'Midsomer Murders' a British TV Mystery Tradition

 

The Two Chief Inspector Barnabys: John Nettles as Tom Barnaby & Neil Dudgeon
as John Barnaby. Nettles played Tom for 14 years, then Neil took over as his cousin.
 "Midsomer Murders" started as a pilot on Great Britain's ITV in 1997.

Midsomer is synonymous with murder, thanks to the long-running British TV series, Midsomer Murders.  As an old friend of mine once said about the equally fictional Cabot Cove of Murder, She Wrote: “I’d sure hate to live there, people drop like flies!"

Binge too much and you'll be haunted by this show's eerie theme!

Midsomer Murders is a top notch cross between the pastoral Agatha Christie whodunits and modern day TV police procedurals. As of 2024, the show is in its 24 season. 

One of my mother's favorites, when she doesn't have that other feel-good perennial on—Law and Order, I first binge-watched Midsomer Murders with her during the Covid era. These movie-length whodunits, with their large casts, clever and convoluted plot twists, and dramatic demises, all started to blur.

The cast of "Midsomer Murders" has evolved over the years. DCI Tom Barnaby's
 peeps are on the left and DCI John Barnaby's are on the right!

So, last Thanksgiving, when I bought my first TV in 18 years, I started watching this mystery suspense series on YouTube and Tubi. Viewing at a more leisurely pace, I noted a number of recurring themes. There are far more than ten, but here’s the top tropes of Midsomer Murders that jump out at and amuse me:

#10: While British detectives are the heroes, they usually make a whipping boy out of their sidekicks. Granted, the whippersnapper newbies often jump to conclusions or deal poorly with suspects, but let's just say their superior officers also have superior attitudes!

John Nettles DCI Tom Barnaby can be a bit snippy, but Daniel Casey's DS Troy can irritate! "Midsomer Murders" is in it's 24th season.

#9: The situation that jumpstarts the murders is often an event that put upon locals see as unwanted change perpetrated by rich locals or crass outsiders.

#8: Another main motive for a string of murders often involves secret parentage of now adult characters, whose current actions may mess up the status quo for the killer!

Woe to the British aristocrat that's dismissive of either Chief Inspector Barnaby!
From the perennial Brit TV fave, "Midsomer Murders."

#7: If a character is an old male British blowhard, he's either going to get murdered or is involved in the murder.

#6: If that rich old British dude has a wife, she's usually far younger and far less classy!

#5: If I had a dollar for every time the first murder happens with the killer creeping in the foliage or peeking through the windows, I'd be a Midsomer millionaire.

#4: How many times near the end of each episode does Chief Inspector Barnaby realize who or why regarding the murders from an off-hand comment made by someone else? 

#3: Which in turn makes Barnaby realize someone's in imminent danger, with he and his officer making a mad dash to catch the killer before it is too late.

#2: Like Law and Order, if you wanted to watch a "Reader's Digest" version of Midsomer Murders, you could watch the first and last five minutes, and miss all the middle courses of red herring!

#1: And here's my nearly fool-proof way of guessing a Midsomer murderer. It's rarely the nasty characters—they usually get satisfyingly knocked off. No, it's usually a gentle character, or a SEEMINGLY genteel type, who reveals their true colors in the closing minutes. Usually, they are frustrated and pushed over the edge by plot points that drive them to, murder they said! 

Don't let "Midsomer Murders" meek & mousy types fool you! This one looks like
 Bette Davis as the old maid from "Now, Voyager!" But she's more like a Davis baddie!

Midsomer Murders, now an institution, began as a pilot in 1997. There have been two Chief Inspector Barnabys. John Nettles played Tom Barnaby for 81 episodes, until February 2011. Neil Dudgeon then took over as Tom’s cousin, John, and has played the new Inspector Barnaby since. I much prefer Nettles as Tom Barnaby, whose inspector can be a bit prickly, but has a wry sense of humor, and is most subtle as the good detective. Dudgeon tries a bit too hard with heavy-handed humor, for my taste. The regular supporting cast, which has changed a bit over the years, has all been uniformly excellent, even if you don’t always like their characters. And Inspector Tom’s wife and daughter, Joyce and Cully, can at times make me wish he was a bachelor. I often find two of the sergeants, Troy and Jones, a bit dense to find them enjoyable. I also preferred the sergeants who didn't stick around long, who also happened to be the hunks, rather than the hicks.

"Midsomer Murders" needs to solve what ever happened to John Hopkins'
DS Dan Scott, who called in sick mid-case and never came back!

Aside from the always solid leads, the characters that make the show sing are the weekly guest casts, playing quirky characters that populate each Midsomer village, with the two Barnabys to sort out who are the murderers. There’s always a great cast of British actors who draw you right in. Some are actors familiar to American audiences, like Hayley Mills, Imelda Staunton, Judy Parfitt, and Simon Callow. Especially wonderful are the actors who play the guest villains. Rarely on a show have I seen such a parade of brilliant baddies that you can’t wait to see get done in!

Toby Jones was once a "Midsomer Murders" regular!

Midsomer Murders has had some great guest stars, though it’s not a Hollywood Squares parade of familiar faces, like Murder, She Wrote. One of my very favorite episodes was with a stellar Honor Blackman, who appeared as the timeless femme fatale in “A Talent for Life,” at nearly age 80.

Honor Blackman was brilliant as a "Midsomer Murders" guest star in 2003.

The writing on Midsomer Murders has been consistently strong. The show can alternate from slightly supernatural to black comedy to straight up chills, and yet it never loses sight of its basic premise. Midsomer Murders has had a number of classic episodes, but the ones that are the most memorable for me are the ones that have a bittersweet quality, where the current day characters are haunted by the past deaths of loved ones. Each episode of Midsomer Murders has so much going on that they can be enjoyed repeatedly, which is exactly what I’m now doing!

"Midsomer Murders" current crime solvers: Neil Dudgeon as DCI John Barnaby
& Nick Hendrix as DS Jamie Winter. 

Midsomer Murders is based on the Chief Inspector Barnaby series of books, by Caroline Graham. She became a success in middle-age, with her first Barnaby book published in 1987. And Graham is still with us at age 92.

Speaking of detective shows with twisty stories and terrific villains, here’s another show I enjoyed during Covid lockdown, Columbo, focusing on Jack Cassidy as a three-time guest star bad guy!

https://ricksrealreel.blogspot.com/2022/03/jack-cassidys-killer-trio-from-columbo.html