Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		5.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.5

Midsomer Murders, Series 18 Blu-ray Movie Review

New Faces, New Cases

Reviewed by Michael Reuben September 22, 2016

Acorn Media's latest release of Midsomer Murders marks the biggest set of discs and episodes since the venerable British police procedural debuted on Blu-ray. Midsomer's Series 18 consists of six 90-minute outings, first broadcast in the U.K. in early 2016. Once upon a time, Acorn would have split these episodes into two sets of three, but Series 18 is arriving all at once, neatly queued up for binging.

The series' biggest event is the arrival of a new medical examiner, who doubles as a forensic technician. Dr. Kam Karimore (Manjinder Virk) joins the intrepid investigators of Causton CID following the departure of Dr. Kate Wilding (Tamzin Malleson) for a teaching position at the University of Brighton. Young, energetic and ambitious, Dr. Kam gives both the department and the series a jolt that is welcomed by DCI John Barnaby (Neil Dudgeon), who needs all the help he can get now that he and wife Sarah (Fiona Dolman) must devote so much of their energy to infant daughter Betty. The youngest Barnaby speaks her first words during Series 18, as Mama and Dada Barnaby grow competitive over which one will be the subject of Betty's first utterance. (They neglect to consider a third candidate for the child's linguistic affection: faithful terrier Sykes, whose popularity among fans of Midsomer remains second to none.)

Barnaby's sergeant, Charlie Nelson (Gwilym Lee), doesn't fully share Barnaby's enthusiasm for the new M.E., whose competitive approach to anything and everything rubs Nelson the wrong way. In the Blu-ray extras, the cast coyly hints at the possibility that the friction between Nelson and Dr. Kam may be a prelude to romance, but in the actual episodes, it plays more like sibling rivalry. Whatever the nature of the blooming relationship between the coroner and the young cop, it only lasts as long as Series 18. Following the final episode's broadcast, actor Gwilym Lee announced his departure from Midsomer Murders, and when the show returns in 2017, Barnaby will have a new sergeant.

Habeas Corpus (disc 1) Jan. 6, 2016

In the village of Little Malton, ailing landowner Gregory Lancaster dies quietly in bed, surrounded by his wife, Hermione (Diana Quick), daughter Rose (Helen Baxendale) and Rose's boyfriend, Craig Coffley (Ciarán McMenamin). Gregory's son, Felix Lancaster (Alastair Mackenzie), arrives at the family manor too late to bid his father farewell. But when the undertaker arrives to claim Gregory's body, the deceased has mysteriously vanished. Is someone trying to cover up a murder by destroying evidence?

Barnaby's investigation uncovers the troubled history of the Lancaster family, for whom mountain and rock climbing have been both a passionate pursuit and a source of tragedy. The investigators also consider the motives of Sonny Desai (Navin Chowdhry), a childhood friend of the Lancaster offspring, who promptly appears on the scene eager to purchase the family estate from Felix (who is his father's heir) but is also angling to renew an old romance with Rose, to the consternation of her boyfriend. Did Sonny hurry the old man's demise to further his plans? And what of the peculiar connection between the town's doctor, Isaac Vernon (Joseph Mydell), and the undertaker, Caleb Southwood (Clive Merrison), who share office space and appear to have an usually close working relationship—maybe too close for the health and well-being of Dr. Vernon's patients?

An already bizarre case takes an even stranger turn when several more bodies are stolen, one of them long dead and buried, and the other, by all appearances, freshly killed.


The Incident at Cooper Hill (disc 1) Jan. 13, 2016

The village of Cooper Hill is famous for its UFO sightings, which date back decades. A local woman, Abigail Tonev (Allison Stedman), hosts tours for curious visitors, while a confirmed ufologist, Carter Faulkner (Steve Evets), doggedly scans the skies with homemade equipment, hoping to rediscover the alien object which he first sighted near the village thirty years ago. More skeptical minds suspect the military's involvement, given the village's proximity to an RAF base commanded by the secretive Group Captain Jeremy Ford (Pip Torrens) and his loyal assistant, Sgt. Yasmin Ali (Sheena Bhattessa).

When a forest ranger, Felicity Ford (Belinda McGinley), is killed after an apparent close encounter that leaves her body doused with what at first appears to be an extraterrestrial sludge, Barnaby and Jones are drawn into a mystery worthy of The X-Files. Is it sheer coincidence that Felicity happens to be the daughter of the base commander? Is the military conducting covert experiments (or, possibly, keeping secrets in the English equivalent of Area 51)? Barnaby is a confirmed doubter when it comes to UFOs, but it turns out that there really is something odd in the sky—and something even odder under the ground. And yet another mystery bedevils the chief inspector: What surprise event is Sarah planning for his birthday?


