Midsomer Murders-Season 11-Part 2 (2008) |
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Midsomer Murders-Season 11-Part 2 (2008) |
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| General | Extras | ||
| Category | TV Series |
Main Menu Audio Alternative Version Gallery-Photo Additional Footage Audio Commentary-John Nettles & Jane Wymark - 1 episode Featurette-Map of Midsomer |
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| Rating |
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| Year Of Production | 2008 | ||
| Running Time | 279:13 (Case: 285) | ||
| RSDL / Flipper |
Dual Layered Multi Disc Set (3) |
Cast & Crew | |
| Start Up | Menu | ||
| Region Coding | 1,2,3,4,5,6 | Directed By |
Peter Smith Sarah Hellings Jeremy Silberston Richard Holthouse |
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Studio
Distributor |
 Madman Entertainment |
Starring |
John Nettles Jane Wymark |
| Case | Slip Case | ||
| RPI | ? | Music | Jim Parker |
| Video | Audio | ||
| Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None | English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s) | |
| Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.78:1 | ||
| 16x9 Enhancement |
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| Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
| Original Aspect Ratio | 1.78:1 | Miscellaneous | |
| Jacket Pictures | No | ||
| Subtitles | None | Smoking | No |
| Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
| Action In or After Credits | No | ||
I have reviewed a number of British cop and crime shows including New Tricks and Waking the Dead, however, Midsomer Murders really fits better when bracketed with older style murder mysteries such as Poirot or Miss Marple. Unlike those it is set in the modern day, however, the settings and plot style are very similar. These stories are based on a set of novels by Caroline Graham. They are all set in an area of England known as Midsomer, consisting of a larger town, Corston, where the main character lives and numerous small villages where people seem to get murdered at an alarming rate. Similar to Agatha Christie's work, the plots are full of twists and turns and numerous red herrings and suspects.
So far, 70+ movie length episodes (over 12 seasons) have been made in this series all starring John Nettles as Detective Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby of Corston CID. He has been ably assisted by various offsiders. These episodes feature his latest offsider, Detective Sergeant Ben Jones (Jason Hughes) who has been Barnaby's offsider since Season 9. This set includes three movie length episodes which are in fact episodes 4-6 of Season 11 (excluding the Christmas Special from that season). These episodes were made and first aired in 2008. Each episode can either be watched with or without advertisement break bumpers. This adds approximately 40 seconds to the playing time of each episode if turned on. Times quoted below are without the bumpers.
The three episodes, which are all of good quality, included (on three discs) are
Fans of the series will certainly enjoy these episodes, however, they will probably not draw a new audience. Recommended for fans of English mysteries.
The feature is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio, 16x9 enhanced which I would guess is the original aspect ratio.
The picture was quite sharp and clear without being really crisp. Shadow detail is decent.
The colour was excellent.
There were no obvious artefacts.
There are no subtitles.
There are no noticeable layer changes.
| Sharpness |  |
| Shadow Detail | |
| Colour |  |
| Grain/Pixelization | |
| Film-To-Video Artefacts | |
| Film Artefacts | |
| Overall | |
The audio quality is very good.
These DVDs contains one audio option, an English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo soundtrack encoded at 224 Kb/s (not including the commentary on Episode 2). This audio transfer is perfectly suited to the material.
Dialogue was easy to understand and clear throughout. There were no sync problems.
The music by Jim Parker is mostly variations on the theme tune which is distinctive and a little creepy.
The surround speakers and subwoofer were not used.
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| Dialogue | |
| Audio Sync | |
| Clicks/Pops/Dropouts | |
| Surround Channel Use |  |
| Subwoofer | |
| Overall | |
The menu is well done and allows for set-up (with or without ad bumpers) and scene selection.
A photo gallery including publicity and behind-the-scenes stills.
The title should give away what this extra is.
Footage used to create less violent daytime versions of the shows. No sound.
A moderated commentary which is amusing with lots of interesting information about the history of the series, how the actors got involved, locations, Barnaby's sidekicks, methods of murder used and some fun anecdotes. Good extra.
A photo gallery including publicity and behind-the-scenes stills.
The title should give away what this extra is.
This starts out seeming like a good idea but after 15 minutes you have had enough. After 45 minutes it has really outworn it's welcome. John Nettles and Jane Wymark host a tour of locations used in the series in the home counties.
A photo gallery including publicity and behind-the-scenes stills.
The title should give away what this extra is.
Footage used to create less violent daytime versions of the shows. No sound.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
This seems to be the first global release of this series on DVD. Season 11 is due for release in Region 2 in December and Region 1 is still waiting for some of Season 10. For now at least Region 4 is the way to go.
The video quality is very good.
The audio quality is very good.
The extras are plentiful but only one is really worthwhile, the commentary.
| Video | |
| Audio | |
| Extras | |
| Plot | |
| Overall | |
| Review Equipment | |
| DVD | Sony DVP-NS708H upscaling to 1080p, using HDMI output |
| Display | LG Scarlet 42LG61YD 106cm Full HD LCD. Calibrated with Ultimate DVD Platinum. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p. |
| Audio Decoder | Built in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Ultimate DVD Platinum. |
| Amplification | Pioneer VSX-511 |
| Speakers | Monitor Audio Bronze 2 (Front), Bronze Centre & Bronze FX (Rears) + Sony SAW2500M Subwoofer |