Midsomer Murders (TV Series) Midsomer Life (2008) User Reviews

It's gotten better with time.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 7/10 · 5 March 2020]

A man missing for two weeks is discovered dead in his car, hidden away in a woods with a reputation.

It's an episode I didn't particularly care for when it was released, but it's definitely gotten better with time, I rather enjoyed it. It's a good story, it's intriguing enough, and has some decent characters. It boasts a wonderful cast, Simon Williams, Pooky Quesnel, MyAnna Buring, and the excellent Selina Cadell, she's a great mix of funny and tragic here.

The pub brawl is the best bit, the dialogue is great, as is the scene where Tom is punched. Brad will forever be the most irritating character in the show's creation, the kind of person you'd cross the road to avoid.

It's pretty good. 7/10

All stores out of charcoal?

[vitoscotti · 7/10 · 25 January 2020]

Nice script. Usual logic breaches. No charcoal? Stores sell charcoal year-round even in cold weather. They played up the coldness. But, it didn't appear freezing outside. Great twists and turns. Joyce involved is a plus. Joyce and Barnaby aging with no plastic surgery a plus. Call from Cully. No appearance. The drunk snoop is a great character. Off-roaders overact. Murders little gory. The rain for the barbecue fun touch. Vito S 1-25-20

good episode

[blanche-2 · 7/10 · 7 June 2013]

Did a professional hit man kill Charles Finlayson? He's found dead in his car behind his ex-wife Christine Finleyson's house, and there's a strange man who has booked a room at the hotel. A hit man, perhaps? Finleyson has been dead for about two weeks. Christine's brother works at the hotel behind the bar. The mystery man had an appointment to see Guy Sandys, editor of the magazine Midsomer Life. Sandys is also found dead. Suspects galore - he writes scathing restaurant reviews, and the hotel is about to get a rotten one, which could close them down.

It's not over yet, and Barnaby and Jones wonder if the murders are connected at all. Some secrets are uncovered, and, as usual, an event from some years ago serves as a catalyst for the present day. It takes time to sort through it.

This time, Barnaby's wife Joyce gets involved in the case as well.

I liked this episode. With so many seasons, there are some terrible episodes, some excellent ones, and some that are good if not great. This one is good. Just my opinion.

An Almost Prefect Episode

[samgrass-3 · 10/10 · 28 February 2020]

Off-roaders clearing a path for their vehicles discover the body of a man missing for a couple of weeks. When Barnaby and Jones investigate they find a connection between the man and the editor of a "country life" magazine. The editor, Guy Sandy's, who writes scathing reviews, is about to torch a local hotel run by Matt Morecroft with his poison pen. On top of all this is the appearance of a mystery man who had an appointment to see Sandys. Bodies begin turning up, including that of Sandys, and there is no lack of red herrings. But what makes this episode stand out is the interaction between the characters. The episode features strong performances from Simon Williams as Sandys, Pooky Quesnel as his editor, Julia Benson, and Thomas Lockyer as the hotel's owner. Selina Cadell, who specializes in playing eccentric types, walks away with every scene she's in. And for once there is room for an entertaining sub-plot featuring Barnaby's wife, Joyce, who along with daughter Cully, were the most underused characters in the series. Of course, it wouldn't be Midsomer Murders without a weird murder, and here we get one using a clothes dryer to dispatch the victim. It all makes for a compellingly entertaining episode that remains intriguing until the end.

Selina Cadell Makes This Episode Enjoyable

[labenji-12163 · 10/10 · 30 September 2021]

I can't believe the low reviews this episode received. I found this to be an enjoyable dramedy and Selina Cadell (one of my favs) was delightful. I thought the way in which she was murdered was a bit over the top --- but then again it was on brand for Midsomer.

If you enjoy a little comedy with your drama, then you should give this episode a watch.

Good solid Midsomer Murders episode.

[poolandrews · 7/10 · 14 July 2008]

Midsomer Murders: Midsomer Life is set in Midsomer Sonning & starts as the body of Charles Finleyson is discovered in his car just off a bridal path deep in some woods. DCI Tom Barnaby (John Nettles) & DS Ben Jones (Jason Hughes) are on the case but the corpse is up to two weeks old & identifying the cause of death is proving a problem. Meanwhile in the local village tensions are rising as rich upper-class Midsomer Life magazine owner Guy Sandys (Simon Williams) seems intent on antagonising the whole village & it's not long before he too turns up dead in a clear case of murder. With two seemingly unconnected death's on their hands Barnaby & Jones again have to uncover the truth in a village full of dark secrets & lies...