Breaking the Chain (disc 2) Jan. 27, 2016

Burwood Mantle hosts an international cycling competition, at which one of the cyclists, Greg Eddon (Jack Staddon), is murdered shortly after winning a race. Barnaby's investigation encounters a thicket of present-day rivalries and troubled pasts. Eddon's team is locked in a fierce competition with rival Ravondale owned by Reece Dexter (Hari Dhillon), and Eddon has repeatedly defied his own team owner, Des McCordell (Derek Riddell). In the race that Eddon won, he was supposed to fall back in favor of teammate Mitch McCordell (Tom York), Des's younger son. Between races, Eddon was having an affair with the girlfriend of McCordell's older son, Aiden (Ben Lamb), who is also a teammate. Meanwhile, the entire competition and its organizer, pub owner Mary Appleton (Tessa Peake-Jones), are under attack by a local environmentalist and wood carver, Gerry Bleacher (Richard Graham), who insists that the event is irreparably damaging the surrounding forest.

Doping, false identities and blackmail complicate the investigation, as the murderer repeatedly strikes again. Who knew that cycling could be such a dangerous sport?



A Dying Art (disc 2) Feb. 3, 2016

In the village of Angel's Rise, wealthy Brandon Monkford (Tony Gant) has transformed his country estate into an outdoor sculpture park. At a party to celebrate his latest acquisition—a golden fountain created by womanizing sculptor Lance Auden (Ramon Tikaram)—Monkford's lifeless body is found draped across the evening's prize exhibition. As usual when someone is killed in Midsomer County, there is no shortage of suspects. Many village inhabitants opposed Monkford's project, and the opposition has been organized by pub landlord Brin Dunne (John Hollingworth) under the name Villagers Against the Sculpture Park or "V.A.S.P." Monkford's wife, Alexandra (Cherie Lunghi), was having an affair with art critic Daniel Fargo (David Bamber), who advised her husband on his acquisitions; Monkford's daughter, Rachel (Cara Horgan), was being evicted by her father from the wooded land where she runs a climbing center with partner Killion Staples (Michael Wildman); and aspiring local artist Simeon Rowling (Denis Lill) has been unceremoniously rejected for inclusion in Monkford's collection.

The situation becomes even more heated when Monkford's family learns that the deceased collector has left his entire estate to his groundsman, Tony Pitt (Adrian Scarborough), who immediately announces his intention to continue developing the sculpture park, even over the objection of his dutiful wife, Summer (Saskia Reeves), who just wants to stay on as the Monkfords' housekeeper. As more victims are found, Barnaby and Nelson acquire a new appreciation for the power of art to inspire, even if the inspiration tends toward the homicidal.


Saints and Sinners (disc 3) Feb. 10, 2016

An archaeological dig in Midsomer Cicely becomes a crime scene, when the head of the archaeological team, Zoe Dyer (Kim Vithana), is found buried in her own excavation. The team had just uncovered a skeleton believed to be the remains of St. Cicely Milson, a 15th Century martyr who gave the village its name. The discovery, and the very existence of Dyer's project, pose a threat to the income stream flowing to the local church from tours conducted by Rev. Peter Corby (Malcolm Sinclair), who already claims to have the bones of St. Cicely on exhibit. Despite this opposition, the dig proceeds, with Zoe Dyer's husband, Alex (Jonathan Aris), assuming command. At least one local supports the project, and he just happens to be Rev. Corby's brother, Christopher (Aden Gillett), whose research has led him to dispute the authenticity of the church's display. Further deaths ensue.

As so often happens in Midsomer Murders, the case is rife with secret alliances, hidden identities and buried secrets, but the real motive, once Barnaby and Jones have sorted through the layers of deception, turns out to be simple and familiar. The new medical examiner, who enjoys throwing herself into field work far more than any of her predecessors, discovers just how dangerous it can be.


Harvest of Souls (disc 3) Feb. 17, 2016

The village of Whitcombe Mallet hosts an annual harvest fair complete with carnival attractions, including the display of vehicular daring known as the Wall of Death operated by Butch Nevins (Michael Higgs) and his sons, Sean and Dale (Sean Delaney and Rory Fleck Byrne). Sean is secretly dating Beth Wyham (Daisy Whalley), daughter of the local squire, Jasper Wyham (David Yelland) and his wife, Serena (Helen Schlesinger). When Beth's older brother, Harry Wyham (Andrew Alexander), is found dead in the stable he owns, poisoned with ketamine and trampled by a horse, Barnaby and Nelson discover that Harry had enemies everywhere. He had barred his ex-wife, Jessica (Amber Rose), from seeing their daughter—and Jessica's mother, Clara Myerscough (Meera Syal), just happens to be the local vet, with ready access to ketamine. He had repossessed a beloved horse owned by publicans Niall and Rowena Deeley (Michael Thomson and Lauren O'Neil), which is coincidentally stolen shortly after Harry's death. And just before he died, Harry had informed harvest fair participants that this year would be the event's last, because he was planning to expand his operations onto the land currently used as fairgrounds. Both villagers and operators of fair attractions were up in arms.

