Midsomer Murders (TV Series) Harvest of Souls (2016) User Reviews

Echoes of past glories.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 8/10 · 20 October 2018]

Harvest of Souls has a vintage Midsomer feel to it, it's very much an echo from the show's past, which is definitely a good thing. It's very well written, gritty, full of mystery, and the more mature cast do a super job. Even the music seems like it was pinched from years ago, it all works well. Very well shot, the fairground scenes are very effective, it has an energy. I loved the Sykes side story, that gorgeous dog stole many scenes, the way Dudgeon looks at him is great. I unfairly used to criticise the character of Nelson, I was so wrong, I now find him excellent, unfortunately I can't say the same for Kam, I just find her so blank as a character, they could have given her an interesting hobby or background, she is so uninteresting. A great cast, as always, Meera Syal in particular is excellent.

I've always been a fan of a gripping ending, with a surprise ending, and on both accounts this one packs a punch, the ending will gave you glued intently.

I liked this one very much, 8/10

Too long at the fair

[blanche-2 · 7/10 · 13 October 2016]

The Whitcombe Mallet is attracting people from all over. But during the festivities, a stable owner named Harry Wyham is killed. At first it looks as if his horse stomped on him, but in reality he was given a dose of the drug ketamine. The killer then frightened the horse, who stomped on the body.

Harry was the son of Jasper and his wife Serena, and he wasn't popular. His plans for expansion didn't sit well with the villagers, particularly the Wall of Death owner, Butch Nevins, and a vet, Clara Myerscough. Clara is the mother of Harry's ex-wife Jessica. Jessica is not permitted legally to see her daughter.

Butch's son Sean is a suspect - he is seeing Harry's sister Beth. The family is opposed to this union. Then Jasper's horses are stolen and there are two more deaths.

As usual, the past comes into play, which it must in order to expose the killer.

This was a good episode but for me it followed the usual template I have been complaining about - the villagers opposing something somebody wants to do etc. The fun part was that the Barnabys are going to France and have no one to care for Sykes. He is thrown out of one kennel and escapes from another. Finally Nelson and the new coroner compete for babysitting rights. It's actually quite good, with Sara hiding Barnaby's ugly shorts and Sykes waiting for the axe to fall.

This again reminds me of the older episodes, which isn't a bad thing.

All the fun of the fair

[Tweekums · 8/10 · 17 February 2016]

As this, the final episode of the current series opens a man has a drink and almost immediately collapses; he is then dragged into a horse's room in a stable where he is trampled after the horse is deliberately startled. It isn't long before half the village are suspects as well as members of a visiting fair. The dead man had been planning to evict several tenants, including the estranged mother of his child; his plans would have also stopped the fair using the village green. Most of the suspicion falls of the fairground works as one of them was seen arguing with the dead man, paint from the fair was found on his clothes and the gun used to startle the horse is found under one of their caravans. Further murders ensue including the vet who was the mother of the first victim's ex-wife and one of the fair owner's sons. Away from the case Barnaby is planning a holiday to France with his wife; the problem is Sikes doesn't want to stay in a kennel while they are away; Nelson and Kam both decide to offer their services as a dog-sitter.

This was an entertaining conclusion to the current run of episodes although those trying to solve the case may be disappointed that once again the motive doesn't emerge till very late in the story and prior to the killer's exposure the character doesn't take a particularly large part in the story. There are plenty of other secrets to come out and the murders are the entertaining sort that usually occur in Midsomer… although we don't get to see a killing on the fair's 'wall of death'… presumably because it would be too dangerous to film! The cast do a solid job and the fact that there aren't too many well-known actors in this week, and one of those is a victim, means that the killer can't be guessed by the 'familiar face' theory that so often works in this series. The side plot involving finding a kennel to look after Sikes provided some laughs and didn't detract from the case.

One of the better 'new' ones

[jacobkilby · 8/10 · 18 February 2016]

Whilst many would agree that the best ones have John Nettles in them, this one is a reasonable episode - lots of suspects and lots of action - including an attempted murder which is quite unusual for the series. The cast of older characters makes it feel like older episodes, but that isn't to say that having a lot of young people in this series is a bad thing. The Sykes mini story about going to a kennel is a nice touch. The plot overall is getting towards a good episode, but have fun if you are trying to guess the killer - you won't get it! Contrary to what others think, I think Nelson is a reasonable character and I like it how Barnaby gets him to do some of the snooping. The new pathologist is the only hole in the episode, who gets way too much of an airing here. Dr Bullard was easily the best and least patronizing, but that is picking a tiny hole in what was a very good end to the current series. Roll on Series 19!

Fire the sound editor

[RobertNull · 8/10 · 19 January 2023]

This has nothing to do with the plot, but this episode had the worst sound editing of any MM I've watched in over 20 years. It begins with extraordinarily loud screaming from the thrill ride passengers, then dips to whispers outside a pub, then up again with background music, booming gunshot, and horse neighing. Back to normal conversational levels, back to screaming, then conversations downed by screaming, and down an up again. I was on the volume control constantly, and finally had to leave it down and turn on closed captions.

