Firstly, I feel I need to take issue with the delay British audiences have had waiting for this episode to be shown, seen everywhere else in the world, bar Britain. ITV shame on you, not on.
The episode itself, first twenty minutes I was absolutely blown away, a stylish sleek opening, real quality in those opening scenes, menacing, smart, hugely professional. The cast list, fantastic, so much talent, including Samuel West, Claire Skinner, and the fabulous Anamaria Marinca. Even the use of vintage Midsomer music made me think we were onto a real winner.
Then comes the point where Dudgeon dons fancy dress, and the whole thing unravels. None of us watching it at home knew who, what or why, the story absolutely lost us all, was so hard to follow. Even on a second viewing the conclusion seemed totally ridiculous.
It wasn't all bad, Marinca was excellent as the flirtatious pathologist, even if it is just a short term project for her, with Annette Badland due to take over. Winter was great, and the acting was generally very good, apart from the encounter where Samuel West fell over, I mean come on!
I love Midsomer Murders, there have been so many classics, I just feel in the hands of whoever has it now it's going to vanish into obscurity, please go back to basics, check out some of the vintage episodes, and capture that core element that made it compulsive viewing. This sucked. 5/10