This one starts off really well. The setting is great: a lone mansion on a island accessible only by boat, at night during a heavy rainstorm (this being Midsomer, the island is presumably situated in the middle of a large lake, though that's never made clear). The first death occurs very dramatically during a posh birthday party for the unfortunate victim, wealthy game mogul Victor Karras. Attired in bright red raingear, M. E. Fleur determines cyanide poisoning to be the probable cause, and removes the body from the scene by ferry shortly after Barnaby (in bright yellow raingear) and Winter arrive to investigate. The situation gets much more tense when the detectives, along with all the other residents and party guests at the mansion, become stranded after the ferry gets washed away on the mainland side and the storm prevents any other boats from reaching the island. And making matters even worse for Barnaby, he had a row with Sarah before leaving home, and now is unable to reach her to let her know about his situation.
Very good setup, but the mystery of whodunit doesn't fulfill its expectations, unfortunately. The subplots are mostly pretty cliché: a failing business empire, a relative who wants to take over, a disgruntled employee who is stealing from the company, personal relationships on the rocks. Also making an appearance is the ever popular "murder-attempt-that-isn't" fake-out. At least the eventually discovered method of Karras' poisoning shows some imagination, and Winter finding the answer in the library rather than on the (unavailable) internet is a nice touch. The murder mystery party game could have been utilized in the plot in a more interesting way, but instead it's relatively inconsequential, its sole purpose being to provide the story with a second victim - a truly annoying character whose death, which most viewers will immediately guess is in the cards, couldn't come soon enough for me.
Worst of all, though, is the solution. The guilty party is one of the stupidest villains ever in the series: committing two murders, trying to frame an innocent person, and ruining a good handful of lives for a motive that, it turns out, doesn't even exist except in the killer's imagination. It's nothing more than a misunderstanding that could have been easily clarified by a simple conversation, and then everyone would have lived happily ever after.
On the plus side, the production values are great as usual. There are some wonderfully spooky visuals as Karras' corpse is being transported from the island and we see his wife Eleanor standing on the shore watching. And we get a nice shirtless shot of Nick Hendrix in pajama bottoms. The guest actors are fine for the most part, without being really noteworthy. Adrian Edmondson and Caroline Quentin take the hammy route, when underplaying might have been a more interesting choice for their roles. Rachael Stirling comes off the best as Eleanor, while Greg Lockett as Joshua, the thieving assistant, is very good-looking but finishes last acting-wise.
Not one of the show's worst episodes, but disappointing. I was expecting more after such a strong beginning.
Very good setup, but the mystery of whodunit doesn't fulfill its expectations, unfortunately. The subplots are mostly pretty cliché: a failing business empire, a relative who wants to take over, a disgruntled employee who is stealing from the company, personal relationships on the rocks. Also making an appearance is the ever popular "murder-attempt-that-isn't" fake-out. At least the eventually discovered method of Karras' poisoning shows some imagination, and Winter finding the answer in the library rather than on the (unavailable) internet is a nice touch. The murder mystery party game could have been utilized in the plot in a more interesting way, but instead it's relatively inconsequential, its sole purpose being to provide the story with a second victim - a truly annoying character whose death, which most viewers will immediately guess is in the cards, couldn't come soon enough for me.
Worst of all, though, is the solution. The guilty party is one of the stupidest villains ever in the series: committing two murders, trying to frame an innocent person, and ruining a good handful of lives for a motive that, it turns out, doesn't even exist except in the killer's imagination. It's nothing more than a misunderstanding that could have been easily clarified by a simple conversation, and then everyone would have lived happily ever after.
On the plus side, the production values are great as usual. There are some wonderfully spooky visuals as Karras' corpse is being transported from the island and we see his wife Eleanor standing on the shore watching. And we get a nice shirtless shot of Nick Hendrix in pajama bottoms. The guest actors are fine for the most part, without being really noteworthy. Adrian Edmondson and Caroline Quentin take the hammy route, when underplaying might have been a more interesting choice for their roles. Rachael Stirling comes off the best as Eleanor, while Greg Lockett as Joshua, the thieving assistant, is very good-looking but finishes last acting-wise.
Not one of the show's worst episodes, but disappointing. I was expecting more after such a strong beginning.
