Midsomer Murders (TV Series) Four Funerals and a Wedding (2006) User Reviews

A bit convoluted, premise a bit unusual I guess

[safenoe · 6/10 · 10 February 2016]

I found the male vs female rivalry a bit hard to understand in the context of Midsomer Murders. Sure, you get village rivalries, but the male vs female rivalry in Four Funerals and Wedding required way too much suspension of disbelief because I was thinking, how do the two camps procreate when there's so much hatred amongst the genders? I know that problem was solved in the episode The Night of the Stag (a bit gruesome that one).

Many years ago VH 1 screened Pop Up Video, where "pop up bubbles" (factoids) appeared throughout music videos. I must admit, I find it a bit hard at times to keep up with the cast of guest characters (maybe some of them look alike perhaps?) so I wish the producers would have a special Pop Up episode so we can identity which character is which. That would increase the pleasure of watching Midsomer Murders.

Decent enough Midsomer Murders episode.

[poolandrews · 6/10 · 3 January 2009]

Midsomer Murders: Four Funerals and a Wedding is set in the small village of Broughton in which a feud between the sexes has divided the village since Word War One, the feud has been passed down the generations where the pro-feminist female side call themselves the Skimmington's while the misogynistic males call themselves the Rider's. Mildred Danvers (Ann Morrish) returns to Broughton after several decades for the funeral of her one time close friend Vivienne Marwood. It's the day of the annual Skimmington Fayre & DCI Tom Barnaby (John Nettles) has been dragged along by his wife Joyce (Jane Wymark) & his mother-in-law Muriel (Daphne Oxenford) only to called into official action when Mildred is found dead in her hotel room. Barnaby suspects foul play & when later in the day local Rev. Anthony Gant (Richard McCabe) is shot in the head & murdered during a Donkey race(!) Barnaby has a double homicide on his hands...

Episode 5 from season 9 this Midsomer Murders mystery was directed by Sarah Hellings & is a pretty decent episode although I found it a little silly at times & isn't up there with the series classics. The title Four Funerals and a Wedding is obviously a pun on the smash-hit British comedy Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) & as the title suggests there are four death's although (only one funeral is shown) & a wedding at the end of a fairly by-the-numbers Midsomer Murders episode, it isn't bad by any stretch of the imagination but if I had the choice to watch any Midsomer Murders episode again I doubt very much I would pick Four Funerals and a Wedding. It starts off quite good with a couple of quick fire murders & yet another comic relief subplot about Barnaby's in-law including an amusing one where someone is shot through the head while riding a Donkey! The killer's motives are alright & the back-story is decent too although I don't understand why they didn't kill Dr. O'Dowd when they had the chance & when he clearly saw them & therefore identify them to the police, I am not sure if it was meant to be obvious why they didn't kill the doc but if it was it passed me by. I wasn't too keen on the silly plot about Broughton being divided into two separate feuding factions, a bunch of guy's against some ladies just seemed a little whimsical to me. As usual there is lots of exposition & dialogue so you need to concentrate & have patience with it, those with a short attention span need not bother with it.

Four Funerals and a Wedding is one of those Midsomer Murders episodes which features a village fête, I must admit I have lived in England all my life & have never seen a village fête in reality & I am starting to wonder whether this staple film & telly cliché is just that. There are three murders although two are off screen with the third not showing anything graphic. Filmed in Buckinghamshire the photography is as nice as usual & the production values are high. The acting is pretty good although no-one stands out particularly.

Four Funerals and a Wedding is a good solid Midsomer Murders episode that features a decent body count & a reasonable plot but a slightly silly premise & an overall feeling that it's no more than average ultimately prevents it from being regarded as a classic in my mind.

'Midsomer Murders' very own battle of the sexes

[TheLittleSongbird · 7/10 · 7 February 2017]

Of the ninth season, the best episode to me is "The House in the Woods", which had so much of what makes 'Midsomer Murders' so good and representative of the show on top form. "Vixen's Run" was also a lot of fun, and "Dead Letters" and "Down Among the Dead Men" were pretty good too.

