Midsomer Murders (TV Series) The Green Man (2003) User Reviews

Sergeant Troy moves on

[blanche-2 · 8/10 · 5 August 2014]

A sad episode, "The Green Man" marks the end of Sergeant Troy as Barnaby's partner, as he becomes an Inspector in his own right and is promoted. He had that little flirtation with Barnaby's daughter Cully for a while, and I was hoping...that's a couple of seasons away.

To give Troy the hang of working without him, Barnaby works on one case, and Troy another. Barnaby investigates some old bones walled up in a cave where Joyce and Cully are volunteering. Except one of the skulls appears to have had National Health, given the state of his teeth, so he's not as ancient as the others. Who was he, and what was he doing dead in the cave? Troy's case involved a homeless man, protected by the local Lord, who is being attacked and harassed by teen boys out in the woods shooting for fun. The man, Tom, takes the gun away from one of the boys and throws it in the bushes. Later it's used in a murder. Troy has to find Tom, learn what happened to the gun, and if he saw anything. While he's at it, there are a couple of other murders.

The plot has some interesting twists, one of which is Barnaby's actions when learning the identity of the man in the cave. I actually don't agree here with the other reviewers. Rather than give a spoiler, I'll just say that given the circumstances, I think Barnaby did the right thing. It's true he took two people to task for doing basically the same thing, but I think he also saw ahead that nothing was going to come of doing anything about it now.

Tom, the hermit, has a fascinating interaction with the wildlife around him, and this is one of the best things about the episode. It's an unusual one, and a melancholy one, as Troy moves on.

A great send off for Sergeant Troy.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 9/10 · 3 October 2018]

The Green Man is a quality episode of Midsomer Murders, it would have been an injustice if Daniel Casey left with a dud episode, fortunately Troy leaves on a high.

The Green Man boasts a great story, fantastic characters, strong production values, plenty for Fox lovers, and a great goodbye scene for Troy. Despite all of those super ingredients, the standout factor, which makes this one so good, is the performance of David Bradley, he is absolutely fantastic as Tom, his acting is so sincere, so believable, I particularly loved his scenes with Barnaby.

Great character development for Troy, when you see him in this, and compare him in earlier episodes, his character really did grow up, credit to Casey's acting. There are some great scenes where Troy and Barnaby are wary about stepping on one another's toes.

Credit to the animal trainers here too, the scenes with the foxes, owl and Deer are so wonderful.

Very good indeed. 9/10

Bittersweet farewell to Sergeant Troy

[annie-293 · 8/10 · 14 October 2012]

We have a two-track investigation here, as Sergeant Troy, now promoted to Inspector Troy, is given the throw-away case of an old hermit being harassed by local hooligans (called "yobs") while DCI Barnaby goes off to the scene of a cave-in at a local canal work, where his wife Joyce is volunteering and his daughter Cully is doing PR work. The excellent Cherie Lunghi had little to do as the mother of one of the yobs, and the interesting part of the episode for me was the focus on the hermit and his interaction with the local wildlife.

Tom Barnaby's research into the history of the canal and his leap from blacksmiths to the more recent victim found at the site of a mid-19th Century cave-in seemed like a leap too far. I agree with another reviewer that it seemed inconsistent for Barnaby to take the local lord and the former constable to task over their actions surrounding the earlier slaying when he then essentially does the same thing. However, the ending "felt" right, just as the midstream confession by one of the characters "felt" wrong to Troy.

The ending, with the hermit once again in the woods and surrounded by the animals who felt at ease with him, was worth the price of admission.

Lovingly done.

[stevewarnek · 10/10 · 12 November 2015]

A truly somber episode, yet still uplifting - as DS Troy leaves for his new assignment. There's a lot to like in this episode including a great performance by actor David Bradley as he goes through his catharsis in dealing with his own past. I don't agree with other reviews that Barnaby was haphazard in his dealings with Tom - I believe Barnaby thought the man suffered enough already - and perhaps he deserved a bit of peace.

In response to another review about the meanings of "The Green Man" - it actually has three meanings.

1. The pub's name. 2. David Bradley's character of Tom is "a green man" - one with the forest and sleeping "on the green". 3. DS Troy begins his first case, a "green man" in that he is new at working his own case.

