Midsomer Murders (TV Series) Breaking the Chain (2016) User Reviews

not that good

[blanche-2 · 6/10 · 9 October 2016]

The writer of this script has written several other episodes of Midsomer Murders, "Dagger in the Hand" and "Christmas Haunting," both very good episodes. He missed the boat here with "Breaking the Chain." When cyclist Greg Eddon wins a national race and then is murdered, Barnaby and Nelson investigate. Barnaby has been at home trying to get Betty to say her first word, which he hopes will be "Daddy."

Mitch McCordell, it turns out, was close to winning this race. His father Des informs Barnaby that this was a very important race. It is urgent that DJM, who sponsors the race, continue doing so as they are short of cash.

There is a great deal going on underneath. Mitche's brother Aiden saw his girlfriend, Amber, kissing Greg, and was sending him threatening texts.

Environmentalists don't want the racing there. A landlady at a pub, Mary Appleton, receives a message stating, "I know what you did." Later she receives one that says Murderer. Aiden McCordell feels that his father has always blown him off in favor of Mitch.

Then there is another murder, as well as another person becoming badly injured. Barnaby and Nelson have to find the killer - and there are a lot of suspects.

First off, the reason for these murders was ridiculous, and I could have done without the Mary Appleton subplot -- this brought up an issue from the past, one of the regular themes in Midsomer Murders.

No beautiful scenery this time, and Nelson took a back seat. Let's have more camaraderie between Nelson and Barnaby, more village life, more family, and a good reason to kill people.

And Betty's first word? Well, it's not Daddy or Mama.

Not as bad as all that

[wjspears · 7/10 · 22 April 2022]

Wow! This episode brings out the wolves!

One reviewer complains that shoving a wrench in the spokes of a stationary moving bike, would not cause a person to fly off the front of the bike. How exactly does the reviewer know this, and should we be concerned?

I have no idea if the reviewer is correct. But even if true, its a fictional mystery story, for heaven's sake!. Implausibility comes with the genre. As a murder, I found it effectively shocking.

Mostly though, this episode brought out the folks bemoaning the departure of Tom Barnaby, sometimes comparing this episode with one from the past, with Tom Barnaby.

For me, this episode had numerous suspects, a bevy of confusing motives, and a couple of gruesome murders, tastefully presented. In other words, a fairly typical Midsomer Murder episode.

There were parts that did not work so well for me--such as the distraction of the side story about harassments of the bar owner/city councilwoman.

And who turned out to be the killer was a bit odd, and the motive was not revealed until John Barnaby announced it--which is a bit of a "no-no" for true mystery fans.

But these flaws are hardly unique to this episode of Midsomer Murders. Nor are they featured only the John Barnaby episodes.

I do wonder sometimes about the seemingly over-polite nature that both DSI Barnaby's exhibit. A potential suspect, in this case Reece Dexter, refuses to cooperate, to allow DS Nelson examination of his office. Nelson seemingly just walks away, announcing that he will be returning with a warrant. Is Nelson actually leaving Dexter free to destroy evidence that he might be trying to conceal?

I found most of the characters sufficiently suspicious, the various nefarious intrigues plausible, and DCI John Barnaby and DS Charlie Nelson interesting to watch unwrapping it all. I thought that the cycling world, its competitiveness, and its sleazy hangers-on were all nicely drawn.

I liked this one more than the previous two episodes from Series 18. I would rate it a "7".

Murders in the world of cycling

[Tweekums · 8/10 · 28 January 2016]

This episode sees the world of elite cycling come to Midsomer; not quite the Tour de France but an important national competition that could be a stepping stone to the very top of the sport. Shortly after the race the winner is found murdered. He was part of a locally based team and had broken team orders to win; the winner was meant to be one of the sons of the team's owner. As the investigation progresses it also emerges that one local is strongly opposed to the races claiming the spectators damage the countryside and that somebody died during a previous race and later it becomes apparent that somebody is sending threatening messages to the woman responsible for bringing the race to the area. If that weren't enough there is the possibility that certain riders are drug cheats and there are romantic involvements between the riders and women working for the team.

