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Reviews
Are You Being Served?: The Punch and Judy Affair (1979)
Trevor Bannister goes out on a high
Have to say I absolutely agree with the other reviews regarding the staff changes. It was never the same after this. This episode shows why Trevor Bannister would be so missed (and I've got nothing against Mike Berry who played his replacement, Mr Spooner). I would say this was probably his finest performance, particularly when he was playing the part of Mr Punch - his voice and mannerisms were spot on and so, so funny.
Alfie Bass would be another big loss too. He was easily the best of the various Mr Grainger replacements. To lose both characters and young Mr Grace as well so soon afterwards was a blow from which the show would never recover.
Midsomer Murders: Picture of Innocence (2007)
Well, I liked it even if most other people didn't
This has always been one of my favourite Midsomer Murders episodes, because it is so different. For a start, we have Barnaby himself taken off the case because he becomes one of the suspects. Also Joyce has a much bigger part than usual. You had to feel for her when Barnaby made her leave the hotel as she was just going to accept the manager's kind offer of a free meal. There's plenty of humour in this one, often at the expense of DCI Spellman and his intended nuptials. I thought some of the guest actors were great, particularly Adrian Scarborough, Peter Eyre and Andrew Tiernan. Yes, the feud between the film and digital afficionados was ludicrous, but so what? Many of the Midsomer villages have ludicrous obsessions. The only thing I didn't like was the motivation of the killer, which prevents this getting a ten.
McDonald & Dodds: A Billion Beats (2022)
Another cracking episode
Although I'm a great fan of detective stories, my track record isn't great. Sometimes I guess the culprit, more often I don't, sometimes I even figure out the motive. My successes usually occur late on in the programme, often just before the reveal, and usually just a fraction ahead of the police. But this time was way, way different. I have never, ever, guessed the culprit so early on in a programme, and with the correct motive as well. As soon as we discovered that Gabe had spent half an hour talking to the terminally ill man, I said to my partner "I bet I know what that conversation was about". It went something like: "Cheating at Watkins Glen, the terminally ill man knows, now Gabe knows, and so he has to die. Which means there's only one possible culprit".
Apart from being so easy to guess, this was another cracking episode. The two leads gel really well and the set up of the driver being killed at a pit stop worked really well - seventeen witnesses but also seventeen suspects - even if it turned out not to be the actual crime scene. Good to find out more about McDonald's back story and good too that Superintendant Ormond has got their backs and isn't a tosspot like so many senior police chiefs in detective shows.
McDonald & Dodds: Belvedere (2022)
A cracking start to the new series
This programme does for Bath what Morse did for Oxford, it looks stunning. The two leads gel really well and there seems to be good chemistry between them now. I expected the new boss to be either a pompous ass or a PC evangelist but she is neither as of yet.
A woman is found dead in a park with a smile plastered all over her face. It is established that she was killed with a rare poison and suspicion centres on a professor of linguistics (wonderfully played by Alan Davies), who had traveled to South America. The complex plot revolved around his mansion and who might get their hands on it. I have to admit I didn't see the twists coming. Sian Phillips was superb but she looked much younger than she was supposed to be. I guess it's difficult getting nonagenarian actresses. If I had one gripe it's that I doubt if Dodds could become such an expert in linguistics after just an afternoon's study in the library.
Midsomer Murders: Scarecrow Murders (2021)
OK but nothing special
This was a decent atmospheric episode. I actually felt sympathy for the victims until I learned their true characters, despite which it was difficult to feel sympathy for the killers. An unusual episode in which there were multiple killers working together. I do miss the eccentricities of yesteryear. Have to agree with the reviewer who said that Winters and Barnaby seemed bored. Perhaps time to put the series to bed.
The Flesh and Blood Show (1972)
Well the title was part right
Well the title was part right
There's plenty of flesh but not too much blood in this. Nevertheless, this was a really enjoyable watch, thanks mainly to the superb location and atmospheric photography, the deserted pier and theatre really did look eerie and the music was suitably atmospheric. Yes the pace is slow, and there's too much dialog for some tastes, but I thought it worked well, and the all the cast did well with what they had, particularly Ray Brooks (has he ever put in a bad turn?), Jenny Hanley and Patrick Barr. Even Robin Askwith was OK (admittedly in a small role). It would have been good to have had his part (and that of Penny Meredith, who played the first victim) fleshed out a bit more. We didn't really learn anything about their characters.
The story is quite simple really, a group of young actors/actresses are lured to a disused theatre at the end of a pier in a quiet seaside town in the off season, and are stalked and picked off one-by-one.
