Midsomer Murders (TV Series) King's Crystal (2007) User Reviews

Shakespeare and murder, often found together

[blanche-2 · 8/10 · 20 July 2015]

I really enjoyed this Midsomer Murders, "King's Crystal" - murder and mayhem, and Cully playing Ophelia.

The episode begins in China, where two men are talking business and one, Alan King, is sitting on his bed sketching. In a phone call, he tells his wife that he will be home tomorrow, and his wife says their son Ian will pick him up. On the way to the airport in China, Alan's car crashes in a horrifying explosion that lights up the sky.

We then see Ian King and his mother back in England, burying Alan King, father and husband. His brother Charles, who was with him in China, is also present.

The family business is King's Crystal, which makes glass items and has for years. The company is outsourcing to China and closing its British location. The workers feel they have been cheated out of their pensions and demand an investigation.

Six months later, Hilary King marries her former brother-in-law, Charles. Ian is so upset he can't bear to even attend. He is suspicious about the way his father died as well. When he hears about problems at the plant, he knows whatever they are, they are not his father's doing.

Very good episode, with Jones, a former Mason, going to a meeting to report back -- all of these businessmen are Masons. Ian becomes one only to get closer to his stepfather and whatever he is up to.

Alan King was responsible for bringing back a destitute theater nearby; Ian has chosen Hamlet as the first production because he thinks his mother should see it. Cully is playing Ophelia.

Barnaby and Jones find themselves with two other murders and attempting to sort out what's going on at King's Crystal -- the company seems to be the cause of the murders. Is one of the protesters, a real rabble-rouser responsible? Or someone else? Was Alan's death in China an accident?

Intriguing, with its Masonry, Shakespeare, and method in madness. A really good watch, with John Nettles and Jason Hughes in top form.

Watch Cully when her father has to leave her performance.

Walking in the Broken Glass

[Hitchcoc · 7/10 · 7 April 2016]

This is Midsomer's effort to borrow from Shakespeare's Hamlet. A businessman and his partner decided to outsource their product, expensive crystal. This leads to great anger from the former employees who have had their pensions and their livelihoods taken from them. There are demonstrations. The boss, who has come back after his partner died of a supposed car accident, is a bona-fide jerk, gets himself stabbed and tossed in a rivulet. The kicker is that the wife of the partner has quickly married the uncle and the son is angry. Sound familiar? Anyway, the son engages in erratic behavior and seems to have a method in his madness. Oh well. Barnaby and Jones are on the scene. Cully has another part in a play. From everything I've seen of her, she appears to be an awful actress but she is diligent in her efforts. Since this glass thing is an ancient art, many of the employees are Masons and Masonry becomes a part of the plot, particularly a decorative dagger. Jones is himself a Mason but doesn't seem to take it seriously. But his standing allows him to spy. Anyway, there are factors that reveal themselves. The son is eventually killed and that blows the flow of the Shakespearean thing. Still, it's an entertaining concept.

Hamlet, Masons and 'Midsomer Murders'

[TheLittleSongbird · 7/10 · 10 February 2017]

As has been said by me a number of times, 'Midsomer Murders' is one of my most watched and most re-watched shows. It is nowhere near as good now and the Tom Barnaby-era wasn't alien to average or less episodes, but when it was on form or at its best boy was it good.

Season 10 started off decently with "Dance with the Dead", though that was marred by uneven pacing and padding. "The Animal Within" was an improvement, being very good and highly entertaining. Then there's this episode "King's Crystal". Most of the episode is solid and diverting stuff but it also could have been better, not classic 'Midsomer Murders' but not an average or less episode either.

While the final twist was unexpected and clever, the ending did feel unfinished and ambiguous with more explanation needed for the first murder for example. The Masons angle was an intriguing angle and it tells us more about Jones that could have been better resolved, literally left in the open, and may agreed baffle some.

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.

Meanwhile, the script is smart and thought-provoking with some nice humour, a grimness and with characters that are fun and interesting enough. The story is compelling, with some neat twists and turns without being too simple or complicated. The Hamlet subplot is woven seamlessly with the investigation and even helps solve it.

John Nettles and Jason Hughes are both superb, individually and together (their chemistry, and the chemistry with Daniel Casey and John Hopkins before Hughes, being a huge part of their episodes' charm). And the supporting cast are very strong as to be expected.

