MIDSOMER MURDERS: DARK SECRETS

Midsomer Murders - Series 14, Episode 2 (ITV1). The murder of an obnoxious jobsworth from Causton Social Services leads DCI John Barnaby and DS Ben Jones to a colony of freethinking artists and to the darkest secrets of the Bingham family. And Barnaby's wife, Sarah, rejoins John in Midsomer.

It's business back as usual in Midsomer County after the "race row" initiated by the controversial and uninspired words of Midsomer Murders producer Brian True-May (1), and last week's departure from the series format for the series premiere with Neil Dudgeon as the new DCI Barnaby. Michael Aitkens, who wrote The Sword of Guillaume (introducing John Barnaby in Series 13) and Death in the Slow Lane, concludes the cautious and astute transition process from a Barnaby to the other with Dark Secrets. And John's wife Sarah (played by Fiona Dolman) rejoins her husband, and the cute dog Sykes, as the new head of Causton comprehensive school.

With a more urban setting and no panto, Death in the Slow Lane made Midsomer Murders look like Lewis minus the Oxfordian intellectual refinements, but this week's episode is a return to something more "traditional" for DCI John Barnaby and DS Ben Jones (Jason Hughes). The guest cast is stunning, with Edward Fox (in a brilliant performance) and Phyllida Law as the eccentric and reclusive old Bingham couple, Beth Goddard, Nick Brimble, Abigail McKern, Simon Dutton, and an informal Drop the Dead Donkey reunion with Neil Pearson, Jeff Rawle and Haydn Gwynne.

Given the nature of the Bingham family's terrible secrets and the way some deal with them, to not be part of the Midsomer County population is actually a favour done to those who live elsewhere. Midsomer is not "the last bastion of Englishness" or England should sue the producer for the comparison. It's a television fantasy, the most murderous place in the world, the postcard idea of an English village where the hobby of the locals is to experiment on each other 1001 ways to die. One of the two murders of the episode even recalls an episode of The Persuaders called A Death in the Family.

In the Barnabyverse, people who didn't exist previously can die in a fictional beautiful countryside. DCI Barnaby catches the murderer and Jones saves the day from evil characters plotting mayhem sitting on huge piles of newspapers. This is not your humble servant's cup of tea but viewers in more than 230 countries find that fun and that's why Midsomer Murders is among ITV's most popular dramas - like Poirot. Unless the suits get suicidal and decide to alter the globally successful formula, you have more chance to find social realism in Scooby Doo.

This episode is directed by Simon Langton. Midsomer Murders is produced by Bentley Productions (an All3Media company).

(1) http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/mar/15/midsomer-murders-producer-race-row

See also:

http://tattard2.blogspot.com/2011/03/land-of-confusion.html
http://tattard2.blogspot.com/2011/02/midsomer-murders-fit-for-murder-itv1.html
http://tattard2.blogspot.com/2010/02/absolom-2010_11.html

RETURN OF THE MARTINS

ITV has just announced that Martin Clunes will start filming the fifth series of Doc Martin in Cornwall this week. His French counterpart, Thierry Lhermitte, will begin filming the second series of TF1's Doc Martin in May.

After a two-year break to allow him to pursue other projects, Martin Clunes is back as Dr. Martin Ellingham, the grumpy GP of the picturesque (and fictional) village of Portwenn, in the ITV1 hit dramedy. 8 X 60-minute episodes will be filmed around the magnificent settings of the North Cornwall coast.

The French Doc Martin, Docteur Martin Le Foll (Thierry Lhermitte), will start filming the second series of the excellent Gaullic adaptation in the equally magnificent South Finistère from May to June and from August to September - with studio sequences filmed in between.

TF1's Doc Martin is the third adaptation of the format sold by Digital Rights Group (distributor of the original with Clunes) and is produced by Ego Productions. A German version, Doktor Martin, ran in 2007 and 2009 on pubcaster ZDF. And Spanish viewers have their own version, Doctor Mateo, since 2009.

http://www.itv.com/presscentre/pressreleases/programmepressreleases/docmartin/default.html
http://www.ouest-france.fr/actu/actuDet_-Pays-de-Quimperle.-Doc-Martin-de-retour-au-mois-de-mai_40821-1725231_actu.Htm (In French)

See also:

http://tattard2.blogspot.com/2011/01/comite-de-jumelage.html
http://tattard2.blogspot.com/2011/01/personne-ne-tombe-malade-port-garrec.html
http://tattard2.blogspot.com/2011/01/portwenn-effect.html

LAND OF CONFUSION

Midsomer Murders - Series 14, Episode 1 (Death in the Slow Lane). A charity car show must take place at Darnley Park Girls School, where the remains of famous racing car driver Duncan Palmer were found 40 years after he was thought to have drowned in the Lake District. Headmistress Harriet Wingate asks new DCI Barnaby, John, to keep an "eye on things". For the enjoyment of DS Jones, who's a car enthusiast.

After the uninspired and controversial words of Midsomer Murders producer Brian True-May on "the last bastion of Englishness" (1) comes the first episode of a new era for the ITV1 crime drama, with Neil Dudgeon as DCI John Barnaby. The successor to John Nettles was cleverly introduced at the beginning of the previous series in The Sword of Guillaume, where Nettles's DCI Tom Barnaby teamed up with his cousin John in Brighton. Then Dudgeon appeared during Tom's birthday/retirement exit scene. Directed by Richard Holthouse, Death in the Slow Lane is written by Michael Aitkens - who wrote The Sword of Guillaume.

DCI John Barnaby has a guided tour of his new playground thanks to DS Ben Jones (Jason Hughes). Jones appears to be a living encyclopedia about evey citizen in murder county and is a little frustrated he wasn't offered the job of his boss after years of enduring "the other Barnaby". The tour is the occasion for an odd involuntary echo to the recent race debate ignited by Brian True-May when a lady says the previous Barnaby "wasn't really one of us". Maybe producer True-May, who will step down at the end of the current series, knows his show too well. Then we get a bizarro crossover with St Trinian and, yes, shades of the real world!

Apparently there's a whole universe outside Barnabyverse, and a bloke in an estate watching something on telly where a sharp eye can spot a cute black newborn. The first certified victim is a local DJ (the ubiquitous Luke Allen-Gale) who tries hard to impersonate Jody Latham - or is it BGT's DJ Talent? Don't expect the usual gruesome pantocrime in this episode and nobody really cares about the endless story, which is just a pretext to make the new Barnaby familiar. Anyway the true star of this episode is John's dog, Sykes, who even appears in the Thinkbox ad aired during the many (many) breaks of the evening (2).

The legendary David Warner - who does what you expect him to do - and Samantha Bond guest star. With a more urban setting and less panto, Midsomer Murders looks like Lewis minus the Oxfordian intellectual refinements but fans can suspect (hope?) next week's episode will be more "traditional". Death in the Slow Lane, and probably the next one, are part of a cautious transition process for Midsomer. The global hit series, produced by Bentley Productions (an All3Media company) for ITV, is sold in over 230 countries and it's certainly not social realism which made its international success since 1997.

(1) http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/mar/15/midsomer-murders-producer-race-row
(2) http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1365852/Pet-Detective-Sykes-Jack-Russell-legged-member-Midsomer-Murders-cast.html

http://www.itv.com/presscentre/midsomermurders/week12deathintheslowlane/default.html

See also:

http://tattard2.blogspot.com/2011/02/midsomer-murders-fit-for-murder-itv1.html
http://tattard2.blogspot.com/2010/02/absolom-2010_11.html