Explain the Green Man

[Hitchcoc · 8/10 · 3 March 2016]

The title refers to the mythological character in rural England, a presence that appears, frighteningly, at any time. In this story, there is an eccentric old man who seems to have power over animals and whose gaze can stop people in their tracks. The locals also see him as a threat, so when murders are committed, their tunnel vision is directed at him. It is the usual example of someone being unfairly treated for being different. Here, a bunch of punk kids, run roughshod over the woods where he stays. They threaten him and attack him. One day one of them is gunned down. There is no evidence to choose him, other than his oddness. Barnaby shows his true colors when he has compassion for this man. Of course, as others have mentioned, this is the swan song for Sgt. Troy.

A splendid opener to series seven.

[jamesraeburn2003 · 9/10 · 7 February 2022]

Joyce and Cully Barnaby (played by Jane Wymark and Laura Howard) are volunteers on the Midsomer Canal restoration project financed by pompous multi-millionaire bus company owner Timothy Webster (played by Tim Woodward). A rockfall reveals several skeletons, which have been hidden in the tunnel for over two hundred years. But, DCI Barnaby (played by John Nettles) notices modern dental work on the teeth of one of the skulls and launches a murder inquiry. His sergeant, Gavin Troy (played by Daniel Casey), has been promoted to inspector and he is busy investigating a complaint of assault on a mysterious man called Tom (played by David Bradley) who lives like a hermit in the woods by a group of local tearaways. When one of them, Simon Mayfield (played by Henry Cavill), is murdered, Tom becomes the prime suspect. As Barnaby is busy trying to solve a forty-year-old crime, he trusts his friend and newly promoted colleague to go it alone. Can he do it or will he need his boss's help? Although some of the newcomers to the village see Tom as a menace, there are those who protect him such as appeal court judge Lord Fitzgibbon (played by John Carlisle) who refuses to go into any detail about his past. Who is the mysterious Tom? And could the two detectives' seemingly unrelated cases be connected?

All in all, a splendid opener to season seven with an appealing multi-layered story structure that holds one's attention from first to last frame. It is neatly tied together to form a satisfying solution. It is graced by fine acting from another excellent cast, including David Bradley as the mysterious Tom who as a result of a shocking incident in his life some forty years before took to living in the woods like the wild animals he interacts with in a way that very few humans can. When the truth about his early life is uncovered by the detectives, it adds an emotional element to the story that strengthens it. John Carlisle is excellent as Lord Fitzgibbon, a landowner, appeal court judge and Tom's best friend and protector while Tim Woodward also deserves praise as the pompous Webster who is only concerned about his standing in the community and getting a knighthood and not the tragic events happening around him. Cherie Lunghi is also noteworthy as his bored and unhappy wife who cannot wait to divorce him. Fans of the series will also note that this episode marked Daniel Casey's final appearance as Sgt Troy who leaves to take up a post in his native Middlesborough. The final pairing of him and his superior Barnaby is a good one - touching and a joy to watch. The production values afforded the series are as good as always and the vigorous direction is by Sarah Hellings.

An especially sweet episode

[wjspears · 10/10 · 3 November 2020]

I suppose that it is accurate to refer to this episode as "bittersweet", especially given Sgt Gavin Troy's (Daniel Casey) departure from the show. But I thought that there were a number of sweet moments in this episode.

I found it sweet, overall, that the writers and producers decided to make Sgt. Troy's part so much larger than normal.

Plot-wise, I found it sweet, when Joyce Barnaby (Jane Wymark) is freed from the collapsed tunnel, unharmed, that Joyce first sees her daughter Cully (Laura Howard) and they hug. Then, seeing her husband, Joyce and Tom both reach out at the same time and squeeze the other's hand. Very sweetly done.

As others have mentioned, several of the scenes involving the character of the woods hermit, Tom (David Bradley), are touching.

The scene near the end of Cully holding and guiding the murder suspect to her dad, Chief Inspector Barnaby, was sweet.

And finally, the scene between Barnaby and Troy in Barnaby's backyard gazebo was justifiably sweet and well earned by almost 10 years of working together.