In summary, solid and often diverting episode that underwhelmed a little in the final solution. 7/10 Bethany Cox

The play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king

[annb-4 · 2 August 2011]

An enjoyable outing in perhaps the most murderous English county of all time. From the third scene, when a son sulks and objects at his mother's hasty marriage to his uncle shortly after his father's sudden death, it's clear this is Midsomer's "Hamlet". Part of the fun is in seeing who's who - there's Hamlet, his mother and uncle, Polonius, Ophelia (surrounded by flowers), and more, with bits of Shakespearean dialog references thrown in, too. And yes, a play within a play, deliberately aimed at "catching the conscience of the King". For a while, the plot leads where one would guess, knowing Hamlet, but then an unexpected character dies, and we have to follow Barnaby to pin down the crimes and criminals. Good characterizations, characters who seem like real people, loose ends left for us to contemplate, as in real life, not all tied up neatly at the end - hallmarks of the show, in my experience, and well done here. Plus, Masons, hunky brooding young men, and Cully having her performance of Ophelia ruined by her job-obsessed dad.

Cully's career takes a tumble (again)

[gary-64659 · 6/10 · 1 November 2022]

Though I am a sometime fan of "Midsomer Murders" (not since around 2012), I have always been at pains to understand the imperative of including the character Cully (or even Joyce) at all, except as a sop to the chick-flick minded. Cully has dumped suitors/ fiances over the years for not paying obeisance to her non-existent acting career. In this one it's taken far past the point of reality, when Barnaby, under the influence of a sudden brainwave, must leave Cully's performance in the middle in order to prevent a murder. Does he have his priorities right? No. Cully, about to turn 30 when this episode was screened, stares at him from the "stage" as if willing him rooted to the spot -- most unprofessional -- and then sulks when poor Barnaby tries to humble himself to apologize to his very, very immature daughter -- nothing less will do. I know that women's feelings rule the Western World, but this is just too much.

Is there method in madness

[pensman · 9/10 · 23 December 2011]

Midsomer is a wonderful county filled with the wealthy and murderers. And this time with tongue-in-cheek and more than a nod to Hamlet, something is rotten in Midsomer. Yes the King is dead, yes the widow marries her husbands brother, yes her son is upset with his mother's over hasty marriage, and yes there are a multitude of allusions to the play and its characters. And for those who need a bit more, there are Masonic rituals to provide Detective Jones some screen time. Watch this episode for its obvious Shakespeare riffs and for the nice twist at the end. Personally I like it when a series knows how to kid itself and the bard. And Tom's daughter needs to recognize that she is no actress.

Pleasant watch after previous weak episode

[vitoscotti · 6/10 · 30 December 2019]

I found Kings Crystal very well written. The Shakespeare & Masons tie ins worked well. Brilliant supporting cast with the accountant having a comical toupee. Slow paced but still quite interesting.

Cully's Shakespearean acting leaves a question if she tanked it on purpose? Cully looked plumper. Maybe she was preggers? Joyce dressed to the nines for a casual outdoor performance. Barnaby of course solves the crime, but murders stack along the way. This time at least it's not many. The Ian character is very creepy, making you hope he got knocked off soon. Quality episode makes me want to continue watching the next MM. Vito S 12-30-19

A murder of Quality.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 9/10 · 27 February 2019]

I am a fan of King's Crystal. It's very much an Agatha Christie style Whodunnit, with lots of murders, plenty of twists, and clues galore. There's even a moment similar to the theatre scene from A Sleeping Murder, where a theatre play lands a big clue.

The storytelling here is terrific, it's so easy to watch, not dull at any point. The acting is marvellous, John Castle is terrific in it, Susan Tracy is excellent as Hilary, and Ray Lonnen of Harry's Game is also great as the devious Baxter. The only irritation being Sophie, who really is an awful character.

Poor Cully, obviously Tom was going to sabotage her opening night.

I loved the whole masonic element, it gives the episode a truly different twist, as does the surprising twist as to the eventual killer(s.)

Won't Lodge in the memory for long

[xmasdaybaby1966 · 6/10 · 14 November 2020]

We are binge watching the show from the start and are really struggling with the last couple of episodes. No humour, few recognised actors and characters that you can't care about. The highlight is Tom having a new car.

The Shakespearian element was just a plot device

[rhiw · 9/10 · 20 January 2008]

The murder part of the programme was not a "second theme that is inartfully folded in" but an intrinsic part of the whole programme.

