Midsomer Murders

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Midsomer Murders
Genre Crime drama
Created by Caroline Graham
Directed by Peter Smith
Sarah Hellings
Jeremy Silberston
Richard Holthouse
Renny Rye
Starring John Nettles
Jane Wymark
Barry Jackson
Laura Howard
Composer(s) Jim Parker
Country of origin United Kingdom
Language(s) English
No. of episodes 60 (as of 11 May 2008) (List of episodes)
Production
Executive
producer(s)		 Brian True-May
Producer(s) Brian True-May
Betty Willingale
Associate
producer(s)		 Ian Strachan
Editor(s) Derek Bain
Cinematography Colin Munn
Graham Frake
Running time 120 minutes
(including adverts)
Broadcast
Original channel ITV
Picture format Super 16
Audio format Stereo
Original run 23 March 1997 – present
External links
Official website
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Midsomer Murders is a British television drama that has aired on ITV1 since 1997. A detective drama,[1] it focuses on the main character of Detective Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby, played by John Nettles and his efforts to solve the various crimes that take place in the fictional English county of Midsomer. It is based on a series of crime novels by the author Caroline Graham and was originally adapted by Anthony Horowitz.

Contents

[edit] Cast

[edit] Characters

Detective Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby - A senior member of the Midsomer Constabulary's Causton CID, Barnaby handles the considerable number of murders that occur in the county. A patient, tolerant man whose style of investigation is methodical and fair. Much of his social life seems to revolve around his wife and daughter. His other relatives are his parents , who by the episode "Blue Herrings" are both deceased. Though only his mother is referred to, he also has an aunt Alice Bly who appears only in the aforesaid episode, to whom he is devoted. In fact, they both often provide a personal connection with the crimes that he is investigating.

Detective Sergeant Gavin Troy - Barnaby's first and longest-serving deputy. He is a local man and attended a local comprehensive. He is young to be a detective sergeant, a point often commented on. He is very bright and ambitious, though it is usually his boss who solves the crime, often after Troy has made the wrong conclusion. In contrast to the tolerant Barnaby, Troy is one to make non-politically correct remarks, often concerning his disdain for homosexuals. He is known to make other inappropriate comments, often at the least fortuitous of times. He was promoted to Inspector and transferred to Middlesbrough at the end of the sixth series. His relationship with Barnaby has always been warm and the two make a formidable pair. He will make a one off appearance in the first episode of Series 11, "Blood Wedding", to attend the wedding of Cully Barnaby.[2]

Joyce Barnaby - Barnaby's long-suffering wife. She is enormously tolerant of her husband, despite his being a workaholic who spent their honeymoon solving the case of the 'Pimlico Poisoner', which suggests that they met in London, where they both possibly lived and worked. Joyce is an easy-going and friendly woman who likes to get involved in community activities. She has long possessed a desire to move out of their Causton home and into one of the picturesque Midsomer villages - only to be put off by the grisly murders that occur there.

Cully Barnaby - Tom and Joyce's only child. She is an inquisitive and bold young woman, who seems to have inherited many of her parents' friendly attitudes and community spirit. Early in the series she attended Cambridge University and dated a drama student, Nico. This fell through and she returned to live with her parents in Causton. She is an actress and frequently takes temporary jobs in the Midsomer area when "resting" between assignments. Like her mother her tendency to do community work often leaves her personally involved with the murders that take place.

DS Dan Scott - is a bit cockier than his predecessor Gavin Troy; he is a Londoner who was not thrilled to be transferred to Midsomer, which he regards as the 'sticks'. His relationship with Barnaby was prickly at first but it mellowed into a slightly awkward marriage of convenience, with Barnaby still disapproving of Scott's methods and Scott grudgingly starting to respect him. His departure from the show was never fully explained.

