Midsomer Murders (TV Series) For Death Prepare (2021) User Reviews

Finally we get to see it, solid episode.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 7/10 · 28 May 2023]

During a dress rehearsal of Gilbert and Sullivan, The players of The Midsomer Mummers discover the dead body of an unknown man inside the treasure chest prop.

For Death prepare ...... Well, ITV, we've been prepared, and waiting for years, once again, us fans of the show have been made to wait, and wait, and wait. Whilst the rest of the world have seen Series 23, we were still waiting on this episode, made two years ago. How Dudgeon and Hendrix must feel.

I'm not sure I'd seen this episode as a classic, but a good, solid mystery, and a welcome return of Barnaby and Winter. The musical theme was definitely a little bit different, and it was nice to see Sarah doing a Joyce and firmly placed in the thick of things.

Some fine, interesting characters, the usual bunch of eccentrics once again. I think there are clues along the way, and it's maybe not impossible to guess who the killer is.

Two performances really stood out, Samantha Spiro and Kevin Whately, how good to see him on screen post Lewis, he's much missed.

More laughs from Fleur again, and yet more insight into her weird and varied life, I just love Badland being on the show.

I'd call it a solid episode, I'm just glad we finally got to see it.

7/10.

ITV please do better.

The very model of a modern murder mystery

[Tweekums · 8/10 · 29 May 2023]

As this episode opens the Midsomer Mummers, a local amateur opera society which performs the works of Gilbert and Sullivan, is rehearsing for a production of 'The Pirates of Penzance'. Inevitably the proceedings are disrupted by the discovery of a body. This time in the on-set treasure chest. Barnaby and Winter are soon on the case; the former is already there as his wife is a member of the cast (of course). The victim is initially unidentified which makes finding a motive a little more difficult than usual... still a variety of suspects are presented to the viewer. As well as the obvious matter of the murder there is plenty of tension between various characters.

I thought this was a fun episode. As one would expect from this series it deftly combines a mystery with the requisite silliness. We don't have to wait too long for the first murder and there are more as the episode continues. There are plenty of suspects and motives; I must confess I didn't spot the killer till the reveal. The cast does a solid job; it was fun seeing Kevin 'Lewis' Whately singing Gilbert and Sullivan. Various subplots didn't detract from the story; in fact they added further possible motives. Overall a solid episode that fans of the series should enjoy.

Gilbert is honored

[safenoe · 8/10 · 18 July 2023]

Here the Midsomer Mummers, a local theatric group, are rehearsing for The Pirates of Penzance, the Gilbert and Sullivan classic that lives on. Anyway, ironically or coincidentally, this episode of Midsomer Murders is directed by Julia Gilbert. I'm not sure if she's a descendant of Gilbert himself, but a nice serendipity nonetheless.

Anyway, wonderful to see Kevin Whately of Inspector Lewis fame still acting, where he makes a guest appearance. Also Clive Rowe guest stars, and he has the distinction of playing one of the few BAME murderers in Midsomer Murders. He also has a decent operatic voice.

It's hard to believe Midsomer Murders has been on for so long.

Not great, but far from the worst

[bellsfolly · 6/10 · 13 January 2022]

I felt compelled to give a bit more balance to the negative reviews of this episode. Overall, not a great one at all. Like someone said, it had everything but the kitchen sink thrown in. But for those of us who loved Inspector Morse & Lewis, seeing Kevin Whately again was worth the price of admission. :)

Production values were good, as always. Despite what someone else has said, I can't find fault with the acting. I think all of the cast did well with what they had to work with. The writing is at fault (again) here. Though this episode was miles above the last one, which I found a convoluted mess.

"Happy Families", I believe it was the 3rd episode of this season, shows us that they still *can* write very good scripts. Or, maybe that was a one-off by someone, I don't know. Yes, this show is not what it was back in the day... and seems to be more on auto-pilot than anything. But it's still fairly good fun, and an easy way to spend about 90 minutes.

Heartwarming

[xbatgirl-30029 · 9/10 · 7 April 2022]

I have no idea what show certain viewers watched but I don't think it was this one. Or else maybe they have some sort of derangement going on. The most confusing is the complaint that the music was similar to an American comedy movie? Um, it's Gilbert & Sullivan. In fact I love that the show really ran with the theme and rearranged the opening title song to make it suit the operetta mood.