This was another fun story of murder within a special interest group; something 'Midsomer Murders' does rather well. There are certainly enough suspects to choose from and that number increases after a second murder occurs. Of course the viewer will eliminate several early on as their motives are too obvious and we all know the obvious people never did it in the world on murder-mysteries. That said while these people aren't guilty of murder some of them will have secrets that emerge; for example the mystery of who is sending threats to the woman who brought the event to town and why. The murders fit in with the episode's cycling theme and are nicely filmed in silhouette as the take place in a tent like structure. The final resolution is a slight surprise as there were few obvious hints that the killer had a motive earlier on… unless they were so subtle that I missed them! That did not spoil it for me though; it would get boring if one always guessed the killer correctly. Overall another fun episode.

The writing really did a nosedive.

[vitoscotti · 6/10 · 29 December 2022]

Thought the male bike riders who were grown men playing much younger young men with a domineering father and coach laid an egg. The coach Reece Dexter (Hari Dhillon) and father Des McCordell's (Derek Riddell) bad acting made for rough viewing. The highlight of the lame episode were the three lead female gorgeous actresses Joanna Stockerton (Rebecca Grant), Amber Layard (Sophia Di Martino), Kim Fosse (Olivia Vinall(). Midsomer Murders doing stories on unique niche interests rarely misses. But lunkhead hyper devoted puppet cyclists with little emotion or character depth grew tiring. If it wasn't for the three stellar ladies my 6* rating would be 3* even with the better than the story ending.

Typical MM episode

[coltras35 · 7/10 · 30 July 2022]

An international cycling competition comes to the Midsomer village of Burwood Mantle, but when the race leader is murdered, DCI Barnaby and DS Nelson must investigate. During the race's finale, the victim overtook his team-mate to win, leaving the team owner annoyed that he disobeyed his orders, and the rival manager disappointed that his team lost. However, as the pair look into the case, they find themselves drawn into a competitive world of blackmail, bribery and bloodshed, where winning comes at any cost.

This time the intrigue centres around cycle racing, a nicely picture of that sport is drawn. Performance enhancing drugs has a mention. There's conflict between father and son, a lineup of suspects, OTT murders - wrench in the cycle spokes - and the quirky humour. Not any different from other MM episodes, including the ones with John Nettle, who also featured in mediocre, weak and great episodes. Same Way, Neil Dudgeon appeared in mediocre, weak, great and good - Breaking the chain is the latter. Typical, yet fun.

Where's the Twee gone?

[richardb-70685 · 1/10 · 8 May 2016]

Like other reviewers I was left a little sad by Breaking The Chain. It's just not the old MSM. There was not a vicar in sight, no upper class twit on the rampage, and the TCI (Thatched Cottage Index) was bumping along at rock bottom - only one was on show and that was the pub. The only bicycles to be seen were new - fangled racers and none had baskets on the handle bars.

I hope MSM isn't doing a "Bill Implosion" where we had to watch Jim and June snogging and cope with maniac coppers killing their own. They lost sight their core business, namely catching villains and chasing scrotes.

MSM's core business is Twee country crimes committed by upper - class twits in thatched cottages or in piles of the Gothic style. And there must be a vicar involved somewhere and there should be a woman on a horse at least once in the show. I love this quaint way of insane, vengeful criminality among the villages. This is what MSM is all about, well to me, at least.

My advice to the MSM producers is this: take a stroll down the lanes of Badger's Drift, peep in at the cottage windows and hang around the manor stables and breath in the atmosphere of crimes - gone by. Recapitulation, not innovation is the way forward here.

The duff of the series.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 5/10 · 7 February 2016]

I've enjoyed this Series quite a lot, it's been better overall then the last few, however....Breaking the Chain was a pretty poor effort, the story wasn't the best, the murder(s) were rather silly and a tad on the boring side. I also felt that the writers cheated a bit, we weren't given the full story.

It has been a good few years since Tessa Peake Jones appeared in a Midsomer Murders, Faithful until Death, but what a contrast in two episodes, back then the characters were so big and well drawn, as good as she is, she just felt a little flat in this one, as did Joe McGann. Maybe the writing wasn't up to scratch.