One of the toughest and darkest episodes of Midsomer Murders with a bitter aftertaste

[znatokdetectiva · 7/10 · 20 October 2020]

I love Midsomer Murders, which I think is a perfect combination of all the elements needed for a detective show. It was just fine the first 6 seasons, with the only low points being "The Electric Vendetta" and "Who Killed Cock Robin?" (in fact, "Blue Herring" wasn't the best episode of the show either, but had too much good stuff and humor to call it a flop), and continues to be great here in season 7, which kicks off with "The Green Man", a good if not exactly great start. "The Green Man" is a sad breakup with Sgt. Troy and just a good episode in itself. In fact, my complaint about "The Green Man" is that it falls away from the usual concept and style of Midsomer Murders, being one of the most dark and bitter episodes of the show and does not carry the usual cheerfulness, humor and comfort that fills most good episodes of Midsomer Murders. Secondly, it is somewhat sagging in the middle and it lacks more dynamism and atmosphere. But now about the pros: I really liked the line with the old murder and its ending, which is one of the saddest in Midsomer Murders. The murder victims are all disgusting, and I'm very glad they were killed. The ending of the main storyline is hard, rough, unpleasant and shocking, but at the same time logical and successful, although the killer is a rather pathetic character. But the main advantage of the episode is undoubtedly David Bradley in the role of Tom, who actually steals the show and does an incredible, powerful and charismatic job, all the scenes with him are heartfelt and his character can not but inspire respect and compassion. As a result, a solid, though out of the ordinary episode of a great show. 9/10.

Great Mystery and Superman to boot

[lbowdls · 9/10 · 20 July 2019]

The Green Man is a very enjoyable and very sad episode too as another reviewer has mentioned. It's an entertaining classic mystery which goes in so many different directions - that mainly all lead to a tramp Tom who lives in the woods and his story - and comes to an unlikely but also unpredictable ending. And it has a young Henry Cavill (A Superman incarnation) as a murder victim. Overall a classic and satisfying episode.

For me, not that great of an episode

[harrykivi · 7/10 · 22 March 2020]

I don't know why I'm suddenly not agreeing with anyone on this episode, because if somebody asks me: what are the most overrated entries in "Midsomer murders", "The Green Man" would definitely be on the list.

That being said, "The Green Man" is not an awful episode and there is a lot to love here.

. The production values are usually great. The music is a great fit to a scenery, which is well photographed. Directing is astute and suave as well. The acting's wonderful too. Henry Cavill is giving one of his early performances and he is good in the scenes he's in. The standout is absolutely David Bradley, who disappeared into the role of sincerely nature loving Tom.

. "The Green Man" starts off very intriguing with a tunnel collapse, which unravels quite a few skeletons. I also liked that Gavin Troy (in his last case in "Midsomer murders") and Tom Barnaby take on different cases, which don't feel like separate stories wanting to tell a cohesive narrative. The solution to both mysteries are interesting too.

. As a send off to Gavin Troy, this episode feels quite satisfying. The final scene with Barnaby and Troy is wonderfully acted.

But...

. Some minor details of "The Green man" really bothered me. For example: if the police know that teenagers are driving around the local woods shooting everything that moves with a gun that's certainly not theirs, why hasn't been any arrests or taken any steps to stop them.

. After a promising set up, "The Green man" however did drag for me- quite badly in places- and I know the reason. The teenager characters were so unlikable for me that I wanted them be killed off. This is a trope, which writers have used for decades. Sadly, it didn't feel cleverly done here.

.Also, two twists- one at the end, the other regarding David Bradley's Tom- were not that surprising and it didn't take me an age to figure out.

Overall, solid, but not great "Midsomer murders".

7/10 HK

'Midsomer Murders' bids farewell to Sergeant Troy

[TheLittleSongbird · 10/10 · 20 January 2017]

Despite not being anywhere near as good now, 'Midsomer Murders' is still a show visited and re-visited with great pleasure. There are episodes better than others, with a fair share of disappointments especially in the later seasons, like with any show in existence, but when 'Midsomer Murders' was good it was good to outstanding.

Commencing the seventh season, "The Green Man" bids farewell to Sergeant Troy. Always did love him and Barnaby together, and it's sad to see him go, but "The Green Man" serves as a great final episode to him that utilises him very well. The episode is interesting for having a two-track case that don't feel in any way disjointed, the character of Tom and his subplot and also Barnaby's decision at the end.

This decision/action has proved controversial, but am also of the opinion that the decision worked within the episode and wasn't the wrong one considering the scenario.

