Midsomer Murders - General Discussion

[Prevailing Wind]

Speaking of Barnaby daughters, how come Cully doesn't show up finding a body or meddling like she used to? She still lives in Midsomer, doesn't she?

[Llywela]

14 hours ago, Tyro49 said:

Just watched the first 2 episodes of Season 22: Where is the Barnaby's daughter? Did they just drop her from the storyline? She's not old enough yet to have moved out.

Not even 10 years old yet, so no, she's not old enough to have moved out. But she is old enough to be 'playing in her room' or 'at a friend's house' while her parents talk downstairs or go out, or whatever, which saves them from having the child actress on set while filming through a pandemic. All the British soaps did the same thing - the child characters disappeared off-screen for months and months.

10 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

Speaking of Barnaby daughters, how come Cully doesn't show up finding a body or meddling like she used to? She still lives in Midsomer, doesn't she?

With a new DCI Barnaby came a clean sweep of the supporting cast, Jones aside. Cully probably moved back to London to pick up the threads of her acting career. It was handy for the show to have her in Midsomer all those years, so she could play a part in stories without them having to come up with excuses for her making the trip from London yet again, but in the books Cully got married and moved away very early on and only rarely came back to visit, too busy building a successful acting career - Tom frequently fretted how unlikely it seemed that he would ever be a grandfather!

[Maren]

On 9/11/2022 at 10:48 AM, Tyro49 said:

Just watched the first 2 episodes of Season 22: Where is the Barnaby's daughter? Did they just drop her from the storyline? She's not old enough yet to have moved out.

There's a brief mention of her being at school. I want to say that they said she's at some kind of boarding school but it might be that it was just implied. I can't quite remember. It was probably because it was easier not to film with a minor during the pandemic. 

[Tyro49]

Just finished Season 22. Loved the Pirates of Penzance! For village amateurs they all had lovely, professional sounding voices.

How long until Season 23 is out on disc?

[scorpio1031]

1 hour ago, Tyro49 said:

Just finished Season 22. Loved the Pirates of Penzance! For village amateurs they all had lovely, professional sounding voices.

How long until Season 23 is out on disc?

I think they are still filming season 23

[Fool to cry]

Which DCI Barnaby do you guys prefer, the "squinter" or the "purser"?

[Llywela]

I like 'em both. They have very different styles, which both work well within the context of the show. John took a while to get used to initially, after having Tom at the helm for so long, but I really like him now.

[peacheslatour]

I'm watching Sins Of Commission. Can anybody tell me what the girls were on the stage yelling about. I couldn't read their sign or really understand what they were on about.

[partofme]

On 10/3/2022 at 2:54 PM, Fool to cry said:

Which DCI Barnaby do you guys prefer, the "squinter" or the "purser"?

Original.   I don’t like the “new” one.  

[Prevailing Wind]

1 hour ago, partofme said:

Original.   I don’t like the “new” one.  

Same here. I miss Joyce, too. Cully, not so much. But I'm adoring Fleur.

[Maren]

I like the new Barnaby better. The first one was a little too full of himself for someone who could only figure out who the killer was after they were whittled down by so many being murdered 😂 I mean, dude, how good are you that another 3 or 4 people are murdered before you figure out which one of the two people left did it? LOL!!

I do prefer Joyce but I could not stand Cully!! Hated her and so sick of how they shoehorned her into EVERY storyline!! She was EVERYWHERE and just soooo multi talented 🙄

[dgpolo]

10 hours ago, Maren said:

Hated her and so sick of how they shoehorned her into EVERY storyline!!

She was in 43 eps, Nettles was in 81, so not EVERY storyline.

[Llywela]

Cully's neverending succession of jobs (which ever so coincidentally place her at the heart of so many murder investigations) makes sense when you remember that she is a struggling actress trying to make ends meet between gigs - although she never seems to be financially struggling all that much, to be honest. But a woman who wants to be free to drop everything for the next acting role she is offered is inevitably going to work a succession of temp jobs rather than settling into a more stable career, so that tracks.

What makes less sense is her decision to move back to Causton to pursue her acting career from there, after having made the break to London, where there would surely be more opportunities. That one is on the writers - they wanted her to still be around and it was easier to find an excuse to include her in stories if she lived locally than it was when she lived in London.

