Customer Reviews

Midsomer Murders - Set One

5 star:		(44)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Fully in line with my expectations for BBC excellence, the Midsomer Murders series doesn't disappoint. I did find however the Set numbering quite confusing as it didn't seem to correspond to the character developments.

For those new to the series, I would recommend viewing the series in the order in which it was aired, not by the consecutive order of the Set numbers. For instance, "Set 5" is actually Season 1 which aired in 1998. "Set 4" is mostly Season 5 which aired in 2002. Below, is an overview for your viewing convenience.

The Killings at Badger's Drift S 1 x E 1 1998 US Box Set 5
Written in Blood S 1 x E 2 1998 US Box Set 5
Death of a Hollow Man S 1 x E 3 1998 US Box Set 5
Faithful Unto Death S 1 x E 4 1998 US Box Set 5
Death in Disguise S 1 x E 5 1998 US Box Set 5
Death's Shadow S 2 x E 1 1999 US Box Set 1
Strangler's Wood S 2 x E 2 1999 US Box Set 1
Dead Man's Eleven S 2 x E 3 1999 US Box Set 2
Blood Will Out S 2 x E 4 1999 US Box Set 1
Death of a Stranger S 3 x E 1 2000 US Box Set 2
Blue Herrings S 3 x E 2 2000 US Box Set 2
Judgement Day S 3 x E 3 2000 US Box Set 2
Beyond the Grave S 3 x E 4 2000 US Box Set 1
Garden of Death S 4 x E 1 2001 US Box Set 3
Destroying Angel S 4 x E 2 2001 US Box Set 3
The Electric Vendetta S 4 x E 3 2001 US Box Set 3
Who Killed Cock Robin? S 4 x E 4 2001 US Box Set 3
Dark Autumn S 4 x E 5 2001 US Box Set 3
Tainted Fruit S 4 x E 6 2001 US Box Set 4
Market for Murder S 5 x E 1 2002 US Box Set 4
A Worm in the Bud S 5 x E 2 2002 US Box Set 4
Ring Out Your Dead S 5 x E 3 2002 US Box Set 4
Murder on St. Malley's Day S 5 x E 4 2002 US Box Set 4
A Talent For Life S 6 x E 1 2003 US Box Set 6
Death and Dreams S 6 x E 2 2003 US Box Set 6
Painted in Blood S 6 x E 3 2003 US Box Set 6
A Tale of Two Hamlets S 6 x E 4 2003 US Box Set 6
Birds of Prey S 6 x E 5 2003 US Box Set 6
The Green Man S 7 x E 1 2003 US Box Set 7
Bad Tidings S 7 x E 2 2004 US Box Set 7
The Fisher King S 7 x E 3 2004 US Box Set 7
Sins of Commission S 7 x E 4 2004 US Box Set 7
The Maid in Splendour S 7 x E 5 2004 US Box Set NA
The Straw Woman S 7 x E 6 2004 US Box Set NA
The ghost of Christmas Past S 7 x E Special 1 2004 US Box Set NA
Things That Go Bump In The Night S 8 x E 1 2004 US Box Set NA
Dead in the Water S 8 x E 2 2004 US Box Set NA
Orchis Fatalis S 8 x E 3 2005 US Box Set NA
Bantling Boy S 8 x E 4 2005 US Box Set NA
Second Sight S 8 x E 5 2005 US Box Set NA
Hidden Depths S 8 x E 6 2005 US Box Set NA
Sauce for the Goose S 8 x E 7 2005 US Box Set NA
Midsomer Rhapsody S 8 x E 8 2005 US Box Set NA
The House in the Woods S 9 x E 1 2005 US Box Set NA
Dead Letters S 9 x E 2 2006 US Box Set NA
Vixen's Run S 9 x E 3 2006 US Box Set NA
Down Among the Dead Men S 9 x E 4 2006 US Box Set NA
Death in Chorus S 9 x E 5 2006 US Box Set NA
Country Matters S 9 x E 6 2006 US Box Set NA
Last Year's Model S 9 x E 7 2006 US Box Set NA
Four Funerals and a Wedding S 9 x E 8 2006 US Box Set NA
Dance With The Dead S 10 x E 1 US Box Set NA

Whilst this isn't a saga, I do think a production of this quality deserves to be viewed in the correct order. Happy sleuthing!