As always, the production values are top notch, with to die for scenery, the idyllic look of it contrasting very well with the story's occasional grimness, and quaint and atmospheric photography. The music fits perfectly, and the theme tune one of the most memorable and instantly recognisable of the genre.

Meanwhile, the script is smart and thought-provoking with some nice quirky humour, a suitable grimness and colourful characters. The character of Tom and his story brought a sense of melancholy that was very poignant and genuinely so, and his last scene is indeed one of the most striking things about "The Green Man".

The story is hugely compelling, and never simplistic and never losing any of the maturity of most of the previous episodes. There is a lot going on mostly without being cluttered or rushed (remarkable for an episode that as ever is heavy in exposition), and that nothing is what it seems, or very few people are who they seem adds to the complexity, while there are no out of kilter scenes. The twists, red herrings and turns, in classic 'Midsomer Murders' tradition, keep coming, with several neatly interwoven subplots, and rarely in an obvious or press-the-rewind button. The characters are colourful, eccentric and not what they seem.

John Nettles as always is a joy as Barnaby, with Daniel Casey contrasting with him with ease, their chemistry as always a huge part of the episode's charm. Jane Wymark charms too, while in support David Bradley gives one of the show's most outstanding guest turns. The only small downside is Cherie Lunghi having little to do, small because she's still fine, just that she deserved more.

In summary, a wonderful episode and as well as being a promising start for Season 7 it is a pleasingly bittersweet send-off to Troy. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Troy's farewell to the series.

[poolandrews · 6/10 · 21 July 2007]

Midsomer Murders: The Green Man is set in Midsomer Malham where local businessman Timothy Webster (Tim Woodward) has organised & partly funded a restoration project to clean up the Midsomer canal, however while working on it several volunteers become trapped when part of the canal tunnels roof collapses. No one is hurt & they are rescued relatively quickly but the cave-in has revealed a chamber where the bones of several people are found, most of the bones belong to workers from the 18th Century but one set of bones belongs to someone who disappeared in the 60's. DCI Tom Barnaby (John Nettles) is on the case while his Sgt. Gavin Troy (Daniel Casey) has been promoted to Inspector but before he leaves Barnaby gives him a murder case, that of a teenage hoodlum called Simon Mayfield (Henry Cavil) who was shot in the head in some local woods...

Episode 1 from season 7 this Midsomer Murders mystery was actually a bit of a downer to start kick of season 7, directed by Sarah Hellings this is a fairly sombre episode as we have to say goodbye to Sgt. Troy who has been a great character & a good foil for Barnaby & I'd personally have liked to see him leave at the end of a season not the start. The script by Michael Russell has a few interesting ideas, for instance the set of modern bones that was found in the collapsed canal tunnel could have been the centrepiece of a pretty absorbing mystery where Barbaby has to investigate the past, unfortunately not much is made of these & I don't get Tom's reaction to them either. Tom deliberately goes out of his way to make sure a local judge & a local retired copper who knew about them feel guilty & that they can't just ignore the bits of the law they don't like which is fine if he upholds that notion himself but at the same time he decides to do exactly the same thing & let the killer go free because he doesn't belong in prison or some such nonsense, I thought Barnaby was better than that & would uphold the law period no matter if the crime was 40 years old or not & he comes across as a hypocrite. Then there's the fact Barnaby gives Troy the proper murder case on his own to solve, I'm not being funny because even though I like Troy he is a sidekick to bounce ideas off & nothing more. Then of course there's the far fetched co-incidence that the two cases are linked, what a surprise. There are few suspects, no red herrings & a couple of very predictable plot twists as well, it's watchable enough but hardly a Midsomer Murders classic.

This one has top notch production values as usual & it's well made from start to finish although the scene when the tramp Tom is caught by the dog & it bites his arm looks ridiculous, his arm is obviously padded & in most of the shots his arm looks fatter than his head! Sapperton canal tunnel in Gloucestershire was used for, unsurprisingly, the canal tunnel scenes while the other locations were well served by the picturesque English country. This one isn't gory or graphic, there are a couple of dead bodies on an autopsy table, some skeletons & a few off screen shootings including a fox so you animal lovers beware. The acting is very good as always.

