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Showing posts from April, 2024

Midsomer Murders - The Tom Barnaby Sergeants

From series 1-13, Detective Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby had three sidekicks. 1. Detective Sergeant Gavin Troy The original (and, in my opinion, the best) sidekick who sticks around for 6 series until he's promoted to DCI (and Daniel Casey who played him, wanted to move onto pastures new).  His character was softened from the original novels though some of the isms and jumping to conclusions without much to go on is still there. If they hadn't given him a more three dimensional character, it wouldn't have worked as well.  He's brighter than the Troy of the books but is still green in the first few episodes. Thankfully, he finds his stride and it is great watching him grow. He was the first sidekick to make a brief reappearance (more on who the other one is when I write about John Barnaby's sidekicks). 2. Detective Sergeant Daniel (Dan) Scott Not a popular one among the fans, Scott is very different to Troy. He's cocky, set in his ways (initially) and sees being p

Midsomer Murders - My Favourite Episodes - Series Five

  Spoiler warning – there will be some spoilers here, so read on with caution if you have not seen all the episodes. My praise rings out for Ring Out Your Dead. There is an excellent mix of comedy, drama and mystery. However, once you discover why the dastardly deeds, it stretches things a bit. Mind you, people have been killed for less.  Graham Crowden was delightful playing another eccentric old duffer (he played Tom in Waiting for God), though it turned out not as barmy as it first seemed. Carmen Du Sautoy vamps it up enough as Rosalind to make the character sexually intimidating but not terrifying. Daniel Casey excels at showing Troy's fear and attraction to her. He's like a mouse caught in a delicious trap. The comedic scenes between Rosalind and Troy are as sweet as they are funny.  Our killer, Maise Gooch, is one of the most benign-looking characters they've ever had (even more so than Richard Briers in Death's Shadow) and confirms that it is the quiet one you sh