Midsomer Murders (TV Series) Talking to the Dead (2008) User Reviews

very good episode

[blanche-2 · 7/10 · 20 June 2013]

When four people disappear without a trace, it falls to Barnaby and Jones to find out what happened in "Talking to the Dead," from season 11.

This episode combines drama and humor as Barnaby and Jones go to the village of Monks Barton to investigate. They meet a womanizing postman, a man who sees dead people, a fire and brimstone preacher, a traumatized individual who babbles, and learn about the strange lights and sounds coming from the haunted woods. A massacre of monks once took place there, and the monks have been haunting the place ever since.

The missing soon start turning up...as corpses.

Really good episode with some good humor as well as mystery. The best scene is probably when Barnaby accidentally closes Jones into an iron maiden. When he gets him out, all Jones says over and over is, "You shut the DOOR!" And though Barnaby doesn't believe in any of this ghost stuff, his wife Joyce has an "open mind" as she says, and one can tell that Jones is somewhat nervous in the woods.

Excellent mystery. Wish this particular writer (David Harsent) did all of the scripts.

Brilliant Episode

[james_89 · 9/10 · 30 April 2010]

Four people disappear into thin air one morning in the tiny village of Monks Barton. The postman, Sam Nelms, discovers their cottages with warm tea and breakfast still on the table - but no sign of the occupants, just traces of blood... Barnaby and Jones soon learn of the history surrounding the village and its supposedly haunted woods, where a massacre once took place. Colin and Molly Thomas, one of the missing couples, moved there after their ten year old son got lost in the woods and died. Molly Thomas, suffering a break down, believed she would be closer to his spirit there. Shortly before he died of hypothermia he was supposedly heard speaking in tongues. Barnaby remains sceptical of all the talk of ghosts and ghouls,even when an unidentified corpse is found by a colourful psychic, buried in the wood and the missing start turning up brutally murdered...

This is a fantastic episode, especially by the standards set by recent stories. The script has the right balance between humour and drama. Too often these days the line is crossed and you just end up with a pantomime (though i must confess the psychic did come close to being over the top) The solution to the mystery is very satisfying and there's one particularly grisly method of murder which i wont spoil!

All in all one of the best episodes of recent years... Maybe even ever.

I loved it.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 9/10 · 4 April 2020]

There are some good episodes around this era, but it lacked occasional greatness, this one is very, very close to being a great. The tone is somewhat similar to a favourite episode of mine, Things that go bump in the Night, it has that vibe.

It's a wonderful balance of funny, serious and unexpected, you never quite know what's going to happen next, but the story is very cohesive, there aren't any gaping plot holes.

Nettles and Hughes are at their very best together, a true winning combination, Anton Lesser and Jeroen Krabbe are wonderful guest stars.

I may be a little biased, as I love ghost stories, horrors etc, but Talking to the Dead is a very unique and entertaining episode, it's a favourite, 9/10.

Very entertaining last episode to Season 11

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 14 February 2017]

As has been said by me a number of times, 'Midsomer Murders' is one of my most watched and most re-watched shows. It is nowhere near as good now and the Tom Barnaby-era wasn't alien to average or less episodes, but when it was on form or at its best boy was it good.

"Talking to the Dead" to me is a very good last episode to Season 11, and as of now the second best episode of that season. The best being the excellent "Blood Wedding". "Days of Misrule" (tedious) and especially "Shot at Dawn" (fell downhill drastically after an effective opening and memorable solely for its ridiculousness) were underwhelming, and the others ranged from decent to good (despite "Left for Dead" having such a terrible ending).

My only real complaints for "Talking to the Dead" are the unnecessary and distracting subplot with Jones and the WPC and the rather over-the-top, in an out-of-kilter way, character of Cyrus LeVanu.

However, the production values as always are just great, the idyllic look of it contrasting very well with the story's grimness, and quaint and atmospheric photography. The music fits perfectly, with some lush jauntiness and sometimes an ominous quality, and the theme tune one of the most memorable and instantly recognisable of the genre.

