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in North North,

0:58

Australia and North America. The

1:00

episode also has no form, one

1:02

nail-biting episode at a time.

1:05

Spoiler alert, we leave

1:07

no stone unturned, no

1:09

evidence unchecked. So if

1:12

you haven't seen the episode in question

1:14

today, I suggest you do

1:16

it right now. We're

1:18

going back to Season 14 with

1:20

a rare bird. The

1:23

morale between keen birdwatchers in Midsummer

1:25

in the Marsh turns very nasty

1:27

when their president is killed. Patrick

1:30

Morgan met his death while hoping

1:32

to sight a rare bird, but

1:34

is his obsession with ornithology to

1:37

blame or something

1:39

rather more sinister? With

1:41

the help of cast,

1:43

crew and devoted superfans,

1:46

I'll be covering some of

1:48

the most important scenes, discussing

1:51

the most intriguing characters and

1:53

seeing who can spot those

1:55

cameos. Helping me on this

1:57

episode will be Bill Young. Bill

2:00

is Vice President of Television

2:02

Programming for PBS in North

2:04

Texas. Bill also

2:06

writes passionately about British television

2:09

and culture. He

2:11

is my perfect companion. You

2:13

know, the only thing that we didn't have

2:15

is somebody die before the opening credits, but

2:18

you know it's coming pretty soon. This week,

2:20

we're hearing from Jason Hughes, otherwise

2:22

known as DS Ben Jones. I

2:25

just showed up in a uniform and somebody said,

2:27

well, where's the guy? And they were, oh, sick.

2:31

That was it. He was gone and

2:33

I was in. Plus, we'll finish

2:35

things off with a round of

2:37

our super-fan face-off quiz, hosted

2:40

by award-winning Scottish comedian,

2:42

actor, presenter and

2:45

most importantly, die-hard Midsomer

2:47

Murders enthusiast, Yes, It's

2:50

Ashley Story. How

2:54

much does the ice cream van

2:56

charge John for two 99s? Bobby?

3:00

A penny. Wait. Oh,

3:04

wait. No. No. With

3:07

the cost of dead end in this country, no, stop

3:09

it. Also, be sure

3:12

to stick around for the end

3:14

where we tie up any of

3:16

those loose ends, wrap everything up,

3:18

announce exactly who committed the murderous

3:21

crimes and how Barnaby

3:23

solved them. Hello,

3:28

Bill. Let's get moving. We've chosen

3:30

a rare bird. Neil Dudgeon said

3:32

it was his top 10 favorite

3:35

episode. You know, Nick, you have

3:37

to say that I didn't

3:39

know a lot about birdwatching, but now after

3:42

watching Rare Bird, I believe

3:44

I know quite a bit now.

3:46

That's good. And in this particular

3:48

episode, members of the Midsomer and

3:50

the Marsh Ornithological Society thankfully referred

3:52

to as the MMOS have a

3:54

fallout. And that's when Ralph Ford

3:56

claims that he has spotted the

3:58

rare blue crested hoopoo. Now

4:01

the sighting puts him ahead in

4:03

this year's list competition but as

4:05

MMO OS president Patrick Morgan says

4:07

the bird could never have been seen in

4:10

Midsomer as its native to Uganda. So

4:12

he's infuriated isn't he now? He

4:15

storms out of the meeting and then

4:17

yeah lots of heated words

4:19

shall we say and then the

4:22

next day Patrick is found dead

4:24

in Thornsdown Lake the scene of

4:26

the alleged hupu sighting. Now when

4:28

they put his body from the

4:30

lake it's entangled in a mist

4:32

net used to catch and release

4:34

birds and he sustained several very

4:36

very nasty blows to the head

4:38

which has caused his death. The

4:40

dead man's wife Nina which is a

4:42

former Russian prima ballerina had recently become

4:45

pregnant. Now before his death

4:47

Patrick Morgan accused Nina of sleeping with

4:49

another man so Midsomer professing

4:52

it to be impossible that

4:54

she be pregnant. What?

