Midsomer Murders is a British television drama that has aired on ITV1 since 1997. A detective drama, it focuses on the main character of Detective Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby, played by John Nettles, and his efforts to solve the various crimes that take place in the fictional English county of Midsomer. It is based on a series of crime novels by the author Caroline Graham and was originally adapted by Anthony Horowitz.

Cast

• John Nettles - Detective Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby (1997 to present)
• Daniel Casey - Detective Sergeant Gavin Troy (1997 to 2003, 2008)
• John Hopkins - Detective Sergeant Dan Scott (2003 to 2005)
• Jason Hughes - Detective Sergeant Ben Jones (2005 to present)
• Jane Wymark - Joyce Barnaby (1997 to present)
• Laura Howard - Cully Barnaby (1997 to 1999; 2002 to present)
• Barry Jackson - Dr George Bullard (1997 to 1998; from 2000 to present)
• Kirsty Dillon - Detective Constable (formerly WPC) Gail Stephens (2007 to present)

Characters

Detective Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby - A senior member of the Midsomer Constabulary's Causton CID, Barnaby handles the considerable number of murders that occur in the county. A patient, tolerant man whose style of investigation is methodical and fair. However despite his methodical nature he is an extremely sagacious and perceptive individual, able to recognise seemingly obscure clues in order to close an investigation. He also formerly worked for MI6. Much of his social life seems to revolve around his wife and daughter. In fact, they both often provide a personal connection with the crimes that he is investigating. His other relatives are his parents, who by the episode "Blue Herrings" are both deceased. Though only his mother is referred to, he also has an aunt Alice Bly who appears only in the aforesaid episode, to whom he is devoted.

Detective Sergeant Gavin Troy - Barnaby's first and longest-serving deputy. He is a local man and attended a local comprehensive. He is young to be a detective sergeant, a point often commented on. He is very bright and ambitious, though it is usually his boss who solves the crime, often after Troy has made the wrong conclusion. In contrast to the tolerant Barnaby, Troy is one to make non-politically correct remarks, often concerning his disdain for homosexuals. He is known to make other inappropriate comments, often at the least fortuitous of times. He was promoted to Inspector and transferred to Middlesbrough at the end of the sixth series. His relationship with Barnaby has always been warm and the two make a formidable pair. He makes a one off re-appearance in the Series 11 episode "Blood Wedding", to attend the wedding of Cully Barnaby.

Joyce Barnaby - Barnaby's long-suffering wife. She is enormously tolerant of her husband, despite his being a workaholic who spent their honeymoon solving the case of the 'Pimlico Poisoner', which suggests that they met in London, where they both possibly lived and worked. Joyce is an easy-going and friendly woman who likes to get involved in community activities. She has long possessed a desire to move out of their Causton home and into one of the picturesque Midsomer villages - only to be put off by the grisly murders that occur there.

Cully Barnaby - Tom and Joyce's only child and takes her first name from the village on Lake Geneva in Switzerland in which she was conceived when her parents were on honeymoon. She is an inquisitive and bold young woman, who seems to have inherited many of her parents' friendly attitudes and community spirit. Early in the series she attended Cambridge University and dated a drama student, Nico. This fell through and she returned to live with her parents in Causton. She is an actress and frequently takes temporary jobs in the Midsomer area when "resting" between assignments. Like her mother, her tendency to do community work often leaves her personally involved with the murders that take place. She meets Simon in the Axeman Cometh, and marries him in Blood Wedding. Thought to have made her last appearance in the show in the episode "The Magician's Nephew. she also appears in "The Glitch".

DS Dan Scott - is a bit cockier than his predecessor Gavin Troy; he is a Londoner who was not thrilled at being transferred from the Metropolitan Police Service to Midsomer, which he regards as the 'sticks'. His relationship with Barnaby was prickly at first but it mellowed into a slightly awkward marriage of convenience, with Barnaby still disapproving of Scott's methods and Scott grudgingly starting to respect him. In 'The Straw Woman,' Scott develops a love interest who is subsequently brutally murdered. This episode is notable for Barnaby's lack of sympathy with Scott's situation. Scott's departure from the show was also abrupt. In 'The House in the Woods,' Barnaby describes Scott as being ill. Barnaby invites Jones to assist him on that case. After this incident, no more is heard from Scott and Jones becomes the new assistant.

DS Ben Jones - is the third character to act as Barnaby's assistant. Unlike the other two (Gavin Troy and Dan Scott) who both appeared on the series as sergeants, Ben Jones was an acting detective constable when first introduced to the viewer; he was subsequently promoted to sergeant. Jones is considerably less naive than his predecessors, perhaps down to his local roots. Many episodes emphasise his attachment to the area in ways that neither Scott or Troy could be. In an episode first broadcast in January 2007, it is revealed that Ben Jones was a Freemason. Freemasonry is central to the plot of this episode and Jones assists with many references to masonic ritual and regalia, and is shown attending a lodge meeting. In the episode "Death in Chorus" Jones shows his vocal skills by singing tenor in the Midsomer Worthy choir.