Maybe it was just a badly transferred episode, but this technique only detracts from the plot, characters, and dialog.

My second favorite of this season.

[harrykivi · 7/10 · 3 December 2019]

18th season has been pretty average and not impressive. I'm happy: it ends on a good note though. "Harvest of Souls" is definitely one of the best of the season (not without its flaws though).

Positives first:

. The production is great as always with nice direction and beautiful music.

. The story is dramatic with quirky humour, twists and turns. The characters are not boring and felt compelling. The harvest fair setting worked for its advantage.

. Murders are also clever here. Especially liked the attempted murder scene. It was quite unnerving.

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

But..

. "Harvest of souls" did take some time for me to get started (about 30 minutes). Before the story filled me in, the episode was fine.

. Again, there are some cliches here (lost children coming back, villagers against something new) that has been more compelling in older "Midsomer murders".

. The script should also have given more attention to Sykes and Nelson. For it being their last case.

Overall- not as good as "A dying art", but still enjoyable.

7/10 HK

The best MM so far

[jamesharrison-541-835462 · 10/10 · 30 June 2022]

This is my favourite of all the episodes so far. Storytelling and performances at their best. Even the storyline of what to do with Sykes was superb light relief.

A black dog is not the same as a good dog

[pensman · 7/10 · 10 July 2016]

As the episode begins Harry Wyham is killed but is solving his death the most important problem; or is it what will Barnaby's wife do with Sykes so that she will get her trip to France. I would be happy if DCI John Barnaby would leave the wife and just keep Sykes.

But Barnaby is on the case and finds out Harry Wyham wasn't the most popular person in the town. He wanted to change the character of the town for one by bringing in hotels, restaurants, and a first class equestrian center. Enough reason for any Midsomer villager to want him dead. Harry's parents—Serena and Jasper—mourn him as do his sister Beth and his daughter Amy; but no so his ex-wife Jessica Myerscough who lives in the village but had no access to her daughter, nor her mother Clara Myerscough who was going to be evicted. Rowena Deeley seems shocked but her publican husband, owner of The Black Dog, Niall Deeley seems pleased; Butch Nevins was about to lose the lease to appear on the village green along with the entire funfair (carnival) so he had little love for Harry or his plans. And Sean Nevins is seeing Beth Wyham and wants her to alibi him just in case.

And the clues start coming in: Harry's coat is covered with fake blood; and he was killed not by a horse but by a dose of ketamine: a horse tranquilizer that was mixed with alcohol; and the Myerscoughs have a supply of ketamine; the pub--The Black Dog--has the alcohol where Harry had a drink. And the gun that was used to startle the horse that trampled Harry was found under Sean Nevins' trailer; and it was his paint on that was on the jacket because Sean and Harry had a fight earlier the night of the murder. And Geri Barkham and Butch Nevins are hiding something, but what.

Then in the middle of the night, someone has stolen five horses from Jasper Wyham. And conveniently someone broke into the Myerscough's veterinary clinic and took all the controlled substances, including ketamine. And DS Charlie Nelson has discovered a possible link between the movements of the Nevins' funfare about Midsomer county and thefts of valuable livestock. And Jasper plans to go through with the eviction of the Myerscoughs. But Rowena Deeley was in negation to sell the pub without her husband's knowledge as the pub was losing money. Finally, Clara Myerscough is trying to work Serena Wyham's guilt to allow Jessica Myerscough to get custody of her daughter.

And Barnaby's wife is still trying to separate Sykes from John so she can get to France.

And we get another murder, this time it's Clara Myerscough; I wasn't sad to see her go. Next the missing horses are found except for Rowena Deeley's horse. And the empty beer bottles found at the scene came from the Deeley's pub. The horse box that that was used to transport the horses is owned by the Nevins; and Trina Nevins refuses to lie for her absent husband who now claims he was with Geri Barkham. And the fingerprints on the bottles belong to Rod Barkham who was complicit with the theft because Harry Wyham was going to fire him; but he won't give up his accomplices. Too bad for him because fingerprints indicate Dale Nevins was involved. But before Dale Nevins can be arrested, he is found dead in the Wall of Death.

Then Jessica Myerscough is trying to enlist Rowena Deeley in abducting her daughter. But that effort fails and the police rescue the girl. And then this episode fails to disclose important facts until the end: Serena had had a fling with Butch and while Jasper still married Serena, they claimed the child she was carrying was a stillbirth: but it wasn't, it was put up for adoption. And that fact is what all this turns on:revenge by the adult child who has been a resident of the village and knew who his parents were all along.

The episode was OK but not the equivalent of Vixen's Run or Four Funerals and a Wedding; and no one like pathologist Doctor George Bullard is going to say about John Barnaby as he did about Tom Barnaby, "Clever chap that boss of yours."

