Midsomer Murders - General Discussion

[peggy06]

I watched The Fisher King (S7E3) last night and they made a meta reference:

Scott: (Referring to his second case in Midsomer) "Is the body count always so high?"

Barnaby: "It has been remarked."

So perhaps not intentional, but funny nonetheless.  
 

I'm still getting used to Scott. In his first episode, he was so smarmy with the overdone compliments and courtesy to Joyce and Cully. Seems to have calmed down a tad. It was kind of uncomfortable how hard Tom was riding him on the first case, going on about being late, etc.

[SusanSunflower]

Quote

One ep that has bothered me is the one with the psychiatrist who helps Tom and who has three kids.

I remember being surprised by the reveal for about 2 minutes and then deciding I didn't believe it  -- things no one and/or nobody did or said EVER .... with the thrown in trope of psychiatrists being the worst/most clueless parents EVER.

Many Midsomer Stories have a disconnect between "normal reactions" to murders in your neighborhood and the oh-so-oblivious members of the community who open the door to strangers, leave windows unlatched and go about their lives unperturbed ... particularly the beheading episodes (few and far  between thank goodness.!!!!)

off my chest!

[peggy06]

15 hours ago, SusanSunflower said:

I remember being surprised by the reveal for about 2 minutes and then deciding I didn't believe it  -- things no one and/or nobody did or said EVER .... with the thrown in trope of psychiatrists being the worst/most clueless parents EVER.

Many Midsomer Stories have a disconnect between "normal reactions" to murders in your neighborhood and the oh-so-oblivious members of the community who open the door to strangers, leave windows unlatched and go about their lives unperturbed ... particularly the beheading episodes (few and far  between thank goodness.!!!!)

off my chest!

That's why I kept expecting that extra bit of info about the kids, and thinking I may have missed it.  It would still be a bit of a trope, but would make more sense.

[Prevailing Wind]

I always wonder why women scream like banshees when they find a dead body. And some of 'em KEEP ON screaming. What the hell is that supposed to do?  I'd probably utter a surprised, "Oh!" or "eek!" but if I lived in Midsomer, I'd probably just go, "Ho-hum. Business as usual."

[dariafan]

And it’s Midsomer, so I’d ask, who’s next?

[SusanSunflower]

Iregarding the kids

Spoiler

their mother was dead, found bludgeoned to death on the kitchen floor ... so they would need to suitably grieve big acting assignment for the everyone around, 24/7, and endure sibling discipline (the youngest being pretty young) ... because "mom hogged all of dad's attention!!!"  (was that really it?()  as I recall, not that dad now had all the time in the world undistracted as a single parent, vague murder suspect, professional, etc.   As a child, I assumed my very unhappy mother would be happier after my parents' divorce.  I was wrong.  The kids probably would have missed stuff they took for granted that their mother provided and/or noticed the grief of others.  Even if thy remained remorseless, it wasn't likely the miracle cure that they envisioned. 

Spoiler

I recently rewatched this and again felt the kids were just waaaay too calm, impassive, "village of the damned"  and yet so "normal" ....

Edited June 12, 2019 by SusanSunflower

[dgpolo]

1 hour ago, SusanSunflower said:

Iregarding the kids

Not sure you're talking about the same ep? Or maybe I am. I thought we were talking about the one where Tom knew the mother who is a psychiatrist and has three kids, two daughters and a son.The kids thought their Dad was hogging their mother, not the other way around and, I think, engineered him falling off a mountain. (There are no spoilers here, all episodes have aired except the very most recent ones)

They proceeded to kill anyone they thought their mother was spending too much time with.

I think their 'calmness' and impassivity were supposed to be indicative of their psychopathy. How realistic it is that a psychiatrist raised three psychopaths was the first question asked and I don't know the answer. Nature vs Nurture? which one is in play here?

[scorpio1031]

2 minutes ago, dgpolo said:

I think their 'calmness' and impassivity were supposed to be indicative of their psychopathy. How realistic it is that a psychiatrist raised three psychopaths was the first question asked and I don't know the answer. Nature vs Nurture? which one is in play here?

I think that their mother was portrayed as being so busy with her clinic and the patients that she really didn't spend enough time with them to notice.  It was the sisters who went to the brother's cricket match, not mom.  She didn't notice them sneaking out of the house.  But it did make for an interesting plot twist to find out it was them, and that they were responsible for their father's death as well.

