shu-fen I don't remember when I happened to start watching this. The first time I watched it online, my eyes were caught by the green, green countryside, very tempting and pleasing.Yesterday evening, I just clicked into a certain episode uploaded on youtube, and found that this year it is carrying its 20th season. Amazing! And so, the countryside townsfolks continue to kill and people continue to die... And so...And so, "Midsomer Murders" is truly a very good way to show the world the luxuriant green countryside of the UK. Yet, in the past 19+ seasons, in total, I mean the grand total, how many got killed? There are always multiple deaths in one episode. Huh, 2000? If yes, wow, 100 for a season. That's why the detectives are so busy.

Charles Ray I began watching Midsomer Murders on a local NPR station (WETA-UK), when some of the older episodes were airing. Then, thanks to my son, I started watching it on Netflix. At first, it was just an interesting British mystery set in a rural area, but when I read some of the comments by original producer, Brian True-May as to why there were no characters of color in the series, I was a bit turned off, despite the fact that the stories were otherwise pretty well done. Then, True-May, as people of his ilk are prone to do, went a verbal step too far and was removed from the series. With the change, more characters of color began to appear, often in key roles, with no change in the essential direction of the show-and, in my opinion, the series is much the better for it. When John Nettles, the first DCI Barnaby, left the show, and was replaced by his cousin, played by Neil Dudgeon, I thought the series would lag, but was happily proved to be wrong. The new DCI Barnaby is as interesting in his own unique way, and Midsomer continues to be a part of England that, though I might like to visit, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want to live--or die--there. If you like British mystery and cop shows, you can't go wrong with this one.

thobelman I am an American who loves and enjoys most BBC productions. I especially love the various English murder mystery series. But this series left me somewhat befuddled, and I could not watch more than the first series (which I simply could not finish). While many reviewers say it is meant to be humorous or tongue-in-cheek, I can't seem to get past certain issues I consider integral to murder mysteries. For example, Sergeant Toby is portrayed as "dumb as a box of rocks." But, it would be unlikely that a police officer who has worked their way up to the rank of sergeant and is partnered with a DCI on Murder cases would be unable to think his way out of a paper bag. And, the constant contempt, insults and bad treatment by Barnaby seems exactly that and nothing more. A much more intelligent, witty (and sometimes contentious) parallel relationship is expertly done in the George Gently series where the sergeant is smart and perceptive (if a little misguided) and makes significant contributions to investigations. In Midsomer Murders, the characters come across to me as unrealistic and campy, and in some instances, the show reminds me of poor quality, B-grade horror movies. While I agree with many comments about the attention to details of the settings and interiors of homes, I feel there are important elements that are missing from a good Detective series. But, I have probably missed the point here and recognize that the series is just not my cup of tea.

jax713 I've been watching Midsomer Murders since the beginning and I wrote a review several years ago which rated this show 5 stars. I based that rating on John Nettles' performance in the lead role. I deleted that review so I could write an updated opinion since the lead actors have changed as have some other things. I now consider this a 9-star series, mainly because of Neil Dudgeon.Many viewers were big fans of Nettles, but I always felt his performances were flat and one dimensional. I was hooked more by the mysteries and how they were solved. Now the tables have turned and I am more engaged by Neil Dudgeon. As Dudgeon's character is a cousin to Nettles' Tom Barnaby, he bears some slight resemblance but his portrayal of John Barnaby is so much more enjoyable. Casting him in this takeover role was brilliant. He brings a range of emotion, a wry sense of humor, and a confident intelligence to the character merely with a subtle facial expression or change in body language. I found Nettles' performances quite wooden. Home life is now quite different, too. The original Tom Barnaby barely reacted in conversations with his wife and he looked almost uncomfortable when hugging his daughter. With Dudgen we immediately sense a relaxed and deep relationship with his wife and newborn daughter.Since the departure of producer Brian True-May, I've noticed some other changes which, though not entirely earth shattering, are somewhat disheartening. During his leadership, the scripts were more clever and the depiction of the rural English villages in the county of Midsomer were more what I imagined from reading some of the books. I think preserving these principles is a worthy goal because the Midsomer series can eventually be a time capsule reflecting a unique culture and mores as well as enthralling entertainment.One other note is on the departure of Jason Hughes. I truly loved his character, Ben Jones, and hated to see him go but it was time for him to get a promotion. Hughes' performances were often one of the highlights of the show. His replacement, Gwilym Lee as DS Nelson, is doing a good job, but I think the scripts can back off a bit on his dating activities. It looks like filler. We saw only a few romantic overtones with Ben Jones and it was usually part of the larger plot or it was treated with brief humor, mainly because the mystery was fully developed with details taking up time. Now we see less of the investigative part of crime solving. Most of it is showing up at the crime scene and then communications from the morgue. Here, the new medical examiner is given a time to shine and she does, but the scripts are deliberately avoiding defining a potential relationship between her and DS Nelson. This is an unnecessary manipulation of the audience. And is it my imagination or are more scripts relying on musical themes as a substitute for meaningful dialogue?All in all I look forward to every new episode but I wish Brian True-May would come back to oversee it's future now that Neil Dudgeon has brought a bright new & invigorating spark to the show. This series deserves the best.