Midsomer Murders (TV Series) Down Among the Dead Men (2006) User Reviews

really enjoyed this one

[blanche-2 · 8/10 · 5 June 2015]

"Down Among the Dead Men" from season 9 provides both mystery and humor as Barnaby and Jones try to solve a murder.

The opening has a very good looking man greeting a young woman who comes to his home. They talk -- she asks why he chose her...apparently she fit the requirements. She goes upstairs, gets into nightclothes, and climbs into a single bed in the guest room.

Downstairs, the man, Martin Barrett, is listening to the male/male duet from Pearl Fishers when a bullet comes through the window and kills him. The young woman upstairs hears the shot. But she's nowhere to be found when police arrive.

Turns out that this man has been blackmailing practically everyone in the community, so they have a lot of suspects. One man, a friend of Barnaby's, has been accused of inappropriate behavior toward young women in a home he ran; another is a pub owner who faked a tax return; and a couple who takes weekend trips to the sea and may be up to something.

I found Barnaby's and Jones' repartee very amusing, and Jones was especially funny. "You know," he tells one suspect. "I envy my boss. He always puts people at ease when he interviews them. What was Martin Barrett blackmailing you about?" There are some fun characters as well, including a cleaning woman whose husband is questioned. He doesn't give honest answers; every time he lies, his wife tells the detectives the truth.

Very good mystery with a slight twist at the end. Entertaining.

Barnaby has to be at his best, Miss Marple's in town.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 8/10 · 4 September 2018]

I found this a really enjoyable episode, it features a good, clever mystery, it has some wonderfully humorous moments, plus it contains some fine performances.

It's one of the best openings to an episode I can remember, classical music is always a great choice, and the Pearl Fisher's Duet complimented the dramatic opening scenes beautifully.

The acting is top notch all round, but it's the two veteran actors, Sam Kelly and Julia McKenzie that stood out for me, both utterly wonderful, funny, but serious when needed.

I've knocked two points off because I thought the identity of the killer was a little too obvious, but all in all it's a very good episode. 8/10

Maybe Concidences Are Too Helpful

[Hitchcoc · 8/10 · 30 March 2016]

Sometimes Barnaby just benefits by a lot of luck. There is a bit too much of it in this offering. A horrible blackmailer, smug a smarmy, has been brutally murdered. Even though he probably had it coming, Barnaby and Jones must try their best to find the killer. There are few suspects and a couple of people finding personal gain in the process. Barnaby finds a likable character in a man who lives by the seaside. He is helpful in the investigation. His wife is kind, and he looks like he could be a good friend for our DCI. He is himself an ex-policeman and very good natured. Anyway, there are a couple victims, not of murder, but of rumors and slander (the blackmailer has left his mark, even in death). The biggest problem with this episode are a series of deus ex machianae that seem to pop up. The final scene in the film is just so far fetched as to be laughable. Could the writers not have come up with a bit more complex clue than what happens? Also, the murder victim is so unlikeable that we are pulling for the murderer half the time.

A highlight of season nine.

[jamesraeburn2003 · 21 September 2018]

DCI Barnaby and DS Jones investigate the shooting of local council worker Martin Barrett (Grant Masters). Despite his mundane job as a wages clerk the two detectives discover that he was a man with a secret past and he supplemented his income as a professional blackmailer. Many people in his village had fallen victim to Barrett including the local pub landlord Jack Fothergill (Sam Kelly) who had failed to declare a priceless painting belonging to his late father in probate to avoid death duties and put it up for sale at auction. The local charlady Ruby Wilmott (Julia McKenzie) is a kleptomaniac who has stolen from several of her employers - including Barrett - who found out and forced her to size up potential victims for him as she did her rounds. Even more disturbingly for Barnaby, the chairman of the police committee, Sir John Waverley (Paul Freeman), also fell victim to the murdered man because he had once ran a refuge for disaffected teenage girls and Barrett had found one who had once lived at the refuge and accused him of impropriety. Who is this woman and was she the 'mystery houseguest' who had stayed at Barrett's cottage on the night of his murder? Then there is the former geologist and marine biologist Richard (Rob Edwards) and Margaret Florian (Christine Kavanagh) who have a boat moored at Fennicombe Bay and Barnaby is puzzled as to why they spend so much time diving there. Does it have anything to do with a shipwreck in the area back in the 1880's that was believed to have been carrying gold artefacts? Did Barrett twig what it was they were up to and try to blackmail them too? Barnaby visits the picturesque seaside town and finds help in the form of a former Hong Kong police officer Peter Hatchard (Dermot Crowley) who now runs the local fishmongers. Together they find the wreck and discover that the Florians have indeed been removing the artefacts in piecemeal. A search of their seaside home turns up the murder gun and cartridges matching those that killed Barrett. Barnaby and Scott duly arrest them, but Barnaby is not convinced that they did it. The rabbit that the Barnabys had for dinner the night before that they had to remove several bullets from provides a vital clue to the veteran detective apprehending the real killer...