What I especially loved was the great idea to hire actual musical theater actors who can properly sing for certain roles. I think, in most American made shows at least, they would have hired regular tv actors and made them take an amateur stab at singing. Which would be fine. But, wow! What a difference with talented, trained voices! I will say stage acting is a slightly different style than tv, and it shows here. Perhaps that is what put some off? I would absolutely love to see this group perform in person.

Of course it was nice to see Inspector Lewis getting a part. Winter getting a chance to sing and show some range in general in a few shows this season is very welcome. The character of the director is good fun. The sleazy, vampiric doctor was suitably creepy. Good to see him get what he deserved in the end. In general, everyone seemed to be having a good time. The last scene especially was hilarious.

The actual whodunnit was the only let down. I can definitely understand a terminally ill person just going for it and taking revenge on the world. I just didn't think the writing overall made it feel authentic, which is a shame.

I believe there was a very early Midsomer episode that also used the plot line of a young couple finding out they were brother and sister. So one can't say the show has actually strayed too far from earlier mysteries if that's true. Things haven't changed that much, despite all the complaining. I still love this show and hope for a new season.

Waited long enough!

[kathdutton-12783 · 26 September 2021]

Not seen it yet but how can it be seen in Sweden before here England 😖😫😖!!!

Are ITV ever going to show us these last 2 episodes- think they've given up on this show now- like most other people!!

For death prepare

[coltras35 · 6/10 · 28 May 2023]

The members of amateur operatic society the Midsomer Mummers are busy rehearsing for their charity concert when the body of an unknown man is found in their theatre. Barnaby and Winter's investigation quickly becomes a race to discover who is desperate to be centre stage.

A new MSM is like a tonic for boredom, as the series is formulaic but fun with some grand and eccentric characters, and you're not disappointed in that aspect in this episode. We start with a corpse in a treasure chest during rehearsal for a Gilbert and Sullivan's operatic show, and like that opera, there's enough drama, secrets, rivalry and more murders (a nasty character gets nailed to the mast with coins in his eyes) to keep this one ticking. Can be a bit sluggish in the beginning and not so engaging but progressively changes further on.

Inspector Lewis meets Barnaby and everyone wants to be King

[lbowdls · 9/10 · 26 March 2022]

I can't believe I missed this episode a couple of months ago when season 22 was being played. Thank goodness - due to going through the episodes here on IMDb- I realised. This is another fantastic season 22 episode. The only reason it's not 10 is I have is I have a problem with a couple of the castings one being that ( and this could be a slight spoiler) that Derek Sharrow played by Clive Rowe looks almost the same age as Jeremy Whitingdale - played by Kevin Whately, for him to be principle (even teacher to a certain degree) when Derek was at school. But apart from that, this is a great mystery with a classic cast of characters and suspects and it's great to see theatre making a comeback like the years of the previous Barnaby his wife and Cully. And so many murders too, and of course your secrets from the past, and I would not have seriously considered to murderer to be who it turns out to be, even if of course they were one of my guesses as I guessed everyone at one time - as you do in a classic murder mystery. And I kind of understand their motives and glad they shined for a few minutes and the victims were not the nicest people either.

Another slight spoiler at the end it's great seeing Winter sing as the pirate King too, as for part of my title to this review everybody wants to be king, especially the pirate king in Penzance. I haven't read any reviews before posting my own so I have no idea what others think but I hope this episode gets a lot of positive reviews.

Fun, original concept but boring mystery

[SunnyDaise · 6/10 · 28 May 2023]

Whilst the suspects and their storylines were pretty boring, this episode is still worth a rewatch for the singing and Paddy scenes! I'm not sure why it took two years for this to air on British television, but the stage show performances were worth the wait. There is the usual style of humour - more than average, especially in the Barnaby Household - plus the Gilbert & Sullivan fun. This airing coincided with my Kevin Whately Peak Practice / Morse & Lewis marathon, so I had to concentrate to remember who was the doctor / detective! Likewise with Jenna Russell's character working in the surgery - as Born and Bred is also reshowing this month! Great cast.

Above average for the new "Inspector Barnaby"

[jagough49 · 9/10 · 23 March 2022]

A local theatre group that specializes in Gilbert and Sullivan operettas becomes embroiled in murders. There are several red herrings. There are also some nice bits of G & S, and we even hear Kevin Whately (from "Peak Practice", and "Inspector Morse", and the sequel series "Lewis") perform a good beginning of the Major-General's difficult patter song "I am the very model of a modern major-general, ...", from "The Pirates of Penzance". There are several unpredictable, but plausible(!), plot twists, and at the end the murders are solved, nicely, with pathos and strong natural justice! There are also moments of droll humour. The Goof note about "Jeremy" being mis-spelled as "Jemery" failed to allow for the person who wrote the name having dyslexia! This is a key element in the plot! A person with dyslexia is not stupid, but has a psycho-perceptual disability. Unlike other weaker episodes in these latter days of the second "Inspector Barnaby", there are no bizarre cults, no hint of the occult. These are ordinary decent people driven by circumstance to extreme and lethal behaviour.

