Sins of Commission

When the era of Sergeant Troy ended, I was somewhat concerned whether the new Sergeant and the new era would be as good as the previous ones. However, the effect exceeded expectations and the first episode of the new era "Bad Tidings" was brilliant and even more worthy than the previous "The Green Man", the last episode of the era of Sergeant Troy. The next episode, "The Fisher King", was less great, but still solid. "Sins of Commission" still continues to be of high quality, although not as solid as the previous two. There's a lot of good stuff in the episode. It has a great atmosphere, an interesting story, some pretty good characters, good music and a great production. However, there are drawbacks. Gay people are a bit of a drag again (and I was just beginning to be glad they haven't been around for a long time since "Beyond of Grave"), and Emma Buckley as Jezabel Tripp is something of an embarrassment. The ending is quite fantastic, laughable, and unrealistic, though not as annoying as the endings in " The Electric Vendetta " or "Midsomer Life". In conclusion, a solid, but with disadvantages episode. 8/10

No spoilers here. I watch faithfully every week and I have seen most all of the episodes so I have an observation that Midsomer is the leading hot bed of the most egregious of criminals, especially murderers so foreign tourists and visitors to this area of England should be especially cautious.

"The Green Man" was a wonderful start to Season 7 of 'Midsomer Murders', and followed by the very good "Bad Tidings" and decent, if somewhat cluttered and over-complicated "The Fisher King".

"Sins of Commission" (one of the most seemingly controversial of the Nettles era 'Midsomer Murders' episodes), or at least over three quarters of it does, continues this very high quality. It is a very good episode, but it is a real shame that the final 15 minutes lets it down pretty badly. This is not me repeating what's already been said, it was a feeling had when first viewing the episode well before joining IMDb and a sentiment still shared.

For me, it just felt contrived and the motive didn't ring true and felt really lazy compared to the usual motives. Can accept it for one of the murders, but using the same one for all was overkill and the last murder was far too brutal and calculated for that motive to be believable.

John Nettles as always however is superb, and John Hopkins is settling in very nicely in his third episode and looks very relaxed. Both work wonderfully together. The acting is very strong, loved Donald Sumpter but the star is Susan Engel, whose performance is elegant and sometimes moving. Emma Buckley makes the most of her loathsome character, if occasionally overdoing it to being a tad annoying.

As always, the production values are top notch, with to die for scenery, the idyllic look of it contrasting very well with the story's occasional grimness, and quaint and atmospheric photography. The music fits perfectly, and the theme tune one of the most memorable and instantly recognisable of the genre.

Meanwhile, the script is smart and thought-provoking. The story is a vast majority of the time compelling, with many twists, turns and red herrings, a real ominous feel and the odd colourful eccentricity, never feeling simplistic or convoluted. The characters are fun.

Overall, very good episode but the last 15 minutes sadly let things down. 8/10 Bethany Cox

As is usual with this series, the acting and ambience of this episode are good, if you don't count the ridiculous hippies in their VW bus and the watered down scenes in the swimming pool. The plot, however, is a throwback to 19th Century melodrama with all the clues being discovered by accidental eavesdroppers. Shouldn't Barnaby have had an arras to hide behind?

Need more lines to write. I was once the proud owner of a VW bus and never, in the 10 years I owned it, painted flowers or peace signs on it. I suppose I resent its constantly being shown as exclusively a vehicle for transporting goofy flower children. And, about the flower children, there seem to be excessive gratuitous closeups of the bathing suited young girls walking away from the camera. These scenes would be more apt on a Benny Hill show.

This had some of the worst writing I have ever seen in the Midsomer series.

"Be there or be in deep doo-doo!" And this is what passes for threats amongst co-conspirators? Really. And the offhand comments from the other co-conspirator -- stiffen the Prussian Guard? steady the Buffs?

They did manage some clever diversions, with the trustee leading an assault against the awards ceremony and the subplot of some money skimming, and the separate attempt to interest Barnaby in leaving the copper's life and taking up crime fiction. Those would be worth one star. Watching Scott seethe at the sight of Cully being chummy with the local bad boy turned writer was also entertaining -- I was always pleased to watch the seasons with Scott as DS to Tom Barnaby.

However, the other stars are given for the one saving grace in the episode, the elegant work by the actress playing Camilla Crofton, Susan Engel, who made her role of the sidelined writer of historical fiction quite believable. The actress playing the young author, on the other hand, looked like a survivor of recent and poorly-done facial plumping.

It's a rare Midsomer where you find yourself routing for the killer at the end, but on this one I was definitely on the side of the killer.