Midsomer Murders (TV Series) The Flying Club (2014) User Reviews

good episode with a throwback to Hitchcock

[blanche-2 · 7/10 · 25 September 2016]

"The Flying Club" is a very good episode from Season 16.

However, before reading this review, read the review that is titled "Competently made bit of hokum" as the person who wrote this knows his planes, and what he had to say was interesting.

A flying instructor, Bernard King, is hit on the head and flown in his own plane over a lake and dropped. DCI Barnaby and DS Nelson are on the case.

The flying club is run by Perry Darnley. He is from a family of fliers; his father flew during WW II, and his mother delivered planes to bases as a member of the Air Transport Auxiliary. Darnley's son flies for the RAF.

They find the murder weapon in an employee's work box. This man carries a very heavy grudge against the elder Mrs. Darnley. He denies having anything to do with the murder.

There are a few possible motives for the murder as well as suspects: the company was being restructured which would cause people to lose their jobs. Then there is a second murder, reminiscent of a famous scene in a Hitchcock film. The victim had a record of landing at night with no lights. Barnaby suspects a smuggling operation.

Good episode, with the usual past secret coming to light, but this time not attached to the murder.

Barnaby's alone with Sykes as his wife is off visiting, and there are some cute scenes with the two of them.

June Whitfield, who plays the ditsy mother on Absolutely Fabulous, is absolutely fabulous here in a dramatic role as a proud, accomplished woman. I read a little about her after seeing this - being American, I didn't realize that she has had an amazing career.

Enjoyable.

Competently made bit of hokum

[sharpe04 · 6/10 · 25 January 2015]

Not a series I normally watch, but as it was made at the airfield I know very well and some scenes were in the hangar I know intimately, I was interested. Flying bits were generally well staged and nicely photographed. What was careless was the Cessna 150 suddenly becoming a Piper Cub during the supposed night time body drop. The Cub was used in a later preposterous scene where someone didn't notice a light aircraft about to fly into and kill him.

Almost as bad as the churned out 1970s US crime dramas in which aircraft continuity was laughably bad between scenes, but they were made on the cheap using stock footage. The director should get a slap on the wrist for this one, probably done to cut costs. Even non aircraft buffs would have spotted this howler. The Cessna 150 has a nose wheel, the Cub is a tail-dragger and a completely and noticeably different shape in all respects.

Having an Air Transport Auxiliary sub plot was appropriate as during the war the location airfield, White Waltham, was the organisation's headquarters.

Good supporting cast and generally enjoyable, but the perpetrator is obviously signalled really early on, so not much suspense!

'Midsomer Murders' goes to the airfield

[TheLittleSongbird · 7/10 · 18 March 2017]

When in its prime (a vast majority of Seasons 1-9), 'Midsomer Murders' was a great show and one that is watched and re-watched frequently. Seasons 10-13 became more uneven, with three of the show's worst episodes coming from Seasons 11 and 13, but there were a few solid episodes and "Blood Wedding" and especially "Master Class" were gems.

After John Nettles retired and Neil Dudgeon and the new character of John Barnaby took over, 'Midsomer Murders' just hasn't been the same on the most part. Season 14 was a disappointment outside of "The Oblong Murders" and "A Sacred Trust", with "Echoes of the Dead" and "The Night of the Stag" being show low-points. Season 15 was inconsistent, being a case of starting promisingly and then took a three-episodes-in-a-row strange turn with "Written in the Stars" before finishing on a good note.

Season 16 got off to a very good start with "The Christmas Haunting", introducing us to Barnaby's new partner Nelson. "Let Us Prey", while not a terrible episode at all, was a disappointment and very problematic. "Wild Harvest" was very strong, even stronger than "The Christmas Haunting". "The Flying Club" is not the best of the season but hardly the worst.

It is a little lacking in suspense, with the murderer and motive being too guessable and obviously signalled too early. Like "Wild Harvest", some themes are typical of 'Midsomer Murders' and have been done better and with more spark before. Kate is still very bland and personality-less, and there are some glaring inaccuracies detailed in a previous review (not that it was a major turn-off but anybody a stickler for these kind of detail may find it an issue).

Production values cannot be faulted as usual. It's mostly beautifully and atmospherically shot with suitably picturesque scenery. The music fits perfectly, with some lush jauntiness and sometimes an ominous quality, and the haunting theme tune is one of the most memorable and instantly recognisable of the genre.