The group behave stupidly at times, but not as stupidly as American teens are portrayed in countless later films. Once people start disappearing, why didn't they all just stay together, instead of letting each other just wander off? And for Tony to lock Carol in the below stage area after she had already been attacked was just crazy. At first Ray Brooks' character Mike, the leader of the group does the sensible thing and calls in the police, but they don't believe him.
All of the females in the theatre troupe show some degree of nudity but it was obvious that for the nude scene Jenny Hanley was using a body double, as in every other scene you could see she had smallish breasts, but whoever covered for her in that scene was not lacking in that department. All of the other actresses are happy to show off what they have. Right from the opening scene where Luan Peters gets out of bed in the middle of the night and answers the door whilst completely naked. The caller is no more than an acquaintance but she is quite happy to flaunt herself in front of him, whilst her housemate Judy Matheson, who is wearing only the skimpiest of nightdresses, bends over in front of him giving him an eyeful. At this point you could be forgiven for thinking that this is just another gratuitous sexploitation flick, but both this, and the subsequent lewd behaviour of the theatre troupe, is necessary for the motivation of the killer to ring true. Indeed, almost everything in the film had a purpose, even apparently throwaway things such as Jenny Hanley's character thinking she had seen a mirror before.
The flashback scene did a great job at explaining the killer's motivation and was effective in being black-and-white. I'm not sure why it was originally decided to film this sequence in 3D, I doubt anything would have been gained from that.
If I had to have a small gripe, it is to wonder how the killer knew to lure this particular group of people to the theatre? Had he been spying on them beforehand and knew about their behaviour, or did he just assume that any group of young actors/actresses would automatically be debauched? And I guess he didn't know his own daughter was amongst them.
The twist revelation at the end in which she turned out to be the killer of one of the victims seemed odd. One explanation could be that at that point she knew her own father was the killer and she was giving him an alibi, but I don't see how she could have known that. It is implied that she killed Carol because she (Carol) was going to wear her mother's costume and somehow dishonour it. So it seems she had inherited some of her father's psychopathic tendencies, but it isn't really made clear.
Overall there is plenty to enjoy though.
Midsomer Murders: Market for Murder (2002)
Shame about the ending
I loved this one - until the last fifteen minutes, that is. The killer's motivations are ludicrous, and what could have been a story about rational murders to get their hands on the shares turns out to be a story about an obsessional, deluded nutjob. The first murder was almost accidental, but really, Mrs Empson only had herself to blame for her death. When you're lying at the foot of the stairs at someone's mercy, the last thing you do is say something to antagonise them. Had she kept her mouth shut Sandra would have most likely just walked away.
It's a shame as the whole premise of the fake reading club, and the person who knows everybody's secrets is very good.
There are some great comic moments mainly to do with Lord Chetwood, but there is also fun concerning Barnaby's decreasing pension pot, Troy being terrified of heights and his love of The Hawk comic, with his collection being worth a pretty penny, much to Barnaby's annoyance.
There were some great turns by the guest actors, Serena Gordon, Anton Rodgers, Rupert Vansittard and particularly Jesse Birdsall, whose interactions with Barnaby were great.
It's a shame Joyce has only a small part, would like to have seen more of her.
I agree about the continuity error concerning the second murder, but there seems to be an even more glaring one. When we see the murder for the first time, Ginny surfaces, and is struck almost immediately. In the flashback, she surfaces and Sandra says something to her, causing her to start laughing. This lasts for a little while, and it is this which enrages Sandra and causes her to hit Ginny with the ashtray.
Sister Boniface Mysteries: Crimes and Miss Demeanours (2022)
They saved the best until last
Superb! The Miss United Britain contest comes to town and one of the contestants is murdered. An obnoxious toerag from the Met is drafted in and CC Lowsley gives DI Gillespie instructions to solve the case before the Londoner. The Met bloke doesn't think much of Sister Boniface or WPC Button and gets right up DI Gillespie's nose. Much of the fun of this episode comes from seeing how utterly inept the Met officer is, compared to the Great Slaughter team who he disparages at every turn.
DS Livingstone is torn between his loyalty to DI Gillespie and his ambitions with the Met, but in a predictably poignant ending, he decides to stay in Great Slaughter.
Midsomer Murders: The Creeper (2009)
The best of season 12 so far
This is a really good story, and one of my favourites, despite my revulsion at the killers. Yes, most killers are nasty, but has there ever been a nastier pair of killers in Midsomer?