All in all, Down Among The Dead Men is a highlight of season nine and, although I usually recommend newcomers to the series to begin with the pilot episode, The Killings At Badger's Drift, as the best place to sample the show, this too is also highly recommended. It has all the hallmarks of the series' early years: fine acting, top notch writing, direction and production values. It has an intriguing plot peopled with interesting characters, all of whom have something to hide and you wouldn't trust any of them an inch if you were investigating this case yourself. The unforgettable chemistry between John Nettles' Inspector Barnaby, his wife Joyce (Jane Wymark) and his daughter Cully (Laura Howard) that provided the comedy is still there. In this instance Joyce and Cully have to suffer his dreadful cooking when he forgets to remove the bullets from the rabbit he has cooked for their dinner. In the past, Barnaby had to suffer Joyce's experimental cooking so in this instance its the other way round. But, the bullets prove vital in helping him unmask the killer later on. Douglas Watkinson's scripts piles on the clues, red herrings and intrigue and the solution to the case when it comes is very satisfying and isn't that easily guessable. Director Renny Rye, who directed some of the best episodes of Agatha Christie's Poirot, was a natural for this series and he brings off this first rate whodunit with considerable relish. Colin Munn's lighting adds a lot to the proceedings by making maximum use of the English seaside locations from where much of the plot unfolds too. Needless to say, the performances are superb all round with Dermot Crowley of particular note as the ex-copper who isn't all he seems - does he have a connection with the murdered man that no one knows about? John Nettles gives his usual accomplished performance as the veteran inspector and the chemistry between him and Jason Hughes' young sergeant is a joy to watch.

In closing, if you have enjoyed all previous episodes of this series then you should love this too.

The rabbit saved the day

[sherondalewis-20531 · 8/10 · 6 June 2022]

Really liked this episode. Barnaby and Jones tries to solve the murder of a man who turned out being a blackmailed, in his own home. Shot by a shotgun with homemade bullets. Turns out, he was a blackmailing people left and right. Did he deserve to get shot with a blast in the chest? Hell yea he did!! Couldn't happen to a nicer fellow! And who would kill him? The pub owner who was being blackmailed because of his lying about his paying inheritance tax? The woman he loves who turns out being a klepto, who was blackmailed by him due to her being caught stealing from him? The ex cop who was knighted for helping wayward girls with his late wife, for the lie told that it was more than that and his fear of people speculating about his character? The possibilities are endless!! Also, there's Cully's friend, former reform school girl (who was trying to blackmail the good Samaritan ex cop), another ex cop and his wife who owns a fish store, and the well to do scuba diving couple who are diving for gold...soo many different people. All with motives. The scenes I love is the humour/banter between Jones and Tom. The scene where Tom cooked the rabbit and after all that talk about Joyce and her inability to cook, Tom isn't any better (and yet, Cully seems the best cook of them all) with him forgetting to take the pellets out of the dry cooked rabbit. The beautiful scenery. Tom going into the freezing water (and Jones wishing he had a camera)....and the shooting of the creep! There was no cons here. This was a great episode. Kind of sad the murderer was whom it turned out to be, because he and his wife would have made great friends with Joyce and Tom (and maybe George and Cath).

I could watch this again and again and still be entertained and applaud his death!!

Almost perfect

[boxyfella · 9/10 · 30 September 2021]

Another great episode from season 9, and one of my all-time favourites. There's so much that's good about it: the opening sequence was superb, one of the finest the show has produced, and I loved the change of location for much of the action. Fennicombe Bay looks idyllic. This episode also has the best last line by far, as Barnaby wipes the smug smile off Richard Florian's face. There were great performances from the two old-timers, Sam Kelly and Julia McKenzie. I didn't even think the coincidences were as bad as other reviewers suggest.

But it's not quite perfect, as there is one huge thing for me that doesn't quite add up. I'm talking about the sequence on the beach with Barnaby and Jones when Tom realises that Peter Hatchard had to be the murderer because he claimed not to have met Martin Barrett when he went down to Fennicombe Bay. All quite plausible when you think about it: there's no reason why he should have met him, his wife could have dealt with Barrett's enquiry, and indeed in the flashback that's exactly what you see did happen.

Morse like plot

[vitoscotti · 9/10 · 10 December 2019]

The dirty cop has been done a lot but it works here. With Vixen's Run two brilliant episodes in a row. It's a tribute to John Nettles how seamlessly he can transition to a new assistant. Superb cast playing despicable people.