There are some thoughtful and humorous moments in the script, which is generally well structured and crafted (with a great balance of humour and drama and more to-the-point than the lesser episodes of the season), and the supporting characters are entertaining enough. The story is very compelling, there is a lot going on but doesn't get that confusing or overcrowded.

With the supernatural elements, "Talking to the Dead" could easily have descended into silliness but was actually pretty spooky. The iron maiden bit is very funny, one of the funniest Barnaby and Jones moments to me, and the ending compared to "Left for Dead" and "Midsomer Life" is satisfying.

John Nettles and Jason Hughes are both superb, individually and together (their chemistry, and the chemistry with Daniel Casey and John Hopkins before Hughes, being a huge part of their episodes' charm). Can't fault the supporting cast either.

In conclusion, very entertaining final episode to Season 11. 8/10 Bethany Cox

One of the best from season 11

[boxyfella · 9/10 · 22 April 2022]

There are very mixed reviews for this episode but I loved it. It gets better with repeated viewing and the scenes in the woods are so atmospheric.

The start is superb, with a Marie Celeste type mystery as two couples disappear in the village of Bow Clayton and then the body of an unknown man is found by a charlatan medium in the supposedly haunted woods of Monks Barton.

DS Jones starts to get romantically involved with WPC Stephens but decides to not take it further. A shame, as I would have liked to have seen them get it together.

The scene with Barnaby, Jones and the iron maiden is so funny. The look on Jones' face when he is finally released is priceless. The maiden has to be one of the more inventive murder weapons the series has seen.

I thought the guest stars Jeroen Krabbé and Anton Lesser were superb in their roles.

It would have been nice to see Barnaby apologise to LeVanu for wrongly discrediting him, but I'm not sure I've ever seen Barnaby apologise to anyone in similar circumstances..

I have to admit to being a bit confused about the antique furniture scam. Was Pargeter's home just being used to store stuff until it could be distributed? Perhaps I missed the detail.

Also I thought that Stanley's account of events didn't tally with the mysterious disappearances at the beginning, when the couples apparently disappeared mid breakfast. It's for this reason that the episode doesn't score 10/10.

Even more murders than usual

[Tweekums · 7/10 · 9 May 2010]

When four people go missing in the village of Monks Barton Barnaby and Jones are soon on the case. The situation is somewhat confused by a man who claims to be psychic turns up to calm the souls of monks killed during to dissolution of the monasteries and now haunt the local woods. When this man is out with a group of followers in the woods he finds a body; although it turns out that it doesn't belong to one of the missing people. To stir things up even more we hand a hellfire and brimstone preacher who wants the psychic to get out of the area. What follows involves possible haunting, stolen antiques and a philandering postman.

There were some good humorous moments such as the postman carrying on with the vicar's wife and Barnaby accidentally trapping Jones in an iron maiden... luckily for him the spikes were retracted unlike when a later victim is put in it. I could have done without seeing the monks being killed by the soldiers, there were enough murders in the episode without showing killings from hundreds of years ago. When we do finally learn who did it and why it didn't seem as far fetched as it could have been and there were clues to the culprit hidden amongst the various red herrings.

Tense storyline and great characters

[aisyah-65416 · 10/10 · 18 February 2024]

Loved the supernatural elements in any detective story..Very interesting and it keep you in focus. Help you to understand the element of history in Great Britain for those who are not familiar with dissolution of the church and how everything connected to the murders.

Just like any supernatural incident, I like the idea of a mysterious wood with spooky ghost stories which at the end explained away with science. Dr George Bullard is a delight. Detective Tom and Jones are great together, loves their chemistry.

Its the characters and the chemistry as well beautiful location which made the series a success.

One of the better more recent episodes.