Episode 4 from season 11 (well according to the IMDb it is but episode 3 Left for Dead (2008) definitely hasn't aired yet) this Midsomer Murders mystery was directed by Peter Smith & after the entertaining Blood Wedding (2008) the show is starting to pick up a little consistent form again with Midsomer Life which is a terrific little episode in it's own right. The script by Guy Andrews gets things going straight away with a dead body turning up before the opening credits have even run & then there's another couple of murders, a missing man, a subplot about city off-roaders, a bar room brawl in which Barnaby gets a bloody nose, death by tumble dyer & letter spike, scandal, affairs & a charcoal shortage. The character's are well balanced for this type of show, there are plenty of people who could have done it with reasonable motives & the script doesn't make it too obvious who the killer is & there's enough subtly here to keep one guessing right up until the very end & a traditional flashback filled conclusion in which the killer is unmasked & their plans revealed where all the clues & exposition fall into place rather nicely. I am not sure about the motives here, OK so the killer had something to lose but to commit two murders is a little excessive just to prevent being ousted out as a not very nice person. At nearly two hours you need to concentrate as usual as the show is very exposition heavy but at the same time when it does all come together at the end it's very satisfying & rewarding. Anyone with an interest in murder mysteries or are just plain armchair detectives should love this, plain & simple. This episode sees Joyce get in on the act & do some detective work for Tom in an amusing subplot that doesn't get too silly. Midsomer Life is actually very well paced with a dead body turning up straight away to get the mystery going & then there's another couple of murders to keep things interesting & the last twenty odd minutes is the who, the where, the how & the why.

As I have said there's a good few dead bodies in this including a maggot covered leg, a surprisingly gory slit throat, a letter spike plunged into someone's chest & someone is killed by being stuffed in a tumble dryer & it being started! The Midsomer Murders production team do come up with imaginative ways to bump various character's off don't they? Again as usual the scenery is very distinctive & nice to look at, apparently the Spread Eagle Hotel in Thame in Oxfordshire was the location used for the Morecroft Hotel in this episode while Flaunden in Hertfordshie was another location used. The acting is top notch as usual too from a good cast.

Midsomer Life along with Blood Wedding have started off season eleven of Midsomer Murders really well & while not at it's absolute best this is still a great episode with lots of mystery, murder & intrigue. Fans of the series & murder mysteries in general with some patience should enjoy it.

All in all, a delight from start to finish.

[jamesraeburn2003 · 8/10 · 29 January 2022]

The body of Charlie Finlayson is discovered in the woods near Midsomer Sonning. DCI Barnaby (played by John Nettles) and DS Jones (played by Jason Hughes) find themselves investigating the staff of the Midsomer Life magazine because the dead man was married to the former wife of the publication's owner, Guy Sandys (played by Simon Williams), Christina (played by Serena Gordon). The detectives discover a feud between Sandys and the owner of the Morecroft Hotel, Matt (played by Thomas Lockyer), in which Sandys is banning him from advertising in his magazine and about to publish a scathing review about his business as well. In particular, the food, which is angering Morecroft's barman and chef, Martin Reid (played by Daniel Hill), who became bankcrupt after his own attempt to start a restaurant failed. In addition, there is animosity between the local people and well-to-do visitors from London who come to show off their expensive off road vehicles on Morecroft's driving range. Does all this add up to a motive for murder and who is the mysterious man, Tomlin (played by Richard Morant), who stays at the hotel, keeps himself to himself but has been seen watching the Midsomer Life offices? Three more deaths follow before Barnaby and Jones finally bring the culprit to book...

All in all, Midsomer Life is a delight from beginning to end. There are enough plot turns and red herrings to keep murder mystery buffs happy and, as ever, the acting is excellent all round from a top flight cast. The murder scenes are quite unsettling, but there are some great moments of humour to relieve the tension such as an hilarious pub brawl between the villagers and the revellers from London. Meanwhile, Jane Wymark gets more to do here in her regular role as DCI Barnaby's husband Joyce. She turns detective, much to her husband's annoyance, because she actually provides him with some important clues to solving the case. This provides some of the comedy relief too, but it also forms part of the story's very suspenseful climax. As usual, the top notch production values associated with this series are evident, the rural locations are attractive and add to the sense of the mysteriousness and the film is very ably directed by Peter Smith.

Quite a Few Red Herrings

[Hitchcoc · 7/10 · 26 April 2016]

This episode begins with an elderly man seeing something through some binoculars and then running for his life. He is later found dead in his car by some young people who apparently do off-road racing in their town. Apparently, these guys bring lots of money to the economy, although I don't know how. The true turmoil, however, involves a critic and a run down hotel. The people present in this hotel are barely hanging on. As is usually the case, there is history here. People are not what they seem. An interesting character is a middle aged woman who spends more time drinking wine that doing anything to help around the inn. She sees things but has little credibility. Two men are killed and she is somehow privy to who did it, but no-one cares what she has to say. Anyway, the conclusion sees to fall from the sky, contrived and over the top.

One of my favourite episodes.

[lindasue-50133 · 8/10 · 24 March 2019]

Interesting situation, with the influx of out of towners... Even though they are colossal pain in the butt who turned me off.

I love the weird dynamics of the Burnaby family in this ep: Cully hooks up with a guy who looks like a Ben substitute lol so weird ... And then Tom decides he's going to trump his daughter's honeymoon I going to New Zealand first?! I've seen families have meltdowns over stuff like that!

