My fellow Cornishman John Nettles has very much enjoyed being Inspector Barnaby in Midsomer Murders. “Good actors and great storylines” he says. Only good actors, you notice. Not great ones. Only great storylines. Meow. Just look at the list of actors who appeared in the series. It includes Richard Briers, Honor Blackman, Joss Acland, Lynda Bellingham, Niamh Cusack, Nigel Davenport, Tim MacInnery, Anna Massey, Tim Piggott-Smith, Leslie Phillips, Frank Middlemass and Donald Sinden. But these are “good” actors, not great ones.
So we saw the new Inspector Barnaby last night.Neil Dudgeon (photos here, biography here) plays John, cousin of Tom. I must say I was impressed. I can see him continuing the Midsomer idyll for many years to come.
We love it. It’s up there with Taggart and Morse/Lewis for us. We love it like an old cardigan.
I particularly like the theme music with the “daddila daddilas” at the beginning. The main tune is played on an extraordinary instrument called a “Theremin”. You can see it being played below. The “daddila daddilas” are played by a bass clarinet. In fact, you can always tell when a murder is about to be discovered on the show – the woodwind starts swelling up in the background music. Always happens.
Oh, and by the way, Inspector Tom Barnaby (played by John Nettles) will quietly retire at the end of a future episode. That’s unusual isn’t it? With so many gruesome murders in Midsomer, and so many murderers with a grudge against the man, you would have thought it was natural that he would be murdered, wouldn’t you? Ah, but you have to consider the repeat cycles, darling. Midsomer Murders’ episodes get shown hundreds of times all over the world, often several times on the same channel, several years after they were first aired. Think about it. If a viewer sees Tom Barnaby being killed in one episode and then watches an old repeat the next week with him still alive and kicking, it will seem strange won’t it? That’s the reason why Tom Barnaby isn’t being literally “killed off”. How do I know? Well I saw the producer explaining it on one of those behind-the-scenes shows on one of the cable channels. So there.
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February 11, 2010 at 9:29 pm
Midsomer is my guilty pleasure too, including the grace notes of the Barnaby marriage.
But the new episode was a travesty in terms of understanding of how local government works! Non-executive robed mayors running councils as chief executives, Mayors putting devious motions to ‘planning committees’ and not a mention of the Standards Board…
OK it is a fantasy along with the extraordinary death toll in a corner of rural England. But no wonder nonpolitical people dont engage in politics if they seriously think this Midsomer version is how it is… a bit of a wasted opportunity in a way.
February 11, 2010 at 9:45 pm
Agreed, Edis. Interestingly, for once they actually mentioned a real place – Brighton. Doesn’t often happen (a bit like with the Archers).
October 31, 2010 at 5:43 pm
I love the Midsomer Murder series. The only probelm is, I emigrated to Canada where vwe don’t get it! I content myself with the DVDs and look forward to seeing Neil Dudgeon in the new role. I remember seeing him in A Touch of Frost, and hoped he would reprise the character one day. But, here he is as John Barnaby. Wonderful!
As a Private Investigator working in Calgary, Alberta,I often run into ex-UK coppers working here (there are over 200 of them in the Calgary City Police), and we chat about the UK police series that are on PBS (public television) which we get from the USA. I was in France recently and saw the programme (called “Inspector Barnaby”) on the continent, dubbed in French!
If anyone here would like to see another highly acclaimed and internationally successful police drama that is made in Canada, look no further than the Murdoch Mysteries, set in Toronto around the late 1890′s. The lead is played by Yannick Bisson as detective William Murdoch, a young, methodical and highly intelligent detective. Its a bit like Sherlock Holmes meets CSI, with loads of British Actors and real life historical characters. You can catch the Murdoch Mysteries on YouTube.
Bill
November 1, 2010 at 9:52 am
Many thanks Bill. There seem to be a lot of Brit coppers in Calgary!
March 3, 2011 at 3:30 pm
Inspector Tom Barnaby’s departure makes me very sad…
March 3, 2011 at 3:31 pm
Inspector Tom Barnaby’s departure makes me very sad…Shall we have the same pleasure with his cousin?
April 2, 2011 at 11:54 pm
It’s a drag to watch the replacement of Tom Barnaby’s family with his cousin’s one. The good old touch of domestic stability is gone.
July 18, 2011 at 4:59 am
This woman looks like a murderess. Maybe she could be used in a future episode entitled: “The Theremin Murder”.
September 22, 2011 at 5:04 pm
miss john nettles as inspector Barnaby.The new inspector looks a bit like David Cameron if he lets himself become obese and fat.However i prefer john nettles in the role of Barnaby
June 20, 2012 at 8:56 pm
You absolutely can see Midsummer Murders in Canada – not sure whether they’re on TVO or PBS but they’re there – not up to date of course but available – and with no commercials!
June 28, 2012 at 10:50 pm
I couldn’t agree less on Neil Dudgeon as the new Barnaby. He’s absolutely dreadful and the stories now too are for some reason not only not believable but also downright stupid.
I have better use of my time, thank you very much.
June 28, 2012 at 10:52 pm
Thanks Bill Gibbons, for the tip-off on Murdoch mysteries. I’ll check them out if I can find them here in the grim north of Scandinavia.