A lot of the fun in this episode is watching Barnaby and Jones rattle the upper crust family's cages - a familiar theme in Midsomer. Why is it whenever someone kills to protect the good name of the family, they don't realise that the ensuing scandal involving a conviction for murder would be far more damaging? Still, if they did we wouldn't have a story, and this is one of the best. There is also some good fun at the Chief Constable's expense, much to Barnaby's amusement.
The guest stars are wonderful, Jenny Agutter, Barbara Jefford, Julian Wadham and especially Rik Mayall put in great performances.
DC Stephens is wasted in this episode. In fact I was beginning to think she wasn't in it until she appears in a scene lasting less than a minute.
There are a couple of things I didn't quite understand. How did the Creeper know that the Rembrandt drawing was a fake? Also, I'm not sure how much William Chettham actually knew. In the big denouement at the end he seemed genuinely shocked at the actions of his wife and mother, seemingly also not knowing that Freddy was the gangster's son. But earlier there is a scene with the Chettham family and Jack Filby where they are all trying to persuade Freddy that he must not reveal 'the big secret' to Barnaby. What secret was that? That Freddy was the gangster's son or that he was Jack's? If the latter, it wasn't exactly a big secret.
Sister Boniface Mysteries: Sister Town (2022)
A really good episode
Great Slaughter is twinned with a village in Bavaria and when the German delegation visit to take part in a war memorial ceremony, stirrings are raised amongst the villagers, leading to murder. Improbably, Peggy and a German general find themselves attracted to each other. The man seems way too young to be a general. We learn a bit about Sam's war history and he makes a rousing speech at the end to defuse tensions.
My one gripe is that it's rather easy to guess the identity of the killer, although his motives couldn't be guessed at beyond the non-specific hating the Germans because of what they did in the war.
Midsomer Murders: Secrets and Spies (2009)
A decent murder mystery
I remember hating this when I first saw it, but upon further viewing it does have a certain charm and lots of humour, there is some great cricketing comedy with Barnaby as the umpire and Jones playing for the village team. But, and it's a very big but, I just can't get over the revelation that Barnaby was once a spy himself. It's totally preposterous and it's even more ludicrous that he tells Joyce about it.
So, if you can look past that monstrous piece of tosh, there are things to enjoy here. The performances of some of the guest stars, Anna Massey, Alice Krige, Benjamin Whitrow and Peter Davison are wonderful, and has there ever been a more eccentric character in Midsomer than Sir Malcolm Frazer? I mean, rehearsing your own funeral over and over again, priceless! There was also plenty of fun to be had at the expense of Glen Jarvis, I'm sure mine wasn't the only household rooting for him to get his comeuppance. The idea of Barnaby resigning was good, but as another reviewer mentioned, that was over all too quickly and could have been made more of, as could the subplot about the Beast of Midsomer and Jones' flirtations with the museum curator.
The ending, however, was preposterous. The killer's motives were weak and it was an over elaborate way to try to do away with someone.
Midsomer Murders: The Glitch (2009)
Never rises above the ordinary
Interesting ideas, and as ever, the scenery was magnificent. But, this episode is lacking somewhat and both murders are ludicrous. I thought the bucket man stuff was far more interesting than the actual murder case. Clinton Finn was too obvious a suspect and it's a pity that slimy weasel wasn't bumped off. I found his accent a bit suspect. The killer's motives are a bit underwhelming and I agree with others that the denouement was a bit rushed.
It's quite obvious that all of the staff at the tech firm drive like maniacs and as Jones is supposed to have been investigating the bucket man case for a number of weeks, how come he or nobody else seems to have noticed this and they haven't been done for dangerous driving? And speaking of dangerous driving, would a police officer really endanger lives as recklessly as Barnaby did towards the end?
For the first murder it seems strange how Barnaby jumps to the conclusion that Jeffers was the intended target. This seems to be based mainly on the fact that the victim was riding Jeffers' bike. Would someone in a car really be able to distinguish one bike from another in the middle of the night in unlit woods? And what was the killer doing there anyhow? Just hanging about in the hope that Jeffers might go for a midnight bike ride?
The second murder was equally ludicrous. The killer just happened to be there as the phone call was made. Why? Also, why did Snape call Jeffers before calling the police? What had Jeffers got to do with the car? It didn't make sense.
David Haig gave a great performance, the best thing in the episode.
Midsomer Murders: The Black Book (2009)
An enjoyable romp
I really enjoyed this one, something different. And I never guessed the identity of the killer, and to be fair, neither did Barnaby or Jones. It was only when they caught her husband with the shopping trolley that the penny dropped for them. The scenes with Barnaby and Jones at the art school with the nude model were funny.