In the "good but not great" category

[TheLittleSongbird · 7/10 · 13 February 2017]

As has been said by me a number of times, 'Midsomer Murders' is one of my most watched and most re-watched shows. It is nowhere near as good now and the Tom Barnaby-era wasn't alien to average or less episodes, but when it was on form or at its best boy was it good.

While it is a long way from 'Midsomer Murders' at its best, "Midsomer Life" is not bad, pretty good in fact to me. Comparing it to the previous Season 11 episodes, "Midsomer Life" is the second best after "Blood Wedding", which was excellent. "Left for Dead" was also a decent episode that sadly fell apart with a terrible ending that is one of the show's worst. Then there's "Shot at Dawn", a poor start to the season and a poor episode in general, good opening but fell downhill fast, memorable for its ridiculousness (including perhaps the most outrageous attempted murder in 'Midsomer Murders' history).

"Midsomer Life" could have been better certainly. It is agreed (although the reviewer is far harsher on the episode than me) that the killer was pretty anonymous for much of the episode and pretty forgettable, that it was a surprise to find out that it was them, and that the motives were both drastic and flimsy. The final solution is contrived and somewhat convoluted, and one of the murders needed more explanation and like it came from nowhere.

However, the production values as always are just great, 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.

There are some thoughtful and humorous moments in the script, which is generally well structured and crafted, and the supporting characters are entertaining enough. The story is very compelling, there is a lot going on but doesn't get that confusing or overcrowded and apart from one of the murders it's wrapped up neatly but not too conveniently. Really liked the amusing and never overly-silly subplot with Joyce, and it was nice to see serve a proper purpose.

Really appreciated the first murder happening early on and that we didn't have to sit through at least 30 minutes of exposition (which varied in how interesting and necessary it was in most of the previous season and in "Shot at Dawn"). More red herrings, clues and twists and turns than with some of the previous episodes, and the characters are back to the colourfully eccentric ones. The murders are more grizzly than usual (without being overly or gratuitously so) and pretty inventive, the washing machine murder for 'Midsomer Murders' is unique.

John Nettles and Jason Hughes are both superb, individually and together (their chemistry, and the chemistry with Daniel Casey and John Hopkins before Hughes, being a huge part of their episodes' charm). Can't fault the supporting cast either, really liked Selina Caddell here.

In conclusion, good but not great. 7/10 Bethany Cox

A decent one.

[harrykivi · 6/10 · 19 June 2021]

The 11th season of "Midsomer Murders" has never been one of my favorites with "Shot at Dawn" being in my top 3 least favorite "Midsomer Murders". "Midsomer Life" though is not a bad episode , it's just fine (at least for me).

Let's start with the good aspects first.

. The production values are great as usual. The episode looks and sounds wonderful. The acting is solid enough. Selina Caddell is pretty good, so is David Crowe and Pooky Quesnel.

. The story is mostly intriguing. It is well-paced and there are some clever red herrings here. The murder of Eleanor Crouch is one of the better killings of the 11th season. Really liked Joyce's subplot and the humor too.

But...

. There are characters in this story, who could have been more fleshed out. Charlie Finleyson and Brad being the first ones that come to mind. At the end of the day I know almost nothing about them.

. In terms of other "Midsomer Murders" episodes, "Midsomer Life" does not feel special. If I'm honest, it is easily the most forgetable episode of the 11th season.

. Also, the solution with Julia turning out to be the killer, left me cold. It's not an awful solution ("Left for Dead" is way worse), but the murder of Fredrick Tomlin needed a lot more explaination and Barnaby did not seem to have any strong evidence against the culprit, which made the ending too circumstantial.

Overall, a decent one.

6/10 HK.

Total flop

[enkiddu-725-703632 · 1/10 · 29 April 2010]

This episode can be compared only to "Sins of Commission" - they both are the worst episode MM-team has ever produced! Hoskins, who enjoyed me so much in "Hidden depths", disappointed me terribly with this "masterpiece". There's only one decent moment that deserved being mentioned - perfect play of Selina Cadel. Here the advantages come to their natural end. First of all, one can hardly imagine any other plot that could be less convincing than this one (except "Sins of Commision", of course!). I am ready to believe in aliens then in this dull story of "Midsomer Life"! Absolutely far-fetched. Then, what I didn't like either - the plot is split into many story lines that are very hard to follow, the mystery of the first dead body is revealed just in the end of the film, about the first dead body we learn only from Barnaby's exposing story, the second murder is being produced with the most strange weapon that one can only imagine, but the third murder - my God, I was under my table laughing while watching that! The culprit appears only towards the middle of the films and remains absolutely inactive during the film, so that when she was being exposed as a murderess I couldn't even recall her name! The motives for murders are not likely, it's hard to imagine that one could possibly kill 3 people for that (if one is not insane, of course), everything in this episode looks strained and not natural. I consider this episode as "the second worst" after "The Sins of Commissions".

One of the worst episodes ever!

[andrew-805 · 2/10 · 27 March 2018]

A mess of an episode. When the pub brawl starts it is as if the writer just gave up. Everything predictable even the numerous red herrings. It was a nightmare, says one of the people- too true!!