They are amateurs and pros, London dwellers moving equally comfortably in international society as in that of their occasional forays into the English countryside, and lifelong inhabitants of those rural settings. They investigate crimes in the Thames valley and cities as large as Oxford, midsize towns like a certain Kingsmarkham, and villages with such all-English names as St. Mary Mead or King's Abbot. And they have been portrayed by some of Britain's finest contemporary actors, from Jeremy Brett and David Burke/Edward Hardwicke (Sherlock Holmes & Doctor Watson) to Roy Marsden (Commander Adam Dalgliesh), John Thaw and Kevin Whately (D.C.I. Morse & D.S. Lewis), David Jason (D.I. "Jack" Frost), George Baker and Christopher Ravenscroft (D.C.I. Reginald Wexford & D.I. Mike Burden), Peter Davison and Brian Glover (Albert Campion & Magersfontein Lugg), Edward Petherbridge and Harriet Walter (Lord Peter Wimsey & Harriet Vane), David Suchet/Albert Finney (Hercule Poirot) and last but not least Joan Hickson as Miss Jane Marple, the grandmother of all English village detectives.

To that illustrious group, British author Caroline Graham in 1987 added another sleuthing couple, the middle-aged D.C.I. Tom Barnaby and his young colleague D.S. Gavin Troy, coppers in a cluster of villages which, collectively, make up an area known as Midsomer County, and which could easily rival Agatha Christie's very own St. Mary Mead in per-capita occurrences of treachery, crime and bloodletting. The series' first entry, "The Killings at Badgers Drift," was so successful that it won a Macavity Award for best first mystery and, for its author, an instant loyal following. Before long, the books spawned a television series, which at almost 30 episodes has long since outrun the number of its print originals. Starring as Barnaby and Troy are Royal Shakespeare Company alumnus John Nettles, best known to TV audiences as Jerseyan Detective Sergeant Jim Bergerac in the 1980s' series of the same name (based on the books by Andrew Saville), and Daniel Casey, whose most notable other roles to date have been appearances in the BBC's "Our Friends in the North" and the 1998 Catherine Cookson adaptation "The Wingless Bird." Nettles and Casey are an engaging team, not quite faithful to their characters' literary versions - which however works well to their advantage; particularly in the case of Daniel Casey's Troy, who is less brash and more goodnaturedly witty than in the books, and who presents a good foil for Nettles's emphatic Barnaby; in turn overall more reminiscent of George Baker's Wexford than of Nettles's own Bergerac, whose domestic bliss is spoiled, again and again, by the callings of his job; to his regret as much as to his family's; yet, he is to much of a professional not to heed those callings every single time.

With release of the series' episodes already underway in Britain, Acorn Media has now proceeded to the "region 1" transcription of its installments, individually and in collections of four episodes each. And while it is unfortunate that the TV version of "The Killings at Badgers Drift" - which not only introduced the characters of Barnaby and Troy but is also expressly referenced in this first collection's installment "Death's Shadow" - is neither part of this first nor even of the second boxed set released in the U.S., overall this is a most welcome and long overdue opportunity for fans of the series to reacquaint themselves with this winning pair of detectives and the not-so peaceful, albeit wonderfully filmed setting of rural Midsomer County.

This collection features the following episodes:

"Beyond the Grave:" Assisted by Barnaby's son, who is to "shadow" Troy in preparation of a school theatre appearance as a policeman, the two detectives have to get to the bottom of a series of seemingly paranormal events at Aspern Tallow Museum, all the while investigating the murders of a descendant of a long-deceased village hero and another local man who, like so many of the village residents, turns out not to always have been the honorable citizen his neighbors had known him to be.

"Blood Will Out:" Martyr Warren magistrate Hector Bridges is a Falklands hero, but also a man with an irascible temper, which endears him to few of his neighbors - and even less so to the traveler clans who assemble in the village one summer week, and whose leader has a bone of his own to pick with the magistrate. But are the wayfarers - the quintessential "usual suspects" for everything from theft to horsetrading - also guilty of his murder? (And will Barnaby survive the diet imposed on him by his wife and daughter without succumbing to the temptations of candy bars and chocolate cakes?)

"Death's Shadow:" Dark childhood memories haunt successful director Simon Fletcher as he returns to Badgers Drift to teach a summer acting workshop, one of whose attendees is Barnaby's daughter Callie. As he arrives, a series of arcane and seemingly unconnected murders begins in the village. Caught between the investigation and the preparations of the ceremonial confirmation of his marriage vows at Badgers Drift church, Barnaby eventually realizes that he has to dig deep into the hamlet's past to find the deeply disturbed mind responsible for the horrors visited upon its population.

