So many things about this episode are bad and they all stem from a bad script. Perhaps the worst aspect has to be the ludicrous behaviour of many of the main characters, which are totally unrealistic to the point of parody. It starts with the idiotic scene by the monument which has the army characters bickering like schoolchildren, then continues somewhat later with the breadstick battle scene in the pub - it beggars belief that anyone could have thought this scene should be in Misdomer Murders, which to the best of my knowledge is not supposed to be a sitcom. Barnaby's handling of the breadstick incident stripped the character of all his dignity. Tyhe character of the Major looks like hescaped from an episode of Minder (coincidence that George Cole is in the episode?) and the sub plot of the repair to Barnabies roof is also ridiculous. And the way Barnaby handles the Major is once again completely out of character and very poorly handled. Whoever wrote this script should not be allowed to write another, at least not without attending some kind of extensive training course. The basic premise of the episode is certainly hackneyed and unoriginal, but had it been handled with the usual skill by the scriptwriters there is no reason this episode would not have been quite passable. However the amateurish and frankly completely awful script has totally ruined it. Of the many indiotic ideas in the script the standout ones would be the girl being attacked by a radio controlled combine harvester (moving at a breathtaking 4 mph), the radio controlled machine gun murder (literally hit a barn door!), the breadstick battle in the pub, and almost every scene with the Major. As usual the scenery, cinematography and general production values were up to their usual standard.
Review of Shot at Dawn
