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Category:    Home > Reviews > Mystery > British > Telefilms > MidSomer Murders - Set Eight (Acorn Media DVD)

Midsomer Murders - Set Eight

 

Picture: C+     Sound: C+     Extras: C     Telefilms: C+

 

 

Here we go again, taking a twisted trip down to the strange but supposed quaint town of Midsomer County in the latest Acorn Media release, Midsomer Murders – Set Eight.  In this eighth set from Acorn Media audiences are offered up another four telefilm tales that surround the sly detective stylings of Detective Barnaby and Scott.  This delectably menacing series delves into the tales of a county where, just like the rest of the world, secrets, lies, and murder get mixed up in seemingly ordinary life.  The series as a whole is inspired by the Caroline Graham novels that are just as popular as this ongoing telefilm series.  The series stars John Nettles (Barnaby) and new comer John Hopkins (Scott) as an interesting pairing of a tenured cop with a green cop.

 

The series is interesting in its choice of story lines, but even with great acting caliber that John Nettles brings, the stories seem to drag and get tedious due to the lack of characterization and depth.  The audience will never be bored the storylines as they are quite engaging, but in some manner this reviewer expected more from the telefilms’ main characters.

 

The telefilm series this time includes the following mysteries:

 

The Maid in Splendour

The Straw Woman

Ghosts of Christmas Past

 

 

The technical aspects of this DVD telefilm set are not quite as good as other acorn releases, but close.  The picture is presented in an anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1/16 X 9 Widescreen that does have nice qualities but often demonstrates a washed quality making the colors off, along with varying light/dark issues.  The sound displayed in Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo is nice but is too soft, lacking that extra ‘umph’ at certain scenes.  The Extras are drab only displaying a not so exhilarating interview with John Nettles (Bergerac), and basic text features such as Midsomer Map, Caroline Graham biography, and cast filmographies.  To better these sets the studio should consider more behind the scenes action or commentaries with the writers.

 

A nice little set of telefilms that can grab any mystery fans’ interest.

 

 

-   Michael P Dougherty II


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