Midsomer Murders: Set 14 Review

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(More customer reviews)(if you are shopping for season 14, then I assume you know the basics already; still I am including the show outline in the PS paragraph; hope this helps)
This is such a LOOOOOONG wait, but...I thought I would share a few thoughts on the upcoming episodes: Death and Dust, A Picture of Innocence, They Seek Him Here, and Death in a Chocolate Box (eps 56 thru 59). All four were originally aired on British TV from May 2007 to May 2008. The US Feb 2010 DVD release date means we are more then two years behind. Ghrrrrr.... Still, I believe these episodes are well worth the wait: Barnaby himself becomes a murder suspect (!), MM's trademark inventive murder tools make an appearance (including a guillotine!), and we see the return of Simon, Cully's (Barnaby's daughter's) intended. Alas, Cully's wedding (episode 60) is still a long time coming (according to Acorn, set 15 has a tentative release date of June 2010, and set 16 of Oct 2010; we will have THREE sets, rather then the usual two in 2010!!!).
As excited as I am for season 14, according to Brian Tru-May, the show's executive producer, there are many well known actors interested in guest starring in future episodes, including Michael Caine, Roger Moore, and Johnny Depp (!!!). I hope this great show goes on forever! ;o) Still, no word on who is taking over for John Nettles when he retires...
UPDATE (Feb 10, 2010): Nettles' replacement has been revelaed. I have included the details in Set 16 review.
PS: For those new to this British masterpiece, Midsomer Murders is a long running "who done it", based on the novels of Caroline Graham, starring John Nettles (of the Bergerac fame) as the unflappable Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby. The series is set in the fictional Misomer County, which comprises of many cosy, rural villages, where wealthy and poor alike seem to do each other in at an average rate of three to four bodies per episode. The series has a worldwide following, not in the least due to the creative and macabre ways in which the MM victims are typically dispatched.

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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 Tom Barnaby, with Jason Hughes (This Life) as his earnest, efficient protégé, Detective Sergeant Ben Jones. Guest stars include Stephanie Cole, Gareth Thomas, Christopher Fairbank, Richard Hope, Peter Eyre, Chris Barrie, Matthew Marsh, and Clare Higgins.
THE MYSTERIES Death and Dust--The impending marriage of a widowed doctor and a well-to-do divorcée motivates a murder of mistaken identity. Picture of Innocence--In the midst of a “shooting war” between rival camera clubs, someone tries to frame Barnaby--and definitely not for a portrait. They Seek Him Here--Heads roll, quite literally, when a movie crew begins filming an adventure classic set during the French Revolution. Death in a Chocolate Box--A long-buried scandal reemerges to haunt two of Barnaby’s former colleagues, now the managers of a halfway house.

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Midsomer Murders: Set 13 Review

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(More customer reviews)For those new to this British masterpiece, Midsomer Murders is a long running "who done it", based on the novels of Caroline Graham, starring John Nettles (of the Bergerac fame) as the unflappable Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby. The series is set in the fictional Misomer County, which comprises of many cosy, rural villages, where wealthy and poor alike seem to do each other in at an average rate of three to four bodies per episode. The series has a worldwide following, not in the least due to the creative and macabre ways in which the MM victims are typically dispatched. I give the series as a whole a five star rating, though set 12 was a bit dissapointing (four stars) in that it lacked some of its trademark British humour which in the past acted as a buffer between the viewer and the grim reality of the bloody murders... Let's hope Set 13 sees MM back to its best form!

Set 13 contains the following episodes:
ep 52: Dance With the Dead; orig air date: Nov 2006
ep 53: The Animal Within; orig air date: Jan 2007
ep 54: King's Crystal;orig air date: Jan 2007
ep 55: The Axeman Cometh; orig air date: Feb 2007
SPOILER ALERT!!!: In The Axeman Cometh we meet Simon, Cully's intended. Her wedding is in ep 60 (which I guess will be in set 15). END OF SPOILER ALERT!!!
If you own any MM sets from Region 2, you may already own at least some of the above episodes, as the Region 1 and 2 sets are NOT synchronised. Better check... I read somewhere there were fewer MM episodes released in the US in order to keep the price of each set more affordable. If that was indeed the case, then it is a great shame... I would like to see those missing episodes released at some point in the US as well.
PS: As a side note, John Nettles is retiring soon, though we should see Barnaby episodes well into 2011. The makers are still shopping for a suitable lead who will pick up the baton. All they will confirm is that Barnaby will NOT be killed off, and that his current sidekick (played by Jason Hugh) is NOT in the running. The actress playing Cully has already retired from MM (her last episode was shown on British TV this summer; it was her character's wedding episode).
UPDATE (Feb 10, 2010): Nettles' replacement has been revealed. I have included the details in Set 16 review.

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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 Tom Barnaby, with Jason Hughes (This Life) as his earnest, efficient protégé, Detective Sergeant Ben Jones. Guest stars include Phil Davis, John Castle, Richard Johnson, Lisa Eichhorn, David Horovitch, Harriet Thorpe, Flora Montgomery, and Suzi Quatro.

THE MYSTERIES Dance with the Dead--A young man asphyxiates in a vintage automobile, setting off a search for his mysterious girlfriend. The Animal Within--A mischievous old coot goes missing just before a visit from his niece—a woman supposedly dead for three years. King’s Crystal--At an artisan glassworks, Barnaby delves into possibly murderous family rivalries. The Axeman Cometh--The Midsomer music festival brings out the bluesman in Barnaby. Unfortunately, it also brings out someone murdering rock stars.

