Midsomer Murders-Season 12-Part 1 (2009)

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General		Extras
Category	TV Series	Main Menu Audio & Animation Gallery-Photo Additional Footage Alternative Version Audio Interview-Cast
Rating
Year Of Production	2009
Running Time	374:55 (Case: 380)
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered Dual Disc Set	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Peter Smith Sarah Hellings Richard Holthouse Renny Rye
Studio Distributor	Bentley Productions Madman Entertainment	Starring	John Nettles Jason Hughes
Case	Slip Case
RPI	$39.95	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
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	Yes
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 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 13 seasons) have been made in this series all starring John Nettles as Detective Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby of Corston CID, although Season 13 might be his last it seems. 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 four movie length episodes which are in fact episodes 1-4 of Season 12. These episodes were made and first aired in 2009. 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 with the bumpers. As usual, these episodes contain an array of well known British television faces including former Doctor Who Peter Davison.

    The four episodes, all of good quality, included (on two discs) are

1. The Dogleg Murders (93:34) - Set around a posh golf club, this story involves illegal gambling, extortion and obviously murder.
2. The Black Book (93:47) - An old lady tries to sell a painting she found in her attic but ends up dead.
3. Secrets and Spies (93:46) - Secrets from Barnaby's past are revealed when a former spy gets murdered after a cricket match. Peter Davison guests.
4. The Glitch (93:48) - Someone is throwing red paint over cars and their drivers but then things turn murderous.

    Fans of the series will certainly enjoy these episodes however they will probably not draw a new audience. Recommended for fans of English mysteries.

Video

    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. There is some light grain at times and some mild MPEG artefacts during fast motion.

    The colour was excellent.

    There is some mile aliasing present here and there.

    There are no subtitles.

    There are no noticeable layer changes.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    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. This audio transfer is perfectly suited to the material.

    Dialogue was mostly easy to understand and clear throughout, although subtitles would have been useful. 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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Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Menu

    The menu is well done and allows for set-up (with or without ad bumpers) and scene selection. It includes music and dialogue.

Disc 1

Photographic Evidence

    A photo gallery including publicity stills.

Textless Title Sequences (3:13)

    The title should give away what this extra is.

Alternate Footage (1:22)

    Footage used to create less violent daytime versions of the shows.

Disc 2

Audio Intro by Peter Davison (3:22)

    An audio only interview with Davison who talks about how he got involved and why he finds the show funny.

Photographic Evidence

    A photo gallery including publicity stills.

Textless Title Sequence (2:41)

    The title should give away what this extra is.

Alternate Footage (2:19)

    Footage used to create less violent daytime versions of the shows. No sound.

    This seems to be the first global release of this series on DVD. These episodes seem to have been released separately in Region 2. For now at least Region 4 is the way to go.

    The video quality is good.

    The audio quality is very good.

    The extras are plentiful but without substance.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall