"Midsomer Murders" has had its fair share of bad episodes. "Echoes of the Dead" is definitely one of the lesser quality episodes of the 14th season and one of the worst entries to this wonderful series.
It's not all bad though.
. The production values of the episode are great as usual. The direction is decent and the music fits the scenery. Adrian Rawlins is not bad in the episode, neither is Pam Ferris, but out of the guest stars Sarah Smart gives the most compelling performance.
. There are some eerie moments here and there (agreed, that the scene, where the killer whistles "Bridal Chorus", was effective) and there are some interesting ideas about trying to examine why people commit murders.
But...
. The script is a mess with weak dialogue and characters, who are not very interesting to be honest. Neil Dudgeon gives his worst performance as John Barnaby, he is not into the story and comes off arrogant towards his partner. Most of the subplots go nowhere and the violence in the story is quite to take at times. The solution (Mr. Orchard is the murderer) is very obvious and the motives for the murders are laughable at best. John Barnaby does not even figure out the killer's identity!
Overall, a terrible episode.
3/10 HK.
It's not all bad though.
. The production values of the episode are great as usual. The direction is decent and the music fits the scenery. Adrian Rawlins is not bad in the episode, neither is Pam Ferris, but out of the guest stars Sarah Smart gives the most compelling performance.
. There are some eerie moments here and there (agreed, that the scene, where the killer whistles "Bridal Chorus", was effective) and there are some interesting ideas about trying to examine why people commit murders.
But...
. The script is a mess with weak dialogue and characters, who are not very interesting to be honest. Neil Dudgeon gives his worst performance as John Barnaby, he is not into the story and comes off arrogant towards his partner. Most of the subplots go nowhere and the violence in the story is quite to take at times. The solution (Mr. Orchard is the murderer) is very obvious and the motives for the murders are laughable at best. John Barnaby does not even figure out the killer's identity!
Overall, a terrible episode.
3/10 HK.