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About Midsomer
Midsomer Murders is a popular British television series
about murders that take place in the fictional English county
of Midsomer. Based on a series of crime novels by the author
Caroline Graham, the detective drama focuses on the main
character of Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby, played by
actor John Nettles (of Bergerac fame).
First transmitted in the United Kingdom in March 1997,
filming is currently underway on the eleventh series of
the programme, which will bring the total number of episodes
to fifty-nine. Viewing figures for the series are very healthy,
and the feature-length drama attracts a number of well-known
actors from the stage and screen in guest-starring roles.
The majority of the early episodes were written by the writer
Anthony Horowitz, who, together with the original producers
Betty Willingale and Brian True-May, also created the series;
and current writers include Peter J. Hammond, David Hoskins,
Douglas Watkinson and Andrew Payne.
Filming takes place on location in the English counties
of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Oxfordshire
and Surrey; and, owing to its success, the series has been
sold to a number of countries and territories across the
world, including Australia, Belgium, Botswana, Canada, Denmark,
Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Italy,
Latin America, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Romania,
South Africa, Spain, Sweden and the United States.
Midsomer Murders Style
The programme possesses a unique style. It is almost entirely
set within the closed, backwards-looking fictional English
county of Midsomer. Midsomer is a world whose inhabitants
are a collection of wealthy, amoral and snobbish eccentrics
often obsessed with the fairly small lives they lead in
these isolated communities. This provides for an enormous
amount of friction between them which is observed with a
self-mocking, sardonic humour.
The show often highlights the facade put up by people.
To the eye Midsomer is a picturesque, peaceful and prosperous
county but in fact behind the well-trimmed hedgerows and
cricket on the village green is a society brimming with
all kinds of vices. Barnaby by contrast offers a stable
homelife and an exceptional morality.
Each story is built up carefully, with underpinning currents
and unsolved mysteries adding to the bemusement of the detectives.
There are usually a number of false leads, such as those
who have committed petty crimes, or harbour some dark secret
that they attempt to conceal from the world. Despite the
sinister, atmospheric edge that runs through the show, it
maintains a constant humour.
One feature of the programme is the extremely large number
of deaths, especially considering that Midsomer is a small,
rural county. Because of the slightly bizarre nature of
the place, this does not seem entirely improbable. The show
at times even plays on this lack of realism, with characters
within it often commenting on the astoundingly high numbers
of deaths.
Main Characters
The principal characters are listed below, along with
the total number of episodes in which they have appeared.
Detective Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby
(1996 - Present), All Episodes
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. Much of his social life seems to revolve
around his wife and daughter to whom he is devoted.
In fact they both often provide a personal connection
with the crimes in which he is investigating.
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out more about John Nettles >> |
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Daniel Casey as Detective Sergeant
Gavin Troy (1996 - 2003), 29 Episodes.
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 extremely bright and ambitious,
through 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
un-politically correct remarks often concerning his
disdain for homosexuals. He is often known to make
other inappropriate comments, often at the least fortuitous
of times. He was promoted to Inspector and transferred
to Middleborough at the end of the sixth series. |
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out more about Daniel Casey >> |
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John Hopkins as Detective Sergeant
Dan Scott (2003 - 2005), 14 Episodes
Dan Scott is less naive and a bit cockier then his
predecessor Gavin Troy; he is a Londoner who is not
exactly thrilled to be transferred to Midsomer which
he regards as the 'Sticks'. His relationship with
Barnaby was a bit prickly at first. But it eventually
mellowed into a slightly awkward marriage of convenience,
with Barnaby still disapproving of Scott's methods
and Scott grudgingly starting to respect him. |
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out more about John Hopkins >> |
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Jason Hughes as Detective Sergeant
Ben Jones (2005 - Present), 9 Episodes
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 a Detective Constable when first introduced
to the viewer; he was subsequently promoted to sergeant.
In an episode first broadcast in January 2007 it is
revealed that Ben Jones is a Freemason. Freemasonry
is central to the plot of this particular episode,
and Jones assists with many references to masonic
ritual and regalia, and is shown attending a lodge
meeting in part of the film. |
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out more about Jason Hughes >> |
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Jane Wymark as Joyce Barnaby (1996
- Present), All Episodes
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 in fact
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. |
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Laura Howard as Cully Barnaby (1996
- 1999, 2002 - Present), 34 Episodes
Tom and Joyce's only child. 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. Like her mother her tendency to do community
work often leaves her personally involved with the
murders that take place. |
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out more about Laura Howard >> |
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Barry Jackson as Doctor George Bullard
(1996 - 1998, 2000 - Present), 43 Episodes
A good friend of Tom's. A very serious character
but with a distinctive personality, always first on
the scene, and knows almost instantly how they died! |
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out more about Barry Jackson >> |
Midsomer County
Midsomer County in the heart of the English countryside is filled with picturesque vistas, quaint villages, and if you believe the episodes in this series, a great deal of dead bodies.
Below is a map of the fictional Midsomer County - click to enlarge the image.
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