Midsomer Murders (TV Series) The Ballad of Midsomer County (2015) User Reviews

Echoes of the past here, this is a great episode.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 9/10 · 11 October 2018]

I thought I'd seen them all, but this one slipped the net. After watching this episode I was constantly reminded of episodes of the past, from a time where Midsomer was fresh, original and intriguing. I enjoyed all aspects of this episode, it was clever, intriguing, well acted, sincere and contained a few laughs.

The writing was particularly good, better then most episodes in recent years, it was a clever, well crafted mystery, that relied on plot as opposed to glamour, no over the top killings or bizarre motives here, just a good old fashioned mystery.

The beginning was excellent, so dramatic, so different, it really grabbed my attention, which remained the whole way through. I've been somewhat critical of Nelson's character, not the actor himself, but I must take some criticism back, in this and Killings of Copenhagen which I recently watched I found him particularly good, maybe it was just the hangover of losing the much loved Jones.

Dudgeon was excellent, he and his on screen wife shared some lovely, natural scenes. Rakie Ayola as always is a joy to watch, she also added some great humour, really enjoyed her scenes.

Overall, I thought this was excellent. 9/10

Murder set to music

[Tweekums · 8/10 · 12 February 2015]

When the organiser of the Lower Crosby Folk Festival is found murdered it is assumed it is linked to his plans to move the festival to London and thus remove a valuable source of income from the village. It certainly appears to be linked to the festival as the method of his murder is a clear reference to the well-known local folk song 'The Ballad of Midsomer County'. The song was originally performed by a local group whose lead singer had killed himself over twenty years ago… apparently leaving behind a 'lost album' which would be valuable if it were to be found. As Barnaby and Nelson investigate plenty of suspects emerge including the brother of the singer's fellow band members; his brother and the local publican, the hotelier who appears to be planning to move abroad and the business partner of the man we saw killed first… at least until he becomes victim number two.

This was a rather enjoyable episode with plenty of murders; including two inventive methods; one man is drowned in a mixing bowl that contains boiled eggs and several live eels and another is impaled with a large garden umbrella! There are plenty of suspects to keep the viewer guessing as well as a variety of motives. Some of the twists aren't a total surprise; most notable the fact that the suicide turns out to have been murder and one character's father isn't the man she thought it was. This doesn't spoil the story though as it is nice to be able to guess a few twists so the viewer can feel clever… even if in this case this viewer didn't guess the killer correctly. As always the show looks great with lots of pretty village scenery and the musical theme provided some enjoyable tunes. Away from the main story there were some laughs to be had from Barnaby's inability to remember his and his wife's song. Overall a fun episode which mixes bizarre murder and humour in the way the series does so well.

more "in tune" with episodes of the distant past

[blanche-2 · 7/10 · 2 October 2016]

There's a folk song festival taking place, but the organizer, Toby Winning, is found dead from drowning in a bowl of water containing eels and eggs. Yuck.

The co-organizer, Brian Grey, and Toby had been working to move the festival from its present locale in Lower Crosby to London. The locals were not happy about it as they would lose business as well as the sense of history.

One of the residents, Danny Carver, was also a sound engineer - his famous brother, a kind of James Taylor type, committed suicide 20 years earlier. The album he was busy recording was never found. If it is, it's worth a fortune. Danny meanwhile is unhappy when his daughter Melody wants to follow in her uncle's footsteps.

Barnaby and Nelson think someone killed Toby because of the deal to move, but there's also the matter of the lost album...When two more murders occur, they follow, as the first one did, the lyrics of the "Ballad of Midsomer County".

As Barnaby tries to solve this murder, he has a mystery at home - what is his and his wife's "song"? The first one he presents her with turns out to have been the song he had with a former girlfriend.

Good episode lightened up by the situation in the Barnaby household, with Barnaby hating the song the baby eats to and trying to change it, and his own problems with his and Sarah's song. The end is very funny.

This is a good mystery with some nice music and plenty of suspects.

Almost gave it a 10* rating

[vitoscotti · 9/10 · 13 November 2022]

This episode really delivered some interesting, tense viewing. The folk music tie in was masterfully done. I really enjoyed the folk singing. The eerie main theme sung by Johnny Carver was chilling. Funny though ladies man Johnny when his voice is revealed has a bit of a comical high pitched voice. Unique characters that really stood out and worked well with each other's portrayals. I particularly enjoyed Frank Wainwright (Clarke Peters) as the man of few words musician. Melody Carver (Lucie Jones), anf Claire Asher (Claudie Blakely) were stunning and mysterious. I enjoyed the red herrings then the redirect ending. Not enough screen time for Sarah (Fiona Dolman), and Kate Wilding (Tazmin Malleson). Loved Kate's line with a victim impaled by an outdoor umbrella pole, "I can almost certainly give the cause of death".

Gruesome murders, one reminded me of Octopussy

[safenoe · 7/10 · 2 October 2016]

The opening murder, where a guy has face drowned in a bowl of eels and eggs, was very gruesome. Sort of reminded of me a scene from Octopussy where a bad guy falls head-first into a fish tank, and a small octopus sucks his face. Ouch. I was wondering if here the guy's face would be full of eels, but no. He died by drowning.

This is the 3rd episode of season 17, and unfortunately there weren't many episodes to season 17 - only 4 in total. Thankfully season 18 had six episodes. Maybe gone are the days where we see Midsomer seasons have 8 episodes. In this episode Lucie Jones shines as Melody Carver. This is also the second last episode for Tamzin Malleson, who plays Dr Kate Wilding.

The ending was a real twist, so all credit to the screenwriter.