Book Cully gets married fairly young - to a fellow actor, a character we actually meet in the show in an early episode (not the same guy she eventually marries in the show) - and then moves away and has a very successful acting career, so successful that she would never dream of moving back to Midsomer and only even visits very occasionally, much to Tom's regret. She remains a presence in the books, though, because Tom thinks of her often, worrying about the state of her marriage, which is fiery, and lamenting that she shows no sign of giving him grandchildren.

The show obviously couldn't keep her a presence in the same way, so instead kept the actress under contract and included her in so many episodes per season.

[dgpolo]

OMG! Sorry this is way way off topic but the above post is the first email notification that I've received in over a year! I tried to 'fix' it at the time and ended up logging out completely and then couldn't get back logged in because I could not receive the confirmation email! I had to beg a mod to log me back in and I've been just checking in a few times a day to read all the new posts in the forums I'm following. I hope this means I'll be getting my notifications now! Sorry! Back to your regularly scheduled programming.😍

[Prevailing Wind]

Finally! Acorn is showing the first episode of Season 23. Apparently, new ones appear on Mondays.  There's also a 25-year retrospective that's 46 minutes long on Acorn.

[isalicat]

46 minutes ago, Prevailing Wind said:

Finally! Acorn is showing the first episode of Season 23. Apparently, new ones appear on Mondays.  There's also a 25-year retrospective that's 46 minutes long on Acorn.

I'm on BritBox, not Acorn, but that still bodes well. More patience and we will see them soon as well.

[Prevailing Wind]

10 hours ago, isalicat said:

I'm on BritBox, not Acorn, but that still bodes well. More patience and we will see them soon as well.

I alternate between the two.

[LisaM]

Watched the first episode of Season 23. Fleur continues to crack me up. (She is also on Ted Lasso for anyone who watches.) 

I also watched the 25 year retrospective, which was good. 

[laredhead]

LisaM, Fleur had the 2 funniest lines of the episode.  

[msani19]

On 12/15/2022 at 4:29 PM, LisaM said:

I also watched the 25 year retrospective, which was good. 

The retrospective was better than expected. I was surprised at the actors who were not included for interviews. 

[scorpio1031]

Edited December 18, 2022 by scorpio1031

[scorpio1031]

[Prevailing Wind]

Strangler's Wood: The one with Jeremy (of Chad and...) as head of the cigarette company and Sting's wife as the "best friend/other woman."

Why does no one make the connection between the missing letter Mrs. Sting sent and the "little shit" son's disdain for his father?  Every time I watch that episode, I expect someone to make the connection. Yes, Missing Watch Man did NOT get the letter - the kid stole it.

[Me Too]

Wow.  Thanks Prevailing Wind. 

Due to Ovation rerunning early seasons of Midsomer Murders on a loop, I remember that episode very well and had no idea about who those two actors are in life. 

I loved Chad and Jeremy's music in my teen years.  Ahh -- good memories.  Thanks for the info.

[dariafan]

3 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

Strangler's Wood: The one with Jeremy (of Chad and...) as head of the cigarette company and Sting's wife as the "best friend/other woman."

Why does no one make the connection between the missing letter Mrs. Sting sent and the "little shit" son's disdain for his father?  Every time I watch that episode, I expect someone to make the connection. Yes, Missing Watch Man did NOT get the letter - the kid stole it.

The Chad and Jeremy episode of the duck van dyke show is one of my favorites !   I kept waiting for the letter to be connected as well 

[LisaM]

Just watched Episode 2 of Season 23 (The Debt of Lies) and thought it was pretty good. I love Fleur. She cracks me up. (For those who watch, she also recurs on Ted Lasso.) 

[LisaM]

Watched Episode 3 of Season 23 (organic flour mill) and was fairly bored. The murder occurred much later than usual and the preceding story was not interesting enough to keep my attention. The eventual murder mystery was not compelling either. For me, this one was a real clunker. 

[WildPlum]

Watching the first episodes of whatever season it is after Nelson leaves and Sykes "dies" (in real life he retired from acting). I don't get why they started the exact same competitive thing between Kan and the new DS (I'll learn his name eventually, I'm sure). Maybe they already had these episodes partly written prior to the actor who played Nelson leaving? Pretty sure this is Kam's last season as well.

Also, the last several episodes we've had 3 or 4 murders per episode. That seems ... excessive to me. One good murder is enough, thank you.