5:00

What is it possibly going to be? It

5:03

was a man's death and it was a

5:05

ballerina and it was a man's

5:07

death. Oh

5:09

Nina how did your husband get up

5:11

to you? You hear that? I'll

5:13

kill you! You're the man! Oh! That's

5:17

not a great start is it to the

5:20

show? I'll kill you. Now a bird alert

5:22

sent from Ralph Ford's phone had lured the

5:24

now deceased Morgan to the scene of

5:26

the crime. Ford, a

5:29

professional taxidermist of course, claims

5:31

his phone was stolen and

5:33

Tim Whitley while bird-watching incidentally

5:36

captured the sound of Morgan's

5:38

attack on the stroke of

5:41

midnight. Well how appropriate you have a

5:43

taxidermist in a bird-watching episode and then

5:45

I thought it was very strange to

5:48

Actually send the text from your

5:50

own phone. Thankfully He claimed it

5:52

was stolen. Very odd. Olivia Carter

5:54

which was secretary of the MMOS

5:56

and receptionist to Dr. Markham Who's

5:58

another member of the. The Mls

6:00

seems very traumatize obviously by Patrick's

6:03

death, while the belligerent farmer George

6:05

Napier is thankful he is glad

6:07

to be rid of the former

6:09

city financiere while expressing pity for

6:12

the beautiful, well. I wouldn't

6:14

sit tight. Wilding reveals a tax hike

6:16

had a set to me mean is

6:18

Charles and couldn't have been. He's oh

6:20

no mean explains he had a drunken

6:23

sling, had a party in London. That.

6:25

Jones is convinced that her mother

6:27

is and local mans. Could he

6:30

be a member of the M

6:32

M O S or even day

6:34

substrates the local to very good

6:36

looking bad boy. You're not

6:38

going ahead with us. Saw

6:40

us. Strain the me and

6:42

your dream eyewitness habitats A

6:44

several birds with protected status

6:46

as was made protected Not

6:49

i'm birds are so you

6:51

if I after so you're.

6:57

Sitting fluffing so and so. On

7:00

the bombing, the problems, and

7:02

over the last. And at

7:05

his residence forever. Without

7:08

a turn the volume down. The.

7:12

Loudest. And

7:14

love that local bad boy here. Every

7:16

village needs a bad boy here, especially

7:19

submit Somewhere in the March. I love

7:21

that he ain't getting his ricin bailout and

7:23

how to explain what that means? do? I.

7:25

Have never said it that way, but you don't have.

7:28

A self explanatory but password is

7:30

just not setting himself up well

7:32

with the local town. Nice. Out

7:35

as far as good a wise it.sight

7:37

clack the loudest get sort of having

7:39

already they're setting it up. We've got

7:41

a couple of issues here, haven't we?

7:43

We've got had faith threatening to kill

7:46

his wife Nina and then obviously we

7:48

can see this conference call with the

7:50

farm us and also with Day Foxy

7:52

as well so it's still a soft

7:54

pretty easy, pretty heated. Years. As

7:57

you know, the only thing that we didn't

7:59

have somebody die the for the opening credits.

8:01

but you know it's it's coming pretty soon

8:03

or. Is still got to get into

8:06

this bird matter. Heavenly was we're talking

8:08

about the mid summer in the Mosque

8:10

Ornithological Society Easy for some to say

8:13

and this is I. All gets on.

8:15

it does. starts. A kickoff Sprouse

8:17

has claimed that he soared through

8:19

Christopher from same are some of

8:21

the Saudis are you? A

8:24

mega and will you alone at

8:26

a time Said it's unverifiable Asked.

8:30

To purchase. My bird

8:32

is my bond. Nobody's questioning your

8:34

word routes. Yes, he is. And

8:37

why? Because this I think

8:39

it's may ten point lead in this is this

8:41

competition. Ten. Points of View:

8:44

Patrick's That's what this is all

8:46

about. I know, This

8:50

is. From

8:53

now on, consider yourself an endangered

8:55

species. It away.

8:57

Now the scene has been set. We've

9:00

heard all the policy in the upstairs

9:02

room at the pub deciding on how

9:04

many points people should or shouldn't get

9:06

said. These blue cressida hoopoe which has

9:08

been spouses. And the

9:10

at Tempus afraid was a

9:12

says and threats on made.

9:14

L E S is getting

9:16

serious. My. Had no idea is

9:18

that it was this serious. Said there

9:20

were points they were in you. You

9:23

got rules as to you know when

9:25

you can see something. do have a

9:27

witness. All. About they censor.

9:29

Not helps, but you can tell the

9:31

rails and pass it. There's no love

9:33

lost between them and Olivia. cause as

9:35

we can tell, early on early days

9:37

I see the pub that Patchett Morgan

9:39

is essential of her world. Even now

9:41

I'm not so as to sip cages

9:43

says devastated when he's murdered. You hear

9:46

about the maddest. I'm investigating

9:48

Perfect Movements Death Yes, he knows.

