This was a much better episode than the first, which introduced DCI John Barnaby to us and Midsomer County. The addition of John Barnaby's wife, Sarah (Fiona Dolman) is a huge plus. Their banter, her liveliness, and her career as Causton school administrator is almost sure to be an asset to future episodes.
While I agree that the dumbing down of DS Ben Jones is noticeable and a little odd, what none of the reviewers seem to notice is that the same can be said of Dr. George Bullard, the police medical examiner.
This season John Barnaby has had to tell Bullard how to do his job more thoroughly at least once in both episodes. And each time, John Barnaby is shown to be correct. Dr. Bullard was never portrayed as being dull witted or stubborn--or whatever his problem is--when Tom Barnaby was DCI. In both Jones and Bullard's case, I hope the writers choose to bring the characters back to their original intelligence and rapport.
As far as the case this week, I found the characters enjoyable to watch--some were ditzy, some were conniving, and some were interesting. While the big secret was not one I guessed beforehand, the killer did seem obvious once the second murder occurred.
While I agree that the dumbing down of DS Ben Jones is noticeable and a little odd, what none of the reviewers seem to notice is that the same can be said of Dr. George Bullard, the police medical examiner.
This season John Barnaby has had to tell Bullard how to do his job more thoroughly at least once in both episodes. And each time, John Barnaby is shown to be correct. Dr. Bullard was never portrayed as being dull witted or stubborn--or whatever his problem is--when Tom Barnaby was DCI. In both Jones and Bullard's case, I hope the writers choose to bring the characters back to their original intelligence and rapport.
As far as the case this week, I found the characters enjoyable to watch--some were ditzy, some were conniving, and some were interesting. While the big secret was not one I guessed beforehand, the killer did seem obvious once the second murder occurred.