I struggled with Barnaby and Nelson in this episode, somehow they didn't feel like a double act, new pathologist Doctor Karimore was also poorly written for.

Sadly a bit of a yawn fest, 5/10

"Breaking the Chain" didn't play fair!

[londonpaul · 5/10 · 5 February 2016]

I have been a fan of Midsomer Murders since I saw the first episode and have all the episodes on DVD and re-watch them from time to time, and it's one of the very few TV shows I look forward to every year, but I have to say I was very disappointed with "Breaking the Chain."

The writers did not introduce clues and evidence pointing to the killer until the very last minutes of the episode, leading one to think they had no idea whatsoever themselves who the murderer was going to be, and out of desperation just picked someone at random and wrote in the needed evidence at the end of the episode.

I cried FOUL when this occurred, it wasn't fair to the audience, and showed very poor writing on the part of the writers.

This ranked way up there with failed mystery writers who introduce new characters in the last chapter of a book and that person turns out to be the murderer.

The addition of the new girl pathologist who thinks far too much of herself doesn't work either, you'd think she's out to prove something, to make herself more than she is, sometimes to the point of condescension towards her superiors, instead of meaningfully contributing to the storyline.

Also gone is the chemistry and the playful banter that pervaded the previous episodes, that between Barnaby and his wife, and between Barnaby and his current partner, and for sure between them and the pathologist.

I hope the show gets new writers, and before they write a single line are made to watch all the previous episodes so they know what audiences expect and write that way.

And what's with the cantilevers?

[hewjohns · 5/10 · 28 October 2016]

Okay, the one reason I bother with a review is just to point out that if you get a stick in your wheel when on rollers, you will not get thrown over the handlebars. Instead the wheels stop, the roller push you off a few inches, then you fall sideways. You don't have much momentum.

There are definitely some teething problems with the new cast and settings. Every other face is anything but a pasty Anglo-Saxon, to make up for past sins. That's OK, but a bit obvious. And I think we need to let Nelson and Kam and John and Sarah develop a bit more. But the other thing missing that seems to be overlooked is that before Tom was always sussing out the bad guy from a host of conflicting information to the astonishment of Ben, while now it seems a police procedural with lots of investigation and little magic intuition.

the first spoken word is dog

[pensman · 3/10 · 5 July 2016]

I'll probably be just be put aside as a curmudgeon but this series keeps getting further and further away from its roots—Midsomer Murders. Just compare the character Richard Graham plays in this episode (Gerry Bleacher) with the wonderful maniac he played eight years earlier in the "Talking to the Dead" episode, Stanley Goodfellow. In this episode we have brother against brother, Aiden McCordell vs Mitch McCordell; a subplot with a publican, Mary Appleton; and a very guilty looking Damien Lamerat (Edward Akrout) and Joanna Stockerton (Rebecca Grant), and that's it.

Worse, what happened to the wonderful Midsomer towns? There is no scenery anymore. Either these episodes are being shot on an incredibly cheap budget or the money is being overspent on Neil Dudgeon. It can't be going to the writers because this current crop is nowhere near the quality of Anthony Horowitz.

Even Barnaby and Nelson have most of their job done for them by Jez Oliver (Joe McGann). But when we finally learn who killed cyclists Greg Eddon and Aiden McCordell, it isn't Reece Dexter, nor does have to do with unrequited love, Joanna Stockerton can breathe; but yes, it does include performance enhancing drugs, and love—but we aren't given all the facts until the very end; it's a total cheat.

Wow, What a Terrible Ending!

