Midsomer Murders Set 9 (1998)

As seen on A&E and The Biography Channel

WHAT EVIL LURKS BEYOND THE WELL-TRIMMED HEDGES OF MIDSOMER . . .

The cozy villages of Midsomer County reveal their most sinister secrets in these contemporary British television mysteries. Inspired by the novels of Caroline Graham, modern master of the English village mystery, the series stars John Nettles (Bergerac) as the unflappable Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby with John Hopkins (Love in a Cold Climate) as his brash young assistant, Sergeant Dan Scott. Guest stars include Garry Cooper, Diana Quick, Harriet Walter, and Caroline Blakiston.

THE MYSTERIES
Things That Go Bump in the Night -- A series of grisly murders rocks the village of Fletcher's Cross and a group of controversial spiritualists fall under suspicion.
Dead in the Water -- Barnaby and Scott immerse themselves in the luxurious world of rowing after a murder mars the annual Midsomer Regatta.
Orchis Fatalis -- In the orchid-mad village of Midsomer Malham, Barnaby and Scott must discover who would kill to own an extremely rare specimen.
Bantling Boy -- Why did the owner of Bantling Hall bequeath his champion thoroughbred to four Midsomer villagers? The only person who knows doesn't live to tell the tale.

DVD SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDE Caroline Graham biography and cast filmographies.

Excellent as always

This series is excellent as always, I've watched two:

Bantling Boy. An unexpected ending. Don't watch if you sensitive about any negative portrayal of computer games on kids.

Dead in the Water. Wonderful outdoor scenes, particularly if you enjoy boating, regattas and crew boat racing, since the plot revolves around the Midsomer Regatta. Crew racing in Seattle isn't quite as upperclass, but perhaps England is different.

--Michael W. Perry, Untangling Tolkien: A Chronology and Commentary for The Lord of the Rings September 2, 2008

Fun Viewing of a Cozy Night

"Midsomer Murders, Set Nine," consists of four, approximately 100 minutes long, contemporary stand alone British mysteries from the long-running television series seen here on A & E and The Biography Channel. The series first aired in the United Kingdom in March, 1997; since then, more than 55 feature-length episodes have aired, with further episodes still in production.

The series is based on the novels of Caroline Graham, who worked in the classic English village school of mystery-writing, perhaps best exemplified by Agatha Christie. And some critics have called Graham the best detective writer since Christie. It is filmed in the quaint, green beauty of the English countryside, in fictional Midsomer County, where nasty things, treated rather lightly, with a certain sly humor, do seem to keep on happening, as the inhabitants go about their picturesque pursuits and recreations. These nasty goings-on frequently don't seem to have much basis in reality, nor motivation, nor backstory. But you can expect lots of village fetes; medieval-style mounted jousting matches, and regattas.

The mysteries are:
"Things that Go Bump in the Night." An odd group of spiritualists, and their not so spiritual leader, come under suspicion as a plague of peculiar murders hits the village of Fletcher's Cross.

"Dead in the Water." Set in the well-heeled world of competitive rowing, as a body turns up in the Thames River during the annual Midsomer Regatta. Diana Quick ("Brideshead Revisited") guest stars.

"Orchis Fatalis." Apparently the peaceful looking village of Midsomer Malham is inhabited by orchid-crazed individuals, ready to bankroll illicit expeditions to find extremely rare examples of the breed - or to kill for them.

"Bantling Boy." Lord Bantling, of a historic noble, but treacherous family, owner of Bantling Hall, dies, leaving his prize racehorse to a syndicate of four locals. Why ever? Anybody who knows isn't talking, and, as somebody is killing off the syndicate, soon isn't able to.

The series stars John Nettles("Bergerac") as family man Detective Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby, with John Hopkins ("Love in a Cold Climate") as his young assistant Sgt. Dan Scott. Other guest stars include Garry Cooper and Caroline Blakiston. One note to the wise: the actors in supporting roles have been encouraged to trot out their country accents, and there are no subtitles. Some may have difficulty in following the stories.

Mind you, one of the chief hallmarks of the British village detective story has always been its eccentric characters: secretive pub keepers and their adulterous regulars; priests who've left irregular doings behind them in previous postings; three-times married---and then some-- lords of the manor. This series does not create such characters, and said characters certainly do not come back for the repeat appearances many viewers and readers love. Nor are detectives Barnaby and Scott sharply drawn: nothing to compare with Miss Marple, or Hercule Poirot. Or Columbo. Or Monk.

So"Midsomer Murders" can't be considered one of the legendary top rank of British mysteries, but it still has its pleasures. It can deliver fun viewing of a cozy night.

August 8, 2008

MidSomer Murders - the whole series

Both my wife and enjoy this series very much. We will soon have the whole series. We view them often. June 1, 2008

Midsomer Murders set 9

My wife and I have viewed the eight previous sets and we feel this is a very well done series. Like anything else some we felt were very good others perhaps a little weaker. Our only real criticism with set 9 was the fact that the murder scenes were a little more graphic than previous episodes. And in some cases needlessly so.
Overall 4 out of 5 stars. April 17, 2008

forensic buff

Glad to add it to the rest of the series. Well worth the wait. April 5, 2008

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