jarnold-69882 First of all, I know this show is not "true to life"....far too many murders for such a small town. I started watching on PBS Southern California last year, and after several episodes starring John Nettles as Barnaby and Jason Hughes as DS Jones, PBS started airing reruns. I searched Netflix for episodes I hadn't seen, and lo and behold..... I found that Midsomer Murders has 19 "series" ranging from four to eight episodes each! I started watching from Series 1, and found that Barnaby had a different DS in the beginning. I also watched an episode in series 19 and saw that Tom Barnaby and his wife had been replaced, as had been Jason Hughes as DS Jones. Still, the writing and plots of each episode are intriguing, and I look forward to watching the many, many episodes available in this entertaining program!

Charles Ray I began watching Midsomer Murders on a local NPR station (WETA-UK), when some of the older episodes were airing. Then, thanks to my son, I started watching it on Netflix. At first, it was just an interesting British mystery set in a rural area, but when I read some of the comments by original producer, Brian True-May as to why there were no characters of color in the series, I was a bit turned off, despite the fact that the stories were otherwise pretty well done. Then, True-May, as people of his ilk are prone to do, went a verbal step too far and was removed from the series. With the change, more characters of color began to appear, often in key roles, with no change in the essential direction of the show-and, in my opinion, the series is much the better for it. When John Nettles, the first DCI Barnaby, left the show, and was replaced by his cousin, played by Neil Dudgeon, I thought the series would lag, but was happily proved to be wrong. The new DCI Barnaby is as interesting in his own unique way, and Midsomer continues to be a part of England that, though I might like to visit, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want to live--or die--there. If you like British mystery and cop shows, you can't go wrong with this one.

thobelman I am an American who loves and enjoys most BBC productions. I especially love the various English murder mystery series. But this series left me somewhat befuddled, and I could not watch more than the first series (which I simply could not finish). While many reviewers say it is meant to be humorous or tongue-in-cheek, I can't seem to get past certain issues I consider integral to murder mysteries. For example, Sergeant Toby is portrayed as "dumb as a box of rocks." But, it would be unlikely that a police officer who has worked their way up to the rank of sergeant and is partnered with a DCI on Murder cases would be unable to think his way out of a paper bag. And, the constant contempt, insults and bad treatment by Barnaby seems exactly that and nothing more. A much more intelligent, witty (and sometimes contentious) parallel relationship is expertly done in the George Gently series where the sergeant is smart and perceptive (if a little misguided) and makes significant contributions to investigations. In Midsomer Murders, the characters come across to me as unrealistic and campy, and in some instances, the show reminds me of poor quality, B-grade horror movies. While I agree with many comments about the attention to details of the settings and interiors of homes, I feel there are important elements that are missing from a good Detective series. But, I have probably missed the point here and recognize that the series is just not my cup of tea.

louise-ericsater The first series, had good acting, a tongue in cheek and a god plot. loaded with charming villages and quaint characters the contrast was really interesting. Now the characters are just waiting to be terminated, and the tempo just feels so slooow because there is absolutely no acting going on. Feels awkward like a high-school play. The photo is super annoying, constant low-motion zoom-ins of what? Is this supposed to be a soap now?I wish they could take the time and work on the characters, choose better actors and work on the plot more. Work with contrasts, there has to be something in the story that you care for, not just the last almost-victim.