"Four Funerals and a Weddings" is also a decent episode, though not as good as the previous episodes before it which were easier to follow and took themselves more seriously. Don't get me wrong, "Four Funerals and a Wedding" is entertaining and well-made stuff, but sometimes goes overboard with the silliness (likes the clues that lead to the truth and at times the over-egged nature of the battle of the sexes concept) and suffers a little from parts that veer on the over-complicated and a few too many characters with some faring better than others.

However, the production values as always are top notch, with to die for scenery, the idyllic look of it contrasting very well with the story's grimness, and quaint and atmospheric photography. The music fits perfectly, with some lush jauntiness and sometimes an ominous quality, and the theme tune one of the most memorable and instantly recognisable of the genre.

Meanwhile, the script is smart and thought-provoking with some nice quirky humour (especially in the dialogue between Barnaby and Jones, which made me laugh out loud more than once), a grimness and with characters that are mostly colourful and eccentric. The story is mostly very absorbing and well paced with conflict that is interesting and entertaining.

The acting is fine, with John Nettles a joy and Jason Hughes bringing appeal and nice wry humour to Jones. The two work extremely well together. The rest of the supporting cast fare very well.

In summary, not great but still decent. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Most confusing episode ever

[lbowdls · 6/10 · 12 October 2019]

I have just watched this episode for the 5th time and as others have mentioned on here - so I'm not the only one- it's so confusing even knowing the murderer i still can't work out the twisted lineage of all the people. And who is who. A family feud suddenly happens halfway through the episode which doesn't help. And the fact that it's similar in theme to another episode Night of the Stag doesn't help and other repeating themes. I want to love this episode because in essence it's a great mystery and I don't mind complex but this is far beyond. So for those who can follow this episode good for you but I just can't.

Great Episode, Ridiculous Plot

[roastpuppy-256-746071 · 9/10 · 9 July 2014]

This episode was great even though the plot made absolutely no sense whatsoever. Mildred Danvers, a woman in her 70s, returns to Midsomer Broughton after 40 years and upon seeing Henry Marwood, realizes he is the son of an old flame. Now, we know Lorna Hastings (who was employed by the Marwoods) had a child the same age as that of her mistress and the Marwood son was named Henry. There was a fire and Lorna decides to switch the babies so that her own son would be brought up as a privileged (though debt-ridden) Marwood. Mildred Danvers immediately jumps to the conclusion that it was Lorna Hastings and not Mrs. Marwood who had a fling with another man. Why? It could have been either woman because the children were the same age. So when confronted, why didn't Lorna Hastings deny the accusation and say it was Mrs. Marwood who gave birth to a child that belonged to a man other than her husband? Instead, she kills Ms. Danvers!

If this wasn't ridiculous enough, we are then supposed to believe that because one of Lorna's eyelashes was found in Mildred Danvers' flask -- Ms. Danvers was killed by an overdose of barbiturates in her flask -- this proved Lorna Hastings is the one who killed her. Why? Isn't it possible she took a swig from Ms. Danvers' flask at some point or other and this was the reason one of her eyelashes ended up in the flask? (Actually, it is highly unlikely a person would get an eyelash in a flask of brandy while drinking from it or lacing it with barbiturates.)

This is another case of writers and producers throwing something together without paying attention to detail. However, because the episode had some very strong characters, e.g., Rev. Anthony Grant, the gay vicar who despised women; the filming was atmospheric and there were some interesting subplots, Four Funerals and a Wedding was a success.

Skimmington has its problems

[blanche-2 · 7/10 · 7 June 2015]

In "Four Funerals and a Wedding," the Barnaby family attends the annual Skimmington Fair, with Joyce's mother in tow. The Skimmington Fair is a men against woman thing, coming out of some old treatment of women in the town.

Joyce always says that murder follows her husband, not the other way around, and today is no exception. The first murder is that of Mildred Danvers, from an overdose of barbiturates slipped into her brandy.

There is one other death that leads Barnaby and Jones closer to a solution, part of which is the result of a long-ago event. Four deaths in all.

Lots of adultery in Skimmington, a doctor who falls under suspicion, and the sharp eye of Mrs. Danvers all figure into the mystery.

There were holes in the plot but the photography and atmosphere were great. Still worth seeing.

It's nonsense, but I loved it.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 9/10 · 16 September 2018]

If you were to read this plot in a text, or as a novel, you'd probably give up half way through, claiming it was utterly nonsensical, and it is. The plot is pretty silly, as is the age old village custom featuring the Skimingtons.

Despite the slightly batty plot, I really enjoyed this episode, it's very typical Midsomer Murders, wonderful locations, eccentric characters, and of course a high body count.

The strength here lies with the characters, and performances, all of which are very sincere and strong. Struan Rodger, Dominic Jephcott and Sandra Voe were particularly good in it.

Bonkers, fun enjoyable. Points for the clever title too. 9/10

Battle of the Sexes

[Hitchcoc · 7/10 · 31 March 2016]

This one is a bit lightweight. The premise of a village continuing a strange custom of women attacking men each year seems sort of odd. This is pretty much just background for a plot about a coupler of murders based on an event that happened many years ago. A couple of children were switched at birth. An old woman is killed because of knowledge she has. A second one for the same reason. He is a priest and he is shot in the head by a high powered rifle with a scope, while he rides backward on a donkey, being struck by the women with ladles while he rides. Apparently, if he is knocked off his ass, he will bring shame to the male population. Once again, Barnaby finds himself at a Midsommer festival, suddenly thrust into an investigation, to the chagrin of his wife and mother-in-law. Actually, he prefers to be there so he doesn't have to be at home. I have to say the the result of all the hue and cry is somewhat disappointing. Average fare.

Technical advice needed!

[bob-1135 · 8/10 · 1 March 2019]

The shooting competition was laughable! No way would you fire high powered rifles at a target tacked to a couple of straw bales. This would require a properly constituted rifle range. Please get this right - it makes us shooters look like idiots!

Too confusing by half

[boxyfella · 6/10 · 5 October 2021]

Season 9 has been really good, but this one lets it down badly. The premise of a battle of the sexes in the village is ludicrous. As usual there are some interesting characters, perhaps too many, and it all got a little confusing. I was struggling to figure out the relationships between people and who was who, and it got a whole lot worse when the explanation of the baby switch came in - something which seemed to be at the heart of the reasons for the killings. There have been many worse episodes (particularly in the later seasons) but it must rank amongst the worst of the Tom Barnaby era.

Why does Lorna Hastings not kill Dr O'Dowd, and other spoilers

[paperbag-66139 · 9/10 · 5 September 2023]

1) Other reviewers have expressed confusion with one very curious part of the story: why doesn't Lorna Hastings kill the doctor, Kieron O'Dowd, after she knocks him unconscious? This part really confused me as well, so I watched the episode a second time.

Lorna Hastings doesn't kill Dr O'Dowd because earlier that same day, he had expressed his love to her in a brief scene at 55:18 - 56:36.

"It's always cruel postponements with you females, when you know what I've felt about you all these years."

Later in the scene, O'Dowd says "I won't be talking. You can count on me." He is referring to Peggy Aynscombe and Henry Marwood's secret relationship, but the implication is twofold: he loves Lorna, and can be counted on to keep secrets, including hers.

The writer must have thrown in this brief scene to provide a backstory for why Lorna doesn't kill O'Dowd.

2) if you watch carefully, you can see Lorna steal Fiona's car keys at 31:21.

3) Plot hole At 1:20:14 Barnaby is in the incident room going over the list of people who survived or died in the fire in Marwood Hall in August 1960. If you pause the film, you'll see that Henry Marwood is listed as four yeas old. However, at 1:25:49, during Barnaby's final interview of Lorna Hastings, he says "So a year after the babies were born, Benjamin and Henry, a fire broke out at Marwood hall." Were the switched babies one or four years old? Most likely they were one year olds, since, by four years old, they would be easy to tell apart. Someone on the production team probably forgot to correct the piece of paper with the list of fire victims on it to say "1 Year" instead of "4 years" for baby Henry Marwood.

