I guess it refers to the fact that the murders here are alleged copies of past killings, but as an analogy it's awkward, since it's not the dead that are "echoing" but rather the methods by which they were killed. "Echoes of Murder" would be more on point. The whole copycat crime scenario is a tired trope, anyway, which has been used on SO many mystery series and which is handled in an unimaginative and uncompelling way here. As far as I recall we don't even really get to find out much about the earlier murders, other than that Barnaby likes to read about them, to "learn" from them. Ironic that with all that reading he never learns the solution to this case.
Having watched the first three Neil Dudgeon episodes in season 14, I have to say I find him annoyingly off-putting as the new DCI. The John Barnaby character appears to suffer from Multiple Personality Syndrome: with his wife he essays a light upbeat "sexy" chemistry which never really comes off as authentic; with his partner Jones he's overly hostile and dismissive for no apparent reason that I can fathom (it seems like the writers expect us to find this funny, but it's not); and confronting the murderers he goes all outraged and self-righteous, reminiscent of the Law And Order: SVU detectives who TAKE. EVERY. CASE. PERSONALLY. Dudgeon, whom I liked as the impassive chauffeur in the Mrs. Bradley Mysteries, doesn't succeed here in integrating all these character aspects convincingly, and the result is an extremely unlikable series lead. Which is a big problem.
In this particular episode, the main writing weaknesses have already been pointed out by other reviewers - the shoddy police procedures (lack of protection for someone who clearly should have had it), the killer being caught through sheer outside luck rather than through any detecting the police did, and especially, the fairly blatant telegraphing of the killer's identity to the viewers - I pegged the culprit early on, about twenty minutes or so into the story, and at no subsequent point was I ever swayed into thinking it might be someone else.
That being said, there are some nice directorial touches. A murder which occurs midway through takes a page from Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy - the camera slowly backs away from the exterior of a house where a woman has just gone back inside after checking in her garden for an intruder she thought she heard. We don't see or hear anything happen, but it's a creepy moment, especially in light of what we later learn. Also strong is the chilling finale sequence where the discovery of a new pair of murder victims is intercut with the killer stalking yet another intended victim while unknowingly being observed. It actually shows some imagination on the writer's part and is directed superbly, with a very eerie and disturbing atmosphere, and skillful camera work and editing which provide an excellent buildup of suspense. The crimes on Midsomer are usually not exactly "scary" to watch - they feel expected, to a degree, and are handled in a semi-detached way that could be described as "discreet". Sometimes there is even an element of black humor to them. This particular scene, though, is genuinely terrifying - it's the scariest thing I have seen on MM. Unfortunately, we then have to listen to Barnaby blather on at length to wrap things up, because he doesn't figure anything out about the current crimes until AFTER the murderer is in police custody.
Pros: Sykes the dog (of course)
Good performances by the guest actors, even in some underwritten roles.
Very good direction, especially on that nail-biter of a climax.
Cons: The character of John Barnaby (a huge one that cannot be overlooked)
Haphazard writing which is either not thought out enough (as in the lame police work), or else guilty of - excuse the pun - overkill (giving the murderer THREE separate motive elements: a quasi-religious angle, a desire to recreate past crimes, and a crushing personal-life event, when just one of those would have sufficed).
Overall score: 5.
Having watched the first three Neil Dudgeon episodes in season 14, I have to say I find him annoyingly off-putting as the new DCI. The John Barnaby character appears to suffer from Multiple Personality Syndrome: with his wife he essays a light upbeat "sexy" chemistry which never really comes off as authentic; with his partner Jones he's overly hostile and dismissive for no apparent reason that I can fathom (it seems like the writers expect us to find this funny, but it's not); and confronting the murderers he goes all outraged and self-righteous, reminiscent of the Law And Order: SVU detectives who TAKE. EVERY. CASE. PERSONALLY. Dudgeon, whom I liked as the impassive chauffeur in the Mrs. Bradley Mysteries, doesn't succeed here in integrating all these character aspects convincingly, and the result is an extremely unlikable series lead. Which is a big problem.
In this particular episode, the main writing weaknesses have already been pointed out by other reviewers - the shoddy police procedures (lack of protection for someone who clearly should have had it), the killer being caught through sheer outside luck rather than through any detecting the police did, and especially, the fairly blatant telegraphing of the killer's identity to the viewers - I pegged the culprit early on, about twenty minutes or so into the story, and at no subsequent point was I ever swayed into thinking it might be someone else.
That being said, there are some nice directorial touches. A murder which occurs midway through takes a page from Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy - the camera slowly backs away from the exterior of a house where a woman has just gone back inside after checking in her garden for an intruder she thought she heard. We don't see or hear anything happen, but it's a creepy moment, especially in light of what we later learn. Also strong is the chilling finale sequence where the discovery of a new pair of murder victims is intercut with the killer stalking yet another intended victim while unknowingly being observed. It actually shows some imagination on the writer's part and is directed superbly, with a very eerie and disturbing atmosphere, and skillful camera work and editing which provide an excellent buildup of suspense. The crimes on Midsomer are usually not exactly "scary" to watch - they feel expected, to a degree, and are handled in a semi-detached way that could be described as "discreet". Sometimes there is even an element of black humor to them. This particular scene, though, is genuinely terrifying - it's the scariest thing I have seen on MM. Unfortunately, we then have to listen to Barnaby blather on at length to wrap things up, because he doesn't figure anything out about the current crimes until AFTER the murderer is in police custody.
Pros: Sykes the dog (of course)
Good performances by the guest actors, even in some underwritten roles.
Very good direction, especially on that nail-biter of a climax.
Cons: The character of John Barnaby (a huge one that cannot be overlooked)
Haphazard writing which is either not thought out enough (as in the lame police work), or else guilty of - excuse the pun - overkill (giving the murderer THREE separate motive elements: a quasi-religious angle, a desire to recreate past crimes, and a crushing personal-life event, when just one of those would have sufficed).
Overall score: 5.