Midsomer Murders (TV Series) Murder by Magic (2015) User Reviews

Magic, pagans and murder

[Tweekums · 8/10 · 5 February 2015]

This mystery opens in Midsomer Oak's church where a local magician, Gideon Latimer, is putting on a performance to raise funds for the building's upkeep. Not everybody approves though and the rector condemns it as evil before storming out with a small group of followers. Moments later a large prop swings loose and crushes the woman at the piano… it is soon proved to be murder. It is not clear who was the intended victim though. The obvious prime suspect is the rector but he soon becomes the next victim; his body is found in an area known as the 'pagan temple' in what appears to be a ritual murder. This leads to Barnaby and Nelson investigating a secretive group of local pagans who revere a man who lived in the village a couple of hundred years ago. They aren't the only suspects; the dead woman had been having an affair and there are some odd goings on in the Latimer household; including possible links to an event that took place when many of the protagonists were children.

As is so often the case much of the fun is the bizarre way the poor victims are bumped off; with apparent ritual sacrifice and two magic related deaths this episode provides some entertaining methods. There are plenty of suspects; inevitably those who are most suspicious aren't involved but when the killer is exposed it isn't somebody who appeared 'too good to be innocent' as is often the case. The cast did a fine job; it was fun to see two TV crime-solvers; Jack 'Wycliffe' Shepherd and Amanda 'Sam Ryan from "Silent Witness"' Burton amongst the guests along with Andrew Lee Potts (from 'Primeval') as Gideon Latimer. The case is of course delightfully ridiculous… if it wasn't it wouldn't be 'Midsomer Murders' although much of what we see is a red herring and the true motivation is somewhat more mundane. Overall I really enjoyed this episode as it featured so many classic 'Midsomer Murders' elements.

Magic, Pagan rituals, and murder, must be Midsomer.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 8/10 · 24 May 2017]

An outrageously over the top story, sees Barnaby and Nelson investigate an unusual series of crimes, each with a magical and pagan twist.

It's a fairly interesting story, there's possibly a little too much going on, but the characters are interesting, and there are some rather nice concepts, I love the scene with the gunshot magic trick, that was brilliantly done, one of the cleverest murders I can think of in the show's history.

One of the best casts assembled on a single episode of Midsomer Murders that I can think of, two of my favourite TV actresses in Amanda Burton and Deborah Findlay, both brilliant in their own rights. Burton is great at the overly possessive mum, while Findlay steals it as the tough talking Vicar's wife. Andrew Lee Potts and Jack Shepherd are also good.

Lots going on, the Church feuding with itself, pagan ceremonies, magic shows, they certainly intended to make this episode all singing all dancing. It is essentially very good, a solid story, with an excellent cast and great characters make it well worth watching. 8/10

seems people were offended by this episode for many reasons

[blanche-2 · 7/10 · 29 September 2016]

I wasn't.

A woman, Hannah Altman, who runs a pub and doubles as an organist, is killed when a magic trick goes wrong at a fundraiser for the local church. It wasn't an accident; it was murder. The police decide that Gideon the magician was the intended victim.

Now, magic done in a church has to be controversial, which it is here. So it's no surprise that Gideon was the recipient of hate mail comparing his act to Satanism. A elderly curate, Andrew Maplin, is the loudest critic.

There are figures wearing robes who hold rituals outside of Gideon's mansion. The mansion was owned in the 19th century by a known pagan. One of these robed people kills the curate Andrew and leaves his corpse on the altar.

There are the usual adulterous affairs, which open those people up to suspicion, and a relative of the pagan is uncovered - living in the present.

Barnaby and Nelson carefully investigate and this time, even Sarah Barnaby gets into the act of asking questions until the murder by magic is solved.

One reviewer on IMDb thought this episode made fun of Christianity and another thought there were too many black people. I would say it was not particularly reverent toward some of Christianity, but certainly a scriptwriter is allowed to present that point of view just as we are free not to like it.

