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 posted to Midsomer as an inconvenience. However, even though he is only there for two series (John Hopkins' departure is still talked about and there is much speculation as to the reason for it. However, John himself advised that it was due to him asking for a pay rise that he did not get*.) he does develop and bonds to some extent with Barnaby. We also start to see his softer, brighter side as he settles into life in Midsomer. I took a while to warm up to him but don't consider him to have been as bad as a lot of people seem to. 

3. PC/DS Ben Jones 

Thought of Welsh extraction, it is clear when we first meet Ben Jones in the first episode of series nine that he's well in with the locals and has established good connections. He's got a lot of learning to do as he is recruited initially, on a temporary basis as Barnaby needs a replacement for Scott while he's ill. However, by the time Tom announces his retirement at the end of series thirteen, he has been promoted to Detective Sergeant, having flourished into a competent detective. It's more clear that Ben wants to progress his career than it was with Troy and Scott. Ben Jones is the crossover sidekick as he becomes the first (of three to date) of John Barnaby's sidekicks. 

Who's your favourite sidekick. Let me know in the comments. 

  

*Why John Hopkins left Midsomer Murders.



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