Midsomer Murders (TV Series) Not in My Back Yard (2011) User Reviews

A new development

[Tweekums · 8/10 · 13 January 2011]

Within minutes of this episode opening tempers flare at a garden party being held by a local developer; plenty of villagers don't think his modern house should have been built and certainly don't think he should be allowed to build further houses and business premises in the village. That night as one of the women who objected to him sneaks onto his property she is murdered by being stabbed repeatedly with a broken bottle, violent even for Midsomer! It soon becomes clear that many people there have their secrets and motives; the developer's house had been vandalised by the victim, the architect is blackmailing the builder and the builder is sleeping with a member of the planning committee for a start and there is also a former member of the special forces who is standing against the developer in a local election. This being Midsomer there isn't just one death and the second and third are even more grisly than the first. While waiting for the killer to be unmasked we have blackmail, burglary, betrayal, and more than one sexual indiscretion exposed, all of which muddies the waters as to who the killer will be.

This episode got off to a good start wasting no time in setting up and antagonistic situation, killing off one of the antagonists and setting up a variety of suspects and motivations. As usual the acting was good from both the regular cast and guest stars. The murders were suitably gruesome without being too shocking to watch, in fact the second wasn't too surprising; once we'd seen the malfunctioning door it was just a question of who and when it would kill somebody. If you are a fan of the series I'm sure you'll enjoy this episode and even if you haven't seen the series before this story is easy to follow.

Subject used to death. But, works

[vitoscotti · 6/10 · 23 March 2020]

The supermarket development unwanted by townspeople has been done a couple times on MM. Also, "A Touch of Frost" used it once, maybe twice. Very well done here. Emotional acting, but not overacting. The lesbian told by her lover over the phone to scram gives away it's knockout Liz (Amanda Drew) on the other end of the phone. And, most probably the killer. Even with the giveaway it's a good tense ending. Again, Joyce is tied in as a member of the conservation group. Which is fine, she's so important to the series. The episode is slightly better than ok, but not great, other than Amanda Drew. Vito S 3-23-20

No one wants a shopping mall

[blanche-2 · 7/10 · 4 August 2015]

I thought this was a good Midsomer Murders, with some slimy characters.

In the village of Great Pelfe, conservationists are fighting a proposed development there, feeling it will destroy the integrity of the village. Some say it's a scam and will never be built; it will be proved too expensive and then the project will be bought out by a shopping mall development - which is a common way to get a mall into a village.

Maureen Stubbs is one of the most vocal opponents, and doesn't mind calling people names in public. She is found dead not long after the episode begins.

There are two more murders, the next two absolutely dreadful, as Barnaby and Jones hone in on the killer, knowing it has to do with this development and the fight going on in the village. Before it's over, they will discover a traitor to the conservationist cause, a lot of sleeping around, and someone who doesn't mind doing whatever has to be done to get a desired goal - including gruesome murders.

This one pulls out all the stops for ugly murders and a couple of loathsome characters and keeps one interested. The only problem I had was with the way Barnaby asked the questions. He sounded really sly and as if he doubted everything the person answered before he answered. It was a little strange.

A solid episode.

Beware the Supermarket developers.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 7/10 · 26 May 2017]

Barnaby and Jones get involved in a case of political unrest, with two sides at odds over a proposed development site. Things take a darker turn as people concerned start popping off in grizzly ways.

You wouldn't say this is the most original story, one that's been done several times, but that's disguised by the character driven feel of it. Linda Marlowe's Fiona is a great character, so flirtatious and debauched. Hugo Speer and Peter Egan give good solid performances too.

Some rather good moments of menace, the doorway murder is rather grizzly, as is the moment when you see Liz stalked by a masked figure, straight out of a thriller.

All in all despite being slightly formulaic, it's very enjoyable, the concept of poison by Irukandji Jellyfish is very interesting, it's a fantastically deadly animal worth checking out.

A decent mystery

[wjspears · 8/10 · 12 January 2022]

Since I am rarely expecting anything really "new" in any murder mystery I read or watch, complaints about that fall on deaf ears, as far as I am concerned.

I look for interesting characters who have shades of guilt and innocence about them, and this episode had that.

I look for suspense and tension to build, and as is often the case, Midsomer Murders delivers on that front here.

Finally, in the better episodes, something a bit startling usually occurs to jolt me out the the complacency that murder mysteries can induce in me.

Here, in this episode, the second murder--while forecast before hand,--nonetheless was gruesome, yet captivating to watch as it played out.

Finally, the killer was a surprise to me until about the last 10 minutes, when the plot began to be unraveled by Barnaby.

All in all a very decent send-up for Tom Barnaby's penultimate episode on Midsomer Murders.

Another fine episode.

[harrykivi · 6/10 · 4 December 2022]

"Not in My Back Yard" is another fine episode in the great series of "Midsomer Murders".

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

. The production values of the episode are great. The direction's very good as usual and the music fits the scenery. The acting is mostly good. John Nettles and Jason Hughes are fantastic in the leads, but out of the fine guest stars Peter Egan and Linda Marlowe fare the best.

. The murders are clever, the characters interesting enough and there are some compelling plotlines in the story.

But....