What could have been heavy and dark, or too silly and outlandish, is nicely balanced in the script, some of the occasional grimness well contrasted with some amusing moments with Sykes and the cute chemistry with him and Barnaby. The story benefits from the intriguing setting, and is neither simplistic, convoluted or padded. Nor is it too heavy or overly silly, like some John Barnaby-era episodes have been. The murders are pretty good, including a Hitchcockian-like second murder that wasn't too silly.

Characters are closer to the colourful and eccentric characters than the bland and pantomimic ones, especially when compared to the cartoonish murderers of "Death in the Slow Lane" and "The Night of the Stag". Suspects are not too many or few, though motives and themes are familiar.

Neil Dudgeon is much more comfortable than he was in the previous two seasons, though he continued to have uneven moments since. Gwilym Lee is settling in very nicely, he is likable and isn't a dumbed down idiot like Jones became and the chemistry between him and Barnaby sees a much better treatment of him from Barnaby. The supporting cast are all strong, with Bernard Cribbons and particularly June Whitfield a sheer delight.

Overall, pretty good, solid episode without being a classic. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Fine entry, but not great at all.

[harrykivi · 6/10 · 18 January 2020]

The 16th season is no doubt the best John Barnaby season with awesome "The Christmas Haunting" and very good "Wild Harvest" with one disappointment- "Let Us Prey". "The Flying Club" is an enjoyable episode in the season, though not very remarkable.

Let's start with good, shall we?

. The production values are usually great with good direction and nice airfield setting to the murder mystery.

. The cast is fairly good with strong performances through-out.

. The murders are also clever- the second "North by Northwest" death being one of series' best.

. Characters are well written and thought out. Some good twists take place here too.

. Also liked the subplot about Kate's family, which finally gave some backstory to her character.

But...

. There are some aspects of the story which have been done and used in murder mysteries before with more confidence from the writer.

. The ending's also quite guessable with weakish motives, killer and as other reviewers have said- lacks of intensity.

Overall: "The Flying Club" is enjoyable, but I do think there are better episodes out there that offer more with their contexts.

6/10 HK

Low flying murder!

[Tweekums · 9/10 · 5 February 2014]

This, the 99th Midsumer Murder story opens at an airfield where a man is lured to one of the aircraft and bludgeoned to death. He is then flown over a local reservoir where his body is dumped. The condition of the body quickly leads Barnaby and Nelson to the local Finchmere Airfield; an old Second World War RAF station that is now home to a private flying club which is jointly owned by the son of its WWII commander and the man found in the lake. The investigation hasn't been going long when a second man is killed; this time in a more spectacular fashion in a scene reminiscent of the famous crop duster sequence in 'North by Northwest. As the case develops various motives emerge; most notably is would appear that somebody was using the airfield for smuggling. There is certainly plenty of bad feeling there as well; two pilots are in love with the same woman and the elderly engineer believes the mother of one of the owners was responsible for the death of his sister during the war. Away from the case Nelson meets his girlfriend; the pathologist's parents and Barnaby is alone with his dog Sykes as his wife is away waiting to give birth.

This was a pretty enjoyably episode; especially if you like aircraft… we even get to see a spitfire putting on a show and there was some impressive flying during the second murder and later in an attempted murder. The mystery was pretty good; there were plenty of suspects and motives and when the killer was finally exposed I was surprised as I hadn't even considered them a suspect! There may not have been a large number of murders but the second was a nice reference to a classic film and there were a couple of 'almost murders'! As is often the case the guest cast includes plenty of well-known faces, this time including veterans June Whitfield and Bernard Cribbins. These guest actors and the regular cast perform well; even the dog who plays Sykes was impressive in a couple of particularly amusing scenes. Overall I'd say that I think fans of the series should enjoy this episode.

Murder at the Airfield.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 9/10 · 4 March 2019]

The Flying Club is a terrific episode of Midsomer Murders, it has an old school feel to it, boasts a great plot, and a magical cast, with two mature cast members leading the way.

It's instantly gripping, with a terrific, dramatic opening, and it develops from there on in really. The production values are terrific, it looks big budget, with the planes looking wonderful.

Great plot, great visuals etc, but it's the acting that takes centre stage, best performances come from the show's older members, June Whitfield and Bernard Cribbins are sensational, but Sara Stewart and Laila Rouass are great also.

One of the finest episodes of Dudgeon's reign. 9/10