[henry-plantagenet-04 · 3/10 · 24 November 2016]

On reflection I have noticed one thing about this show. The plots in the newer generation generally suck. Since the arrival of Nelson, there have only been 3 really good episodes: "The Christmas Haunting", "Wild Harvest", and "A Vintage Murder". In these episodes, the killers' motivations made sense and the audience were able to pick up on what was going on. Not so here. "Breaking the Chain" is an episode that follows in the tradition of solution must come entirely out of left field. That's fine if there were any build-up for it, but there just isn't. Literally, all the crucial information is introduced in the last ten minutes. There is literally no way the audience would be able to figure it out for themselves. Sad to say, there's been a lot like this recently; "The Sicilian Defense", "Ballad of Midsomer County", "The Flying Club", and "Killings of Copenhagen" all relied on the introduction of plot threads no one could have seen coming. The point of a mystery is putting together the pieces, and you can't do that if there aren't any pieces at all. All these episodes also rely on a person who seems completely sane and nice turning out to be completely psychotic. On top of the motive for the murders, not being introduced so were those for all the other crimes. Virtually, every revelation was cobbled together at the last second before it became relevant. The only way to figure out the culprits identity is simply to guess the least likely person, and probably be right.

Utter Bore

[mjohns-919-79735 · 1/10 · 3 October 2016]

Looks like show runners are trying to attract a younger audience. As a result, this is not the series it was back in the days of Tom Barnaby. It's not as attractive, the characters aren't as interesting, and the plots are dull. There's no mental challenge for viewers anymore.

There's too much padding. The old series took its time building characters. It delved into motivation. But this year's episodes don't do that, so lots of unnecessary scenes have been added. The pace is faster and goes nowhere. Sub plots have no purpose.

The opening montage of the bicycle race was too long. I could go on, but why bother? If this poor writing and direction continues, the series will be canceled in a year or two.

We started watching Season/Series 18 three nights ago, and each night, the show has gotten worse.

A sad turn of events for longtime fans.

Seen half, guess about irrelevant detail

[crconrad-980-962579 · 5/10 · 26 November 2016]

Contains POSSIBLE spoiler, since this is a guess. And not about the actual murder mystery.

Reviewer blanche-2 wrote: "And Betty's first word? Well, it's not Daddy or Mama." I've just seen the first half of the episode; here in Finland, they're aired in two parts on weekends, first half on Saturday and the second on Sunday. But, guessing from what the characters say the most when at home, and what the writers would go for as "comic effect"... It's going to be "Sykes" (the name of their dog). So it's not really all that comic, either: Too predictable. Let's hope I'm wrong.

Otherwise, about the episode in general: I must agree with most reviewers, it seems to be shaping up to be one of the weakest of the series so far.

This was quite boring to be honest.

[harrykivi · 4/10 · 1 December 2019]

The 18th season has been pretty unimpressive with "Habeas Corpus" being dull, but not awful and "The Incident at Cooper Hill" watchable with it's flaws. "Breaking the Chain" however is definitely the worst of this series( even though ranked just as "Habeas Corpus", it's still worse).

Let's start with positives first.

. The production of this episode is great. "Breaking the Chain" looks good. The director Rob Evans has clearly put effort to his craft.

. The setup for this episode is quite interesting. Cycling looks dangerous, risky, which makes it fit for "Midsomer murders".

. This episode does have some lovely charm to it. Writers humour worked on me very well.

. Actors like Tessa Peake- Jones, Richard Graham and others are trying to give good performances, but there is just nothing to work with.

Which leads me to cons.

. The story here is weak and under developed. Many subplots felt coincidental, having no impact to the narrative.

. The script has lifeless characters, who needed a lot more flesh to them-Olivia Vinalls Kim, Richard Grahams Gerry left me cold, even though the actors are not bad at all.

. All of the fun of cycling tours seemed have been removed. At the end of the day the setting of this episode has " I'm just here to have a murder mystery" feel. Also the two death scenes here are nothing we haven't seen before.

. The ending as well is one of "Midsomer"s worsts with an under developed killer, whose motives come out of left field that felt thought over at the last minute.

"Breaking the Chain" is kind of breaking my heart.

4/10 HK

Sorry Midsomer - the magic has gone.

[MrOllie · 3/10 · 28 January 2016]

I have been a huge fan of Midsomer Murders and have the DVDs of almost all of the John Nettles episodes. The latest episode of Midsomer BREAKING THE CHAIN was (in my opinion) one of the worst episodes of this wonderful series I have watched. Even worse than the alien episode shown a couple of weeks ago. Last nights episode about cycle racing seemed to be all talk and quite frankly I lost interest. I didn't guess the murderer but that was probably because I wasn't paying the attention I should have. Gone are the quirky characters and the catchy soundtrack. There seems to be long scenes of talk with a complete absence of any soundtrack. What has happened to the theremin? The wonderful sound this instrument made added tension and anticipation to many scenes when a murder was about to happen. Sadly now gone.