As far as too many black people, the producer gave an interview saying the following: "We don't have ethnic minorities involved. Because it wouldn't be the English village with them. It just wouldn't work...We're the last bastion of Englishness and I want to keep it that way." He was suspended for that comment and ultimately stepped down as producer.

The reviewer's point was that the had no objection to bringing black people into a show, but only if it's realistic and not just to be politically correct. Again, I can understand that, but I also understand that black actors need jobs and better yet, opportunities to get them. This show has been running a long time and employs a lot of people. I don't think it's a sin to include blacks or any other ethnic group. You can consider it nontraditional casting or color-blind casting, which is done at the National Theater.

Racism

[wondra-1 · 10/10 · 4 January 2019]

Racism rears it's ugly head in some of these reviews. It is amazing how judgmental people can be. Just I am being right now.

Disappointing

[bl-63974 · 9/10 · 2 May 2021]

I love This series. But tonight the did something that I just can't let go. They said one murder was committed by a revolver with a silencer ! I can let a lot of little things slip at this is major. Other than that a very good episode.

Magic/sorcery in the church

[safenoe · 7/10 · 27 August 2017]

A magic trick in a church building kills the organist Hannah Altman, and you know this is a mournful episode with the slow motion opening. Accident? No, because explosives were found. Who was to die, the magician or the publican?

Amanda Burton stars in this, and I had to check Google to see if she is related to the late and great Richard Burton.

This episode deals with Christian religion v paganism, so sort of like a Midsomer sequel to The Omen...666. This episode was pre- Brexit, but I'm thankful that the Midsomer episodes didn't succumb to the rabid forces by purging its multicultural task by scrapping the Irish characters. The Irish characters are as much a part of Midsomer as the English and Welsh ones.

Watchable, but not great.

[vitoscotti · 6/10 · 27 October 2022]

Just a decent episode. The main character Gideon Latimer (Andrew-Lee Potts) was very bland to have so much screen time. A livelier actor might of helped the stalling episode. This is the first of the much publicized Midsummer Murders politically correct cast additions that I thought was miscast. Ailsa Probert (Noma Dumezweni) seemed a bad fit. The pagan theme though interesting is getting quite overused. It would be almost impossible to have a fresh approach to it so many have been done. If a show is really bad I'll stop watching in the middle of the episode. These John Barnaby (Neil Dudgeon) episodes though not classics they're mostly fun watches that I've never quit on yet. Wish there was more Kate Wilding (Tazmin Malleson) who has a talent for injecting some humor in uncomfortable situations.

Pagans and Magicians in Midsomer

[harrykivi · 6/10 · 12 January 2020]

The 17th season is not one of "Midsomer Murders'" best, though it's still enjoyable with "A Vintage Murder" being the standout. "The Dagger Club" was decent, but underwhelming. "Murder by Magic" I found is just as good, if not bit worse, as the previous episode.

Starting with good.

. The production values are usually great. The episode is well shot and music haunting enough.

. There are some twists and turns that work and are neat.

. The cast is also pretty good with Andrew Lee Potts being particularly great.

. Most of the time the story of "Murder by Magic" is interesting and fun with some charming subplots, dark moments.

But...(now to cons).

. There are plot points here that have been done in other murder mysteries before and with much more confidence.

. The story gets bit too silly with the second murder being quite laughable in its execution.

. The direction by Charlie Palmer is in my personal opinion bit dull(having seen his much better works).

. Also the solution isn't that satisfying as it should be with uninteresting motives and okay killer.

Overall, another fine episode of "Midsomer Murders".

6/10 HK

Committing murder by magic

[TheLittleSongbird · 6/10 · 30 March 2017]

When in its prime (a vast majority of Seasons 1-9), 'Midsomer Murders' was a great show and one that is watched and re-watched frequently. Seasons 10-13 became more uneven, with three of the show's worst episodes coming from Seasons 11 and 13, but there were a few solid episodes and "Blood Wedding" and especially "Master Class" were gems.

