Customer Reviews

Midsomer Murders - Beyond the Grave

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4 star:		(1)
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Badger's Drift is the best kept village in Midsomer... at least, that's what the sign says. The mystery starts when Ms. Emily Simpson, an 80-year old retired school teacher, stumbles upon "something" in the woods. Her best friend and neighbor, Ms. Bellringer, knew something was wrong when Ms. Simpson came home that night - she didn't close her door, she slammed it. And she failed to padlock her tricycle... Emily was always afraid of thieves, you know. When Ms. Simpson is discovered with a broken neck, as from a fall, Ms. Bellringer just knows it must have been foul play.

Chief Inspector Barnaby and Sergeant Troy take up the investigation. Questions: Why does Dennis Rainbird, the local undertaker, seem so eager to get Ms. Simpson's body in the ground? What's really going on with Dr. Lesseter, who claims that Ms. Simpson was in perfect health? Isn't it odd that no one ever sees Mr. Henry Trace, the wealthiest man in Badger's Drift, out of his wheelchair? And just what is Michael Lacey "painting" in his studio?

Don't worry - none of these are spoilers. They're just the sort of devilishly odd questions you might ask yourself while watching one of the best episodes in the _Midsomer Murders_ series.

Enjoy...

An old and well-liked spinster, Miss Emily Simpson, is found dead in her cottage, apparently fallen from stairs, after witnessing something eerie in a wood. Her old friend Lucy Bellringer is unconviced and asks Barnaby to inspect in the case. Further enquiries show there are many long-buried secrets in the town, and then Dennis Rainbird, undertaker and his mother are found massacred to death with a knife in their house.
I particularly enjoyed this episode, because the setting is beautiful and the actors are particularly good (Reneè Asherson as Emily Simpson and Rosalie Crutchley as Lucy Bellringer)

Midsomer is one of those quasi-mythical areas in the heart of England that everyone would like to believe exists. Rolling green countryside, small villages with thatched cottages, rose gardens, well-tended farms, and a population with more than its fair share of quirkiness and a tendency to commit murder.

The local police seem to have plenty to do, the investigations ably led by Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby and his sidekick Sgt. Troy. Barnaby is somewhat unusual for a TV detective in that he doesn't seem to have any quirks - he's a straightforward, decent, happily married cop. He has a beaming smile and a pleasant manner. But his mind is sharp and let a suspect or witness push his or her luck with him and they soon get a glimpse of the steel beneath the surface.

The basic formula is that pioneered by Morse. Feature length episodes give plenty of time to set up the characters, let the viewer see something of what is going on around the place and admire the scenery, and allow several more inter-linked murders to take place before the initial case is solved.

At first I was not too taken with Midsomer. The set-up was a bit predictable and seemed engineered with an eye to the export market, and Barnaby somewhat bland after the dysfunctional Morse and the dyspeptic Dalziel (do you get "Dalziel and Pascoe" on American TV? If not, you're missing something - watch out for it). But the place and the man have grown on me and now I'm a fan and a regular watcher. Give them a chance....

The movie was very enjoyable. It came in very good shape through the mail. I love Amazon.com and will continue to order

The presentation is rich in overlapping plots. Most of the actors are form other popular presentations. The story was adapted from a book by Caroline Graham but adapted to fit in the Midsomer Murder series.

A portrait is vandalized and an expert Sandra MacKillop (Cheryl Campbell) is brought in to restore it. D.C.I. Tom Barnaby (John Nettles) is being shadowed by Nico Bentley (Ed Waters) Cully's actor boyfriend; Nico for a character to be in a play, is studying Troy's (Daniel Casey) methods.
Inanimate Items start to move on their own. Slowly but surly we come to realize there is a ghost or someone is nutters. This is a story of beyond the grave circumstances.

Whet makes this presentation interesting is watching the interaction of our favorite characters for the "Midsomer" series. They have a lot of great on liners and Sergeant Gavin grimaces as he has to eventually interview the local nutters.