Doctor George Bullard - Causton's resident pathologist. Bullard goes about his work with a professional skill and a cheery demeanour. He is a good friend of Barnaby. He has been a regular throughout the series (save for a brief spell, when his place was taken by Dr. Dan Peterson played by Toby Jones). In later episodes he has often played a greater role in the plot, even making a stirling appearance in the Midsomer Worthy Choir in 'Death in Chorus.'

Other minor characters have also spanned their appearances across more than one episode. Olive Beauvoisin, the estate agent, (played by Eileen Davies) appeared in Death's Shadow and Dead Man’s Eleven. She also appeared in "Hidden Depths" but in this particular episode she was credited as "Estate Agent ". Charles Jennings (played by Terence Corrigan) also featured in the same two episodes. David Whitely (played by Christopher Villiers) appeared in the pilot episode The Killings at Badger's Drift and also in Death's Shadow. Miles Tully (played by Graham Seed) appears in both Shot at Dawn and The Dogleg Murders, however his appearance in Shot at Dawn is very brief.

Production

Initial filming of Midsomer Murders was undertaken in autumn 1996 with the first episodes transmitted in the United Kingdom in March 1997. Viewing figures for the series are healthy, and the feature-length drama attracts a number of actors from the stage and screen in guest-starring roles. The majority of the early episodes were adapted by Anthony Horowitz from the original Caroline Graham works. Horowitz and the original producers Betty Willingale and Brian True-May, created the series. Current writers include David Lawrence, Michael Aitkens and David Hoskins.

In early 2009 John Nettles announced he will retire after the 13th series of 8 episodes, at the end of 2010. A new DCI will appear in the 14th series.

Episodes

Midsomer Murders first aired as a pilot on 23 March 1997. Since then, 70 episodes have been aired up to series 12 (as of 30 October 2009). The episodes within each series can often be aired many months apart.

Soundtrack

Composed by Jim Parker, the soundtrack is performed (though not exclusively) with an unusual electronic musical instrument: the theremin. The theme is a moderate-tempo waltz that would sound quite pleasant on a more normal instrument, such as a violin or piano, but sounds quite eerie on the theremin, which sounds more or less like a soprano singing without words.

Other countries

Midsomer Murders has been sold to a large number of countries and territories around the world—in 2004 it was sold in 204 countries whether as either TV Programming or DVD.

In Australia, the series originally aired on the Nine Network. First-run episodes from series 11 onwards screened on ABC1, which as of 2009 began showing in prime time older episodes previously screened on Nine Network. Repeat screenings are also aired on the subscription TV channel UK.TV. Series Twelve commenced screening on ABCHD and ABC1 on 23 August 2009. Showing one episode weekly, they are now screening episodes prior to their first screening in the UK.

In Belgium, the series is shown subtitled on Dutch language channel Canvas and dubbed in French on RTL-TVI, Club RTL, where it has also been retitled Inspecteur Barnaby.

In Canada, the series is broadcast on public broadcaster TVOntario in Ontario, and on Knowledge in British Columbia, which in 2009 is showing Series 9 through 10.

In Croatia, the series is broadcast on public station HRT, typically in the Friday late evening slot, about a year after the original airing, with the title translated as Ubojstva u Midsomeru. Most of the seasons have been rerun. Various cable channels that carry the series are also available (such as Hallmark Channel Croatia and BBC Prime).

In the Czech Republic, the series is known as Vraždy v Midsomeru (Murders In Midsomer), and it is broadcast on TV Prima, one of the four major TV channels there.

In Denmark, it is called Kriminalkommisær Barnaby and is shown by DR (Danmarks Radio). DVDs are currently being sold with a weekly magazine called Billedbladet.

In Estonia, the series is known as Midsomeri mõrvad and is broadcast on national public television channel ETV.

In Finland, the series is known by its translated name in Finnish Midsomerin murhat and shows on the channel YLE1.

In France, the series is shown on France 3 and has been retitled Inspecteur Barnaby.

In Germany, the channel ZDF airs the series as Inspector Barnaby.

In Ireland, the series is shown on the state broadcaster, RTE.

In Italy, the series is known as Ispettore Barnaby and airs on La7 and FoxCrime

In Hungary, the series is shown on the Hallmark Channel. It is dubbed in Hungarian, its title is Kisvárosi gyilkosságok (Small-town Murders).

In India, the series is shown on the Hallmark Channel.