Oh, and Sykes wins and Torquay is better than France.

This is the final episode pre-Brexit

[safenoe · 8/10 · 31 August 2016]

A fine episode, and I'm probably one of the few who like the new Barnaby. It's a shame though that this is the final episode of Gwilym Lee, who played DS Charlie Nelson, as I thought he and John Barnaby had a good rapport. I guess this episode was probably produced before Gwilym decided to move on, as this episode saw sparks of a possible romance between DS Charlie Nelson and Dr Kam Karimore (which Barnaby's wife was encouraging).

When this episode was produced, I doubt hardly anyone could have imagined the Brexiteers would win the Yes vote. I really hope the shadow cast by the Yes vote does not lead to kneejerk cast changes to make the Midsomer village "more like England" if you know what I mean.

I will be interested to see the next episode, which is season 19 ep 1, which will be the first episode post-Brexit. Hopefully Manjinder Virk doesn't get pushed aside as coroner for the sake of being political incorrect. I wonder how Nelson's replacement will play out in the post-Brexit world? Will he be proud of his political incorrectness to reflect Brexit voters? We shall see.

One of the two good episodes of Season 18

[TheLittleSongbird · 7/10 · 28 May 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 bag, with the first two episodes being watchable but uneven and the other two, particularly "A Vintage Murder", faring better.

Season 18 was mostly unimpressive, with "Breaking the Chain" faring weakest and "Saints and Sinners" and "The Incident at Cooper Hill" not faring much better. The season did have two good episodes, the best being "A Dying Art" and this, "Harvest of Souls" being a close second. It is also one of the better John Barnaby-era episodes, a long way from being among the embarrassments like "Night of the Stag" and "Echoes of the Dead".

Not everything works. The biggest fault once again is Kam, she has little personality and is also condescendingly patronising and too much of a know-it-all that really rubs the viewer up the wrong way. For Nelson's last episode, despite Gwilym Lee's likable charisma, he deserved better, he could have been more prominent with him taking too much of a backseat. The story does contain a few familiar elements that have been done with more spark before.

On the other hand, the pProduction 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. The murders are pretty fun and the characters are not too pantomimic or bland in general, in fact they're closer to the kinds found in 'Midsomer Murders' in its prime period.

Cast is very good, Neil Dudgeon doesn't look stiff or sleepwalk through Barnaby and Gwilym Lee continues to have a likable charisma. The supporting cast are very strong. The script has a nice balance of mystery and humour, with the cute subplot with Sykes (also in his final episode) being a welcome levity and not being a distraction at all. The story is intriguing, tightly paced with little feeling like filler.

In conclusion, good episode and one of the better episodes of a generally unimpressive season. 7/10 Bethany Cox

A fair story

[xmasdaybaby1966 · 7/10 · 5 January 2021]

We have been binge-watching the show from the start over the last 6 months or so, viewing 3 or 4 stories each week but it has become a real struggle to watch the later series despite the stories not being as long. This is one of the better episodes since political correctness took over since Brian True-May left the show but it is still not brilliant. The acting seems wooden, the characters have no depth and story lines seem to be recycled from previous series or other shows. This story is a little better but to say Sykes steals the show in what turned out to be his final appearance speaks volumes. We know we are nearing the end of our journey now but it will be a struggle to see our way through the the end is s21.

Custody Abuse

[carolyneannv · 2/10 · 14 August 2018]

SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER

I find it appalling that the episode ends with a child being pulled from the mother that she has been kept from for years, along with the mother sobbing as well. They presented this as "Oh well, that's how it should be." Our family structures continue to crumble, and we wonder why our children are growing up to be drug addicts?

Good episode

[coltras35 · 7/10 · 29 July 2022]

The annual harvest fair and the daredevil riders of the Wall of Death arrive in the Midsomer village of Whitcombe Mallet. But when the owner of an equestrian centre is trampled by his horse, DCI Barnaby and DS Nelson, along with the expertise of forensic pathologist Kam Karimore, must unravel a complex feud from the past. However, nothing is as it seems, and they are in a race against time as they work to solve the case.

A good episode with the usual quota of eccentric suspects and bizarre murders.

Reused plots with slight twists

[vitoscotti · 4/10 · 22 January 2023]

Watching most of the way through the story was somewhat interesting but deja vu appeared. I know Midsomer Murders is at the stage of borrowing from previous scripts. But, this was egregious. Most every facet of the script was done before but better. Thought they went way too far with recycling. Felt really dissatisfied with the quality and having my time wasted. Some fine performances by a strong supporting cast. Apparently the last episode for DS Charlie Nelson (Gwilym Lee) who did a fine job during his brief time. Also no more Sykes who will be missed. Lovely Sarah (Fiona Dolman) is really being under utilized. Next episode should be interesting with a new DS brought in. Hopefully the writing rebounds.