The Magician's Nephew

Always a wonderful series, but am I the only one freaking out when that guy flips through the ancient book without wearing gloves?!

Rubbish to all the bad reviewers. Some suspension of belief is required when viewing most tv shows.

"Midsomer Murders: The Magician's Nephew" is from season 11 (2008) and has lots going for it: a magic show for children, a Halloween party for which Barnaby needs a costume, children named, of all things, Tristan and Isolde, an antique book, a fragile mother, a secret group, and incest. Add a couple of murders, and you've got yourself a nifty mystery.

A older woman named Jean Wildacre is killed on stage during a magic show as she works as a magician's assistant. She's been killed, it's learned, with a rare poison from a frog. Wildacre was a member of an occult group led by Ernest Balliol, who spends a lot of time fighting with an ex-group member, Aloysius Wilmington. Both men want an antique book that is somewhere in Aloysius' vast library. Balliol's children are Tristan and Isolde, and his first wife, Rosemary, drifts in and out of reality. Isolde is desperate to find the book, believing that in it is some sort of incantation or something that will help heal her mother.

There are two more deaths, one of which is from the poison. It takes Barnaby a while to figure out what the connection is among the victims.

Very good, with enough happening to keep one's interest, and good performances all around. For some reason, I've always liked it when Barnaby's home life is part of the story.

Someone here said the motives for the murders weren't clear, but I felt they were. However, these stories are never simple, and if you blink, you'll miss something.

Recommended, as is the whole series.

A real drudge to watch. Never got interesting. No suspense, no comedy. Tried too hard to be dark with the occult. The script was very flat. Bit of a surprise ending couldn't save it. Tiny bit of Cully back. This episode stops a decent stretch of episodes.

I noticed no one ever warms their car up a minute, even if it's cold. Hop in, start it up, and go. Now I'm thinking John Nettles after watching this had plastic surgery sometime. Nearing the end, talking to the butcher in the red van. If you freeze it Nettles has rows of loose skin under his ear on his neck. Vito S 1-28-20

Maybe the most frustrating aspect of this series is the constant parade of despicable characters who are never dealt with. This episode and the one previous are cases in point. It's similar to Brokenwood Mysteries. But in that series unsavoury characters abound episode and are primarily local townspeople.

I understand the desire to offer alternative suspects in the guise of abhorrent behaviour but the repeated trope of sneering at police and refusing to cooperate is tiresome. Just once could we not have these clowns thrown in a cell for withholding evidence. Here, Isolde is grating at least..but not properly handled.

The title is from the film LA Confidental.