Shot at Dawn

I have to agree with one of the posters here, this story is probably a retread from another series. What the reviewer said makes sense. I interviewed Peter Falk once and told him that one of his episodes had been done previously on Macmillan and Wife, and sent him the tape to prove it. It's not uncommon

The basis for this plot is a 90-year feud between the Hammonds and the Hicks families. Tommy Hicks was executed for cowardice by one Lt. Duggie Hammond, which began the near-century-long fight.

The Hicks family is new money and constantly lord it over the old money Hammonds. The Hammonds are a mess. Actually, so is the Hicks family. Colonel Henry Hammonds has a son, Johnny, who is gay and married to Arabella, who is out having an affair with one of the Hicks.

Arabella and Johnny have two children, one of whom, Kate, is a lesbian, and the other daughter, Sophie, is going to marry yet another member of the Hicks family.

Henry is killed with a 1916 pistol, owned by Duggie, the man who shot Tommy Hicks 90 years ago. Then there is another murder.

Barnaby and Jones walk into this maelstrom. But there's another murder and an old secret awaiting them.

This episode is somewhat overdone with strange gadgets, murdering hay balers, a baguette fight in a pub - it's all silly. Barnaby is out of character, I think because it's a recycle from another show, and Jones is hardly in it.

It was kind of blah.

I've only just rewatched Shot at Dawn, having remembered it as being a poor episode. Time has clearly been kind on this one as I rather enjoyed it. It is definitely flawed the entire way through. It is virtually an extended episode of Never the Twain, with George Cole in for Windsor Davies. It's loaded with laughs, the baguette duel being perhaps the funniest of the lot. It boasts some excellent production values, the war re-enactment was excellent, and it boasts a superb opening scene, the beginning is fantastic, incredibly authentic. The best element for me though has to be the acting performance of Samantha Bond, incredibly versatile and talented, she shines through here very brightly. George Cole is also great, Donald Sinden is hilarious. I was less fond of Brian Capron if I'm being totally honest.

I get why people dislike it, but I admire the production team for trying something a little different. It isn't in my list of favourite episodes, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

As has been said by me a number of times, 'Midsomer Murders' is one of my most watched and most re-watched shows. It is nowhere near as good now and the Tom Barnaby-era wasn't alien to average or less episodes, but when it was on form or at its best boy was it good.

"Shot at Dawn" was a pretty poor start to Season 11, and is down there as one of my least favourite Tom Barnaby-era episodes (in a list that comprises of the likes of "Second Sight", "The Electric Vendetta", "the Straw Woman" and from memory "Blood on the Saddle") and perhaps one of my least favourite 'Midsomer Murders' episodes ever. It is an episode that starts off with a great opening sequence but falls rapidly downhill.

There are a few positives for "Shot at Dawn". The production values are without fault, 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.

Donald Sinden, George Cole and Samantha Bond do what they can with weak material, Bond for example having some very stilted and clumsy "humorous and cutting" lines, and John Nettles and Jason Hughes also try very hard to enliven proceedings. As aforementioned, the opening scene is harrowing and poignant and it was a shame that the rest felt like a completely separate episode.

Was really disappointed in how Barnaby and Jones were written and how their chemistry never got the chance to shine. Barnaby is out of character and Jones is woefully underused, and because of the material being so lacking their chemistry (a huge part of 'Midsomer Murders' charm) barely comes through.

That's not all. The script, which usually is of very good quality with previous 'Midsomer Murders' episodes, is sluggish and clumsy, and the characters are lifeless, usually in the show the characters are colourful and eccentric and that was not the case here. After such a promising start, the story rapidly descends into tired predictability, scenes and subplots that are not that interesting and some add little, leaden pacing with an exposition-heavy first forty minutes that feels like an eternity and far too much sheer ridiculousness (including the pub fight and a serious contender for the most outrageous attempted murder in 'Midsomer Murders' history). The final solution, identity of the killer and the motives were not a surprise at all, among the show's most obvious.

On the whole, pretty poor and hugely disappointing. 3/10 Bethany Cox

I can't believe the number of dislikes for this episode, while it isn't the best murder mystery, it was meant to be a light fun episode, not to be taken seriously--which in my opinion was a welcome addition to this blood thirsty, often dark show. If you settle in knowing this episode is a dramedy you just might find you are enjoying it.

This episode revolves around a feud between two families, one posh, one common, that began during World War 1. Right there we have the first logistical problem. One of the families is descended from a VERY young soldier who was killed in 1916. We are supposed to believe that he was old enough to have children at the time (although he looks like a teenager in the flashback), and that his son (played by the venerable George Cole) is still alive and kicking in 2007. He would have to be at LEAST 90 years old (even though one character refers to "80 years"). The generational time-line of the characters doesn't make sense.

Then of course, since there is a feud, there must also be a romance...or two... between characters from the two families. No surprise there. What IS surprising is the relatively explicit nudity, which has not been a regular part of MM in the past.

But overall, the characters are even more two-dimensional than usual, and there's not much suspense in the unraveling of the murder. And as others have pointed out, there are difficulties with the logistics of the electrical "gizmos" used to bump off the victims. Not one of the best, but it was fun to see George Cole and Samantha Bond, two of my favorites.