Barnaby has an office girl Wendy who hardly says one word. I didn't recognize Julia McKenzie, but not a big fan of her Miss Marple. More of a Joan Hickson fan.

The consensus of reviewers is later episodes are less quality of early MM. I think there might be more misfires. Though the solid ones are still 8s or 9s. Vito S 12/10/19

Decent enough episode.

[poolandrews · 6/10 · 5 October 2008]

Midsomer Murders: Down Among the Dead Men starts in the small village of Midsomer Worthy late one night at the cottage belonging to forty three year old Martin William Barrett (Grant Masters) as he is shot at point blank range. DCI Tom Barnaby (John Nettles) & DC Ben Jones (Jason Hughes) are given the case, at first there doesn't appear to be any motive but investigations soon prove that Martin was a serial blackmailer bleeding several local residents dry. Since any of his victims had a motive Barnaby realises this will be a hard case to solve, the investigations lead Barnaby to the seaside village of Fennacombe Bay & the mysterious activities of Richard (Rob Edwards) & Margaret Florian (Christine Kavanagh) & to the door of ex-policeman Sir John Waverly (Paul Freeman) all of whom may be hiding dark secrets that might prove to be motives for a brutal murder...

Episode 4 from season 9 this Midsomer Murders mystery was directed by Renny Rye & is a fairly watchable episode but does seem to wander off in several directions including deep sea diving for long lost sunken treasure, a suicide attempt & ruined reputations in order to pad the story out. The script by Douglas Watkinson starts off with a bang as the opening sequence sees the brutal murder of Martin Barrett in one of Midsomer Murders goriest death's as blood splatters all over his kitchen but this one sole killing is the only murder in the episode & as such there's a good 90 odd minutes of exposition as Barnaby tries to solve it & while the blackmail angle is alright & takes Barnaby down to the seaside for a bit of variety it doesn't really amount to much. I will say the killer isn't that obvious & was fairly surprising to me & the motives are OK although the strange collection of unlikely coincidences that lead to their unmasking is a little contrived with dead rabbits, chance meetings in a hospital, old police records & fish shop receipts coming into play & becoming important clues. As usual the plot is pretty solid & it all comes together nicely enough but I would have liked at least one more murder & maybe a few twists, although Martin was a blackmailer there are only two or three people that could have done it & I would have liked a few more suspects & red herrings but you can't have everything I suppose can you? A good solid episode but that's the best I can say about it.

As a departure from the norm Down Among the Dead Men spends a fair amount time on the English coast in some very cold looking scenes which were actually shot in Devon in reality. The garage seen in Down Among the Dead Men where Jone's examines Barrett's car was in fact the same one used in Who Killed Cock Robin? (2001) way back in season four. As already mentioned there's only one murder in this episode although it's a pretty bloody one as Martin Barrett's kitchen is repainted with his blood after be blasted by a shotgun & there's a nice montage of the forensic team swabbing the dried blood up while processing the scene. As usual the photography is great there's some impressive scene set at the coast while the acting is also very good.

Down Among the Dead Men is another good solid Midsomer Murders mystery that if your new to the series you might enjoy more than seasoned fans who will sadly note that the pure magic of the earlier seasons just seem to be missing somehow.

Very enjoyable!

[harrykivi · 7/10 · 13 August 2022]

The ninth season of "Midsomer Murders" started off with a fantastic episode "The House in the Woods", but the episodes after that have not been as good. "Down Among the Dead men" is yet another solid "Midsomer Murders"- miles away from the show' s best.

Let' s start with the good aspects, shall we?

. The production values of this episode are great. It's well-directed and the music gives a lot to the scenery. The acting's good for the most part. Out of the fine guest stars Dermot Crawley and the always wonderful Julia McKenzie fare the best.

. The story is interesting enough to keep watching. The dialogue between Jones and Barnaby is witty and clever, while the murder of Martin Barret very brutal. The characters are compelling and the subplots are fine.

But....

. The mystery really suffers from not having enough twists and turns. The murder mystery should have been more complex with a lot more going on.

. The ending to the mystery was a letdown as well. Not only is the identity of the killer (Peter Hatchard) quite obvious to begin with and the motive for the murder painfully average at best, how Barnaby got that answer felt like weak police work.

Overall, a fun , though not a great time in Midsomer.

7/10 HK.

Decent if not great 'Midsomer Murders' episode

[TheLittleSongbird · 7/10 · 5 February 2017]

Despite being nowhere near as good nowadays, and even the Tom Barnaby-era had its not-so-good episodes ("Second Sight", "The Electric Vendetta" and "The Straw Woman" being notable previous episodes in this regard), 'Midsomer Murders' is still one of my most watched and re-watched shows.