The Shakespearian element was just a plot device which helped the detective figure out how the murders took place.

It seems that you watched a show called Midsomer Murders thinking the murder part of it was somehow coincidental.

The show held my interest and whilst not a classic was certainly well crafted and acted.

Perhaps if you had read your TV guide a bit more carefully you would have been able to find viewing more to your liking.

Not very good, but certainly not bad.

[harrykivi · 6/10 · 20 May 2021]

The tenth season of "Midsomer Murders" has never been the strongest in the series, but there are some pretty good episodes in that season. Is "King's Crystal" one of them? For me, it's an enjoyable entry, but I understand the people, who do not like this one that much. "King's Crystal" is definitely not an amazing episode, it has a quite a bit of flaws, actually.

Let's start with the good aspects first.

. The production values are great as usual. The episode is well-directed, the music fits the scenery and the acting's good all around. John Nettles and Jason Hughes are amazing as always, but out of the guest stars Susan Tracy delivers a very good performance.

. The story is at times very intriguing. The subplot about Shakespeare was entertaining. I loved how Cully's play helps Barnaby to solve the case. The ending twist ( there is more than one killer here) was shocking indeed. It's easily one of the better twists of the last Tom Barnaby episodes.

But....

. There are parts of the narrative, which could have been a lot more fleshed out. The murder of Alan King and especially the solution felt under-developed, like there could have been more explainations given to them. The subplot about Ben Jones and how he used to be part of a masonic cult, was glossed over a bit too quickly as well.

. Also, the mystery could have benefited from a bit better red herrings and more twists. The one at the end was great, but one awesome twist per episode is not enough for my taste.

Overall, fine, but not a great episode.

6/10 HK.

Crystal glass, death in China, Masons, accidental murder, oh my!

[safenoe · 8/10 · 11 July 2016]

I chuckled at the intro, not at the untimely death of Alan King, but the response from the witnesses. Alan King died in a car accident in China (it was pretty clear it was filmed an English forest at night, but I guess the budget is tight) and the witnesses were hardly seen were cyclists and had sing-song type accents in witnessing the accident. Surely Midsomer had enough in the budget to recruit Chinese extras?

Peter Baxter (played by Ray Lonnen) made a politically incorrect remark to describe Ian King's boyfriend - sneeringly describing him as a "Nancy boyfriend".

Coincidentally, Ray Lonnen starred in Yellowthread Street several years ago, which was set in Hong Kong, so a Chinese connection. What was fascinating is how Midsomer can be prophetic at times. Charles King said that in 20 years time everything will be made in China, referring to his company's outsourcing of crystal making to China. This episode was produced in 2006, so it's amazing how prophetic the writers were.

Something ironic in this episode. The Nancy boyfriend referred to by Peter Baxter, was almost run over by a disguised Ian King (who was incognito after racing away from King's Crystal at night). It wasn't deliberate, as Ian King had to speed away fast from the scene of the crime. Anyway, the ironic thing is if the boyfriend has died at the scene, you can imagine some elements in society would have labeled it a hate crime, even though the accidental perpetrator was his lover.

There's a Mason theme here, with Ben Jones revealing he was a Mason to help in his career.

The ending was unique, as the alleged perpetrator still proclaimed his innocence. I do wonder.

Shakespearean But Still Disappointing

[leginea7 · 4/10 · 16 July 2017]

The 10th Season of Midsomer Murders had gone off to a pretty good start with the atmospheric Dance With The Dead and with the lesser but still interesting The Animal Within. With those two episodes in mind, it would be interesting to see what the next episode would show us.

Unfortunately, we have King's Crystal, written by Steve Trafford and directed by Peter Smith. The closure of a crystal glass company, thanks to the new manager Charles King, has workers irate and a mysterious body found in the river leads us into the world of Masons and other peculiar matters.

I could say much more about the summary but watching the first ten minutes should immediately tip viewers off as to what source material this episode was taken from. To be honest, this mystery's biggest flaw is that it makes sure you know who these characters were based off. It even adds in a little bit of blank verse and some references to said work. (Here's another hint: Cully Barnaby is participating in a local Shakespeare festival this episode.)The actors, especially John Castle and Sam Heughan even fairly fit the Shakespearean roles. The one bright side is that this does mean the actors do their jobs well.