The Green Man is a decent Midsomer Murders episode for sure but not a classic, a sad farewell to Troy in a story where he gets to play the boss for once. However he will return... One more thing, I know it's the name of the pub in the village but what has the title The Green Man have to do with anything?

Fine acting in Troy's farewell

[depaysement · 10/10 · 6 March 2020]

For all it's not one of my favourite episodes, this is a good one. The element that puts me off is animal cruelty. However that adds to the victims being classic "sitting up and begging for it" Midsomer types, the ones you're just waiting to see be done away with, whoever kills them and whatever the motive is.

As most other reviewers have said long since, the outstanding part of this episode is David Bradley as Tom, in one of the few sympathetic roles I've seen him play (quite a contrast to Argus Filch in Harry Potter or Rogue Riderhood in Our Mutual Friend). I only question his character's age; he seems too old for the character's implied age, going by earlier events.

I also thoroughly enjoyed seeing Troy elevated to inspector (though goodness knows how he managed it) and suddenly acquiring the art of Authoritarian Sarcasm as practiced by his boss all these years. Cherie Lunghi was stuck in an all-too-common role for her, the flirty sarcastic middle-aged-ish woman. She's a good actress but these roles do seem typecast (see also Hornblower, New Tricks).

There were the usual odd connections and not-really-related storylines, but this is Midsomer, that goes with the territory.

One of the best

[safenoe · 10/10 · 11 August 2017]

Tom (David Bradley in a bravura performance) displays Obi-wan like powers when he takes a rifle from one of the village yobs, kind of like the ones in Brampton, not far from Carlisle on the English side of the Scottish border.

The beautiful Cherie Lunghi features. Her character suffers a tragic fate as she's involved with a couple of the yobs.

I love how Troy leaves a note for Tom at his campsite, leaving his number 01508 312244. Perhaps this is the equivalent to the 555 phone numbers from here in America used in TV shows. Anyway, we can always call Troy even though he's left Midsomer, this being his final regular episode (although he makes a cameo appearance in the episode where Cully gets married).

The ending was one of the warmest and moving epilogues ever in Midsomer. Tom (David Bradley) is someone who doesn't have to worry about council tax, a TV licence, wifi, rude joggers recklessly pushing him into the path of a bus on a London bridge, rude mothers with prams shoving their way everywhere and anywhere (screaming "EXCUSE ME!!!!!!!!!" at that time of the month). Here Tom is at peace with the green and the animals who love him.

Farewell Gavin Troy

[hossychristie · 7/10 · 23 September 2023]

The Green Man is set in the village of Midsomer Malham where Troy and Barnaby solve two different cases seperately. Barnaby is investigating a Collapse in a tunnel, where skeleton remains are found shortly after they rescue the people who is trapped. Troy on the other hand is investigating his final case in Midsomer before being transferred to Middlesbrough, after being promoted to Detective Inspector. Troy's case centers around the murders of two young men and a woman. A local man named Tom who lives in the woods is found to be the son of Eric Edwards, who's remains is found when the people are rescued from the tunnel.

"The Green Man" will always be known as Gavin Troy's last episode as a regular cast in Midsomer Murders. I would have wanted to see a bigger send off, considered that he was Barnaby's original sidekick. The last scene where a celebration is held at the Barnaby's was indeed touching, and a moving moment. I still do believe that it was a clever move for Troy to get his own cases to solve on his own, in both the previous "Birds of Prey" episode, and now the following series seven opener, "The Green Man". Considered the two different cases in this episode, I find Barnaby's case much more interesting than the actual murder case in this episode. I still find it very intriguing that Troy was given the task to solve the final case on his own, but the case itself is not interesting enough. Barnaby's case on the other hand, is compelling and I was always interested to know if Tom, who lived in the woods, had something to do with the man who's remains was found in the tunnel. Tom turning out to be Eric Edwards son was never really a surprise, but still very intriguing. The murder case that Troy is investigating, did lack surprises, and Daniel turning out to be the murderer, killing his friends because they had started a relationship with Daniel's mother, did not come as a shock, but still the motive is quite good.

The Green Man is in my opinion a decent episode. The plot is not that interesting to watch, but the episode is still enjoyable and watchable. The episode is very well made as always, but considered that this was Troy's last episode, I would have wanted to see more. 7/10 Hossy Christie.