Season 17 very nearly finds its groove

[TheLittleSongbird · 7/10 · 2 April 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 was mostly good, especially "Wild Harvest", with the only disappointment being "Let Us Prey".

The third episode of Season 17, "The Ballad of Midsomer County", is an improvement over the previous two episodes of the season, and to me it's one of the better 'Midsomer Murders' episodes with a music theme. It is not a classic, hence what was meant by Season 17 very nearly finding its groove rather than properly finding it, but generally it was pretty good.

It is agreed that a couple of the twists are not surprising, in fact they were pretty obvious and an instance of suspecting it early on as soon as hearing of it and being proved right (the big one being a twist almost as old as life itself). Kate is still pretty bland and without much personality, and although it is not quite as big an issue as has been made out (in some people's cases it's been blown out of proportion) the more diverse characters also don't add much point, let alone spark.

However, as ever the production values in "The Ballad of Midsomer County" cannot be faulted as usual. It's 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. It is also hardly surprising that the episode has a soundtrack of its own because the music here adds so much to the character and atmosphere of the episode.

Writing is thought-provoking and the healthy doses of quirky and gentle humour like with Barnaby and the song was appreciated and juxtaposed well with the dark murder theme and the twists and turns, the episode not feeling overly serious or heavy like some John Barnaby-era episodes as a result. That is even with one of the show's most inventive and gruesome opening deaths ever and the body count, and wisely things never gets on the wrong side of outlandish that sense is compromised. The story is never simplistic, neither is it convoluted, with a surprising ending that manages to just about be plausible rather than convoluted or distastefully over-the-top.

Neil Dudgeon sleepwalks through Barnaby the least of the Season 17 episodes, looking more engaged and comfortable, while Gwilym Lee is likable and charismatic and Barnaby's family life is portrayed endearingly especially in contrast to Seasons 14 and 15. The supporting cast do more than ably, with Lucie Jones proving to be just as capable an actress as she is a singer.

On the whole, a pretty good but not classic episode. 7/10 Bethany Cox

A Good Ballad of "Midsomer Murders"

[harrykivi · 7/10 · 13 January 2020]

As mentioned before "Midsomer Murders" is one of my most beloved shows. 1-13 seasons of "Midsomer" was the high time of this series, but after John Nettles left, the show hasn't been the same. Yes, its still good, though I haven't seen an amazing "Midsomer Murders" episode in a long time.

The sixteenth season was pretty good overall with "The Christmas Haunting" being awesome and "Wild Harvest" very good. The 17th series is decent to me , let alone short.

"The Dagger Club" and "Murder by Magic" were fine at best. "The Ballad of Midsomer County" is better than previous episodes of the season, though its still nothing great to write home about.

Let's start with good, shall we?

. The production values are usually wonderful with great direction by Renny Rye and awesome folk music, which adds so much to the scenery.

. The mystery is solid enough to keep audience interested. There are some nice twists here.

. The killing methods are one of 17th imaginary ones. Death scenes are brutal, though clever. Folk festival theme works very well too.

. The solution is also satisfying with nice identity of the killer and motives.

. The cast is also pretty good with Lucie Jones singing like an angel and acting nice.

But....

. There are certain plot points here (an old murder, affairs) that have been in other murder mystery before and feel bit old-fashioned in the long run.

. Couple of twists are not that suprising and fairly obvious.

Overall: good, not great "Midsomer Murders.

7/10 HK

The ballad of midsomer county

[coltras35 · 6/10 · 19 June 2022]

Festival organizer Toby Winning is found dead on the morning of the Lower Crosby Folk Festival, shortly after announcing plans to move the festival nearer to London. I actually prefer Neil Dudgeon over Jon Nettles, finding him quite likeable and intelligent, however this episode is just ok, nothing too standout. There's some good acting some and icky murders.

Who cast this episode?

[Pianoboi84 · 1/10 · 3 October 2022]

The black female singer has to be one of the worst things my ears have ever heard. This whole episode was terrible down to the eels in the bowl. It was corny, boring and full of awful music. I know that in midsomer murders almost every festival is interrupted by a murder but in this case the music itself was the killer. There is so much beautiful music out of England I cannot understand why they chose this woman to sing except for politics. After the first Barnaby left all of a sudden there is a forced and unrealistic diversity. I refuse to believe in a small English village like portrayed, there would be such a demand for a horrible singer like her.

Oh, the fun we could have had!

[lotekguy-1 · 6/10 · 8 July 2022]

Sooo. Big music festival (is there a village in Midsomer without one type or other in process whenever the sun shines?). Nice, pretty niece of late, legendary folk singer working as a waitress. She wants to sing but her bitter dad won't allow it. Murders occur. Mystery solved. Festival ends in warm fuzzies with her singing beautifully and soulfully before a smiling audience. Roll credits. Yawn.

Just imagine how hilarious the ending would have been if she finally got her break and couldn't carry a tune!!! Could have been a surprise ending for the history books. More's the pity.

Murder over folk music???

[Apd227 · 1/10 · 21 August 2022]

I genuinely enjoy this series as harmless fun, but there has to be limits to the sheer stupidity. There were eels in a bowl and then a "folk festival"???

Not the best episode

[luckyribka · 3/10 · 1 December 2021]

Nelson finding the tool to break the door to the cottage scene is just hilarious.

Firstly, because he finds the tool conveniently laying around.

Secondly, no one could hear him when he was removing the planks.

Honestly!

Claudie Blakley is annoyingly similar in all her roles. Saw her in "lark rise to Candleford", in "Manhunt". No much difference, raving feminist who speaks her mind. Do not mind feminists, but can this actress smile? Or say something without this accusatory manner?

The only thing which does not change in "Midsomer Murders" is its beautiful scenery, it is a pure joy to watch!