Unfortunately, Mr. Trafford could have afforded to add in a lot more red herrings or at least could have fleshed out more of his side characters. While there is the business with the irate workers and even some investigating into the Masons, the two subplots don't distract from or even add to what's going on and are pretty much pointless. It's also worth mentioning that I tried to forget that this episode was essentially the plot of a certain Shakespeare play and wanted to see how it panned out. Constant references to Shakespeare in the screenplay didn't help matters at all and it resulted in me wondering why Barnaby and Jones, who were otherwise at peak form, didn't get clued in. You would have at least thought one of them had read Shakespeare and figured out what was happening. The resolution was far from surprising but I will say there was a little bit of intrigue added towards the end.

I had heard bad things about King's Crystal before but was still interested, since it was based one of my favorite plays, and had wanted to give it the benefit of a doubt. However, it was impossible to see it as an original mystery. However, seeing that the second half had a little bit of intrigue, I think Mr. Trafford would have delivered a better episode had he deviated more from the source material and had kept the Shakespearean references to a minimum. It was just too thin a plot for a mystery this length.

One of my least favourite Midsomer Murders.

[poolandrews · 4/10 · 7 May 2009]

Midsomer Murders: King's Crystal starts in Shanghai in China where businessman Alan King (David Firth) is killed in a car accident. Back in the small village of Midsomer Magna six months later & the factory that Alan own named 'King's Crystal' is now being run by his brother Charles King (John Castle) & company accountant Peter Baxter (Ray Lonnen). Alan's widow & his brother Charles have also just married, having sold King's Crystal & the laid off workers finding out that their pensions have been stolen both Charles & Peter find themselves under pressure. Then when Alan's son Ian (Sam Heughan) turns up & starts to take an interest in the business a chain of events is started that begins with the brutal stabbing of Peter Baxter, as usual DCI Tom Barnaby (John Nettles) has to sort through the lies & back-stabbing to uncover the truth & bring a killer to justice...

Episode 3 from season 10 this Midsomer Murders mystery was directed by Peter Smith & I have to say I thought King's Crystal was well below par as far as this generally very good detective series goes. There are several aspects of King's Crystal that left me unsatisfied, most of them revolving around the main murder plot. OK so Barnaby discovers that Alan King was murdered in Shanghai but there's no way on Earth he can prove who did it let alone the killer in this instance, also this is one of the few times during Midsomer Murders where the killer doesn't confess & that leaves the episode feeling a little unfinished. I mean the supposed killer says he has an alibi for when Ian was murdered so how did Barnaby get around that? If there was a pensions black-hole in a company the police would already be involved & why was Jack Tewson aiming for Ian with his rifle in that field? There's a scene of Jack aiming for Ian but it's never explained why for some bizarre reason unless I missed something which I don't think I did. The motives are poor & the first murder isn't even a proper murder with a motive behind it. There's the usual sub-plots involving Barnaby's family that are actually more entertaining than the murder plot. There's also some nonsense about the Mason's which comes to nothing & will probably baffle most as I am not sure most will even know who or what the Freemason's are. At almost two hours in length it frags & just feels a little unfinished with a far too ambiguous ending that doesn't tie everything together neatly enough for me.

There's a small scene set in Shanghai at the start of King's Crystal & it's painfully obvious that the makers just put a road sign up in Chinese somewhere in the UK & have a car drive past it! This has the usual high production values & looks great with the real life Ironwork Gallery on the Grand Union Canal in Hertfordshire apparently being used as the King's Crystal factory. There are two murders here with neither being particularly imaginative & the second of which doesn't really get much of an explanation. The acting is fine, the regulars are good & the guest cast are also OK.

Midsomer Murders: King's Crystal is not one of my favourite episodes, in fact it's probably one of my least favourite. This one falls well below the usual standard in my opinion.

Murder and Masonic Rituals

[ctyankee1 · 11 February 2013]

This episode had lost of things in it.

It starts off with a group of men meeting in China and Alan King dies in a car accident. They are involved in King's Crystal a business that makes items of glass.

Six months later Hilary King marries her husbands brother Charles King. Ian, Hilary's son does not like his uncle/stepfather Charles. He also believes he had something to do with his father's death.

At the wedding of Hilary and Charles a group of protesters from the factory show up. They are mad because the factory is going to open up in China and have the products made there. The former employees are getting cheated on money they should get and things like pensions. They feel a man named Baxter that is an accountant was embezzling money owed them.

