Midsomer Murders - Destroying Angel [1997] [DVD]

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At the start Gregory Chambers is killed in the forest while looking for mushrooms. He helped out at a hotel owned by an old man, Karl Wainwright, who was dying and planned to leave his property to Gregory, Gregory's wife, Suzanna the manager, her lover, Tristan the chef, and Julia the accountant. When Karl overhears Kenneth, Julia's husband, Suzanna and Tristan talking about how they're going to sell off some of the land he can't help letting slip that he's made a new will in which they don't inherit anything. Suzanna realises that Karl really trusted Gregory and that he must have the new will. She smothers Karl so he can't make it public that there's a new will and Tristan murders Gregory the day before Karl's funeral and takes the will before Gregory has a chance to make it known. Evelyn gives Clarice a new Mr. Punch puppet. She wants Clarice to do the Punch and Judy show at the fete. Evelyn knows she is ready after seeing how she did at the Grenvilles party. "Put your trust in Mr. Punch and Mr. Punch will put his trust in you. It's all about trust," says Evelyn. If we talk about the characters, the killer here, in my opinion, is one of the most pleasant and evoking sympathy and understanding in the show. I don't agree that you can't sympathize with a man who has killed so many people, in my opinion, all these people are there and the road. Clarisse is a rather strange character, while Susannah, Tristan, and the gooders Are some of the show's most repulsive characters. In fact, my only real problem, despite the solution actually being pretty ingenious, is the ending being written in a way that seemed to try too hard to make one feel sorry for someone who killed so many people. Giving the nature of the crimes, it did fail to do that.

It also boasts the customary comic subplot involving mushroom expert Colin Slater (Roger Frost) and his unusual relationship with his housekeeper, but it’s well integrated into the plot – Colin is a comic character who contributes a lot. And that’s really the key to what makes ‘Destroying Angel’ work – not a scene is wasted, or fails to add something to the mystery. On a rewatch, I’m impressed with quite how clever it is. Not just in the way the mystery resolves – this is perhaps one of the more involved cases in the show’s history, but still possible to work out and understand – but in the way it subtly introduces key players and clues without making a big deal of them. The show got less good at this over time (the only exception is ‘Murder of Innocence’, featuring one of the best rug-pulls in Midsomer history), but ‘Destroying Angel’ gets it perfect. Kudos to David Hoskins in his first script for the series. Funeral: People arrive for a funeral. Suzanna Chambers views the drive from the Easterly Grange Hotel. Tristan Goodfellow walks up. Suzanna says "Inside," to him. She and Tristan view the coffin of Karl Wainwright and then start making out. Rupert Vansittart appeared in three episodes: as Selwyn Proctor in "Market for Murder" (2002), as Desmond Harcourt in "The Axeman Cometh" (2007), and as Alistair Kingslake in "The Dogleg Murders" (2009). In "Murder Of Innocence", it is revealed that Jones is in a relationship with firefighter Susie Bellingham. In the series 16 opener, "The Christmas Haunting", it is revealed that Jones has been promoted to Inspector and transferred to Brighton. A photo of Jones (alongside Kate Wilding, who also moved to Brighton) is shown in the series 18 opener "Habeas Corpus". DI Jones made a further appearance in episode 3 of series 19 "Last Man Out", in an undercover role - erroneously still listed in the credits as DS Ben Jones. In the end, he left Causton CID after a mini farewell party at John and Sarah Barnaby’s home at the end of episode 6 of series 15, "Schooled in Murder". The will of late hotelier Karl Wainright causes ructions amongst his staff, and soon a serial murderer begins hunting down the beneficiaries, dispatching them in increasingly gruesome and imaginative ways. Meanwhile, Barnaby and Troy discover the bizarre village tradition of exposing dark secrets - through cryptic Punch and Judy shows.

