78 of 78 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sorting out the Viewing order, Great series!, December 1, 2005
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!
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77 of 82 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Complex plots and enjoyable viewing, March 14, 2004
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.
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24 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
It gets better and better...., December 28, 2004
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.
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