[poolandrews · 7/10 · 8 May 2010]

Midsomer Murders: Talking to the Dead starts in a small area known as Monks Barton where local postman Sam Nelmus (Bill Ward) walks into a cottage & sees the table set for breakfast & the kettle on the hob but no-one there & a few splashes of blood convince him to call the police. The cottage has two couples living there, local Priory caretakers Stanley Goodfellow & his wife Nesta along with close friends Colin & Molly Thomas whose son died in the Monks Barton woods several years previous. DCI Tom Barnaby (John Nettles) & DS Ben Jones (Jason Hughes) are on the case that at first seems like a complete mystery. Then a so called psychic Cyrus LeVanu (Jeroen Krabbé) miraculously finds the body of a murdered man in a shallow grave in Monks Barton woods but it's neither of the missing men from the cottage. As the bodies continue to pile up & the mystery deepens Barnaby has to separate superstition from fact & find a brutal killer...

Apparently episode 7 from season 11 (the TV channel over here in the UK doesn't show them in any kind of order these days) this Midsomer Murders mystery was directed by Sarah Haellings & is an improvement on the majority of recent episodes but is still way short of the glory days of this series, I liked it enough but wouldn't put it right up there with the best if you know what I mean. There's certainly more going on here than recently with a mysterious quadruple disappearance, ghosts of tortured monks, hauntings, antique thieves, love affairs & a psychic Priest who can supposedly talk to the dead (the obvious inspiration for the episode title) & there's a pretty big body count here as well with at least five dead bodies on show & an entire group of monks slaughtered in a flashback so there's a fair bit going on. It does all come together quite nicely & the motives for murder this time around are pretty good, there seems to have been a bit of thought put into it rather than it just being for revenge or money or jealously as the killer explains everything just got out of hand & escalated with very little premeditation which is why the plot seems a little random until the explanation which is a good thing I thought. The whole supernatural angle comes across as a little fake, one moment you have spooky noises that are explained by speakers to scare people off yet there's still visions of ghost's & the ending is deliberately ambiguous so as to suggest that something supernatural might have happened. The character's are good with a few nice eccentric ones like the psychic & the stern local Vicar who is nicknamed Brimstone although I didn't like the sub-plot between Jones & that female WPC cop as Midsomer Murders is not a soap & should not become one, just stick to telling good murder mysteries guy's.

As I already mentioned there's a decent body count here & a bit of blood as well, there's also one particularly gruesome murder by a medieval torture device that is foreshadowed early on although once it's introduced you just sit there waiting for the Iron maiden to come into play at some point which inevitably it does. The Monks Barton area & the village of Bow Clayton have never featured before in Midsomer Murders which is odd for the series as the makers generally keep using the same villages & locations. Filmed as a sort of creepy murder mystery there's plenty of scenes set in the foggy woods during the day & night & with all the talk of ghosts Talking to the Dead has a horror film vibe going on although it's not really pushed that far. The acting is very good as usual, the regulars are all great while I only saw Jeroen Krabbé in the average Transporter 3 (2008) last week which just proves what a diverse filmography he has going all the way back to the early 60's.

Midsomer Murders: Talking to the Dead is a good episode with an unusual outcome that has had a little thought put into it, the horror & supernatural angle is a little intrusive at times but it adds a bit of something extra to the small village life seen here. The final episode of season 11.

A pretty good one.

[harrykivi · 7/10 · 29 June 2021]

The 11th season of "Midsomer Murders" has never been one of the best of the series for me, I have said it numerous times, but "Blood Wedding" was a very good episode. "Talking to the Dead" ends the eleventh season on a quite good note though. It's not as good as "Blood Wedding", but is close.

Let's start with the good aspets first.

. The production values of "Talking to the Dead" are amazing as usual. The episode is very well-directed and the music always fits the scenery. The acting's solid all around. John Nettles and Jason Hughes are wonderful as the main detectives. Their chemistry is great on its own. Out of the strong guest stars Paul Jesson, Jereon Krabbe and especially Richard Graham give very good performances.

. The mystery is hugely compelling with creepy atmosphere, welcome humor (agree that the scene regarding the iron maiden was fantastic) and great twists. The solution to the murders (Stanley killed people in the heat of the moment) feels fresh and is well explained.

