User Reviews

This is a super mystery, that echos back to the early years of the show, it has a great story, strong set of characters, and something I always used to love about the early years, a dramatic ending.

Beware the dangers of wine, obsession, jealousy, and of course murder. It's a totally feasible story, with some very well drawn characters. The killings are very nasty, but all feel logical when the killer is unmasked.

It is very string throughout, with some great moments of drama, the ending in particular, which pulled you in all directions as you learn the true sequence of events, and the eventual error of the killer.

Great performances from the entire cast, Claire Bloom, Mark Bonnar and of course Ruth Gemmell, though it was Rosie Cavaliero and Selina Griffiths, both were particularly good.

It's a terrific entry in the series. 8/10

When a new wine is introduced at William and Diana Carnarvon's Midsomer Vine winery, all hell breaks loose in "A Vintage Murder," the last episode of season 17.

A critic, Nadia Simons, has been invited to give her opinion. To the chagrin of the vineyard's owner, she trashes the newest addition. Then people start falling to the ground. Turns out they're not dead but they've been poisoned.

When Barnaby investigates, he's told that the winery is hated by the locals who have been trying to get rid of it since it opened. The group is led by a nurse, Elspeth Rice. Elspeth tells Barnaby that the vineyard causes pollution and indirectly was responsible for the death of a child who was killed by a hit and run driver leaving the vineyard after a wine-tasting.

The main suspect for this crime is Nadia the critic, who soon turns into the Nadia the dead.

The vineyard is struggling, and an offer of help comes from a hotelier, Lewis Paynton, who is in love with Diana Carnarvon. Then he is murdered.

This is a story of revenge killing, kidnapping, a crime of passion, and before the detectives are through, sabotage.

On the home front, Sarah has hired a nanny who won't let Barnaby have cuddle time with Betty as it's not in the schedule.

Really good episode, and Barnaby has really grown on me. I love Nelson, but I understand he left the series to do something else. A shame, but all the partners have been good.

This is the last episode for the coroner, Kate Wilding.

I really liked this episode. It certainly is the stand-out in a rather lackluster 17th season. The solution is logical yet unpredictable. There are some incredibly intriguing clues and red herrings, and the supporting characters are genuinely interesting. That's become a rarity in recent times. I had no idea who the murderer was right until the moment they were revealed. The way this scene is edited it constantly tricks into thinking Barnaby will reveal someone as the killer and then he simply turns to someone else. But the solution made sense both logistically and in terms of motivation. It was also rather sad. It also featured a good supporting cast (though no one I knew), the standouts being Mark Bonnar and Rosie Cavaliero, but solid work all round. The domestic humor in Barnaby's family was a bit cringe-worthy. I rolled my eyes at the know-it-all, do-it-all maid. But I thought the dynamic between Kate Wilding and DS Nelson was well-played and funny. Definitely the best of Season 17.

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".

Season 17's last episode "A Vintage Murder" is the standout of that particular season, wasn't hugely impressed while still finding them more than watchable by "The Dagger Club" and "Murder By Magic" but liked "The Ballad of Midsomer County". Likewise with "A Vintage Murder".

This time around the domestic humour is rather forced, some of it to the point of being cringe-worthy, and could have done without the annoying character of the nanny. The murders were somewhat scant here too and were quite ordinary, especially in comparison to the elaborate if somewhat illogical murder method in "The Dagger Club", the uniquely gruesome opening murder of the previous episode and some of the imaginative ones seen in many of the pre-Season 10 episodes in particular.

However, what were issues in the previous Season 17 episodes weren't so much here. Kate has more personality this time round in strictly speaking her final episode, usually find her a very bland character, and has amusing chemistry with Nelson. While the diversity still remains, it wasn't anywhere near as pointless or distracting here. Barnaby doesn't feel too much of a supporting character to Nelson and isn't as wooden as in the first two episodes of the season, Neil Dudgeon looks more comfortable and less wooden and sleepwalking-like too.

Production values cannot be faulted as usual. It's 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. It is also hardly surprising that the episode has a soundtrack of its own because the music here adds so much to the character and atmosphere of the episode.

Writing is thought-provoking and some of the quirky and gentle humour juxtaposes well with the dark murder theme and the twists and turns, the episode not feeling overly serious or heavy like some John Barnaby-era episodes as a result. The story is never simplistic, neither is it convoluted, with a surprising ending that manages to just about be plausible rather than convoluted or distastefully over-the-top. The ending is creepy and sad, and one of the most logical ones of the John Barnaby-era episodes.

Gwilym Lee is likable and charismatic, and the supporting cast are all strong, Mark Bonnar being the standout. Betty is adorable, and Sykes has a gift for scene stealing.

Overall, the best episode of the season, not one of the best 'Midsomer Murders' episodes overall but one of the better ones of the John Barnaby-era. 8/10 Bethany Cox

One of the main problems with Midsomer is the fact that they show English women to be haughty shrieking fishwives, when in reality there are many who are not. Therefore they need be more careful whom they cast, and in this case, they cast one of the coldest, harshest and haughtiest witches to ever grace the big or little screen. Her presence brings the story down 2 stars, and we ain't talking about that intolerable helen baxterendale or whatever the ding dang dong her nastiness goes by. Talking bout Claire de Looney Bloom...

I watched this 5 times and on the fifth had to make a plot outline to try to understand it. In the end I think the writers gave up and threw together a plausible explanation of events as a six hour season finale was out of the question. It is very entertaining and has great acting. You will thrill at parts of it and take them as they come. Don't waste time trying to make complete sense of it. No story needs more than three subplots. This has at least five, one that was sprung at the last. It was good to see Tosh from Torchwood even for a short time. I enjoy Midsomer Murders but sometimes the hour and a half format force its stories into the muddled territory of, "well, what shall we do here"?

Apparently this is the last episode for Kate Wilding (Tamzin Malleson). I really enjoyed her beauty and humor in some otherwise gruesome scenes. A solid supporting cast. I especially enjoyed Elspeth Rice (Selina Griffiths) as the hard drinking wine expert and Judy Tyler's (Rosie Cavaliero) dynamic performance as the grieving obsessive compulsive disorder mother. Neil Dudgeon episodes get roasted for their poor quality but most have been been very watchable with decent writing. Never really explained why recently hospitalized granny was in the winery building virtually flooding the place. Very fast paced never boring fun watch.