[SusanSunflower]

oh, yes  that's  the one.  I got it twisted up (not unusual) I "felt" for the youngest daughter under the scrutiny of her siblings, and would preferred a pair of 14 year olds ... I do think there are limits and "two can keep a secret if one of them is dead"  worried for the youngest for reasons mentioned -- living with the secret -- bleh.

[bannana]

So DS Scott called in sick and was never heard from again?  Ouch!

[novhappy]

I’ve watched many many episodes w my daughter throughout her teen years. We just rewatched the insanity that is the Sword of Guillame and decided it is the quintessential MM episode. It has everything!

shady land deal, ancient ancestors, imperious titled family, beheadings, priest, anonymous letters, blocked walking path, Barnaby getting hit on by town sexy woman, bus trip to the sea, absolutely bizarre motive, town council meetings and Jones on a tear the entire episode! All because his lunch was interrupted! He does his best work hangry!!

[dariafan]

4 hours ago, novhappy said:

I’ve watched many many episodes w my daughter throughout her teen years. We just rewatched the insanity that is the Sword of Guillame and decided it is the quintessential MM episode. It has everything!

shady land deal, ancient ancestors, imperious titled family, beheadings, priest, anonymous letters, blocked walking path, Barnaby getting hit on by town sexy woman, bus trip to the sea, absolutely bizarre motive, town council meetings and Jones on a tear the entire episode! All because his lunch was interrupted! He does his best work hangry!!

“ do I Hear ducks?”

[Prevailing Wind]

Acorn has just started airing a 20th Anniversary Special, with interviews & commentary from several of the recurring characters and clips from all the seasons.  It's only an hour long, though. It might have been MUCH longer!  Jane Wymark looks good in grey hair.

[scorpio1031]

2 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

Acorn has just started airing a 20th Anniversary Special, with interviews & commentary from several of the recurring characters and clips from all the seasons.  It's only an hour long, though. It might have been MUCH longer!  Jane Wymark looks good in grey hair.

Thank you so much for mentioning this!  Just watched it.  And then in the process of looking up info about it, I found this:

https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/8658863/midsomer-murders-quiz-for-fans/

Edited to add:  the actress who plays Fleur - totally unrecognizable!  She looked wonderful:)

Edited June 16, 2019 by scorpio1031

[SusanSunflower]

Jane Wymark's hair and wardrobe almost redeemed her character.  Her hair falls perfectly around her face, always, and I can imagine armies of women asking their hairdressers to replicate same. 

It's interesting because Joyce in early episodes -- for me anyway -- vanishes in crowed scenes, often upper crusty and or charitable crowds.  I wondered about the relative status and/or stigma of being Barnaby's wife (same for Cully, but no one seemed very interested in Cully, even me).  Part of the fun of "other people lives" usually reserved on TV for rich people.  I can't remember Cully's at all.

Still, Angela Landsbury became a  fashion role=model MSW and I found Joyce's wardrobe similarly both appropriate to character and social situations (if sometimes questionably "affordable- so what else is new)

[peggy06]

On 6/12/2019 at 10:37 AM, Prevailing Wind said:

I always wonder why women scream like banshees when they find a dead body. And some of 'em KEEP ON screaming. What the hell is that supposed to do?  I'd probably utter a surprised, "Oh!" or "eek!" but if I lived in Midsomer, I'd probably just go, "Ho-hum. Business as usual."

I would scream like a banshee if I saw a dead mouse on the floor, let alone a dead person. So I'll let that pass.  

I just finished "Bantling Boy" last night. Spoilers ahead for the episode (It's S8 I think?) 

Spoiler

This one had me rolling my eyes so hard at the heavy-handed anti-video game message. I can get with the tontine-ish structure of the plot, but the murderer and how it played out was outlandish to me. He cooked all that up in, what? A few days?  

At least by now, Barnaby has relaxed a bit about Scott. they even show Scott one-upping Barnaby a couple of times in the last two episodes.

[Writing Wrongs]

On 6/16/2019 at 10:03 AM, Prevailing Wind said:

Acorn has just started airing a 20th Anniversary Special, with interviews & commentary from several of the recurring characters and clips from all the seasons.  It's only an hour long, though. It might have been MUCH longer!  Jane Wymark looks good in grey hair.

I just watched it. It makes me want to re-watch the series again. I've watched the whole series twice so far. I laughed at the cast saying people don't watch the show for its forensics accuracy. 