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Destroying Angel" continues the high standard set by "Garden of Death". This is a True Midsomer classic, along with episodes of " Death's Shadow "or" Written in Blood", but in this case, this classic is also" seasoned " with mushrooms, so to speak. Midsomer Murders: Destroying Angel starts as Tom (John Nettles) & Joyce Barnaby (Jane Wymark) turn up to attend the funeral of a recently deceased hotel owner named Karl Wainwright (Edward Jewesbury) & a village fête straight after. It soon becomes apparent that Gregory Chambers (Philip Bowen) who is due to perform the Punch & Judy show at the fête hasn't turned up & wasn't at the funeral either, his friend & protégé Clarice Opperman (Madeleine Worrall) presses the issue & says she is worried. Tom is also concerned & a search party is organised to scour the local woods where Gregory was know to be Mushrooming earlier that morning. Gregory is not found but his severed hand is, now Tom is faced with a murder case & plenty of suspects. Was it his unfaithful wife Suzanna (Samantha Bond)? Was it her lover Tristan (Tom Ward)? Was it someone who wanted him out of Wainwright's will? Watch it to find out.. Outside, Suzanna tells Barnaby and Troy that Tristan also received a death threat. She denies that she or Julia received one. Gregory and Tristan threw the threats away. A drugged Julia comes out and says she can't do the Tombola at the fete. Barnaby doesn't believe that Suzanna and Julia did not receive death threats. Tyson drives up and tells Barnaby that he needs to release Annie from jail. "She'll go loopy in there." He calls Suzanna a "double crossing swine." Barnaby is going to release Annie. She couldn't have delivered the mushrooms since she was in jail. Naked Apron: Barnaby arrives to question Colin Salter, a middle-aged, male suspect, only to find him doing a spot of baking wearing nothing but an apron. The story, over the top and elaborate but appropriately and wonderfully so and with a high body count, is hugely compelling, and never simplistic and never losing any of the maturity of the previous episodes. There is a lot going on mostly without being cluttered or rushed, and that nothing is what it seems, or very few people are who they seem adds to the complexity, while there are no out of kilter scenes. The twists, red herrings and turns keep coming, and rarely in an obvious or press-the-rewind button. The characters are colourful.

Evelyn and Woody go to the fete. They ask Suzanna about Tristan. She says he is dying. Evelyn tells Suzanna that the Punch and Judy show is a tribute to Gregory using the script he wrote before he died. Joyce Barnaby ( Jane Wymark) (series 1–13)—DCI Tom Barnaby's long-suffering wife. She is tolerant of her husband, despite his being a workaholic who spent their honeymoon solving the case of the " Pimlico Poisoner", which suggests that they met in London. Joyce is an easy-going and friendly woman who likes to be involved in community activities. She has long possessed a desire to move out of their Causton home and into one of the picturesque Midsomer villages—only to be put off by the grisly murders that occur there. She's known to her family as an experimental, but not always successful, cook. Thus, Tom is often seen taking advantage of every opportunity to dine out. She married Tom in 1973 and their only child, Cully, was conceived on their honeymoon. Her parents are Muriel and Douglas.

Kevin Doyle appeared as Ferdy Villiers in "Ghosts of Christmas Past" (2004), and again as Paddy Powell in "The Oblong Murders" (2011). The story of "Destroying Angel" is one of "Midsomer Murders" most compelling. Clever twists and turns keep coming and coming, the characters are well-written. I agree: David Hoskins's research and effort leaps from the script. The body count is also very high here and the murders are committed in brutal manners. The puppet show aspect of "Destroying Angel" is fun, but suitable chilling at times. Detective Constable Gail Stephens ( Kirsty Dillon) (series 10–13)—a colleague of Tom Barnaby and DS Jones, who often helps them in their cases, sometimes providing valuable insight. Gail was transferred to Midsomer from Binwell. Gail is cheery but emotional, breaking down in tears when, after initially serving as a uniformed woman police constable, she was appointed as a plain-clothed CID detective. Throughout Gail's appearances, it is implied that she is on the point of having an affair with Sgt Jones, but when it came to the crunch he decided that he did not want to get too heavily involved with a colleague, after which Gail effectively snubbed him. Strangely, Gail has not been seen since "Fit For Murder". Deer in the Headlights: Kenneth Gooders sees his drink cabinet wobbling but instead of moving he is completely frozen and thus get crushed as a result.