Season 9 got off to a brilliant start with "The House in the Woods", a great introduction to Jones with one of the show's most unexpected and ingenious endings and George Baker's performance being one of the show's best supporting turns. "Dead Letters" was a couple of steps down, with a miscast Simon Callow and a couple of things either not needed or needed to be elaborated upon more, but was still intriguing and had a few nice references to past episodes. "Vixen's Run" also had faults, but was also a lot of fun.

"Down Among the Dead Men" is a decent 'Midsomer Murders' episode, but not a great one. The case is solved via too many coincidences in a case with too few suspects (yes even for a victim as loathsome as the one here, one of the show's most loathsome perhaps) and too few twists. The ending is also rather far-fetched.

However, the production values as always are top notch, with to die for scenery, the idyllic look of it contrasting very well with the story's grimness, and quaint and atmospheric photography. The music fits perfectly, with some lush jauntiness and sometimes an ominous quality, and the theme tune one of the most memorable and instantly recognisable of the genre. The use of "Au Fond Du Temple Saint" (aka 'The Pearl Fisher Duet') from Bizet's 'Les Pecheurs De Perles' was inspired, and somewhat ironic considering the duet is about friendship and the scene was as long away from friendly as one can get.

Meanwhile, the script is smart and thought-provoking with some nice quirky humour (especially in the dialogue between Barnaby and Jones, which made me laugh out loud more than once), a grimness and with characters that are colourful and eccentric. The story, starting off with a bang with a very well-staged murder with suspenseful build-up, is absorbing, never simplistic (even with only one murder rather than the often 2+), never confusing and the maturity that 'Midsomer Murders' has when on form is more than evident here.

The acting is fine, with John Nettles a joy and Jason Hughes bringing appeal and nice wry humour to Jones. The two work extremely well together. The rest of the supporting cast fare very well, Paul Freeman very good especially.

All in all, decent if not great. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Down among the dead men

[coltras35 · 5/10 · 16 July 2022]

A rather standard MM entry with the usual quirkiness, but not as standout as the others. While investigating the shooting of a council clerk, Barnaby and Jones discover he was an expert blackmailer. A phone number on the dead man's blotter sends the duo to the seaside in search of his latest targets - whose boat trip could conceal a motive for the killing. Meanwhile, Joyce is convinced a local farmer knows more than he is telling.

Well Would You Believe It!

[TondaCoolwal · 6/10 · 9 March 2020]

Within a minute of the start of this episode, you just know that supercilious, OCD Martin Barrett is going to be murdered. And he duly is. Courtesy of a shotgun blast through an open window, which the culprit dutifully closes afterward. Shortly we find out the why. Barret was a serial blackmailer, and his victims include everyone whom Barnaby questions, making them a suspect. Sounds good. Regrettably there are just too many helpful coincidences to make this one believable. From Hayley, Barnaby's daughter Cully's friend, who we immediately recognise as Barrett's disappearing house guest on the night of the murder. To helpful ex-cop Hatchard, who just happens to be a qualified diver and obligingly uncovers what suspects Mr and Mrs Florian are up to in Fennacombe Bay. Barnaby suffers a bout of gullible naivety. Obligated to former chief Sir John Waverley and unwilling to believe ill of him. Much to Jones' disgust. The damming evidence against the Florians has 'plant' written all over it. Not least because there is still 20 minutes of running time left. And Barnaby's dissatisfaction at that 'result' is expressed in a manner worthy of a village hall am dram production of a detective mystery. To cap it all, the likely identity of the murderer is well flagged during the Barnaby's rabbit dinner which puts everyone's dental welfare in jeopardy!

Blackmail rollercoaster

[mirkobozic · 7/10 · 3 November 2019]

When a local blackmailer is found dead, there are quite a few people who seem relieved, but there's much more to the story as Barnaby and Jones slowly find out. This episode of the famous whodunnit is special for its abundance of subplots which kind of carries your attention away from the central issue. The setting is a bit changed with the inclusion of seaside, a welcome change. The Barnabies were never quite an exciting bunch, but Tom does make up for it with his warm character. Julia McKenzie surprises here with her transformation from Miss Marple to the local house cleaner/kleptomaniac Ruby in the Midsomer Murders. The red herrings are numerous and credible, and the chemistry between Barnaby and Jones doesn't bits of comedy either. All in all, quite enjoyable as usual, though Cull doesn't seem to develop in any direction character-wise, so maybe that could be something to work on in the future.

Predictable

[lbowdls · 6/10 · 9 April 2022]

This is a strange one a bit of suspense and mystery to start with, and I just watched this again now because I didn't remember scenes. But then soon as the ex cop and his wife came on the scene I remembered and remembered that I knew they were the murderers straight away first time around. It's always an ex cop.