, the producers know where to take the crew on location (as they describe in the extra features on the DVDs), as well as the fact that many Americans want England served up as a kind of fantasy-land where a finite line-up of suspects falls into place and social order is maintained (One wag described England as the American Anglophile's Disney Land). And, just like the old mysteries by Christie and March, motive and timing become the means of entrapment-not forensics, while sleuths not terribly unlike Dectective Allyn solve the crime.

In Series #3, beautiful places such as old hotels, commons, and memorial gardens are threatened with renovation and change. You can get yourself killed in Midsomer if you threaten to change anything. One way to stay alive is stick to tradition. Mailmen who deviate from their appointed rounds and threaten the supposed marital bliss of villagers, couples who commit fornication in broad daylight, and cheating spouses run great risks. Like their role model Allyn, Barnaby and Troy are ready to get to the bottom of the crime and understand the forces that lie within the heart of village life.