If you know me, you know that I’m a huge Midsomer Murders fan. Since 2015, I’ve been blogging every new episode in the show for this very paper, and I’m always keen to sing its praise. I do admit, however, that the show’s quality is incredibly variable, and that each episode of Midsomer may be a dud just as easily as a classic. This was less so in the series’ classic days, with many favourite episodes coming from the earlier series. And that’s where you’ll find an instalment that, to my mind, is the pinnacle of the show – series four’s ‘Destroying Angel’. After "Garden of Death" was watchable, though not one of the best, I was really looking forward seeing "Destroying Angel". And I wasn't disappointed. "Destroying Angel" is easily one of the series's best and a great episode. Barnaby went to confront Evelyn, knowing she was the mastermind because of her mimicry talents she passed onto Clarice. Clarice was distraught by her deception meant to protect Clarice from punishment, but Clarice hoped she'd understand one day. After Evelyn fully confessed, she succumbed to a bottle of pills she downed earlier to suicide herself with. She was delighted to hear Annie in the new will, and she exchanges goodbyes with Woody before she died. Clarice and Woody were distraught from Evelyn's suicide note to reassure her dear husband, but because she was dead and all the guilty parties of the other murders were killed as well, everyone was too scarred to believe in the rest of their lives.Detective Chief Inspector Thomas "Tom" Geoffrey Barnaby ( John Nettles) (series 1–13)—A senior member of Causton CID, Barnaby used to work for MI6. A patient, tolerant man, Barnaby's style of investigation is methodical and fair. Barnaby is a sagacious and perceptive individual, able to recognise seemingly obscure clues. Barnaby's social life revolves around his wife Joyce and his daughter Cully, who often provide a personal connection with the crimes that he is investigating. Barnaby's parents are both deceased by the episode "Blue Herrings". In his last appearance, "Fit for Murder", we learn that his father died on his birthday, at Barnaby's current age. Clare Holman played Sue Tutt in "Ring Out Your Dead" (2002), Rose Southerly in "Country Matters" (2006) and Fiona Beauvoisin in "The Miniature Murders" (2019). At the fete the band is playing. There are cakes and plants for sale, a croquet stand and an archery stand. Barnaby goes over to talk to the man in charge of the archery to ask who is good at archery locally. Tristan is. Suzanna and Julia show up for the Punch and Judy show. A piece of paper is mentioned. "Heads will roll if the truth ain't told." A policeman comes up to Barnaby and shows him Gregory's cleaning brush that was found in the woods near the lake. Barnaby and Troy head to the woods and find blood near the tree where Gregory was cutting the mushroom. It's the same mushroom in the polaroid that Clarice took.

Robert Daws played Mike Spicer in "Hidden Depths" (2005), and Hamish Rafferty in "Curse of the Ninth" (2017). He used to be a Freemason, as revealed in "King's Crystal". In the episode "Death in Chorus", Jones exhibits a remarkable vocal talent and is recruited to sing tenor in the Midsomer Worthy choir. In "Death in the Slow Lane", it is revealed that Jones was interested in replacing Tom Barnaby upon his retirement and was a little put out by his cousin, John Barnaby, being transferred to the position instead. In reality, he could not have been given the post because it would have required him to bypass the rank of inspector. I have one flaw with this episode. Even though the ending is very well acted and written- the solution to this murder mystery is a great one. The fact that we should care about Evelyn Pope as a murderess I just could not get behind. She has done the deed in such disturbing manner, which I can not sympathize with. VKK Birgitte Poulsen ( Ann Eleonora Jørgensen) appears in "The Killings of Copenhagen" and "Death of the Small Coppers". At the reading of the will, Kenneth Gooders decides to start even though Gregory Chambers has not arrived.Barnaby comes to the realization that the piece of paper was a will. There was another will. A newer one. Death 5: Evelyn dies in Woody's arms. Evelyn left Woody a letter. Clarice reads it to him. Evelyn wishes Woody to be as happy as he can be with the rest of the time he has left. Asshole Victim: The members of the conspiracy murdered an elderly man, murdered the only servant who wasn't in on the scheme, and then planned to frame a pregnant woman to cover their own rears. Frankly, you're rooting for Evelyn to kill them all. Kevin McNally appeared as Orville Tudway in "Blood Will Out" (1999) and as Gerald Farquaharson in "The Noble Art" (2010). David Whitely ( Christopher Villiers) appeared in "The Killings at Badger's Drift" and "Death's Shadow".