DCI Barnaby and DS Jones investigate the shooting of local council worker Martin Barrett (Grant Masters). Despite his mundane job as a wages clerk the two detectives discover that he was a man with a secret past and he supplemented his income as a professional blackmailer. Many people in his village had fallen victim to Barrett including the local pub landlord Jack Fothergill (Sam Kelly) who had failed to declare a priceless painting belonging to his late father in probate to avoid death duties and put it up for sale at auction. The local charlady Ruby Wilmott (Julia McKenzie) is a kleptomaniac who has stolen from several of her employers - including Barrett - who found out and forced her to size up potential victims for him as she did her rounds. Even more disturbingly for Barnaby, the chairman of the police committee, Sir John Waverley (Paul Freeman), also fell victim to the murdered man because he had once ran a refuge for disaffected teenage girls and Barrett had found one who had once lived at the refuge and accused him of impropriety. Who is this woman and was she the 'mystery houseguest' who had stayed at Barrett's cottage on the night of his murder? Then there is the former geologist and marine biologist Richard (Rob Edwards) and Margaret Florian (Christine Kavanagh) who have a boat moored at Fennicombe Bay and Barnaby is puzzled as to why they spend so much time diving there. Does it have anything to do with a shipwreck in the area back in the 1880's that was believed to have been carrying gold artefacts? Did Barrett twig what it was they were up to and try to blackmail them too? Barnaby visits the picturesque seaside town and finds help in the form of a former Hong Kong police officer Peter Hatchard (Dermot Crowley) who now runs the local fishmongers. Together they find the wreck and discover that the Florians have indeed been removing the artefacts in piecemeal. A search of their seaside home turns up the murder gun and cartridges matching those that killed Barrett. Barnaby and Scott duly arrest them, but Barnaby is not convinced that they did it. The rabbit that the Barnabys had for dinner the night before that they had to remove several bullets from provides a vital clue to the veteran detective apprehending the real killer...
All in all, Down Among The Dead Men is a highlight of season nine and, although I usually recommend newcomers to the series to begin with the pilot episode, The Killings At Badger's Drift, as the best place to sample the show, this too is also highly recommended. It has all the hallmarks of the series' early years: fine acting, top notch writing, direction and production values. It has an intriguing plot peopled with interesting characters, all of whom have something to hide and you wouldn't trust any of them an inch if you were investigating this case yourself. The unforgettable chemistry between John Nettles' Inspector Barnaby, his wife Joyce (Jane Wymark) and his daughter Cully (Laura Howard) that provided the comedy is still there. In this instance Joyce and Cully have to suffer his dreadful cooking when he forgets to remove the bullets from the rabbit he has cooked for their dinner. In the past, Barnaby had to suffer Joyce's experimental cooking so in this instance its the other way round. But, the bullets prove vital in helping him unmask the killer later on. Douglas Watkinson's scripts piles on the clues, red herrings and intrigue and the solution to the case when it comes is very satisfying and isn't that easily guessable. Director Renny Rye, who directed some of the best episodes of Agatha Christie's Poirot, was a natural for this series and he brings off this first rate whodunit with considerable relish. Colin Munn's lighting adds a lot to the proceedings by making maximum use of the English seaside locations from where much of the plot unfolds too. Needless to say, the performances are superb all round with Dermot Crowley of particular note as the ex-copper who isn't all he seems - does he have a connection with the murdered man that no one knows about? John Nettles gives his usual accomplished performance as the veteran inspector and the chemistry between him and Jason Hughes' young sergeant is a joy to watch.
In closing, if you have enjoyed all previous episodes of this series then you should love this too.
All in all, Down Among The Dead Men is a highlight of season nine and, although I usually recommend newcomers to the series to begin with the pilot episode, The Killings At Badger's Drift, as the best place to sample the show, this too is also highly recommended. It has all the hallmarks of the series' early years: fine acting, top notch writing, direction and production values. It has an intriguing plot peopled with interesting characters, all of whom have something to hide and you wouldn't trust any of them an inch if you were investigating this case yourself. The unforgettable chemistry between John Nettles' Inspector Barnaby, his wife Joyce (Jane Wymark) and his daughter Cully (Laura Howard) that provided the comedy is still there. In this instance Joyce and Cully have to suffer his dreadful cooking when he forgets to remove the bullets from the rabbit he has cooked for their dinner. In the past, Barnaby had to suffer Joyce's experimental cooking so in this instance its the other way round. But, the bullets prove vital in helping him unmask the killer later on. Douglas Watkinson's scripts piles on the clues, red herrings and intrigue and the solution to the case when it comes is very satisfying and isn't that easily guessable. Director Renny Rye, who directed some of the best episodes of Agatha Christie's Poirot, was a natural for this series and he brings off this first rate whodunit with considerable relish. Colin Munn's lighting adds a lot to the proceedings by making maximum use of the English seaside locations from where much of the plot unfolds too. Needless to say, the performances are superb all round with Dermot Crowley of particular note as the ex-copper who isn't all he seems - does he have a connection with the murdered man that no one knows about? John Nettles gives his usual accomplished performance as the veteran inspector and the chemistry between him and Jason Hughes' young sergeant is a joy to watch.
In closing, if you have enjoyed all previous episodes of this series then you should love this too.