Last Year's Model

I was very impressed with the two back to back episodes of this fascinating mystery with its strong acting and characterization. The location of the trial and and action is the busy town of Causton, which seems an agreeable change to the often strange hamlet of Midsomer, whose inhabitants can be a rather depressing lot despite the landscape beauty. Detective Barnaby is for once cast in the role of a doubting detective, first brought on by the intuitive daughter of a murdered woman and then his psychologist friend Pru Plunkett. The doubts come after he amasses the critical evidence to charge Annie Woodrow with the murder of her friend Frances Trevelyan. Then he has to revisit the case once more. The character of Barnaby has never been stronger than he is here, realizing that his own work might not have been thorough enough to get the real murderer. His constable Ben Jones is also on the case every step of the way. There is great chemistry between the two actors during the two episodes. Mrs. Beverley, the elderly lady who is swindled by Annie Woodrow's husband and a shady real estate agent, becomes a key player in the strategy to capture the real killer. Annie Woodrow and John Trevelyan, husband of the murdered woman, are secretly attracted to one another but too proper to break up John's marriage and family. John was excellent as a classy family man and Annie was the antithesis of a murderer, being reluctant to even put John in an embarrassing light. The plot was complicated and required all of Barnaby's talents with the aid of Jones and others intent on finding the truth.

This was excellent in all departments. If I could hazard a guess what the keystone for it all was, it would be the script. It provided a continuous thread, not just of exposition but of revelation and surprise allowing the characters to think, react and act according to their growing understanding. The dialogue was not simply recitation but very purposive causing the viewer to be a non-speaking participant rather than mere observer. The elderly lady who has been cheated out of a great deal of money at first has immovably closed ears to anything against a closest friends' son but changes to become very brave and determined to trap him. The brief cutaways of surprised expression exactly match the viewer's reaction. Having meaningful lines allowed the cast to deliver them really meaningfully. Court-room dramas are almost a cliché but this production brought quite novel aspects - movements in and out of the courtroom - the subtle tipping off of witnesses in passing and the sudden end where witnesses,friends and family step into the sunlight - some irrevocably separated, some once divided, brought together. And the end where Barnaby's subtle exchange with the expert witness is itself witnessed by his daughter, who like the viewer, infers an unsuspected revelation. There are many feature films not in this class

Have to say I found this a quite absorbing "Midsomer Murder" in spite of some of the criticisms I read on this board.

After Barnaby arrests Annie Woodrow for the murder of her friend, Frances Trevelyan, it's time for her trial. Barnaby and Jones attend. To Barnaby's surprise, Annie pleads not guilty, although he thought she would change her plea to avoid a trial. After all, the evidence against her was solid.

But was it?

Annie's motive for murdering her old friend seems to have been her complete obsession with Frances' husband, whom Annie had been in love with in the past. She's now married to a music executive who is a real jerk, and she's not happy. But she has always insisted she had nothing to do with Frances' murder.

Something is bothering Barnaby, but he's not sure what. He was confident of his evidence, and now he wonders. An old friend, Pru Plunkett, a psychiatrist and also a friend of Annie, tells him that before the murder, Annie was planning to move out of the area. It's time to look at the evidence again.

This was, as has been pointed out, a different structure from the usual MM. I thought it was good, particularly the intimation that Pru Plunkett may have been more than an old friend of Barnaby's. I also liked the elderly female witness who wants to help with the case.

The plot was absorbing, and though Joyce Barnaby was away, we saw her during a phone call with Cully, who visited home. I loved Cully looking at Pru with suspicion.

Very good.

Great episode! The mystery is complex and straightforward at the same time. I enjoyed the look into UK courtroom procedures.

The little old lady is a standout. Not quite Miss Marple, who would have remembered the fishmonger's boy and known the truth immediately, but very well-written and played. Also a standout is Lance, the defendent's soon-to-to-be ex. Made my skin crawl. And the little girl Ed was very good.

As usual, the scenery is lovely, if a bit sparse this time. Excellent production values.

There are some funny moments (the dripping secretary). And Jones is now a DS! He and Barnaby work well together.

Last Year's Model stands out even now as a unique, intelligent and original episode. The standard formula of a body every half hour, a twenty minute summing up, and bizarre killing methods does not apply here. The murder has already happened, and for a change we get more of an insight into the court proceedings, the murders aren't sensationalised as normal, but the need for evidence is key.

It really is a first rate episode, with some fine performances, Thelma Barlow is excellent, as are Siobhan Redmond, Miles Anderson and Jamie Glover, but it really is Nettles himself who steals the show, he is outstanding.

Measured, intelligent, dare I say a deeper episode then the norm, I loved it. 10/10