I've also started to recognize actors from other shows - "oh, no, that's Neville from Death in Paradise, he couldn't have done it.". This episode it was "no, he is the bartender and eventual spouse of the chief doctor at Good Karma Hospital." I recognized the sister, who was head of the watch and I am pretty sure I recognized the widow, either from a previous episode or maybe a Vera, Death In Paradise, Queens of Mystery or McDonald and Dobbs episode

[peacheslatour]

Quote

I've also started to recognize actors from other shows - "oh, no, that's Neville from Death in Paradise, he couldn't have done it.". This episode it was "no, he is the bartender and eventual spouse of the chief doctor at Good Karma Hospital." I recognized the sister, who was head of the watch and I am pretty sure I recognized the widow, either from a previous episode or maybe a Vera, Death In Paradise, Queens of Mystery or McDonald and Dobbs episode

I've noticed a few as well. Daisy from Keeping Up Appearances for one. I think we may have discussed this before. Midsomer is basically Law & Order of the UK as far as using an amazing assortment of actors. There's even Legolas from LOTR from right before he did the movies.

[Prevailing Wind]

1 hour ago, peacheslatour said:

There's even Legolas from LOTR from right before he did the movies.

Were the LOTR films before or after the Depp Pirate movies?

I think it's "Midsomer Life" with the city boy/off-roaders, the guy who makes charcoal, and Eleanor, the wine-drinking barmaid - whom I always expect to see wearing her Mrs. Tishell cervical collar from Doc Martin.

[Llywela]

10 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

Were the LOTR films before or after the Depp Pirate movies?

Before. That episode of Midsomer Murders was one of Orlando Bloom's first acting jobs.

Edited January 21, 2023 by Llywela

[scorpio1031]

23 hours ago, WildPlum said:

I don't get why they started the exact same competitive thing between Kan and the new DS (I'll learn his name eventually, I'm sure). Maybe they already had these episodes partly written prior to the actor who played Nelson leaving? Pretty sure this is Kam's last season as well.

I liked Kate, so never really warmed up to Kam and her annoying interaction with Nelson and Winter.

[WildPlum]

Just started the first season with Fleur, 2 episodes in and I find her fairly amusing.

 

So it is a UK thing not to get dogs fixed? Most rescues and kennels here in the US require a non-show dog to be fixed, usually before being released to a new owner.

[Llywela]

Not a legal requirement, no - although a sensible choice for any owner - and not all dogs are acquired from rescues or kennels.

[Prevailing Wind]

Every time I watch "Last Man Out" it bugs me. (The one where Ben comes back undercover as a cricket player)

What bugs is Winter hangs up Ben Jones/Jack Morris' picture on the Murder Board, Barnaby moves it to the other board, the "girls" at the station call him "the handsome one" and NOBODY recognizes the guy they used to work with?  Sure, the M.E. and the detectives are new, but all those other people in the station - surely somebody is still there from when Ben worked there.

No wonder there are so many murders - all the police have that "face blindness" syndrome.

[WildPlum]

Up to Season 21 Ep1 (The Wolf Hunters) - not my favorite episode, but I am amused by how Fleur's hair gets paler and paler as the episodes go. Which is good, it started as an unflattering bright sun yellow and now it is white (I suspect her natural color).

Also the idea of "oh, beloved child, we will love you forever now that we have found you, even if you are a vicious multiple-person killer and will be behind bars the rest of your natural life" strikes me as rather odd.

[WildPlum]

And, alas, I am all caught up now. Liked the expanded role for Winter in this season, I thought the actor handled it well. He was cardboard-y in his first season but had really relaxed in to it as the writers expanded his role. Very fond of Fleur.

And, my, but Sarah has some regrettable college chums.

[WildPlum]

Started watching the series with the previous Barnaby - picked an episode at random, and, lol, managed to pick a Tom Barnaby episode in which "John Barnaby" guest stars as a creepy suspect. Season 4, ep 1, I think. Very dark episode, plodding pacing, none of the touches of humor that characterize later episodes. Not a single likeable character in the ep, and the relationship between Barnaby and Troy is odd. It's an early season, maybe I will move up a season of two and see if I like the tone better.

[peacheslatour]

I was watching Garden of Death yesterday, notable for the fact that Neil Dudgeon (later he played John Barnaby, Tom's cousin and replacement as CID) and there is a death scene as brutal as any I've witnessed on the screen. 

Spoiler

Elspeth Inkpen is poisoned and takes a long time to die.

It's incredibly harrowing.