Great Performances

[kall6695 · 9/10 · 3 May 2022]

A local theatre group, the Midsomer Mummers, is preparing to put on Pirates of Penzance. I really liked this episode despite the negative reviews.

The local group, of which Sarah Barnaby is a member, is rehearsing the operetta and just to give her husband something to do, there is a dead body in the chest of gold coins.

There is drama between father/daughter/father/son. There are some nasty notes left for various members of the cast. Add to that spousal abuse, lesbian affair, doctor/patient drama. So much Drama! There is a certain amount of satisfaction seeing a few people murdered given their bad behavior, as ever in Midsomer Murders.

I liked the singing, the musical production going on and it was great getting to see Jamie Winter as part of the production. Also great to see Betty, who helped her mom rehearse. Sarah has a great voice. We even get to hear Barnaby sing a bit.

Again, there are too many PC characters which is totally unrealistic for a rural British county. But definitely well worth seeing.

And now for something completely different

[arkayem · 5/10 · 4 February 2022]

There hasn't been an episode quite like this one, thanks to G. And S. Never mind the plot and the body count. The singing was a surprise and worth tuning in for, especially the young players' duet. Only one question: did the actors actually sing, or were the voices dubbed?

PS: I hadn't seen Death of a Hollow Man before watching For Death Prepare, so there had been a similar episode although the music was Mozart's. (I've been watching all the episodes from the very beginning.) The critics of For Death Prepare have been too judgmental. Midsummer Murders is light - don't take us too seriously - entertainment. If you want serious, try Vera. Or, far worse, watch TV news. Or switch off.

Revenge at Its Best

[vintagegeek · 9/10 · 16 October 2021]

The process and extent of revenge killing in this episode is terrific. But, they take forever to get there. Fiona Dolman played a real role in this one. Nice to see her as she brings a pleasant touch that's desperately needed. Episodes this year seem a little constricted. Probably due to covid. Hope they broaden things soon. The characters are getting short changed.

Great Episode!

[lyndavanleeuwen · 8/10 · 15 January 2024]

Wonderful to hear Gilbert & Sullivan performed instead of watching local oddballs dressed in medieval costumes finishing each other off, or drowning enemies in vats of wine!! Beautifully performed by very talented & experienced theatrical performers! Great music, great voices, great costumes made this very entertaining! Loved hearing the long appreciated production again!

What fun to see so many familiar faces involved in the performance! Kevin Whately was a lovely treat as a singer! Missed seeing Lewis; so pleasant to hear & see him again! Complex plot sorted itself out well! Very enjoyable episode for us!

One of MM's best endings

[vitoscotti · 10/10 · 4 August 2023]

A top-notch episode with some flaws. The people of different ethnicity being blood relatives is a minor problem. I'm curious how many of the actors were actually singing? And if singing played a role in casting, I thought Phoebe Whittingdale (Tessa Wong) was terribly miscast. This episode oddly didn't have any knockout attractive female actresses except for Sarah (Fiona Dolman).

Lots of good to the episode though. I really enjoyed the singing from "The Pirates of Penzance". Not my music genre cup of tea but still was fun. A treat to have Morse's dimwitted assistant Kevin Whately in a major role. The ending was stellar with brilliant acting from Clive Rowe as Derek Sharrow. I was on the fence midway but the intensity kicked in with loose ends tied culminating with a surprise ending..

The Police would not act like that!

[rclec · 8/10 · 29 May 2023]

Oh dear... whilst we once again had long drawn out twists and turns, as expected, as we try to find the killer first, the final rescue was woeful!

The height of the axe was easily within reach, so the first act of any police officer would be to secure the lethal weapon... not spend minutes faffing about untying the potential victim... clearly ridiculous, as had they not succeeded in getting him ou he would have been killed which could have easily been prevented and they would be on charges for incompetence.

Please writers, be sensible about things like that - there are way to many really stupid faults becoming commonplace in these programs.

Very average at best!

