Midsomer Murders: Dead in the Water starts one fine British afternoon as DCI Tom Barnaby (Johhn Nettles) on his day off has decided to go to the Midsomer Rowing Club Regatta with his wife Joyce (Jane Wymark) & daughter Cully (Laura Howard), however the afternoon is ruined when the dead body of Midsomer Rowing Club Chairman Guy Sweetman (Benedick Blythe) is pulled out of the river. What started off as an innocent afternoon out for Barnaby turns into a murder investigation when it seems Guy was deliberately drowned. As usual Barnaby has to sort out the affairs, blackmail & money trouble of the suspects to reveal a killer...
Episode 2 from season 8 this Midsomer Murders mystery was directed by Renny Rye & one has to say that I think Dead in the Water is actually one of the most dull Midsomer Murders episodes from it's whole (so far) ten season run. The script by Douglas Watkinson starts off as a true mystery as a body is found in a river, the usual atmospheric Midsomer Murders murder sequence is notably absent & there's little indication who did it or why to start with. One problem is that the murder of Guy Sweetman is the only murder in the entire episode so it does drag at times & there's a little sub-plot that feels like it might have come from a Guy Ritchie gangster flick in which there's a jewellery store robbery. The killer & their motives are dull to say the least, the character's are standard murder suspects like the ex-girlfriend, the ex-girlfriends enraged husband, people he owes money to & people he has had arguments with, the whole plot & writing in Dead in the Water feels so lacklustre & routine & the show is so much better than that. Lots of exposition & a fairly forgettable resolution means I would rather watch just about any other Midsomer Murders episode other than this.
To add to the general dullness of Dead in the Water the makers decided to set it around the ever so exciting world of rowing. Just to make it clear I was being sarcastic when I said rowing was exciting. I can't think of a more listless sport really although having said that we British are pretty damned good at it, having just suffered the Olympics we took Gold again & our boys are pretty good at it overall although that's not saying much. This episode actually features two Olympic scouts looking around Midsomer Rowing Club for potential champions. I am sorry if you like rowing but I just think it's dull & unexciting & having it as a backdrop to a Midsomer Murders episode which is already well below par doesn't help. Only one murder in this & a simple case of drowning isn't the most imaginative murder ever, is it? Dead in the Water is actually set mostly in a town rather than a quaint little leafy village which gives it a different feel than usual. The acting is good & there's an amusing scene in which Barnaby watches some porn for work purposes & Joyce comes into the room & they both decide to have an early night!
Dead in the Water is a fairly dull couple of hours to be honest, I guess there's so many great episodes of this show that when a bad one comes along like this it does tend to stand out like a sore thumb. One of the few episodes I wouldn't like to watch again.
Episode 2 from season 8 this Midsomer Murders mystery was directed by Renny Rye & one has to say that I think Dead in the Water is actually one of the most dull Midsomer Murders episodes from it's whole (so far) ten season run. The script by Douglas Watkinson starts off as a true mystery as a body is found in a river, the usual atmospheric Midsomer Murders murder sequence is notably absent & there's little indication who did it or why to start with. One problem is that the murder of Guy Sweetman is the only murder in the entire episode so it does drag at times & there's a little sub-plot that feels like it might have come from a Guy Ritchie gangster flick in which there's a jewellery store robbery. The killer & their motives are dull to say the least, the character's are standard murder suspects like the ex-girlfriend, the ex-girlfriends enraged husband, people he owes money to & people he has had arguments with, the whole plot & writing in Dead in the Water feels so lacklustre & routine & the show is so much better than that. Lots of exposition & a fairly forgettable resolution means I would rather watch just about any other Midsomer Murders episode other than this.
To add to the general dullness of Dead in the Water the makers decided to set it around the ever so exciting world of rowing. Just to make it clear I was being sarcastic when I said rowing was exciting. I can't think of a more listless sport really although having said that we British are pretty damned good at it, having just suffered the Olympics we took Gold again & our boys are pretty good at it overall although that's not saying much. This episode actually features two Olympic scouts looking around Midsomer Rowing Club for potential champions. I am sorry if you like rowing but I just think it's dull & unexciting & having it as a backdrop to a Midsomer Murders episode which is already well below par doesn't help. Only one murder in this & a simple case of drowning isn't the most imaginative murder ever, is it? Dead in the Water is actually set mostly in a town rather than a quaint little leafy village which gives it a different feel than usual. The acting is good & there's an amusing scene in which Barnaby watches some porn for work purposes & Joyce comes into the room & they both decide to have an early night!
Dead in the Water is a fairly dull couple of hours to be honest, I guess there's so many great episodes of this show that when a bad one comes along like this it does tend to stand out like a sore thumb. One of the few episodes I wouldn't like to watch again.