There were some good performances in supporting roles: David Bamber seems to have a knack for portraying weasels, and he does so again here, effortlessly. Susannah Harker was great in her interactions with Barnaby, and Sarah Badel came across as deliciously evil in her final scene with Barnaby, lusting for the life she never had.
On the downside, again, WPC Stephens has little to do. It beggars belief that Barnaby could spot fakes after just a few hours' reading up, but the real flight of fantasy was how on earth did the blackmailer manage to switch the shopping trolley in full sight of DS Jones? As far as I could tell he never moved from the spot and had his eyes on it the whole time.
Sister Boniface Mysteries: Queen of the Kitchen (2022)
Another slice of period fun
Good to see the obnoxious chef get her just desserts at the end of the episode, even if she does survive the attempts on her life. I felt slightly sorry for the killer, I must say. This was another fun, enjoyable episode and it's always good to see Mrs Clam. They seem to have toned down the relationship between Sam and Ruth.
Midsomer Murders: Judgement Day (2000)
Quintessential Midsomer
It's like they took all the plot points which work so well in Midsomer and distilled them all down to just one episode: long buried secrets (with an historical prelude), infidelity, local toerag, psychopathic killer, village fete, stately old mansion. But it all works so brilliantly in this episode, with some great guest performances, especially Orlando Bloom, Maggie Steed, Timothy West and Hannah Gordon. In fact this story was so absorbing I had totally forgotten about the historical prelude until a couple of moments before it started to become important. A near faultless episode.
Jonathan Creek: Daemons' Roost (2016)
The best for some time
A return to form after the poor episodes of series 5 until now, this harks back to the basics that the show got so right in its vintage years.
I too loved the references back to the show's past, and it was a neat idea to have Jonathan stalked by someone he helped put away previously (the culprit in the 'House of Monkeys' episode - although he wasn't actually seen in that particular episode). There were echoes of 'Satan's Chimney' in this episode, although this episode is inferior, I feel.
I too felt that at last Polly and Jonathan seemed to be a much better fit - this was certainly Sarah Alexander's best performance in the role. The scene where she gets into bed with a corpse was laugh out loud funny.
The striped unicorn subplot was almost as interesting as the main story itself, although anyone with a knowledge of chemistry will spot the culprit easily, as I did.
On the downside Warwick Davies tries to be funny but ends up just being annoying.
Sister Boniface Mysteries: Dem Bones (2022)
Quite a delightful little episode
A body is discovered on the village allotments during the annual giant marrow competition. At first thought to be Viking (cue an amusing sequence with the sister and Viking warriors in costume), it turns out that he is an unpopular fellow who was about to turf the villagers off the land so he could develop it. Peggy's father is implicated and arrested but it's pretty obvious that the evidence was planted in his shed. It's quite ingenious how the sister works out that the murder weapons had been switched.
Midsomer Murders: Talking to the Dead (2008)
One of the best from season 11
There are very mixed reviews for this episode but I loved it. It gets better with repeated viewing and the scenes in the woods are so atmospheric.
The start is superb, with a Marie Celeste type mystery as two couples disappear in the village of Bow Clayton and then the body of an unknown man is found by a charlatan medium in the supposedly haunted woods of Monks Barton.
DS Jones starts to get romantically involved with WPC Stephens but decides to not take it further. A shame, as I would have liked to have seen them get it together.
The scene with Barnaby, Jones and the iron maiden is so funny. The look on Jones' face when he is finally released is priceless. The maiden has to be one of the more inventive murder weapons the series has seen.
I thought the guest stars Jeroen Krabbé and Anton Lesser were superb in their roles.
It would have been nice to see Barnaby apologise to LeVanu for wrongly discrediting him, but I'm not sure I've ever seen Barnaby apologise to anyone in similar circumstances..
I have to admit to being a bit confused about the antique furniture scam. Was Pargeter's home just being used to store stuff until it could be distributed? Perhaps I missed the detail.
Also I thought that Stanley's account of events didn't tally with the mysterious disappearances at the beginning, when the couples apparently disappeared mid breakfast. It's for this reason that the episode doesn't score 10/10.
Jonathan Creek: The Sinner and the Sandman (2014)
The bottom of the barrel
If you thought it couldn't get any worse after the season opener, well you were wrong. In my opinion this is the worst episode ever.
The main problem with this episode is that there's no crime. And no crime equals no tension and no drama. For a programme that is supposed to be a crime drama (albeit a comedy one), that is fatal. Maddy and Carla were investigative journalists, so their association with Jonathan provided him with a string of murders and thefts to solve, but Polly doesn't inhabit that world, so it would be contrived to have Jonathan stumble into crimes now, I get that. And this is the primary reason why they should never have teamed him up with Polly. She has steered the show down a route it should never have taken. I could just about forgive them if she had an ounce of energy or charisma, but she doesn't. Maddy, Carla and Joey all had a lot of spunk and lifted the show, but the Polly character is flat and lifeless.