John Barnaby and his wife do not have the same chemistry as Tom and Joyce Barnaby. The new DS Nelson is OK but I am not too impressed with the new young lady pathologist who appears to be a bit too full of herself. I thought the previous lady was better. Sorry Midsomer but perhaps your days are numbered.

Only Action is Distraction

[balldave · 5/10 · 17 August 2020]

It's typical MSM in many ways but so distracting as well with sappy characters. And the too often used overbearing parent ! But it seems that Richard Graham is the main annoyance...something about his smug manner that is so irritating and makes his performance unwatchable!

Lost the magic

[jimvandemoter-50236 · 3/10 · 13 May 2020]

After Tom, Joyce and Cully left, the show just lost the magic. The banter between husband and wife was gone, the entire family feeling just wasn't there. It really. should have ended when Tom retired. I really tried to like the new cast, but i just couldn't.

Tour de Dull

[sherondalewis-20531 · 4/10 · 24 May 2022]

Ok..so, let me get this straight: NO ONE saw anyone being murdered? How is this possible? With soo many people outside? You got the teams, spectators, and everyone in-between involved with the event there and you mean one person was capable of setting an elaborate setup to murder someone? But not once, Twice!! What?? The second was with, what, an air pump? Just made no sense to me. I knew who the murderer was within the first 1/2 hr but didn't know why (and when that was revealed, it was like, "Really?")...it was nice seeing Tessa Peake-Jones there (great in the episode Faithful Unto Death, but, imho, wasted here). Sykes the dog is always a riot. Sarah and Betty and Nelson, fine. John looked like he would rather do anything else but watch the event (or maybe that's me). Anyway, not the best episode at all in this season. Hence the title.

Pretty flat

[TheLittleSongbird · 4/10 · 25 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". Season 17 was a mixed, with the first two episodes being watchable but uneven and the other two, particularly "A Vintage Murder", faring better.

Whereas "Habeas Corpus" and "The Incident at Cooper Hill" were very problematic average episodes, "Breaking the Chain" completely lacked lustre and fell flat. One of the weaker episodes of the eighteenth season, which mostly was unimpressive.

There are good things certainly. Even low point episodes like "Blood on the Saddle", "Night of the Stag", "Echoes of the Dead" and "Second Sight" were not without redeeming qualities, despite their numerous faults being much more glaring.

Production values 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.

Gwilym Lee has a likable charisma, while Betty is adorable.

However, Neil Dudgeon comes over as wooden and uninvolved and displays very little chemistry with Lee, Barnaby and Nelson never seeming a cohesive double act and there is nothing playful or interesting with how they are written individually and together. Just when Barnaby and Sarah were starting to show more chemistry and a much more appealing one, that was non-existent as well. My indifference towards Kam turned to hate with "Breaking the Chain", not only is she cold and with little personality but she is also condescending (more so than her previous two) episodes and full of herself.

"Breaking the Chain's" story is weak, likewise with the far too serious and heavy script that lacks balance. There is too much padding, with most subplots either being unresolved or completely inconsequential, which added to the tedium of the pacing. It also does little with the cycling theme, taking the fun and danger out of it. The murders are not really imaginative, pretty ordinary in fact, as well as silly, even more problematic is the rushed and random ending, with motives that are ridiculous and don't make sense and one of the most underdeveloped and unlikely murderers in a long time, which screamed of it being treated like an afterthought behind the scenes. Very little is interesting about the characters and the actors struggle to do much with lacking material.

In conclusion, a pretty flat episode and a lesser one from the John Barnaby-era. 4/10 Bethany Cox

Horrible

[lvrucci · 1/10 · 17 April 2021]

Plot was contrived of thin air. Poor continuity (note the moon goes from full to a half moon in a day). Ridiculous charge against husband for 'harassment' but no charge for the other team leader who admitted to assault. Etc. The whole episode was a disaster.