[Prevailing Wind]

After I saw that, I swore off pesto.

[peacheslatour]

3 minutes ago, Prevailing Wind said:

After I saw that, I swore off pesto.

I've never liked it but now I really don't.

[Prevailing Wind]

On 11/1/2021 at 6:56 PM, peacheslatour said:

I was watching Garden of Death today and asking myself when Barnaby became a revolting sex pest. I  then realized that the actor was Neil Dudgeon and he was playing a character called Daniel Bolt, long before he played John Barnaby.

I have just gone through all 16 pages to find this post. This is, by far, the best post in this entire topic.  "Revolting sex pest."  I think of that phrase every time I watch the episode.

Someone previously mentioned an early John episode that starts off with a bride drowned in the bathtub.  Actually, it starts off with beautiful scenery with the victim's roommate pedalling her bicycle through Midsomer on her way home.  And that's as much as I watch of that episode. ALL the characters were creepy and I hated it. The best thing about it was that cycling through the countryside.

There are quite a few episodes I can now recognize from the opening scene and I can decide to watch it again or skip it because A) I've watched it so often, I can do the dialogue or B) It was a boring or revolting episode (Bantling Boy, Night of the Stag, The Green Man.)  Really, as soon as I see that nightime scene with the guy in suit running through the apple orchard, I know it's Night of the Stag and he's the tax guy they're gonna kill with the apple-tree-shaking-for-harvest machine.

So many of them, as soon as a certain character appears on screen, I tell the cat, "S/he's the guy."  I probably need to take a break. LOL.  Acorn's just now dropping new Brokenwood...

[Prevailing Wind]

I was watching a Father Brown on PBS earlier and when the scene changed to the police station, I groaned, "It's the damn bell-ringer." (Adrian Scarborough aka Peter Fogden, the lead bell-ringer from the MM episode that gives many of us a headache.)

[peacheslatour]

1 hour ago, Prevailing Wind said:

I was watching a Father Brown on PBS earlier and when the scene changed to the police station, I groaned, "It's the damn bell-ringer." (Adrian Scarborough aka Peter Fogden, the lead bell-ringer from the MM episode that gives many of us a headache.)

I can't even watch that episode.

[Fool to cry]

Into a few episodes of season 9 and reminded how good British actors are at believably playing characters who have loathed each other for years in one introductory scene! You could never do a good US adaptation because that level of nastiness from Americans would be too unpleasant to watch. Cabot Cove is basically Mayberry in New England.

Edited April 21, 2023 by Fool to cry

[kaygeeret]

Good grief, last night's show on PBS was S. 1, epi 1.🤔

Since the first 10 seasons are being shown all over television, I could recite the dialogue.  

Also, I really dislike Troy.

I know there are seasons after season 17, but do not understand why we aren't seeing those.

Has British TV cut PBS off?

[mellyf]

19 hours ago, kaygeeret said:

Good grief, last night's show on PBS was S. 1, epi 1.🤔

Since the first 10 seasons are being shown all over television, I could recite the dialogue.  

Also, I really dislike Troy.

I know there are seasons after season 17, but do not understand why we aren't seeing those.

Has British TV cut PBS off?

Having read a few of the books (although it's been awhile), I definitely think they were giving him some of the characteristics of book character. However, believe it or not, book Troy is way more unlikeable/disagreeable than TV show Troy. It seems like they eased up on those unlikeable qualities in later seasons.

Edited April 23, 2023 by mellyf
left a word out

[dariafan]

2 hours ago, mellyf said:

Having read a few of the books (although it's been awhile), I definitely think they were giving him some of the characteristics of book character. However, believe it or not, book Troy is way more unlikeable/disagreeable than TV show Troy. It seems like they eased up on those unlikeable qualities in later seasons.

Couldn’t they restrict Troy driving until he could do it ???

[Llywela]

9 hours ago, dariafan said:

Couldn’t they restrict Troy driving until he could do it ???

The really funny thing about Troy's bad driving in the show is that it is the opposite of Book Troy, who is an excellent driver and proud of it, it is one of the few things he is genuinely good at!

Book Troy is a much more complex character in general, mind. Frequently loathesome, but he does have redeeming qualities. And I do in the show kind of miss seeing him boring Barnaby to death droning on about whatever darling thing his baby daughter has done now. 😄

[Fool to cry]

Me a minute into 9x7 "Death in Chorus".

 

Edited April 24, 2023 by Fool to cry