When subsequent developments suggest that Harry's death may have resulted from a motive other than the universal animosity he inspired, Barnaby and Nelson have to unravel yet another mystery with deep roots in the past. Meanwhile, Nelson and Dr. Kam compete with one another for the dubious privilege of minding Sykes while the Barnaby family takes a holiday in France. Sensing the Barnabys' plan to leave him behind, the intrepid pooch does everything in his power to make his displeasure known.

Midsomer Murders, Series 18 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Cinematographer James Moss returned for the first four episodes of Midsomer Murders's Series 18; the last two were shot by a newcomer to the series, Andy Hollis, whose extensive credits include the original Office and Simon Pegg's delightful Spaced. Midsomer continues to be shot on the Arri Alexa. Acorn Media has spread the six episodes over three 1080p, AVC-encoded BD-50s, two episodes per disc, providing the same superb clarity, detail, depth of field and color that has been typical of the series on Blu-ray. Unlike the previous series, there were no minor instances of aliasing or other photographic artifacts, an absence which may or may not be attributable to the healthy average bitrate of 27 Mbps per episode, which is a notable increase over the previous set. Midsomer's diverse array of picturesque locales is capably and elegantly represented on these discs, with visible improvements over the quality of the streaming versions seen on Acorn TV.

Midsomer Murders, Series 18 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Provided in lossless DTS-HD MA 2.0, the stereo sound design for Midsomer Murders has not changed in any major respect. Several of the episodes present special opportunities for expressive audio effects (e.g., the "close encounters" of "The Incident at Cooper Hill" and the various fairground attractions in "Harvest of Souls"), and the sound team rises to the challenge, but for the most part, Midsomer's audio design remains modest and functional, with emphasis on the dialogue, which is always clear, and on the spare underscoring by Jim Parker, including his signature theme.

Midsomer Murders, Series 18 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Behind the Scenes: Habeas Corpus (disc 1) (1080p; 1.78:1; 4:20): Stunt coordinator Ray De-Haan discusses the logistics of shooting the episode's dramatic conclusion.



• Behind the Scenes: The Incident at Cooper Hill (disc 1) (1080p; 1.78:1; 5:11): Producer Phil Hunter and actor Steve Evets speak about the episode's UFO elements as well as the demanding action sequence that Evets performed without a double. Guest actors Steve Oram and Alison Steadman discuss their mother-and-son characters.



• Behind the Scenes: Breaking the Chain (disc 2) (1080p; 1.78:1; 3:59): Neil Dudgeon ("DCI Barnaby"), Manjinder Virk ("Dr. Kam") and Gwylim Lee ("Nelson") discuss cycling and the pleasures of making Midsomer Murders. Guest actors Tessa Peake-Jones and Joe McGann also participate.



• Behind the Scenes: A Dying Art (disc 2) (1080p; 1.78:1; 4:56): Dudgeon, Lee and Virk return to talk about the fourth episode of the series. Guest actor Ramon Tikaram and director Matt Carter join in, along with production designer Paul Booth and set decorator Richard Field, who describe how they created the episode's elaborate outdoor set.



• The Dogs and Babies of Midsomer (disc 3) (1080p; 1.78:1; 4:04): It's unclear why the title speaks of "dogs" and "babies" in the plural, since the featurette is about just one dog, Sykes, and one baby, Betty Barnaby (although she's played by twins, as is common with infants working in filmed entertainment). Neil Dudgeon describes the challenges of working with animals and children, both separately and together. Outtakes reveal the voice of Sykes's trainer giving commands off-screen and the diva-like behavior of the (unnamed) infants who play Betty.



• An Introduction to Dr. Kam Karimore (disc 3) (1080p; 1.78:1; 2:25): Featuring interviews with Dudgeon, Lee and Virk.



• Bonus Trailers: At startup, disc 1 plays trailers for Acorn TV, The Brokenwood Mysteries and Mayday.

Midsomer Murders, Series 18 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Over its eighteen-year run (and counting), Midsomer Murders has become the TV equivalent of gourmet comfort food, familiarly enjoyable and reliably satisfying. We tune in (or load the disc into the player) knowing and expecting that the scenery will be beautiful, the people will be pitiful, eccentric and/or corrupt, and the Causton constabulary will be efficient, stalwart and effective. The show has thrived on its cast changes, taking advantage of each new recurring character to tweak novelty out of the familiar formula. Dr. Kam is a particularly fine addition to the team; even Barnaby is impressed. Acorn's Blu-ray set reflects the company's usual technical excellence and is highly recommended.