User reviews

In this episode there is another festival. This series can't got five minutes without bringing its featured characters to another festival. This time it is a literary festival and there will be a winner of an award for excellence. Writers show up and writers die. There are a series of brutal murders that are hard to explain, but everything revolves around the award. One colorful writer of rather exploitative novels makes a splash. Her harsh bitterness is obvious. Something has made her really angry. Again the past is in the community and again a former resident has bad feeling about her roots. Her name is Jezebel and she is admired by all, but doesn't seem to care for the adulation. This is a sophisticated effort and well worth the effort.

No spoilers here. I watch faithfully every week and I have seen most all of the episodes so I have an observation that Midsomer is the leading hot bed of the most egregious of criminals, especially murderers so foreign tourists and visitors to this area of England should be especially cautious.

I guess some people didn't like this episode and some did. Well, a strong reaction is good, I suppose. I guess I just don't take these things all that seriously. It's not as if someone tried to pass off this story as Crime & Punishment. It's an episode in a TV show.

It's the 12th Annual Midsomer St. Michael Literary Festival, and a local author, Richard Rackham, is found dead, with a broken neck. It looks like he fell down the stairs until the pathologist announces that his neck was broken before he fell. Also, his computer is missing.

Then a book editor is murdered. Barnaby and Scott find out that he and Rackham were secret lovers. There are all kinds of motives and plenty of people had opportunity. Finally Barnaby learns something was about to be revealed that would wreak havoc should it become known.

I love Barnaby's family, so when they're in an episode, as they were here, I find it enjoyable. Barnaby's new partner, Scott, keeps busy flirting with various women, which is amusing, especially when Barnaby catches him at it.

I don't think you'll want to throw yourself off a building in despair over ghastly writing and plots after seeing this, so go ahead and watch it.

I have to say I think this is one of the best Midsomer Murders of all time, a cast that is sheer class (the likes of Donald Sumpter and Susie Engel) act out a brilliant story. Everything in this episode is as it should be, the usual beautiful English Countryside scenery, a brilliant story and the forever wonderful John Nettles is on great form as Barnaby. Scott is really good in this one, personally I think he's a little less wooden then he is in one or two of the previous stories, he has more of a character. The ending of this one is what makes this one so good, Susan Engel is absolutely terrific. This episode proves that the unlikeliest killers sometimes make the best ones, the acting all the way through but especially at the end is fantastic. You are guaranteed to enjoy this one. 10/10

This episode was somewhat easier to follow than its precessor, "The Fisher King", for many reasons. I thought the characters were presented in a more tidier fashion and I truly believe that the casting was magnificent in this one. It was not too challenging to keep track on who each one of the characters were, at least in terms of looks and appearance.

What I particularly enjoyed about this episode was Cully, who took a larger part in the episode as the role of the detective; along with her love interest. It was nice to see her in a slightly different, and much more mature role compared to the one in "Bad Tidings". The role of Jezzabell Tripp were a bit too over the top for my liking though. Not sure if it was the acting or the character as a whole. Overall, I liked that many of the characters could have been the killer, and the well written script kept me on my toes all throughout the 90 minutes. A great episode!

When the era of Sergeant Troy ended, I was somewhat concerned whether the new Sergeant and the new era would be as good as the previous ones. However, the effect exceeded expectations and the first episode of the new era "Bad Tidings" was brilliant and even more worthy than the previous "The Green Man", the last episode of the era of Sergeant Troy. The next episode, "The Fisher King", was less great, but still solid. "Sins of Commission" still continues to be of high quality, although not as solid as the previous two. There's a lot of good stuff in the episode. It has a great atmosphere, an interesting story, some pretty good characters, good music and a great production. However, there are drawbacks. Gay people are a bit of a drag again (and I was just beginning to be glad they haven't been around for a long time since "Beyond of Grave"), and Emma Buckley as Jezabel Tripp is something of an embarrassment. The ending is quite fantastic, laughable, and unrealistic, though not as annoying as the endings in " The Electric Vendetta " or "Midsomer Life". In conclusion, a solid, but with disadvantages episode. 8/10

"The Green Man" was a wonderful start to Season 7 of 'Midsomer Murders', and followed by the very good "Bad Tidings" and decent, if somewhat cluttered and over-complicated "The Fisher King".