"Strangler's Wood:" The forest's true name is Raven's Wood, but ever since three young women were found there strangled with a necktie years ago, it is more commonly known as "Strangler's Wood." Not surprising, then, that the discovery of yet another murdered woman ten years after the original crimes (this time a beautiful Brazilian model) brings forth premonitions of the worst kind; especially since the culprit responsible for the first three crimes was never caught. But did he really return to his evil ways, as suddenly as he had stopped murdering so long ago? As Barnaby and daughter Callie make an attempt at father-daughter bonding and Troy seizes an opportunity to demonstrate his linguistic prowess, they investigate the dead beauty's movements in Midsomer County - and unmask, yet again, more than one of its residents who is not quite as honorable as he seems.

Also recommended:
The Killings at Badger's Drift (Inspector Barnaby Mysteries)
Midsomer Murders - The Early Cases Collection
Inspector Morse - Complete Collection
Ruth Rendell Mysteries - Simisola / Road Rage
P.D. James: The Essential Collection

One of the things I have enjoyed about the release of so many television series on DVD is the opportunity to own so many British television series that I have missed for one reason or another over the years.

As a reader of Caroline Graham's mysteries, I was pleased to find this series based on her characters. Well written and well acted-- John Nettles as Inspector Barnaby is particularly appealing-- these stories peer under the peaceful facade of Midsomer County where a whole bunch of worms are writhing.

One thing I really enjoyed about this series is the lack of prettification of the actors. Many of the main characters are unabashedly middle aged and their faces show it, yet they are still attractive and vibrant. I think it was Charlotte Armstrong who once wrote how some signs of experience in the face was more interesting than "the bald brow of youth." This show illustrates this.

Don't buy this series for the DVD bonus extras though. They hardly exist.

If you're in the mood for civilized British television mysteries, where the mean streets have more cobblestones than crushed beer cans, where the occasional drug user is not a grubby loser, where the chief copper has a happy home life and no angst to share with the viewers, Midsomer Murders might be just the thing. It's part cosy, part small-town procedural. The mysteries are consistently well developed and puzzling, and the acting is solid.

Detective Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby's territory takes in the English county of Midsomer. All the little picture-perfect villages and small towns have a wide and varied assortment of English citizens, ranging from wealthy magistrates and high Church of England prelates to milkmen and shopkeepers, wives and lovers, thieves and...a lot of murderers. Barnaby (John Nettles), with his police sergeant, Gavin Troy (Daniel Casey), must apply all his experience, skepticism, persistence and unflappability to solve them.

The charm of this series lies partly in its setting. Midsomer County is a very pretty place, green and cared for. The towns are tidy, filled with competent and knowledgeable tradesmen; the villages tend to have a few eccentrics and a lot of thatched roofs. This could be much too cosy except for three things. First, the performance by John Nettles. He's a fine actor who is completely at home in the role. Watching his Barnaby think his way through clever mysteries, unfailingly polite and unfailingly unintimidated, is a pleasure. Second, the mysteries themselves. This series has been going on through eight seasons. DVD sets are out for six of them so far. The mysteries are almost always real puzzlers; not flashy, but well disguised. They are consistently interesting and well written. They play fair with the viewer. The clues Barnaby discovers all have been there for us to find as well as for him. Third, the quality of the production and the actors. I suspect a substantial budget has been allocated for each episode. The series looks first-rate. The actors are first-rate, too, which is typical of British productions which find their way over here. Daniel Casey does a fine job as Barnaby's assistant. He respects his boss and is smart enough to learn from him. But he also can be exasperated at Barnaby's penchant for not sharing everything. And he occasionally gets put out when an apparently important car trip (Troy always drives them) turns out to be a trip for a bacon sandwich Barnaby's been thinking about. Barnaby's wife is played by Jane Wymark, and it's a pleasure to observe how much at ease the two actors are with each other. They play a long-married couple, still in love and with a comfortable kind of middle-aged affection for each other. All the actors do outstanding jobs, and there usually is a sprinkling of well-known names. In Set One, which consist of four programs of about an hour and forty minutes each, there are Richard Briers, Judy Parfitt, Nicholas Farrell, Kathleen Byron (seen more than 50 years earlier as the deranged Sister Ruth in Black Narcissus), Cheryl Campbell, John Duttine and Prunella Scales.