. Do agree, that Tom Barnaby is not his usual self in this episode, he seemed to throw lucky guesses around. The story of "Not in My Back Yard", while decent, does not offer anything new to the series and feels "been there , done that" at the end of the end. Also, agree, that the solution (Liz turning out to be the killer) needed a bit better explanation (especially when it comes to murder methods).

Overall, a fine episode.

6/10 HK.

Great....

[normanclark-77309 · 10/10 · 13 October 2020]

Love all these shows.....they are so good.......much better than the old car and gun junk shows.....

The sinister side to property development and politics

[TheLittleSongbird · 7/10 · 24 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.

"Not in My Back Yard" is not classic 'Midsomer Murders', like the best of Seasons 1-9 and "Master Class" from the same season. It is though one of the better faring episodes of Season 13, not as good as "Master Class" but nowhere near embarrassment levels like "The Made-to-Measure Murders" and "Blood on the Saddle". A decent 'Midsomer Murders' episode that falls short of being great.

Starting with the good things, 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.

Writing provokes a lot of thought mostly, and has a healthy balance of the humorous and the darkly twisted. Love the chemistry between Barnaby and Jones and how property development and politics is explored in a sinister way. The murders are among the most imaginative and memorable of Seasons 10-13 (when the show became more uneven and showing signs of becoming stale), especially the malfunctioning electronic door one. Some nice twists and turns along the way and intriguing subplots too.

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).

At the same time, "Not in My Back Yard" is slightly routine with ideas that are familiar to 'Midsomer Murders' and have been done with more impact. Parts could have been elaborated upon a little more, such as the motives for the killings and especially the methods. Barnaby seemed out of character, being too sly and un-trusting and then making un-provable accusations.

In summary, decent episode that falls short of being great. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Politics and Property

[Hitchcoc · 6/10 · 4 June 2016]

This episode is about average (which isn't so bad), but it dredges up another plot that has been done before: that of a group of protesters wanting to keep the status quo and engaging in near-terrorist tactics. Anyway, at the bottom of this one is the fact that there are agendas there that lie beneath the surface. Two men are running for office. One is big on development and progress, while the other sees such things as destructive to the village. He begins to engage in an effort to discredit those who oppose him, engaging in illegal activities. The weaknesses here. For one, we have a ludicrous murder committed as a man gets stuck in a sliding door and strangled. How fortuitous and how ludicrous. Also, Barnaby keeps looking the other way. Slanderous accusations are made without any proof. Yet the townspeople fall for it. Let's get real.

Decent enough episode.

[poolandrews · 5/10 · 3 September 2011]

Midsomer Murders: Not in My Back Yard is set in the small Midsomer village of Great Pelfe where local resident & potential local councilor Norman Swanscombe (Peter Egan) is holding an open back yard party, however things turn nasty when Maureen Stubbs (Joan Blackham) from the Midsomer Conservation Society has a row with Swanscombe over his modern house & a development to build new housing on local land. Later that night Maureen Stubbs is stabbed to death & DCI Tom Barnaby (John Nettles) is on the case, Maureen's death seems to be motivated by the planned housing development & her opposition to it but with several important people counting on it Barnaby has no shortage of suspects. That is until those planning the building work also start turning up dead...

Epsidoe seven from season thirteen this Midsomer Murders mystery was directed by Peter Smith & turned out to be John Nettles penultimate investigation before his character retires, to be fair to Not in My Back Yard I thought it was pretty good & better than a lot of the recent episodes. The title of this episode refers to a saying we have here in the UK Not in My Back Yard which is commonly abbreviated as NIMBY & therefore people are accused of bing NIMBY's, the theme of countryside development is an emotive issue & one which crops up in the media over here from time to time & now it's Midsomer Murders turn to highlight it. Of course the main aspect of Not in My Back Yard is the murder mystery which is quiet well done if a little familiar with various oddball character's, affairs, murder, blackmail & various red herrings. The motives for murder are plausible & it's not like no-one has ever been murdered for money & power but at the same time it does feel a bit routine, as usual there's a lot of exposition to sit through & take in but it does make reasonable sense at the end except maybe why the killer left Liz alive rather than kill her off despite the fact Liz could have named them but all in all Not in My Back Yard is fairly solid.

There's some imaginative murders in this one, a woman is stabbed in the back with a broken bottle, a guy has his neck broken by a faulty electronic door & someone is buried in concrete while in the back of his car. Although not gory the murders are quite memorable but the killer is never really given any reason or motive as to why they dispatch their victims so elaborately. Filmed in quaint English countryside locations this looks as nice as ever while the cast do a good job as always.

Not in My Back Yard is a watchable Midsomer Murders episode, it has a decent amount of kills & enough intrigue & mystery to keep one watching but I can't help but feel the series is going a little stale with recycled plots & character & locations. Fans of the show should enjoy this one.

Has flaws however is an okay episode

[brucealmighty-18305 · 5/10 · 22 February 2022]

I liked the episode, however the use of a concrete truck for the murder didn't make sense as the trucks have to be running for the drum to turn to stop the concrete setting and when back in the depot they are cleaned out before they are shut down. If the murder took place at night after everything was closed then the truck would have been empty or had solid concrete in the drum.