Midsomer Murders Set 14 DVD Review

Detective Tom Barnaby (John Nettles) is the Chief Inspector of the picturesque little English village of Midsomer, where life is anything but dull. Inspector Barnaby’s partner is Detective Sergeant Ben Jones (Jason Hughes) who considers Barnaby something of a mentor. The people of Midsomer seem to have a knack for showing up dead and not by natural causes. This time around the mysteries range from a hit and run to Barnaby himself becoming a murder suspect and getting placed under house arrest.

Midsomer Murders has been a staple of British programming since its debut in 1997. This time around I, an admitted newcomer to the series will be tackling the four disc box set 14, which contains 4 mysteries that originally aired in the shows tenth season during 2007 and 2008. The runtime of of this set is approximately 400 minutes.

All four of the episodes included were engaging and original. Peppered with dry humor, they were fun stories that had well done twists and turns along the way. My favorite episode is They Seek Him Here. In this tale, Midsomer has been chosen to shoot a low budget adaptation of the Scarlett Pimpernel. The production is haulted when the guillotine works a little too well, and the Inspectors are left with a whole crew of people with motives for the killings. This episode was the most humorous of the set, with great performances from the regulars as well as the episode’s cast.

Unfortunately this release only has a text biography of the author of the original Midsomer Murders novels, Caroline Graham as a special feature. Although not necessary to enjoy the stories, some sort of background featurette would have been nice for those like myself who have never seen the show before.

I found it refreshing to watch a crime drama series that did not spend half of each episode focusing on the personal demons of the detectives involved. Midsomer Murders does have light looks into the life of Detective Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby but spends the bulk of the time focusing on the crime at hand. Having never seen the show before, I didn’t know what to expect going into this collection, however the episodes all stand on their own and anyone can jump in without having to sit through a recap of prior plot arches and storylines. Beautifully filmed in the English countryside, each episode is a well written mystery that will have you guessing the killer until the end. Recommended

Special Features:
Biography of Author Caroline Graham

Episodes:
Death and Dust- The impending marriage of a widowed doctor and a well-to-do divorcee 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 Baranby’s former colleagues, now the managers of a halfway house.

Midsomer Murders Set 14 is available as of February 23rd, courtesy of Acorn Releasing.