For the record, Set One's mysteries are: Death's Shadow (slashing and burning to death), set in the village of Badger's Drift; Strangler's Wood (strangulation), set in Raven's Wood; Blood Will Out (shotgun blast), set in Martyr Warren; and Beyond the Grave (bludgeoning and haunting), set in Aspern Tallow. The programs in each set do not reflect very accurately the order in which the programs appear in each season's series. It doesn't make any difference since each mystery is self-contained. The DVD picture is excellent. There are a few extras such as a map of Midsomer County showing the towns and villages, cast filmographies of the major players and a biography of Carolyn Graham, the author of the books the series is based on.

In the age of young, buff superheroes, it is refreshing to come across a middle-aged detective who manages to be a realistic, likeable character married to an age appropriate woman along with a daughter. Why is it that the British can create such characters and the Americans are always left with "younger and more vacuous" characters? The setting is idyllic and soothing, often a sharp contrast to the plot. I enjoyed all the episodes immensely. The pairing of the younger detective with Nettles works well.

This is the DVD series where it all begins - `The Midsomer Murders' that is. The first thing you might notice in Series #1 is that both Barnaby and Troy had longer hair and were lighter back then, even though we learn through the series that Barnaby's wife and daughter have tried their best to hold the calories to a minimum where the older detective is concerned-even while his younger colleague chomps away on doughnuts and chips whenever the mood strikes. The series provides plenty of escapist material for Anglophiles who want to take an armchair trip to a fantasy-land where nice English coppers keep everyone on the straight and narrow, although a fairly large number of villagers end up dead, and some die horribly.

In these episodes, long-buried secrets are at the heart of more than one murder, so investigative police work means hours spent reviewing archival material while sifting through ancient artifacts - activities sure to stir the hearts of history buffs and Anglophiles alike. This series is well crafted - with great showmanship, fine actors including the many familiar faces of character actors, beautiful bucolic settings in southern England, plenty of interesting artifacts and fine architecture - welcome to fantasy-land my friends.

'Midsomer Murders' is one of the most popular television dramas here in the UK, regularly breaking viewing figures records. The only DVDs available to us, however, are very poor quality and ridiculously expensive for one episode per disc. So I was thrilled when I discovered these American versions; the quality is excellent, and keeping the original widescreen format of the television broadcasts and finally doing this excellent series justice. I would reccomend these films to anyone.

Any fan of British drama/mysteries will love this set. I am a great fan of series like Sherlock Holmes (Jeremy Brett), Cadfael, MI-5, Campion, Jeeves & Wooster, et cetera. The first movie seemed a little slow to me but I imagine it was so I could become familiar with the characters. The second movie is a great mystery and has some superb acting. The third and fourth are delightful as well. John Nettles is just plain marvelous and does a splendid job of playing a detective, husband, and father. I bought this set for my mom because of good reviews here at Amazon and I want to thank you people that reviewed it in a positive way. My mom is now purchasing all the rest the sets, and she absolutely loves them. I agree with you that this is a wonderful series and I am looking forward to seeing the rest.

Midsomer Worthy is a small English village much like Miss Marple's St. Mary Meade. But in this quaint seeminly benign village evil is ever present. It is up to DCI Barnaby and his young Sgt., Troy, to find the evil source and bring him/her to justice. This series is very enjoyable but not fast paced. You will be charmed by the English country side; the cobblestoned streets; the flower gardens; and the people. I have seen every episode broadcast in the US and own them all as well. So brew yourself a pot of Earl Grey and enjoy the show.

These are among the most satisfying British mysteries on TV. The English village settings are lovely and colorful. The main detective (delightfully played by John Nettles) and his family are exceedingly well realized and enjoyable folks to spend time with. His sidekick is engaging and offers a fine contrast (Daniel Casey more than holds his own). The guest artists provide a great guessing game ("isn't that so-and-so from such-and-such?"). And the plots are well constructed and keep you guessing until the end.

The only reason I'm not giving this a full five stars is because the DVD set contains no bonus materials to speak of. Hopefully, that will be remedied in future editions. The Brother Cadfael DVDs have Derek Jacobi's audio commentary. Any reason why the Midsomer Murders DVDs could not have interviews with Nettles or someone else involved in the production?

That one caveat aside, I highly recommend this set.