Death by Persuasion

Firstly, I feel I need to take issue with the delay British audiences have had waiting for this episode to be shown, seen everywhere else in the world, bar Britain. ITV shame on you, not on.

The episode itself, first twenty minutes I was absolutely blown away, a stylish sleek opening, real quality in those opening scenes, menacing, smart, hugely professional. The cast list, fantastic, so much talent, including Samuel West, Claire Skinner, and the fabulous Anamaria Marinca. Even the use of vintage Midsomer music made me think we were onto a real winner.

Then comes the point where Dudgeon dons fancy dress, and the whole thing unravels. None of us watching it at home knew who, what or why, the story absolutely lost us all, was so hard to follow. Even on a second viewing the conclusion seemed totally ridiculous.

It wasn't all bad, Marinca was excellent as the flirtatious pathologist, even if it is just a short term project for her, with Annette Badland due to take over. Winter was great, and the acting was generally very good, apart from the encounter where Samuel West fell over, I mean come on!

I love Midsomer Murders, there have been so many classics, I just feel in the hands of whoever has it now it's going to vanish into obscurity, please go back to basics, check out some of the vintage episodes, and capture that core element that made it compulsive viewing. This sucked. 5/10

The use of a drone as a killing machine was novel and soars this show into the current century. Entertaining as inspiration was that many cast members were wearing attire from three centuries ago. Equally entertaining were the dance routines of that earlier period., accompanied by the courtly grace of the persons keen to be absorbed into that earlier time.

On one point I must distance myself from numerous reviewers on this forum. Dismay has been expressed as to the acting performance of Mr. Dudgeon when compared to Mr. Nettles. All I can say is that the former is creating a character who is NOT A CLONE of the character created by the latter. You can take the character as you find him- he is not the same as his cousin. If all you wish to do is see Tom Barnaby , then endlessly watch re-runs of the first few seasons. People ARE DIFFERENT. They are not clones of each other.

After a surprisingly long break 'Midsomer Murders' returned to ITV with an episode that appears to be set in Regency England. A woman in period dress walks away from a party at the local hall then we are brought back to the present as we see she is being observed by a sinister looking drone. Shortly afterwards she is murdered by an unseen assailant who stabbed her with a poisoned quill pen. Barnaby and Winter are soon on the scene; it turns out the owners of the hall were having a Jane Austen themed event. Of course not everybody approves, the head of the local Jane Austen Society believes they are getting all the details wrong. Not long afterwards they learn about the drone so investigate a local business that has been taking part in a trial to see if drones can be used to deliver medicines... again there are objections. As the investigation proceeds more possibilities arise; a possibly link to the hall being burnt down many years before and somebody starts blackmailing the owner of the hall.

This episode marks a welcome return for this long-running, slightly tongue in cheek, murder mystery series. The ideas involved are classic 'Midsomer Murders'; either the Jane Austen story or the drones might have sufficed on their own but together it works even better as the two ideas are so different. As is usually the case there are numerous suspects to keep the viewer guessing till the end... I guessed incorrectly but that didn't bother me when we got the final reveal. There is of course some sillines; the second murder, involving a drone, would have been almost impossible to execute in reality, drones often fly close to people without being heard and no comments are made about a shotgun that was fired at a party not being properly secured... this is all part of the charm of Midsomer though; it never really took place in the real world. Away from the case temporary pathologist Petra Antonescu takes an interest in Winters... given the number of Eastern Europeans living in the UK now it is good to see one featuring in a major series even if she may not be a recurring character. Overall I really enjoyed this; good fun Midsomer silliness.

It's murder, mayhem, and, of all things, drones circling around a festival celebrating Georgian times in "Death by Persuasian."

This episode has all of the typical Midsomer elements: an old situation that bears on the present, secrets, blackmail - and the setting is very gentile, right down to the Georgian costumes.

And there's a second murder.

Barnaby and Winter investigate, in the midst of Barnaby's wife writing a novel and as the detectives deal with a temporary replacement coroner, who is quite the flirt. But it's clear Winter's mind is on Kam, who is due back soon.

I found this pretty average as these shows go and a little difficult to follow. I put that down to it not really holding my attention as it should have.

An immediate murder of a young girl creates an early interest. Of course the Jane Austen theme full of period costumes make for a lovely English atmosphere. Beautiful sprawling green fields, traditional village homes, and grand estates help with that as usual. Sarah is working on a novel, but aren't we all? Drones aren't very pretty to look at, but they are part of life now, even Midsomer life. And Dr. Kam is still gone? Hmm... Her sub has the hots for Jamie, but we know where his heart is. It takes nearly an hour for the next murder, but it's worth the wait this time. The murder methods are unique and absurd, the classic Midsomer kind. Guests actors were good all around. Solid script, no complaints!