[harrykivi · 5/10 · 7 November 2021]

The 22th season of "Midsomer Murders" has not been the strongest, I have said it numerous times. "The Wolf Hunter of Little Worthy" and "Happy Families" started off intriguing, but then got worse as the stories went on. "Scarecrow Murders" was fine, though it had too much going on for me. "The Stitcher Society" being the only pretty good episode in this season.

"For Death Prepare" is written by Julia Gilbert, who was never done anything that I like in "Midsomer Murders." Her "Curse of the Ninth" had a great set-up, but then got very weird and lazy. "The Sting of Death" was "so bad that it's good "kind of episode. "Send in the Clows" has been her best work in "Midsomer Murders" for me, even though that episode is okay at best.

"For Death Prepare" is also an average entry to this great series- I still think that "Send in the Clows" is a bit more entertaining than this one. "For Death Prepare" is not a bad episode, it's just nothing to be excited about.

Let's start with good, shall we?

. The production values of "For Death Prepare" are great as usual. The episode is well-directed, the music fits the scenery. The acting, while not great (was not a huge of Clive Rowe in this), is still passable. Alexander Hanson, Samatha Spiro and Tessa Wong faring the best of the guest stars.

. The mystery has occasional sparks, moments of charm and humor (especially with Fleur), the murders were quite brutal, I quited loved the theatre-setting (I have done a play in an amateur club myself).

But...

. The mystery should have been much more compelling with more twists, tunrs, red herrings and subplots. The pace is quite pedestrian at times and couple of the subplots (siblings in love, drug business) are not all that intriguing and lead to nowhere. The characters are not something to write about either. Jeremy being easily the most interesting.

. The solution, while not awful, with Derek turning out to be the one, who had done it, feels silly and extreme. The revenge motive did not feel earned for certain characters (especially the first victim) and felt forced. To be honest, there were not enough strong suspects in this story,

Overall, a very average "Midsomer Murders" entry.

5/10 HK.

Top notch episode

[TJR21 · 9/10 · 23 October 2023]

Here's my review.

It took us a while to see this one in the UK and I must say it was worth the wait.

The episode drops you straight in to the rehearsals of an amateur company who are staging their performance of the 'Pirates of Penzance'. It's very atmospheric and the location used for the theatre is very idyllic.

There's many stories interwoven and we delve into all the villagers lives and the characters are well written.

The acting is very strong and it was great to see many well known faces along the way. Standouts in this one are Kevin Whately, Samantha Spiro, Clive Rowe and Alexander Hanson.

The music is very effective and the singing is super for those who are accustomed to the work of Gilbert and Sullivan.

As always the locations, direction and cinematography are beautifully captured and certainly wants you to move there.

I never got who was responsible for the murders and I very rarely do. This was a really good episode and rate it 9/10.

Elderly Revenge

[Johnny_West · 3/10 · 23 March 2022]

This episode was a mess, in my humble opinion. A lot of time was spent on a father and his relationship with his daughter, and then there is a big reveal about that which makes it all seem very stupid and disappointing.

The plot happens to be really ridiculous too. Some elderly guy who is taking care of his very elderly Dad resents him, he hates his teacher from 50 years ago, he hates his school bully from 50 years ago, he has a ton of resentments against everyone in the village, and he wants to sing in the Pirates of Penzance play. The guy happens to be a great singer, and yet why was he excluded?

Throw in a lesbian sub-plot, domestic violence against women, and a brother and sister who are in love with each other, and I was honestly wondering if this was supposed to be an episode of the Jerry Springer show?

Preparing for murder

[TheLittleSongbird · 4/10 · 30 April 2023]

'Midsomer Murders' has been past its best for a long time now, it was already becoming less consistent with the last few seasons of the Tom Barnaby period but became increasingly hit and miss when John Barnaby took over. Due to a higher number of misses. There have been still a good number of good episodes made during the John Barnaby era, some being very good indeed. Including "The Stitcher Society" and "Happy Families" also from this season.

"For Death Prepare" is not one of the good ones and actually put it on the same level as "Scarecrow Murders" for similar reasons, though not quite as bizarre. It is not as bad as "The Wolf Hunter of Little Worthy", which was the worst 'Midsomer Murders' in some time (maybe since "Night of the Stag"), but look to Seasons 1-9 to see the show at its best. Which includes another episode centered around theatrical productions, the vastly superior "Death of a Hollow Man".