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Midsomer Murders: Set 15 (2010) Review

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(More customer reviews)While I am thrilled that in 2010 Acorn is giving us an extra release of Midsomer Murders, I am disappointed that the second set of the year only includes three episodes:
Ep. 60 Shot at Dawn (or. broadcast Jan 1, 08)
Ep. 61 Blood Wedding (or. broadcast Jul 6, 08)
Ep. 62 Left For dead (or. broadcast Jul 20, 08)
Which means in the US we are still running two years behind the original broadcast. Still, the consolation is that in Blood Wedding we finally get to see Cully marry her Simon. And as a special treat, there is a guest appearance from Gavin Troy (Barnaby's original sidekick)! I think the series did loose a little heart and humour with Gavin's departure and I will be very happy to see this character return, if only for one episode.
A side note: August 19th, 2010 will be John Nettles' last day of filming on Midsomer Murders. His run as Barnaby will end with episode 82, likely not due in the US until 2013, ghhrr... Reportedly, DS Ben Jones and Dr Bullard are staying on. ITV is mum on who is replacing Nettles, though wild rumours are circulating that it could even possibly be a she, rather then a he...
UPDATE (Feb 10, 2010): Nettles' replacement has finally been revealed. I have included the details in Set 16 review.
PS: For those new to this British masterpiece, Midsomer Murders is a long running "who done it", based on the novels of Caroline Graham, starring John Nettles (of the Bergerac fame) as the unflappable Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby. The series is set in the fictional Misomer County, which comprises of many cosy, rural villages, where wealthy and poor alike seem to do each other in at an average rate of three to four bodies per episode. The series has a worldwide following, not in the least due to the creative and macabre ways in which the MM victims are typically dispatched.

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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 Tom Barnaby, with Jason Hughes (This Life) as his earnest, efficient protégé, Detective Sergeant Ben Jones. Guest stars include Daniel Casey, Samantha Bond, Donald Sinden, Malcolm Sinclair, Maggie Steed, and George Cole.
THE MYSTERIES Blood Wedding -- Cully’s wedding day is fast approaching, but a series of bizarre murders at an upper-class wedding leave Barnaby distracted.Shot at Dawn -- A long-standing family feud erupts into violence after a disgraced soldier’s name is placed on a World War I memorial. Left for Dead -- Barnaby discovers a potential link between a double murder and a decades-old disappearance in the sleepy town of Dunstan.
Bonus disc: Super Sleuths, a documentary about Midsomer Murders in which John Nettles, Caroline Graham, Anthony Horowitz, and others reflect on the show’s first decade.

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Midsomer Murders: Set 17 (2011) Review

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(More customer reviews)Based on a set of only seven novels by Caroline Graham (beginning with The Killings at Badger's Drift), Midsomer Murders is a long-running and very popular series that debuted in the U.K. in 1997. The series features the likable Detective Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby (John Nettles) and is set in the fictional English county of Midsomer which consists of several villages each of which seems to rival Cabot Cove, Maine for their improbably high murder rates.
Agatha Christie, the world's most successful mystery writer, considered plot to be of utmost importance when crafting her stories. Graham, on the other hand, has said that she prefers to start out with interesting characters and allow the plot to form around them. And it is certainly the characters that are the centerpiece of Midsomer Murders. Unusual, odd and memorable are all words that could be used to describe the show's colorful collection of villagers - including the murderers, the victims and the bystanders, very few of whom could be described as "innocent".
Part police procedural, part quirky cozy, part traditional whodunit, Midsomer Murders should appeal to a variety of murder mystery fans. Even after seeing nearly 70 episodes, I find the show remains dependably entertaining with strong writing, intricate plots and uniformly first-rate acting. Episodes exist more or less independent of one another and need not be viewed in broadcast order. However, because of Barnaby's changing Detective Sergeants over the years, viewers might wish to do so.
One of my favorite aspects of the series is the gorgeous glimpses it provides of the English countryside and the picturesque villages, vine covered cottages and grand estates in which the stories are set. For true devotees, the book Midsomer Murders on Location provides information on where each episode was filmed. I'm also inordinately fond of the theme music which seems to suit the quirkiness of Midsomer Murders perfectly.
The following episodes are included in Set 17:
* The Dogleg Murders (Episode 67): After a player is murdered on the course at a prestigious golf club, Barnaby and Jones discover a bevy of crimes, and more murder, among the club's members.
* The Black Book (Episode 68): The sale at auction of a newly discovered masterpiece by a Midsomer painter seems to be the catalyst for a series of murders.
* Secrets and Spies (Episode 69): Barnaby's past as a secret agent comes into play when another former agent is murdered after a cricket match.
* The Glitch (Episode 70): Barnaby suspects that the threat by a local university fellow to reveal a glitch in a new software program mistakenly caused the hit and run killing of a local school teacher.
Because of the somewhat unorthodox behavior of a number of the characters, some rare flashes of nudity and the often gruesome nature of the crimes, I feel Midsomer Murders is best suited to older teens and adults.

Highly recommended.

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THE MYSTERIES
The Dogleg Murders--Members of the swanky Whiteoaks Golf Club keep turning up dead by the 13th hole. The Black Book--The detectives investigate a string of savage murders precipitated by a local art auction. Secrets and Spies--A mysterious creature is killing sheep in Midsomer County, but it soon moves on to larger prey. The Glitch--A local scientist’s determination to stop an American millionaire’s latest business venture has fatal repercussions.

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