[zillabreeze]

Aargh.  Just checked the DVR.  It's begging week on my PBS.  No Thursday, Friday or Saturday night Brit murder shows!  Just a mess of people touting their stupid books.  Shoot me now.  

[scorpio1031]

13 minutes ago, zillabreeze said:

Aargh.  Just checked the DVR.  It's begging week on my PBS.  No Thursday, Friday or Saturday night Brit murder shows!  Just a mess of people touting their stupid books.  Shoot me now.  

I was surprised that they showed two eps of Doctor Blake last night.  They stopped at season 14 of Midsomer, and I'm thinking no no, you have several more seasons to show.  And luckily, no begging:)

[zillabreeze]

21 minutes ago, scorpio1031 said:

And luckily, no begging:)

We were having Sunday afternoon Downton marathons, now poop. 

I have never had Dr. Blake.  Medical or murder? British?

[scorpio1031]

1 minute ago, zillabreeze said:

We were having Sunday afternoon Downton marathons, now poop. 

I have never had Dr. Blake.  Medical or murder? British?

Australian - takes place in the 50's, so he is the doctor and medical examiner, and solves mysteries on the side.  If you have Netflix they had several seasons on there.  

[bannana]

41 minutes ago, scorpio1031 said:

Australian - takes place in the 50's, so he is the doctor and medical examiner, and solves mysteries on the side.  If you have Netflix they had several seasons on there.  

I just checked my Netflix, and no Dr. Blake Mysteries 😢

I have however been able to watch all seasons of Midsomer Murders on Netflix, up until 19 I think.

[scorpio1031]

16 minutes ago, bannana said:

I just checked my Netflix, and no Dr. Blake Mysteries 😢

I have however been able to watch all seasons of Midsomer Murders on Netflix, up until 19 I think.

Really??  I knew they took off Death in Paradise.  

[bannana]

3 minutes ago, scorpio1031 said:

Really??  I knew they took off Death in Paradise.  

Yeah, I guess I knew that they removed series, but was surprised at this one.  Maybe it will come back, I would love to see it. 

[scorpio1031]

1 minute ago, bannana said:

Yeah, I guess I knew that they removed series, but was surprised at this one.  Maybe it will come back, I would love to see it. 

Death in Paradise is supposed to move to Britbox.  Have you watched Father Brown mysteries?  I think those are still on Netflix.

I finally got Acorn so I could watch season 20 of Midsomer.  Netflix was taking forever. 

[bannana]

20 minutes ago, scorpio1031 said:

Death in Paradise is supposed to move to Britbox.  Have you watched Father Brown mysteries?  I think those are still on Netflix.

I finally got Acorn so I could watch season 20 of Midsomer.  Netflix was taking forever. 

I have not watched Father Brown, and it is still on Netflix.  So, worth it?

[scorpio1031]

3 minutes ago, bannana said:

I have not watched Father Brown, and it is still on Netflix.  So, worth it?

Yes!!  Some eps are better than others, like most shows.  See who you recognize from Midsomer Murders eps:)

[bannana]

15 minutes ago, scorpio1031 said:

Yes!!  Some eps are better than others, like most shows.  See who you recognize from Midsomer Murders eps:)

Thanks, I will check it out!

Other British series I have watched are Scott and Bailey, River (loved it), Bodyguard, Shetland, Happy Valley, Marcella, Dr. Foster, The Fall, Luther, Broadchurch, Collateral.  Oh and more I have probably forgotten!

And yes, I have recognized so many actors in the different series.  Especially Nicola Walker.

[ratgirlagogo]

Probably none of you know the answer to this - but what happens to the PBS broadcast rights to these shows once they go to Britbox?   The original deal was that PBS had the right of first refusal to BBC shows in the US ( as NPR did to BBC radio shows).  What is the current arrangement, if anyone knows?

Edited August 17, 2019 by ratgirlagogo

[laredhead]

If you can find it, Rosemary and Thyme were fun episodes.  I watched some of them through You Tube.  Quality isn't the best, but when you're desperate for a British mystery sacrifices will be made - lol.

[Prevailing Wind]

I think Acorn has Rosemary & Thyme. Acorn used to have Dr. Blake, but it seems to be gone. They DO have "The Blake Mysteries: Ghost Stories" and it seems Dr. Blake's been "gone away" for 8 months & Jean takes over sleuthing duties. It's a two-part story.

[BookWitch]

I've recently started watching Agatha Raisin. Just finished the first series and there is a forum for it. It's ok, kinda like Murder She Wrote.