And so to the episode itself. There's not much to say because nothing much happens. It mainly concerns Jonathan figuring out how somebody could predict some winning lottery numbers thirty-odd years before the lottery even existed. There is a subplot about a local beast roaming the fields that goes nowhere and an equally pointless tale about Polly losing her rabbit as a child and becoming afraid of the sandman.
There are touches of humour involving Jonathan inadvertently setting a couple of burglars free, a misunderstanding concerning his remark about whacking the ketchup bottle and the painting depicting him as a cherubic angel with a very small todger that he gets all defensive about, but even they're not up to par.
Sister Boniface Mysteries: Song for the Dead (2022)
Peggy saves the day!
Good to see the return of CC Lowsley and watch him being forced to eat humble pie when Peggy apprehends the culprit at the end.
The identity of the killer was obvious as soon as we knew about the homophobic angle, but up until that point there were plenty of suspects and the writers had built up a nice array of motives.
I do agree with the other reviewers about imposing modern day morality on period pieces. It just doesn't fit.
Midsomer Murders: The Magician's Nephew (2008)
Could have been better
This is one that I think could have been so much better. You wouldn't have thought it was possible to make a story about satanists and the occult dull, but it must be, because I've just seen the result. Apart from a couple of good performances from (especially) Stuart Wilson and Ronald Pickup, this has little to commend it. The childrens' magic show was nice, as were Joyce's efforts to celebrate Halloween and the old mansion with it's library looked great.
I did think that the killer's motives made sense, but why wait so long to wreak revenge on those who had harmed his mother? What was it that tipped him over the edge to think "I must do this now?" Didn't the original ritual take place 30 years ago?
Murdoch Mysteries: There's Something About Mary (2022)
Disappointing
The worst episode for a while. It's not bad. It's just not particularly interesting. I'm glad to see the return of a historical character and it was good to see a story involving John Brackenreid too. But that's all it really has going for it.
I don't know how long after the events of "The Night Before Christmas" this was set, but Julia seems to have grown rather big rather quickly.
The last scene, where Mr Carmichael is behind the bar, scowling, seems to be setting something up for the future. He definitely didn't look a happy bunny.
Murdoch Mysteries: The Night Before Christmas (2021)
A Christmas cracker
Maybe this was originally a Christmas special, but it is airing for the UK in April, which seems a little odd.
Julia has been left a house in the will of an ex-patient, on the condition it becomes an orphanage. Together with Mr and Mrs Brackenreid, George and Effie, Henry and Ruth Newsome, and her husband, she goes there to spend Christmas, also in the company of the three creepy members of staff. Soon someone is trying to kill her, but why? The house, with it's myriad of passageways, is gorgeous. Meanwhile back in Toronto, Detective Watts and Miss Hart try to find the owner of a lost puppy, with the assistance of three young orphans.
There's plenty to enjoy amongst the festivities, and it's truly a delightful episode.
Sister Boniface Mysteries: Scoop! (2022)
The best episode yet
So much to enjoy in this one. Rachel Pickup is a hoot as Jocelyn Kelly, talking about going up against Julie Andrews for the part in the Sound of Music. You couldn't imagine a less Julie Andrews-like actress if you tried. She actually puts in a good performance, and Jocelyn's motives for the murder are quite believable. The method of administering the poison is unique, as far as I know it's not been seen in other detective mysteries.
The sexual tension between Ruth Penny and DI Gillespie is ongoing. The expression on his face when he saw her in that maid's uniform was a joy to behold. It was touching that at the end she sacrificed her career for him. He's actually not much of a detective if he can't see that she is head over heels in love with him.
Midsomer Murders: Left for Dead (2008)
Grim, and missing the usual humour
As others have said, this is a decent enough episode, until the last thirty minutes. It's intriguing, with a good subplot about the bypass construction, and the idea of someone getting revenge on people for something that occurred years ago, is introduced gradually and very well.
But, the beast in the cellar business spoils the episode and defies all logic. I'm sure I'm not the only one who found the flashback sequences harrowing.
Given his involvement with many of the suspects, it does seem strange that Jones was not taken off the case.
I actually thought the episode would turn out to be about the hit and run of the boy Michael (especially given the episode's title), but that turned out to be a minor affair, probably only introduced to explain the behaviour of his parents.