But...

. The subplot regarding Jones' affair with Stephens did not give anything new to the story and felt unnecessary at the end of the day.

. Also, there were times in the narrative, when it got too over- the top for me. For example: the feud scene between the reverand and Cyrus LeVanu.

Overall, a pretty good episode.

7,5/10 HK.

Really Getting Away from the One Time Direction

[Hitchcoc · 6/10 · 4 May 2016]

This episode again pulls in supernatural elements. We have the nutty minister and the mainstream minister, each of whom is actually nutty. You have flashbacks to attacks on monks by medieval soldiers, wielding axes and swords. Somehow there seems to be a curse on the place where this took place. All sorts of evidence points to the reality of a kind of curse, but Barnaby discovers the foundation behind these events. Murder is committed to cover things up. There is also a man who seems to be speaking in tongues, filled with guilt and fear. But there's more to the story as we are brought into it. Unfortunately, the fragmented nature of this makes one wonder, what just happened. And the ending is silly and below the standards of this series.

Could Have Been One of the Best Midsomer Murders

[Carsten-Pedersen · 5/10 · 6 July 2008]

Four people disappears mysteriously with a meal still on the table and water boiling on the stove. The Bermuda Triangle in Midsomer. Add to this a forest haunted by ghosts of monks, a mansion with suits of armour and an iron maiden and you really have the potential for a great episode.

But then the filmmakers go ahead and spoil it all with a ghost hunter so theatrical he is hardly believable even as a phony and a fire and brimstone priest as his adversary. At one point Barnaby comments that he foresees big trouble between them, but apart from a minor skirmish we get nothing of that.

Luckily the solution is up to the usual Midsomer Murders' standard and saves the day. But average is disappointing when the stage was set for excellent.

Witty but over-the-top body count and gore

[yerwan1 · 6/10 · 28 August 2020]

Lots of enjoyable things here, but most characters were whack-job caricatures, and the body count and gore were excessive. Didn't care much for the resolution either.

Would be subpar without Jeroen Krabbé

[mhflinterman-625-218938 · 6/10 · 31 October 2021]

It's always a treat to see Jeroen Krabbé on film. I immediately suspected him, based on his roles in The Fugitive and The Living Daylights. (I won't tell if he was the culprit or not.) The plot is outrageous though and I found myself skipping through the DVD's chapters. I can handle some mumbo jumbo, like the cult The Temple of Thoth in the Magician's Nephew episode, but this episode was too much, with childish spooky sounds in a forest. One of the least interesting episodes, though the acting and the locations are fine.

Not a great episode

[wjspears · 4/10 · 12 August 2021]

So many implausibles.

Speakers are placed in the trees to send out haunted sounds, but no one ever notices?

A dead body is found buried in the woods. 4 other people are missing who live near the woods edge. But the owner of the land is able to override Barnaby, who want to cordon off the woods for investigation?

The woods that are supposed to be haunted, have a vacated shack that no one seems to know about? Surely someone, local kids for instance, would have come across the shack at some point, and mentioned it as a place to look for the missing people.

As a more general complaint, this episode was simply too predictable.

Whenever a mystery features a haunted house, woods, or whatever, it falls into the same formula.

A skeptical detective investigates, and another junior detective is more openly superstitious and casts worries.

Skeptical, and strange occurrences happen that baffle the lead detective early on. But by the end, everything is neatly and logically explained.

Then, the last scene of the show has an unexplainable incident, that has everyone nodding thoughtfully.

Partly funny, mostly confusing

[deansscreen · 4/10 · 3 August 2020]

The producers should have sent every viewer an advance copy of the script. Even then, most would have given up on the plot after ten minutes. A postman finds empty homes, a weirdo speaks to dead monks in the woods, a churchman rants and raves. It's all baffling, muddled, and confusing. In comic relief, there are great scenes where poor Jones is nearly crippled while assisting the boss. Even these make little sense, as Barnaby ignores Jones's pain in displays of cold and unsympathetic insensitivity that are not really in line with Barnaby's normal character. All in all, despite these horrors, an enjoyable episode as long as you're paying more attention to a phone call, a book, and a coffee as you watch the show with one eye.