By all means there are good things. It's a typically good looking episode, especially the scenery which the photography clearly loves. The theatrical setting is sometimes well evoked, that is when the story is not trying to do too much, showing its colour and excitement but also the more stressful and competitive sides. The music is pleasant and haunting and who can resist the unforgettable theme tune. Loved the healthy dose of Gilbert and Sullivan, with 'The Pirates of Penzance' being very close to my heart. Plus surprisingly well sung.

Did think that it did start off intriguing and that the deaths are suitably brutal without being gratuitous. The acting was a mixed bag here, but Annette Badland continues to be a joy as Fleur and Alexander Hanson, Samantha Spiro and Tessa Wong do great jobs in their roles. As does Kevin Whately as by far the best supporting character, great to see him again. Fiona Dolman gets some meaty material here and a more integral role to usual, and she does well.

Not all the acting is great however. Clive Rowe is far too hammy for my tastes to the extent that it jarred with the rest of the episode and Nick Hendrix is so bland that he practically gets lost amidst everything else. Neil Dudgeon actually generally has grown on me as Barnaby, but he walks his way through this episode. The characters are not very well written and are too underdeveloped, Whately's is the most interesting.

The story did have potential, but that potential is squandered. Like "Scarecrow Murders", "For Death Prepare" felt very overstuffed, with too many characters that one doesn't to know enough and too many plot points that are not given enough time to be fleshed out. A couple also felt thrown in for padding reasons and added nothing, ending up convoluting events. As a result the episode felt incredibly convoluted later on, while completely lacking surprises and suspense. The identity of the perpetrator was not a surprise at all, and some of the episode felt tired and dull.

Furthermore, the ending is far too hasty, needed much longer to reveal everything (as it is a solution that is not easy to get the head round) and very silly, also felt the motive too "they killed for that"-like. Humour and cosiness is too far and between, the atmosphere too over serious and nowhere near enough is done with the setting which is lost amidst all the twists and turns that didn't feel like they belonged in 'Midsomer Murders' and more like a different show.

In summary, very lacklustre. 4/10.

Not what it used to be

[Ailice · 1/10 · 21 August 2021]

I really don't know how it is possible to take a cosy, well-written and beaitiful series, a concept that has existed and worked great for over twenty years, and ruin it this way. For me it began a couple of seasons ago, around the time when personality-free Winter started on the show, but it is this season that for the first time ever makes me think I might not watch any more Midsomer Murders.

Is it due to bad directing? Is it because of the fast pace or the fact that the creators don't seem to understand that you can actually have calm, silent scenes or allow gestures and facial expressions to speak? Is it because that lovely, sharp and intelligent humour of the older seasons is completely gone? Is it because of the dreadful music, which seem to be taken from that kind of American comedy movie that never actually is funny? Midsomer Murders used to have such BEAUTIFUL music, from the opening theme to the great pieces that added personality and atmosphere to each episode. Now it's just disturbing noice in the background.

I'm to grateful I can still watch the older seasons, which I do every year. But it still saddens me that the soul of a series can this way be mutilated, killed. It's as if the makers of the series just don't bother to care anymore. Or perhaps they just don't have what it takes.

More wooden than the stage

[xmasdaybaby1966 · 2/10 · 7 November 2021]

Way back in s1e3, the Barnaby's were involved in a performance of Amadeus (Fiona Dolman allegedly appeared in the story).

Here we have a performance of The Pirates Of Penzance but that is where any similarities end Death Of A Hollow Man is probably the best MM.

This is by far the worst (yes, even worse than the last episode!).

They bring in Inspector Morse's sidekick Kevin Whately for this one but he doesn't have a clue either.

The acting is more wooden than the boards they tread doing the musical.

This tribute act to a once great show has gone on long enough. No wonder ITV is in no hurry to show this series before other countries screen it.

By all accounts the next episode is worse still with Holly Willoughby taking 25 attempts to do her one line!

Please put the show and die hard fans out of their misery.

Every thing but the kitchen sink

[priscillahodgkins-21456 · 3/10 · 12 October 2021]

Gilbert and Sullivan, Inspector Lewis, Mrs. Alahan, half-siblings in love, a singing detective, a young, beautiful doctor woos an old lady, asbestos toxicity, street drugs, just to name a few elements featured in this ironically empty story.

What's missing: sturdy plot, characters that don't need three minutes of exposition, and clever dialogue.

This one is just not what you expect from Midsomer Murders.

However, after hundreds of episodes each with 3-4 murders, on average, you can't fault the producer's for trying.

They have given us quirky, delightful murder mysteries for years. One or two real stinkers don't really matter.