In Italy, it is called L'ispettore Barnaby (Inspector Barnaby) and is one of the most viewed shows of the private channel La7. Reruns also air on satellite channel Fox Crime.

In Lithuania, the series is shown on TV1 and has been retitled Midsomerio žmogžudystės.

In the Middle East, it airs on the Saudi channel MBC 4.

In the Netherlands, Nederland 1 airs the serie as Midsomer Murders, the serie is subtitled in Dutch.

In New Zealand, the series has been broadcast for a number of years on free-to-air channel Prime.

In Norway, the series is called Mord og Mysterier (Murder and Mysteries) and has developed a steady and loyal fanbase. It is broadcast on the second-largest TV channel, TV 2.

In Poland, the series is called Morderstwa w Midsomer and is aired on the Hallmark Channel.

In Romania, the series is called Crimele Din Midsomer (Midsomer Murders) and is aired weekly on the Hallmark Channel, Pro TV, and Pro Cinema.

In Russia and the Ukraine, it is called "Purely English Murders" and has been repeatedly shown on various channels. The reason for such an unusual choice of title is the great success of the 1974 Soviet film Purely English Murder adapted from the novel An English Murder (1951) by Cyril Hare.

In Serbia, the series is called "Ubistva u Midsomeru" and is aired on Fox televizija and the Hallmark Channel.

In Slovakia, the series is aired on JOJ Plus as Vraždy v Midsomeri (Murders In Midsomer).

In Slovenia, the series is aired on Kanal A and the Hallmark Channel and is called Umori na podeželju (Murders in the Countryside). DVDs of the series have been sold via newspapers.

In South Africa, the series is aired every Sunday on the Hallmark Channel on DStv, channel number 108.

In Sri Lanka,the series is aired on Channel Eye every Sunday Night.

In Sweden, the series, translated to Morden i Midsomer (The Murders in Midsomer), is hugely popular and has become a traditional part of summer television schedules. DVDs of the episodes were sold weekly with copies of a tabloid newspaper, but not anymore.

It is also aired in Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia on the Hallmark Channel every week.

In the United States, the series was aired by Arts and Entertainment Television for a time and is now being broadcast in the San Francisco Bay Area by Public Broadcasting station KTEH, Channel 54 in San Jose. Beginning on October 9, KTEH began airing Midsomer Murders from the first episode, "The Killings at Badgers Drift." Each episode is aired four times a week on Fridays at 900pm, Saturdays at 300am, Tuesdays at 700pm, and Wednesdays at 100am.

Filming Locations

Popular filming locations for Midsomer Murders include, in Buckinghamshire, Beaconsfield, Amersham, Great Missenden, Prestwood, the Lee, Wendover, Stoke Poges, Princes Risborough, Turville, Long Crendon, Penn, Marlow, Denham, Bledlow, the Ashridge Estate, Aldbury, Little Gaddesden, Chesham, Latimer, Chenies, Hambleden, Haddenham, and Waddesdon; in Hertfordshire, Chipperfield, Flaunden, Bulbourne, Hadley Wood, Sarratt, and Watford; and, in Oxfordshire, Islip, Nettlebed, Henley on Thames, Wallingford, Dorchester, Waterstock, Little Haseley, Stoke Talmage, Stonor Park, Thame and Aston, Bekonscot Model Village. (See midsomermurders.net for a list of filming locations for every episode.)

DVD releases

All eleven series thus far of Midsomer Murders have been released in Australia (Region 4). All 65 episodes which have been aired so far have been released in the UK (Region 2) including the 2008 Christmas Special "Days of Misrule" released 2 February 2009.

In January 2006, Midsomer Murders started a DVD & Magazine Collection, available at newsagents in the UK and Australia.

Acorn Media has released 13 DVD sets of Midsomer Murders in the US as well as a 19-disc collection available as The Early Cases. This set, which restores the episodes to their UK broadcast order, includes Acorn's set one, two, three, and five, as well as a bonus disc featuring a behind-the-scenes documentary.

Books

The following list is a collection of published works connected with the series.

• Caroline Graham, "The Killings at Badger's Drift", 1987.
• Caroline Graham, "Death of a Hollow Man", 1989.
• Caroline Graham, "Death in Disguise", 1993.
• Caroline Graham, "Written in Blood", 1995.
• Caroline Graham, "Faithful unto Death", 1998.
• Caroline Graham, "A Place of Safety", 1999.
• Caroline Graham, "A Ghost in the Machine", 2004.
• Jeff Evans, "Midsomer Murders: The Making of An English Crime Classic", 2003.

References

1. http://www.itv.com/Drama/copsandcrime/midsomermurdersweekend/MidsomerNews/default.html
2. http://www.culture.gov.uk/reference_library/media_releases/3054.aspx/

External links

• Comprehensive Guide to Midsomer Murders
• MidsomerMurders.net