The Night of the Stag

This had to be the worst MM episode of them all. Not worth watching.

A VAT inspector goes missing as he hunts for an illicit cider still responsible for brewing The Beast, a potent local drink. At the Midsomer Abbas spring fayre which celebrates its friendship with Midsomer Herne, Barnaby and Jones sample the local cider, while temperance preacher Norman Grigor calls on residents to repent of their drunken ways.

Suddenly, Barnaby is violently ill as the body of missing man Peter Slim is found floating in the cider vat. Pathologist Kate Wilding says the victim's injuries look like he was shaken to death by a giant, and as their inquiries continue, they discover the area is steeped in bizarre local traditions.

A steady and passable MSM episode which features an OTT Elmer Gantry-like Reverend who opposes the local illegal firewater, a typical bizarre death in a vat, a humorous scene where Barnaby and a few others get sick due to drinking the cider and it's because it was contaminated with the dead man, and some nice scenic views of the field. Personally I prefer Neil Dudgeon over John Nettles who squinted a lot and went out of breath even when climbing out of the car, but the main appeal of the show is the eccentric characters, the setting and grand yet bizarre death scenes.

In all the years of Midsomer Murders, they've made many good episodes and a few poor ones that disappointed. But this is the first episode that I can truly say was absolutely dreadful to the point that it left both my wife and myself with really bad tastes in both our mouths and that we both felt deeply offended by it. Angry and embarrassed for the actors who had to take part in it, in fact. I hope the producers in the U.K. received numerous letters and emails of complaint after it aired thereabout the content and the story-line as it was so awful. What were Dudgeon and Clarke thinking in agreeing to take part in this drivel? It was beyond belief.

I won't say more as it may be viewed as a spoiler but I'll close by saying that I can think of better ways to pass an hour and a half: like resting on a bed of nails while someone piles weights on your chest.

Sorry, but rating it a 1/10 really is giving it too much credit.

This seemed like a story from a different TV series. Starting with everyone puking at the beginning of the episode due to the beer having gone bad thanks to a dead body in the vat. I have to think most people would notice sour beer when they taste it, not several pints later. I know I would.

That was the first hint, seeing everyone throwing up. Not a typical beginning to a Midsomer Murders episode. Then it just got weird, as some of the married women were clearly looking for extra love from other married men, and it was leading up to the town elders calling for a Stag Night.

It was obvious to me that the dirty fat old guys wanted to attack the young women, but the old fat girls were thinking they were the objects of attention. Maybe that point was intended as humour, but it came across as nasty and gross that everyone was willing to participate, no matter the consequences.

The ending and revealment of the murderers was anti-climactic. The villagers and their life priorities were pretty disappointing and low class, from Stag Night to killing tax men. The final scene was way over the top, and really over-acted by everyone. It seemed like they were trying to turn a really awful bit of fiction into MacBeth, and everyone worked extra hard to seem a lot more terrified, passionate, sincere, and excited than they needed to be. Seemed like a train-wreck.

When John Nettles was on as Barnaby, this kind of thing would never happen.

I watched Night of the Stag during its original transmission, it's the first episode of the series I switched off before the end as I couldn't bare to watch it. I find myself agreeing quite a lot with the other reviewer on here, I find the whole thing in very bad taste,

I originally had a score of 1 out of ten, on rewatching I've upped it to a 3, the first twenty minutes or so weren't so bad, but after that it turns into a complete and utter mess, I can't even believe it made it through an edit, the last fifteen/twenty minutes are literally unwatchable, even Warren Clarke couldn't save it. The village used looks very pretty, it is the best thing about it.

When this went out I was in fear that Midsomer Murders had run its course, there were definitely a few eyebrows raised after this went out, how contrasting to next week's 'A Sacred Trust,' which is a belter.

A miserly 3/10