This group of businessmen are Masons. They meet and have rituals. Ian the son is not a Mason but he becomes one in order to get closer to his stepfather. Ian gets initiated and they show the ritual. It is said in this episode the Masons are not a secret society but are full of secrets.

So this in interesting in many aspects. One is murder, then closing a business causing the loss of jobs and routing them to China, Masonic rituals and secrets pledges. Barnaby's daughter Cully is also in a play in Midsomer which helps Barnaby get incites into the case he is investigating.

Simply boring

[lbowdls · 4/10 · 14 August 2019]

I've never been able to get into this episode despite several attempts. I know others have praised it highly in here but it simply does nothing for me, I just get easily distracted and can't be bothered following it. Just a boring set of characters to me and not much of a mystery, certainly not one I care about. The only bright part is Cully doing some Shakespeare.

Doesn't really make sense - spoilers ahead

[kmoh-1 · 6 July 2021]

Scene by scene it's all the usual Midsomer fun, slightly fewer murders than usual. This time the plot is derived from Hamlet, and for added frisson the play-within-a-play is ... Hamlet, starring Cully.

However, unlike the Bard's work, it doesn't make sense. Alan is murdered in Shanghai, and Ian discovers the motive after finding Alan's Chinese sketchbook with a pencilled note inside setting out his suspicions. But how did this happen? If Alan took the sketchpad on his Chinese trip, then why was it not incinerated in the car explosion? How did it get back to England, and in particular, how did it end up in his box of masonic regalia on top of the wardrobe? Who would remove it from his effects and hide it there in particular?

If, on the other hand, he didn't take it with him to China, that explains how it ended up on top of the wardrobe, but doesn't explain why he never mentioned his suspicions to anyone beforehand (e.g. His wife), or tried to prevent Charles' shady deals going through when actually in Shanghai.

Second, Tom - of course - gets the solution to the case on hearing Polonius' "method in his madness" line while watching Cully's performance, and rushes out. A day or two later, Cully is still mad at him - but by rushing out exactly when he did, Tom saved a life, never mind making his arrest. Did no-one explain this to Cully, or is she so up herself she only thinks of her own performances?

Third, there is no explanation for Ian's mad behaviour. His madness consists of sending Sophie/Ophelia off to a nunnery (or to the stock 'friend up North'), becoming an apparent convert to Charles' sneaky schemes, and telling his mother who the murderer is. There is no explanation for the first two of these, and no apparent reason why he doesn't share his information with the police.

So then why does Tom realise who did it when he hears the 'method in his madness' line, since there is no method in Ian's madness? If, say, Ian had drugged and killed himself to implicate Charles, having planted the seed of doubt in his mother, that might have made a bit more sense.

It would also have made more sense of the death of Peter, which, as it was, was just an accident. If Ian specifically wanted to destroy Charles and Peter, while disillusioning Hilary, he needed to be a bit more active than accidentally killing the one and being passively murdered by the other.

Fourth, surely wearing someone's cap and driving him around in the boot of his car leaves forensic traces? Hairs on the cap? Blood in the boot? Yet nothing is found, by this police force which must be the most experienced in murder investigations in the world.

And then, as the other reviewers point out, the complete lack of a resolution is a real problem. There must have been a better solution than this. It would be impossible to pin the Shanghai murder on Charles, with the lack of evidence (even given the autopsy). A neater ending would have given Tom something to play with. Had there been some method in Ian's madness, Ian might have provided it.

Broken Crystal

[tedg · 27 August 2007]

I usually don't watch TeeVee mysteries, especially those created wholly for TeeVee. The restrictions of the medium are just too confining; its like having a friendship through cardboard.

But this one was recommended to me for the way Shakespeare and mystery are folded together.

The Shakespeare bit comes from Hamlet. It comes in because the first victim supports the founding of a community theater. His son insisted that Hamlet be the first play, and after his father's murder and his uncle quickly marrying his mother. We see the scene in the play where Hamlet talks about performing a play within the play to "catch" his murdering uncle. At this point, the detective, whose daughter is playing Ophelia, figures out the murder. The brothers are called "King."

Some less specific elements are used: an Ophelia, a Horatio.

There's also a second theme that is inartfully folded in. Its some business about masons: some of the suspects are masons, and the murder weapons were masonic items. This part is a mess.

Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.