Midsomer Murders, Set Three
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Barry Jackson, Jane Wymark, Jason Hughes, John Nettles, Laura HowardBrand: Acorn
Writer: Caroline Graham
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Box set, Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 100 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-04-27
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Acorn Media
Movie Reviews of Midsomer Murders, Set Three
Movie Review: DCI Tom Barnaby continues to find murder and motives in the villages of Midsomer County, Set Three
Summary: 5 Stars
The unflappable DCI Tom Barnaby (John Nettles) with his young associate, Detective Sergeant Gavin Troy (Daniel Casey) continue to find nasty secrets and motives for murder in Midsomer County. Set Three's mysteries are: Garden of Death (death by shotgun), set in the village of Midsomer Deverell; Destroying Angel (asphyxiation and mushrooms), set in Easterly Grange; The Electric Vendetta (electrocution), set in Midsomer Parva; Who Killed Cock Robin? (bludgeoning), set in Newton Magna and Dark Autumn (bludgeoning again), set in Goodman's Land.
In this part cosy, part procedural mystery series, DCI 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 must apply all his experience, skepticism, intelligence and persistence 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 almost 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 Three, which consists of five programs of about an hour and forty minutes each, there are Alan Howard, Rosemary Leach, Anthony Bate, Margaret Tyzack, Ian McNeice, Samantha Bond, Alec McCowan, Celia Imrie and Jane Lapotaire.
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 but a member of the upper class, where the chief copper has a happy home life and no angst to share with the viewers, Midsomer Murders might be just the thing. The mysteries are consistently well developed and puzzling, and the acting is solid.
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.
Summary of Midsomer Murders, Set Three
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 Daniel Casey (The Wingless Bird) as his eager young assistant. Guest stars include Sarah Alexander, Victoria Hamilton, Samantha Bond, Anthony Bate, Kenneth Colley, Gillian Kearney and Celia Imrie.The Mysteries: Garden of Death ? One of the most beautiful spots in Midsomer Deverell becomes a source of contention and then something far worse. Destroying Angel ? When the owner of the Easterly Grange Hotel dies, the hotel?s manger fails to show up at the funeral or at the reading of the will that names him part-owner. The Electric Vendetta ? A mutilated body found in the middle of a crop circle leads some to suspect that aliens have invaded Midsomer Parva. Who Killed Cock Robin? ? In Newton Magna, a murder mars plans for the upcoming wedding of the village squire?s daughter. Dark Autumn ? In Goodman?s Land, the postman is brutally murdered. Turns out he was delivering more than mail to the village women.
DVD BONUS FEATURES INCLUDE Midsomer map, cast filmographies, Caroline Graham biography and scene index.
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