[BlackberryJam]

I’m rewatching from S1 and Tom was a dick to Troy in the first couple of episodes. Book Troy is...gross, but show Troy was not. Tom was a jerk immediately and Troy made a homophobic comment more than half way into the episode. It made me annoyed with Tom for being so snippy. Troy was actually on it with getting the personnel there, summarizing stuff for Tom, etc, a lot of the things the new Sergeants get wrong in later episodes.

Troy undergoes a bit of a transformation in S2, better hair, and fewer weird sex comments. I’d forgotten just how much I liked him and how competent he was at the basic work while being a crap driver and a not the brainiest.

[statsgirl]

This is the thread for Midsomer Murders.  There are forums for Agatha Raisin, Doctor Blake, Death in Paradise, and various other shows including a general Detective and Mystery Shows thread.

Please keep the posts here to Midsomer Murders. Posts going off topic will be removed.

[LisaM]

I'm in the middle of Series 4. I wish that each episode was a bit shorter - 90 minutes tops - because I find myself falling asleep at some point. I've been exiting out of episodes which start too slowly too. 

Just watched the episode where the future Barnaby - Neil Dudgeon - shows up as a gardener. 

[BlackberryJam]

54 minutes ago, LisaM said:

I'm in the middle of Series 4. I wish that each episode was a bit shorter - 90 minutes tops - because I find myself falling asleep at some point. I've been exiting out of episodes which start too slowly too. 

Just watched the episode where the future Barnaby - Neil Dudgeon - shows up as a gardener. 

Dudgeon was so sleazy that episode and hitting on Joyce. Loved it.

I tend to watch at the gym during cardio. So I watch an hour on the elliptical or stair master, then go home, shower and watch the other 40 minutes.

[peggy06]

Anyone here watch the original Forsyte Saga? Last night I watched an MM episode (Small Mercies) featuring two of the regulars - Margaret Tyzack (Winifred Forsyte) and Caroline Blakiston (Marjorie Ferrar). I can't recall if they ever shared screen time on Forsyte - probably not.  Anyway, it was fun to see them both. I have seen Caroline in several shows, Poldark and maybe even an earlier Midsomer, but I don't recall seeing Margaret since the old BBC Marple series, where I seem to recall she was in Nemesis.

[scorpio1031]

I apologize if this has already been mentioned but there is a Midsomer Murders channel on Pluto.tv and it's free.  24/7.  I have it on my Roku and I also downloaded it to my phone and tablet.

[LisaM]

I've now made it to the start of Series 7 - when Troy apparently leaves the show. Just curious - was there any reason why the character was written out? Was the actor no longer available? 

I particularly liked the episode in Series 6 where the 3 children of the doctor at the hospital were the killers. 

[AnnA]

Here in New York Midsomer Murders is on PBS Saturday nights.  If I can't watch it, I have it set to record.    I've checked this forum quite a few times and found that despite watching MM for a few years, I usually have no idea what everyone is talking about.    Are most of you watching on Netflix?  I ask because I have no idea what season I'm watching each week and considered binge watching the show from the beginning.  This summer I was introduced to the new Chief Barnaby and liked him right away.   Is that the most current season? 

Edited September 3, 2019 by AnnA

[LisaM]

1 hour ago, AnnA said:

Here in New York Midsomer Murders is on PBS Saturday nights.  If I can't watch it, I have it set to record.    I've checked this forum quite a few times and found that despite watching MM for a few years, I usually have no idea what everyone is talking about.    Are most of you watching on Netflix?  I ask because I have no idea what season I'm watching each week and considered binge watching the show from the beginning.  This summer I was introduced to the new Chief Barnaby and liked him right away.   Is that the most current season? 

I've been watching on Britbox which has all of the Series clearly marked starting with Series 1. 

[scorpio1031]

2 hours ago, AnnA said:

Here in New York Midsomer Murders is on PBS Saturday nights.  If I can't watch it, I have it set to record.    I've checked this forum quite a few times and found that despite watching MM for a few years, I usually have no idea what everyone is talking about.    Are most of you watching on Netflix?  I ask because I have no idea what season I'm watching each week and considered binge watching the show from the beginning.  This summer I was introduced to the new Chief Barnaby and liked him right away.   Is that the most current season? 

I was watching on Netflix, but then I dropped that and now watch on Acorn.  The new Chief Barnaby started in season 14 if I remember right and there are 20 seasons.  Netflix doesn't have the last few seasons unless that has changed, but if you already have it, you might as well start from the beginning on it. 

