The Blacktrees Prophecy

I was glad that people kept getting killed off, because the character list was so long and confusing, it cut down on who I had to keep track of. Reveal at the end was unsatisfying I'm disappointed how Sarah Barnaby was written. When we met her, she was a fully realized, confident person-a full partner in her marriage, a successful professional in her job; then to see her brought to her knees because her mother might criticize her house?! Come on.

Also, Winter is not a rookie anymore, and it's just backward and mean the way Barnaby hazes him constantly in this episode. It's like they tried too hard to make it amusing or cute, but it's a miss. It just appears that Tom is a jerk.

One of the worst yet.

Many of the newer episodes have absolutely none of the charm of the original Midsomers but this is as bad as it gets.

No kitsch characters like the Rainbirds, no memorable or interesting characters at all, no picturesque village scenes, no subtle camp comedy, just distinctly average writing, and truly awful acting. Special mention in this category to Kate Robbins (??) and the lad who played the character of Zane - he alone made this episode almost unbearable to finish, he was truly truly terrible to the point I physically cringed every time he was on screen.

Forced myself to finish watching it but won't bother again.

I seriously don't understand the low scores and reviews on here.

I probably only saw this first time around about a year ago. I marked it as 8 but I'm watching it again and not only am I thoroughly enjoying it. I have no idea whodunnit!

Now to me if you can enjoy something on multiple views and can't even remember who the murderer/s are than it's an A1 mystery. So I'm going up to 9 stars!

Really good characters and suspects in this one.

We're in the weird world of prepping but underlying stories that we don't quite know what they might mean. I really believe the episodes from season 22 through this one and to 24 are like the olden classic days of the show with excellent writing!

I really tune into Midsomer Murders for the regulars and their lighthearted stories more than the mysteries. This has some good Barnaby humour throughout, with professional and personal stories tying together nicely. I'm glad I watched this in 2024 and not when it was filmed in 22 for reasons that are obvious when watching. It is weird-ish but not creepy which is good for me as I prefer these tamer episodes. Unusually, I followed this one fairly easily and I'd pretty much solved it, but got distracted by the other storylines because there is quite a lot packed in that I could relate to better.

As this episode of the long running murder mystery series opens a radio blares a warning... the missiles are in the air and Armageddon is minutes away! Luckily for disaster prepper Warren Kaine he has been preparing for such an event and had a large bombproof shelter in the nearby woods. On the way he calls to fellow preppers. Once there he has a drink to celebrate his survival... unfortunately for him it is drugged and the bunkers ventilation system is draining the air from the room. There was no missile attack and Barnaby and Winter are looking for a killer amongst the prepper community and their families. As the story progresses plenty of suspects and motives appear, as do further victims.

If like me you enjoy the silliness of most 'Midsomer Murder' stories you'll be sure to enjoy this. We get several regular tropes; members of a special interest group being murdered in highly imaginative ways, the second was particularly bonkers, numerous suspects, many played by familiar actors, and a range of motives. An early scene puts the killer on the viewer's 'suspect list' but doesn't make it too obvious; this show does love misdirection. Before that reveal there are some enjoyable plot developments and twists. The cast, both regular and guests, do a solid job playing things straight even in sillier moments. Overall I thought this episode was a lot of fun in a way fans of the series should expect.