Last Year's Model

I consider this to be the best of Midsomer Murders, due to the psychological depth of the characters and to the excellent acting. The story was great, and there's only one murder!(unusual for Midsomer Murders). Consequently, there was no need for those preposterous explanations as to why a lovely old lady had to kill 3 or 4 times in order to protect her son or some such nonsense. Lately, I've been watching MM for the love of beautiful images only. But this episode is believable and dramatic - the way Midsomer Murders used to be.

Also, I enjoyed the great chemistry (and relationship of trust) between John Nettles and Siobhan Redmond(Dr. Plunkett), and the intimation of something that "might have been". Great insight into Barnaby's soul.A devoted husband, a doting father...but not only.

This is an unusual episode. We are presented with a murder that happened 10 months ago, with the supposed culprit arrested then. She (supposedly) murdered her best friend because both were in love with the friend's husband. She has been in jail and the trial is about to start. Barnaby had arrested her.

There are flashbacks to tell us a lot of the story. We meet the families of the accused and the victim. There is an elderly "Miss Marple"-like character who is a key witness. Slowly a second plot develops with a real estate agent and the local news reporters.

Compared to many episodes, it is not exceptionally complicated -- and that is good! We see Barnaby begin to have doubts about the arrest he made. We meet a potential love interest for Barnaby!

The ending is very satisfying. Definitely worth a watch!

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

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.

'Midsomer Murders' is one of my most watched and most re-watched shows. Granted, it is nowhere near as good now as it was and the Tom Barnaby-era did have some not so good episodes, but when it was at its best and on form it was riveting and hugely entertaining television.

Season 9 may not have had many classic/elite episodes ("The House in the Woods" being the only episode to be on that level, but this and "Country Matters" were close"), but to me it is one of the few seasons of 'Midsomer Murders' to not have a bad episode. Even my least favourite "Four Funerals and a Wedding" was still decent. Despite being a change of pace for 'Midsomer Murders', being more court-case-oriented and more psychological with a low body count, "Last Year's Model" is one of the show's best examples of how to do "different"/"change of pace" well.

Pretty much the only thing about "Last Year's Model" that could have been done better to me was that more could have been done with the character of Cully, underused and wasted, and the chemistry between her and Barnaby, which showed potential but it was potential not fully lived up to and underwritten.

However, the production values as always are top notch, with to die for scenery, the idyllic look of it contrasting very well with the story's grimness, and quaint and atmospheric photography. The music fits perfectly, with some lush jauntiness and sometimes an ominous quality, and the theme tune one of the most memorable and instantly recognisable of the genre.

Meanwhile, the script is smart and thought-provoking with some nice humour (that luckily wasn't overused or out of place in an episode with such a serious story), a grimness and with characters that are colourful and eccentric. The story is absorbing, never simplistic, sometimes creepy in atmosphere, never dull (for an exposition-heavy episode) never confusing and the maturity that 'Midsomer Murders' has when on form is more than evident here. The courtroom stuff is fascinating and the flashbacks beautifully interwoven. Loved the chemistry between Barnaby/Jones (always a delight) and Barnaby/Pru.

John Nettles and Jason Hughes are both superb, individually and together, and the supporting cast are without complaint.

On the whole, a great episode that does wonders with a change of pace. Am happy to admit as well that there is much more appreciation for the episode and what it set out to do now than there was on first viewing. 9/10 Bethany Cox