Edited September 4, 2019 by scorpio1031

[dariafan]

Gotta do it before October 1.  Netflix is losing it 

[AnnA]

2 hours ago, LisaM said:

I've been watching on Britbox which has all of the Series clearly marked starting with Series 1. 

1 hour ago, scorpio1031 said:

I was watching on Netflix, but then I dropped that and now watch on Acorn.  The new Chief Barnaby started in season 14 if I remember right and there are 20 seasons.  Netflix doesn't have the last few seasons unless that has changed, but if you already have it, you might as well start from the beginning on it. 

19 minutes ago, dariafan said:

Gotta do it before October 1.  Netflix is losing it 

Thank you all for the quick response.     I have Netflix but not enough free time to watch all of it before October 1.   It's too bad I have no idea which seasons or how many of them I've already seen.  It's a good thing someone invented fast forward.  This calls for fresh batteries in the remote.  LOL

Thanks again!

Edited September 4, 2019 by AnnA

[Hyacinth B]

Anyone who has Ovation on their Comcast system should be able to catch 3 full episodes every Thursday morning, starting at 8AM Eastern, 7AM Central. They're repeating some of the early seasons and just re-ran Series 4's Garden of Death (with Neil Dudgeon as a horny gardener!) and Destroying Angel for at least the second time. Each episode runs 2 1/2 hours with commercials. Ovation MAY be fiddling around with the schedule so check your cable listings, mine from TitanTV are showing 2 new time slots this Sunday AM and one less 2 1/2 hour episode on Thursday AM. Don't say I didn't warn you.

PBS Prime is showing more recent episodes on Thursday night as a sort of mystery package, 45-plus minutes (but a full 1-hour timeslot) on 2 consecutive Thursdays starting at 7PM Central, followed by Miss Fisher and Agatha Raisin. They took us up to Season 14 a while back and introduced Neil Dudgeon as Tom B's replacement and then dropped back a few seasons. Last week was "The Glitch" listed as Episode 4 of Season 12 at Wiki's list of seasons and episodes:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Midsomer_Murders_episodes

"Small Mercies" with the murder in the little model village should be next.

PBS Prime also does Father Brown, Shakespeare and Hathaway, and Death In Paradise on Wednesdays, same time slot. Midsomer Murders repeats (all times Central) Friday at midnight and later Friday morning at 9AM, and Sunday afternoon at 2PM, also on PBS Prime.

There's nothing like a nice cuppa, a quaint English village, and a few of its more colorful residents stuffed down wells or impaled on pitchforks. Rule Britannia!

[Prevailing Wind]

I was just visiting a small town that had a mini-village and when I saw it, I wondered if anyone had been Gullivered in it. And whether or not two old ladies owned it.  Actually, I'm in Maine and this village looked almost exactly like Jessica Fletcher's Cabot Cove. What is it about villages that bring out the murderers?

Also, I have an online friend who lives in Scotland and he seems to think "Midsomer" is one village with murderers all over the place!

[TeslaNewton]

12 hours ago, dariafan said:

Gotta do it before October 1.  Netflix is losing it 

Thanks for the heads up! Thank god I have Acorn.

[krankydoodle]

Filmrise and the Roku Channel have all but the latest season available to watch for free--with ads, of course.

I miss DS Nelson, but I did get a kick out of seeing Gwilym Lee pop up as Brian May in Bohemian Rhapsody.

[peggy06]

On 9/4/2019 at 9:10 AM, TeslaNewton said:

Thanks for the heads up! Thank god I have Acorn.

I upped for the recent sale on 3 months of Britbox, starting to seem like a really good decision. I am just to the episode where the second Inspector Barnaby is introduced as Tom's cousin in Brighton (The Sword of Guillaume). It's a pretty grisly episode with some shock moments beyond what I'm accustomed to in this series.

[zillabreeze]

On 9/3/2019 at 5:05 PM, AnnA said:

Me too!  Not a clue where I am in series!  My PBS just finished yet another month of begging with all those gawdawful, long winded, book infomercials!  

MM is back!  I don't give a flip where in the series, my Thursday nights and my world are back on it's axis.

I have studied, and it looks like when I finally cut the cord, BritBox is the way to go.

Slightly off topic, but still Brit Murders, tomorrow night is episode one of Happy Valley.  Thoughts?