The Great and the Good

I could have sworn the location is the same as the home of the Bennets from the TV show Prode and Prejudice with Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth in 1995. As well as an old tune was heard in this episode of Midsomer Murders, a tribute to the reveered shows of Pride and Prejudice, a theme song if you will. You could put that down as a fun trivia!

The final episodes in each series have seemed to struggle since being extended to 7 or 8 episodes and this is no exception. Too many coincidences make for an inplausable ending which strangely is unravelled by Tom to Joyce rather the writer letting the culprit explain themselves or being adequately spoken to by Tom. If they didn't have time to unravel the reasoning in this episode then they have no chance when the next series comes along with shorter running times to accommodate the additional commercial breaks ITV had now been allowed. It does seem strange that this show is generally filmed through the autumn and winter. Daffodils being clearly on show assumes this was filmed in March or April. Most shows are made during the long summer months but, living near Stratford upon Avon at the time, perhaps John Nettles spent his summer months with The Bard.

In the finale of season 12 of Midsomer Murders, "The Great and the Good," an attractive schoolteacher is a bother to the neighbors with her nocturnal screaming, "There's someone in my house!" Pretty Connie Bishop, who teaches at the local school, is not only a sleepwalker, but she continually hears things that go bump in the night. The neighbors dutifully trudge their way to her house but can't find anything.

When Jim Hanley is murdered in her garden, DI Barnaby stops getting a full night's sleep as well. Then there's the murder of a handyman, who told Connie he knows who killed the handyman. Then Connie is seen sleepwalking by Justin Cooper, who stays in her spare room one night when she's afraid to be alone.

Underlying all this is a socialite, Zukie, who is organizing the annual Frobisher Night Auction and causing havoc. The denouement takes place at the party.

Okay episode, with Joyce and Barnaby adding some humor to the episode, Joyce upset that she can't get a full night's sleep and purchasing earplugs.

Not one of the best, but not the worst, either.

At the center of this episode is a schoolteacher who is being gaslighted. A she sleeps at night, she begins to walk. Unfortunately, late at night she is suddenly under attack and people must come to her aid. At some point, it appears she is crying wolf. Soon two men are murdered when she has been around them. She seems to be quite a prize in the community as man seem to be taken with her. This is really interestingly presented and there are enough suspects to keep us involved. The problem is that when we finally get to the conclusion, the way that everything is explained is about as hokey as anything presented in this series. When the whole thing concludes, sit back and ask yourself if it bears any semblance of reality. This season is rather suspect.

The Great and the Good is a pretty good episode, one which I remembered as a classic, but on watching it again I wouldn't put it in that bracket.

It's a decent storyline, well written, with the ending coming as a complete surprise, I certainly didn't see it coming. This episode's major strength lies in the acting, there are truly some fantastic, natural performances here, Paola Dionisotti is excellent as always, do are Nancy Carroll, Paul Kaye, Bertie Carvel and Monica Dolan, there really is some quality acting here. The character of Zukie was great, very memorable, many actors try and make characters loathsome, the actress succeeded here.

I felt they could have upper the scare/terror factor up a bit, Connie's nightmares weren't exactly tense or scary, a lot more could have been done. It does have a few funny moments, Joyce adds a few laughs. 7/10