"Sins of Commission" (one of the most seemingly controversial of the Nettles era 'Midsomer Murders' episodes), or at least over three quarters of it does, continues this very high quality. It is a very good episode, but it is a real shame that the final 15 minutes lets it down pretty badly. This is not me repeating what's already been said, it was a feeling had when first viewing the episode well before joining IMDb and a sentiment still shared.

For me, it just felt contrived and the motive didn't ring true and felt really lazy compared to the usual motives. Can accept it for one of the murders, but using the same one for all was overkill and the last murder was far too brutal and calculated for that motive to be believable.

John Nettles as always however is superb, and John Hopkins is settling in very nicely in his third episode and looks very relaxed. Both work wonderfully together. The acting is very strong, loved Donald Sumpter but the star is Susan Engel, whose performance is elegant and sometimes moving. Emma Buckley makes the most of her loathsome character, if occasionally overdoing it to being a tad annoying.

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. The story is a vast majority of the time compelling, with many twists, turns and red herrings, a real ominous feel and the odd colourful eccentricity, never feeling simplistic or convoluted. The characters are fun.

Overall, very good episode but the last 15 minutes sadly let things down. 8/10 Bethany Cox

As is usual with this series, the acting and ambience of this episode are good, if you don't count the ridiculous hippies in their VW bus and the watered down scenes in the swimming pool. The plot, however, is a throwback to 19th Century melodrama with all the clues being discovered by accidental eavesdroppers. Shouldn't Barnaby have had an arras to hide behind?

Need more lines to write. I was once the proud owner of a VW bus and never, in the 10 years I owned it, painted flowers or peace signs on it. I suppose I resent its constantly being shown as exclusively a vehicle for transporting goofy flower children. And, about the flower children, there seem to be excessive gratuitous closeups of the bathing suited young girls walking away from the camera. These scenes would be more apt on a Benny Hill show.

Like the previous episode "The Fisher King" this was difficult to watch in one sitting. I'd say the 1st half stalled. The non regular cast was on screen a lot and weren't interesting. Then, things picked up the 2nd half with more of the regulars appearing. Lots of fabulous Cully and Joyce. Barnaby's sidekick livened up. I unlike a lot of reviewers loved the ending. Hoping future episodes are edge of the seat tense from start to finish so I can watch in one sitting, not 10 start and stops. Vito S 10-7-19

This had some of the worst writing I have ever seen in the Midsomer series.

"Be there or be in deep doo-doo!" And this is what passes for threats amongst co-conspirators? Really. And the offhand comments from the other co-conspirator -- stiffen the Prussian Guard? steady the Buffs?

They did manage some clever diversions, with the trustee leading an assault against the awards ceremony and the subplot of some money skimming, and the separate attempt to interest Barnaby in leaving the copper's life and taking up crime fiction. Those would be worth one star. Watching Scott seethe at the sight of Cully being chummy with the local bad boy turned writer was also entertaining -- I was always pleased to watch the seasons with Scott as DS to Tom Barnaby.

However, the other stars are given for the one saving grace in the episode, the elegant work by the actress playing Camilla Crofton, Susan Engel, who made her role of the sidelined writer of historical fiction quite believable. The actress playing the young author, on the other hand, looked like a survivor of recent and poorly-done facial plumping.

It's a rare Midsomer where you find yourself routing for the killer at the end, but on this one I was definitely on the side of the killer.

I am not going to bother summarising this episode. To be honest, I am halfway through watching it and I just don't care who did it or why. This is mostly because it has very obviously been written by someone who has been granted access to a pile of James Patterson books, a couple of substandard bottles of rubbing alcohol and a computer with no 'appalling writing' check on it. I don't even know where to begin explaining how unbelievably wide of the mark the previous reviewers were. I have literally never, in my entire life, watched a programme in which the scriptwriter had so evidently decided at the outset to write an insubstantial plot involving two dimensional... Do you know what, it actually just got worse in front of my eyes. Seriously, I wrote better murder mysteries in crayon when I was at nursery. It's JUST AWFUL. Please watch it and tell me you disagree. Joyce Barnaby just uttered the words 'this really is the most awful tripe' and the worst thing is that I suspect the writer lacks the self awareness to realise how terribly accurately that describes this utter, utter rubbish.