It could have been, but it wasn't

[enkiddu-725-703632 · 4/10 · 29 April 2010]

This episode didn't impress me very much, on the whole I found it very dull and boring, I could hardly wait till it ends. The start seemed promising to me too, all these disappearances and all, but very soon I lost the thread of the plot, in the middle of the film I tried to remember who had been killed and what actually was being investigated but I failed, so that I had to go back and find out the necessary information again. The ghost-line of the plot seemed far-fetched from the very beginning, moreover, this episode was shown right after the "Magician's Nephew" where some mysterious and mystical tricks had already been played, so "Talking to the Dead" looks very pale on the background of the previous episode. The detective line of the plot is rather undeveloped, sometimes on can think that Barnaby and Jones investigate the ghost-affairs of the forest. Only the end of the film shook me - who could've thought that in a simple English village could live some thugs similar to the members of the Russian Mafia! And one of them was even able to commit the murder of three people, his wife among them (if I remember correctly)! In one word, the plot is absolutely far-fetched and strained, the episode is boring.

Silliest episode ever!

[johnpyke-oz · 1/10 · 4 February 2015]

(Smallish) spoilers ahead. This was badly scripted and weakly directed. The vicar and the spiritualist were wildly over-acting (probably as directed to); Joyce, who is usually at least as smart as Barnaby, was suddenly all girly-gullible about the spiritualist; and Barnaby and Jones sleep-walked through their roles as if stoned, or stunned by the script. And Jones stands in the iron maiden and tidy Barnaby slams it shut - that's probably the point at which both actors lost any belief in the meaning of life! And the weird sounds - from about 10 minutes in, I was saying "look for something up in the trees, and for a control panel with VU meters and switches", but it took forever! And get some help with the terminology - the said thing with the VU meters and switches (which they eventually found) was the transmitter; the small boxes that they kept calling "transmitters" would have been receivers with (oddly small but apparently super-efficient) loudspeakers. Just pathetic! And it wasn't even made bearable by some nice Cotswolds scenery, which often makes the less-brilliant episodes of MM more watchable.

Very poor script

[joanneaugust · 2/10 · 17 May 2024]

I have lost track of how many times my family strongly disagreed with the votes on here - we thought episodes that were rated badly on here were outstanding, and more commonly: We often thought episodes with a good rating were poor.

In the case of this one, where do I start? Other users have already mentioned the out-of-character writing as well as the confusing nature of the storyline. Barnaby's usual calm rationale is substituted by a stubborn and insensitive skepticism. He leaves his wife standing at the side of the road without a single word, he doesn't care about Jones possibly having injured himself.

Jones is no better. All of a sudden, he's clumsy and stupid?

And yes, they don't come up with the most obvious answers.

The priorities of the episode are also not set straight. We have a bazillion (almost identical) scenes of monks getting slaughtered. We get it. Something happened here a long time ago. On the other hand, there's very little detective work going on. Feels like you're watching a supernatural drama in between the few scenes depicting actual police work. Barnaby and Jones don't actually make much of a difference in this episode, most of it is just shoving this "haunting" story down our throats.

And then there's other parts of the story that I won't go into right now. Other storylines that don't get as much attention as they deserve because too much is wasted with this haunting thing.

There are also some things which annoy me not based solely on this episode, but because they appear again and again on this show.

Midsomer Murders is a crime show, not a supernatural show. And yet in some episodes it feels like the writers want to sell esoteric nonsense as realistic. The one with the third eye, and now this one.

Priests are never portrayed in a remotely positive light in this show, and this one was no exception. The writers last entered a church in the middle ages if they think that's what religious folks are like. I have no issue with seeing an evil or weird priest in a crime series, but every single one of them?