Other than that, I really liked this episode. It's quite complex. Two viewings required.

A fine episode!

[harrykivi · 6/10 · 1 September 2022]

The 9th season of "Midsomer Murders" has been quite strong with "The House in the Woods" being particularly good, <"Four Funerals and a Wedding" on the other hand is not one of the season's highlights. It is not a bad entry to the series, it's just decent.

Let's start with the good aspects, shall we?

. The production values of this episode are great as usual. The direction's solid and so is the music. The acting is good for the most part. John Nettles and Jason Hughes are lovely in the leads, but out of the guest stars Dominic Jephcott and Sandra Voe fare the best.

. The story has some solid intrigue and humor in it, there are interesting twists here and there. The solution( Lorna being the killer) was okay as well.

But...

. The narrative tends to get too stupid from time to time with too much time dedicated to the fight between sexes without fleshing all of the characters out. There are parts of the story that needed a bit more explaination and felt nonsensical as well (For instance: why wasn't the doctor killed if he saw the killer?)

Overall, a fine episode.

6/10 HK.

Midsomer Murders - Four Funerals and A Wedding

[patrick-dorr · 3/10 · 3 June 2017]

First, I absolutely love Midsomer Murders, but it does lose its way at times! This episode bordered on absurdity with regards to the war between the men and the women in the village. But what really bothered me was the ending, at the wedding, Tom Darnaby was allowing the "killer," who was the mother of the groom, to watch the wedding before going back to jail. We have had past episodes of this nature when the killer had strong redeeming traits and the victims did not. BUT HERE, the woman had killed three people--two of them young! I'm sure the police, in the real world, would allow this!!!! But the worst part of it was that the two younger people she killed were both gay. The fact that their killer was allowed to come to the wedding would seem to minimize the significance of their deaths. I am not gay, but the meanness in the world at this time toward people who have differences really bothers me.

Good UK Television movie part of series

[jaybob · 7/10 · 25 March 2009]

Normally I do not review movies made for Television. The title 'Four Funerals and a Wedding' intrigued me.

This is just one of the many Teleplays they made from the series "Midsomer Murders' I believe the series is about 66 episodes.

It is similar in style to the Dame Agatha Christie' 'Miss Marple series.

It is good & enjoyable & we do not find out who did murders until the very end.

I did like it, I am just not sure if I will put any more on my NetFlix queue.

If I want to watch a show like this I will find one of our Angela Lansbury tapes of her TV show "Murder She Wrote

Ratings: *** (out of 4)82 Points (out of 100) IMDb 7 (out of 10)

Jessica Brookes

[marklaw-37806 · 7/10 · 15 November 2020]

What a beautiful woman! Makes my knees shake, and more. :-0

Confusing characters and plot

[Hughmanity · 5/10 · 3 May 2019]

I love Midsomer Murders but this episode is a muddled mess. Many more characters than typical and we don't even get half their names until late in the show. One character was just "Doctor" until he got killed and then we finally see his name on signage.

Some ridiculous feud between the sexes was going on and then we had some families feuding as well, but who was part of what I couldn't tell because again no or just partial names given through much of the show.

Motivations for the killer seemed very weak, especially after the first killing. Denials would have been a much more sensible road.

Murder She Wrote quality

[vitoscotti · 3/10 · 12 December 2019]

Felt joy just to reach the end. Ridiculous story premise was an embarrassment. They all can't be gems, but this was a stinker. If this was was my first Brit detective mystery it might be my last. Vito S 12/12/19

TRASH

[ksullo · 3/10 · 19 August 2019]

Worthless as far as 21st century goes....makes England look like it's stuck in the 18th century.....dont waste your time...sorry I did