The seventh season has been rather fine throughout with "The Green man", "Bad Tidings" and "The Maid in Splendor" being good. "The Fisher King" and "Sins of Commission" were only decent, though could have been a lot better.
"The Straw Woman" on the other hand is easily the worst of the season and definitely the weakest "Midsomer murders" after "The Electric vendetta". I would say it's on the same level as "Who killed Cock Robin?", which was also bland and forgettable...
Before trashing, let's have a look at the positives.
. The production values are usually wonderful. The music's haunting enough and direction's smooth. Actors like Jemima Rooper, Maggie O' Neill, Keith Barron and others are doing the best they can with the material in hand.
.If there is one thing "The Straw Woman" gets right, it's the atmosphere, which is very unsettling. The homages to several horror movies such as "The Wicker man" help the case. The death scenes are VERY brutal and not for the faint of heart.
But...
. The story of "The Straw Woman" is disappointingly a dull mess with much of the humor missing and characters being too unlikable for their own good. Twists and turns the story takes feel out of left field and not well executed. It doesn't take away the fact that the narrative is just boring :)
. Dan Scott's view of the murder mystery, after Liz Francis dies, does feel incompetent and the romance between the two I didn't buy at all.
. Solution's also ridiculous with boring identity of the killer and ill-logical motives.
Overall: an underwhelming mess.
4/10 HK
"The Straw Woman" on the other hand is easily the worst of the season and definitely the weakest "Midsomer murders" after "The Electric vendetta". I would say it's on the same level as "Who killed Cock Robin?", which was also bland and forgettable...
Before trashing, let's have a look at the positives.
. The production values are usually wonderful. The music's haunting enough and direction's smooth. Actors like Jemima Rooper, Maggie O' Neill, Keith Barron and others are doing the best they can with the material in hand.
.If there is one thing "The Straw Woman" gets right, it's the atmosphere, which is very unsettling. The homages to several horror movies such as "The Wicker man" help the case. The death scenes are VERY brutal and not for the faint of heart.
But...
. The story of "The Straw Woman" is disappointingly a dull mess with much of the humor missing and characters being too unlikable for their own good. Twists and turns the story takes feel out of left field and not well executed. It doesn't take away the fact that the narrative is just boring :)
. Dan Scott's view of the murder mystery, after Liz Francis dies, does feel incompetent and the romance between the two I didn't buy at all.
. Solution's also ridiculous with boring identity of the killer and ill-logical motives.
Overall: an underwhelming mess.
4/10 HK