After John Nettles retired and Neil Dudgeon and the new character of John Barnaby took over, 'Midsomer Murders' just hasn't been the same on the most part. Season 14 was a disappointment outside of "The Oblong Murders" and "A Sacred Trust", with "Echoes of the Dead" and "The Night of the Stag" being show low-points. Season 15 was inconsistent, being a case of starting promisingly and then took a three-episodes-in-a-row strange turn with "Written in the Stars" before finishing on a good note. Season 16 was mostly good, especially "Wild Harvest", with the only disappointment being "Let Us Prey".

"Murder By Magic" follows on from the decent but unexceptional "The Dagger Club" and neither improves or worsens over that, if anything they are both about the same. It has been criticised for including diversity/political correctness and mocking Christians, the former is much more buyable and one can see why it's been made (being a general criticism of this particular season) but the latter is a strange criticism to make.

It does improve over "The Dagger Club" in that the story is not as silly, while it still is it mostly stays on the right side of it and in an enjoyable way, and certainly not as ludicrously far-fetched as parts of the previous episode were. This said, the second murder is pretty ridiculous for anybody with knowledge of revolvers and silencers, the final solution feels tame, somewhat outlandish and unsatisfying and there are some familiar themes for 'Midsomer Murders' here that have been used before with much more spark.

Another improvement is that Barnaby doesn't feel as much of a supporting character, with his warmer chemistry with Sarah and the playful one with Sykes (a cute and funny scene-stealer as ever) ensuring more of a lead role. Again, not perfect, with Gwilym Lee being much more charismatic as a more likable character, Season 17 saw a generally more wooden Barnaby and Neil Dudgeon doesn't always look very engaged. The chemistry has also been much better, here there seemed to be echoes of Barnaby's demeaning side when partnered with dumbed-down Jones, anybody who was trying to forget that will not appreciate that.

The diversity is still an issue, initially when hearing of it, this seemed like a non-issue blown out of proportion. However seeing the Season 17 episodes one can understand the problem in that the characters in question add little, are not very interesting in character or personality and feel out of place. Kate is also still bland and without much personality, even in episodes of Season 16 where they tried to develop her more with scenes between her and Nelson.

However, the production values cannot be faulted as usual. It's mostly beautifully and atmospherically shot with suitably picturesque scenery. The music fits perfectly, with some lush jauntiness and sometimes an ominous quality, and the haunting theme tune is one of the most memorable and instantly recognisable of the genre.

Some of the script is gentle and thought-provoking and while the story was problematic there are enough events, colourful characters, red herrings and twists and turns (as well as a great final solution) to keep one intrigued. Apart from a couple of inevitably forced moments, Barnaby's family life subplot is sweet and amusing and again the chemistry between Barnaby and Sarah is warmer and more playful than in Seasons 14 and 15. Sykes is funny and adorable, stealing every scene he appears.

Acting is mostly good, Jack Shepherd, Amanda Burton and Andrew Lee Potts giving strong supporting turns.

In conclusion, decent but unexceptional. 6/10 Bethany Cox

The bloody Houdini

[mirkobozic · 7/10 · 17 September 2020]

Neil Dudgeon is increasingly comfortable in the leading role, and the subtle chemistry with Sarah really stands out along with Sykes, the amazing scene stealer. Here, he won't allow them to ignore his need for a walkabout, his relationship with the baby turning into an adorable equivalent of sibling competition for parent attention. Barnaby's new case takes him to a parish where the local priest throws a fundraiser with a magic show for his church, much to the chagrin of his conservative chapelain. When a trick at the event goes terribly wrong, an investigation esues that will uncover a local pagan cult and a complicated web of cheating partners, posessive parents and grudges. There's an element of sinister that's very resembling of Agatha Christie, and the sectarian subplot provides an excellent red herring to the narrative. I would maybe wish for a different ending. The young magician provides an exciting performance with one very remarkable trick.