DS Ben Jones - is the third character to act as Barnaby's assistant. Unlike the other two (Gavin Troy and Dan Scott) who both appeared on the series as sergeants, Ben Jones was an acting detective constable when first introduced to the viewer; he was subsequently promoted to sergeant. Jones is considerably less naive than his predecessors. In an episode first broadcast in January 2007 it is revealed that Ben Jones was a Freemason. Freemasonry is central to the plot of this episode and Jones assists with many references to masonic ritual and regalia, and is shown attending a lodge meeting in part of the episode.

Doctor George Bullard - Causton's resident pathologist. Bullard goes about his work with a professional skill and a cheery demeanour. He is a good friend of Barnaby. He has been a regular throughout the series (save for a brief spell, when his place was taken by Dr. Dan Peterson played by Toby Jones). In later episodes he has often played a greater role in the plot.

[edit] Style

The programme possesses a unique style. It is almost entirely set within the closed, rustic fictional English county of Midsomer. Midsomer is a world whose inhabitants are frequently wealthy, amoral and snobbish eccentrics, often obsessed with the confined lives they lead in these isolated communities. This setting provides for some friction amongst them, which is observed with a self-mocking, sardonic humour.

The show often highlights people's artificial façade. To the unfamiliar eye, Midsomer is a picturesque, peaceful and prosperous county, but behind the well-trimmed hedgerows and cricket on the village green lurks a society brimming with all kinds of vice. Barnaby, by contrast, offers a stable homelife and an exceptional morality.

Each story is built up carefully, with underpinning currents and long unsolved mysteries adding to the bemusement of the detectives. There are usually false leads—so-called "red herrings"—like those who have committed petty crimes or harbour some dark secret they attempt to conceal from the world. Despite the sinister, atmospheric edge that runs through the show, it maintains a consistent sense of humour.

The locale seemingly has a large number of deaths, especially considering that Midsomer is a small, rural county. Due to the bizarre nature of the place, this does not seem entirely improbable. The show at times even plays on this lack of realism, with characters often commenting on the astoundingly high numbers of deaths. For example, in one of his earliest cases with Barnaby (in the episode entitled "The Fisher King"), Detective Sergeant Dan Scott asks, "Is the body count always this high around here?" Barnaby replies dryly, "It's been remarked upon."

[edit] Production

First transmitted in the United Kingdom in March 1997, filming is currently underway on the eleventh series of the programme, which will bring the total number of episodes to sixty-six, and a twelfth series commissioned to be filmed in 2008. Viewing figures for the series are healthy, and the feature-length drama attracts a number of actors from the stage and screen in guest-starring roles. The majority of the early episodes were written by Anthony Horowitz, who, with the original producers Betty Willingale and Brian True-May, also created the series. Current writers include Peter J. Hammond, David Hoskins, Douglas Watkinson and Andrew Payne.

[edit] Episodes

Main article: List of Midsomer Murders episodes

Midsomer Murders first aired as a pilot on 23 March 1997. Since then, fifty-five episodes have been aired up to and including series ten and the eleventh series is currently airing. The episodes within each series are often aired many months apart.

[edit] Locations

Main article: Midsomer Murders filming locations

[edit] Soundtrack

Composed by Jim Parker is performed using, not exclusively, with an unusual electronic musical instrument: the theremin.

[edit] Other countries

Midsomer Murders has been sold to a number of countries and territories across the world, including Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Botswana, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latin America, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine, the United States, and the United Arab Emirates.

[edit] DVD releases

The first nine series of Midsomer Murders have been released in the UK (Region 2). The first three episodes of Series Ten were released on 2 April 2007.

In January 2006, Midsomer Murders started a DVD & Magazine Collection, available at newsagents in the UK and Australia.

Acorn Media has released 10 DVD sets of Midsomer Murders in the US as well as a 19-disc collection available as The Early Cases. This set includes Acorn's set one, two, three, and five, as well as a bonus disc featuring a behind-the-scenes documentary.

[edit] Books

The following list is a collection of published works connected with the series.

[edit] References

  1. ^ The Guardian. Midsomer shines for ITV1. Retrieved on 2008-04-09.
  2. ^ Manchester Evening News. Midsomer Wedding. Retrieved on 2007-08-31.

[edit] External links