9:50

Fast forward it to I am

9:52

and Six easy as. It

9:55

sounds good to have a lot richer through

9:58

town for with cry. And then. The

10:00

me thinking that bird watching was such an

10:02

innocence pastime. Of

10:04

inspector it's religion Urges are a bunch

10:07

of just a self centered maniacs council

10:09

the room waiting for the glimpse of

10:11

a rather. And

10:13

I'm sports figure was casa.

10:16

Es I just enjoy the

10:18

exercise. Yeah, the exercise. iii

10:20

The whole super. Trick. It must

10:23

be great for Barnaby because you know in in

10:25

every episode everybody in town does his work for

10:27

them. They all know who did it a night

10:29

on. And

10:31

they aren't afraid to tell him either,

10:33

which I think is whether it was

10:36

done Nettles or Neil Dudgeon. What I

10:38

love about the character is that everybody

10:40

feels so comparable to talk to them

10:42

into. Share. Without. Him having

10:45

ask any questions century, centuries,

10:48

The. Gp in Markham claims his relationship

10:50

with Nina was purely professional Of

10:52

course, while fellow Twitter and former

10:54

orchestral performer Michael hips man said

10:56

he was playing is over with

10:58

Midnight as we all do on

11:00

the night of Patrick's Murder. Or

11:03

later the doctor visits Nina at her home.

11:05

To comfort her in her grief

11:08

up pictures of them together or

11:10

delivered anonymously to Barnaby? Where did

11:12

you get these and put them

11:14

in? Been following this, somebody send

11:16

them to anonymously and comment. Mrs.

11:19

Morgan was stressed as a coma.

11:21

She wanted the sedative to them

11:23

for real trauma. She needed to

11:25

talk to him. Cuddles was it

11:27

she was upset. Would you like

11:29

to have a second think about

11:32

what you told me regarding how

11:34

close you in Syria know or

11:36

I? I hated Patrick more than

11:38

that wasn't personal, everybody did. but

11:40

I'm not the father of Mrs.

11:42

Morgan child or her lover. Or.

11:44

Patrick's killer. You

11:47

think I'm in a those things

11:49

improve it. Oh don't worry daughter

11:52

if you are Patrick killer I

11:54

will nails you for. i

11:57

love it now that you've got the pictures okay i

11:59

did hate that Morgan now that you mention it. Yeah,

12:02

exactly. And of course in those pictures, it

12:04

is photographs of him cuddling up with Nina. Ralph

12:07

and Morgan had this upset about this rare

12:09

bird, yeah, this

12:12

hooping. Well, Ralph did

12:14

see it. I know because I

12:16

saw it too. Thought you were

12:18

closet birdwatcher nowadays. Yeah, whatever. I

12:21

shot a couple of rugs last week, but this other bird fell

12:23

to worth as well. It was

12:25

strange. It was sort of like a bluey-brown colour.

12:29

The hooping. So I

12:31

take it to Ralph because he buys any dead

12:33

rare animal stuffs themselves and one. So Ralph was

12:36

telling the truth about spotting it. Yeah,

12:39

only after I shot his stone dead. That's

12:42

cheating, see, because they can't claim a tick in

12:44

their book if it's dead when they spot it.

12:47

Listen, you want to get down Ralph Ford's

12:49

workshop and shake his tree. Not

12:52

mine. You have the

12:54

local bad boy who has no

12:57

desire whatsoever to be associated with

12:59

liking birdwatching. It's like, yeah, whatever.

13:01

Yeah, all he's interested in is earning

13:03

a few bucks, isn't it? Foxley startled

13:05

Ralph in the woods demanding money to

13:07

keep quiet as he knows the truth

13:09

about Ralph. Now, summoned by

13:12

an emergency house call, Dr. Markham walks along

13:14

the edge of the lake, never a good

13:16

thing to do, and is ensnared by a

13:18

mist net similar to the one Patrick's body

13:20

was found in. A faceless

13:23

perpetrator fires two shots from

13:25

a shotgun blasting the good

13:27

doctor dead. Nina finally

13:29

admits to the detectives the dead

13:31

man was the father of her

13:33

child. Yes, it was the doctor. Well,

13:35

Nikki, and you have to think watching this, you're

13:37

sitting at home and you're saying, stay away from

13:40

the edge of the lake. Nothing

13:42

good happens near the edge

13:44

of the lake. Now, cartridges from

13:46

Foxley's gun magically match

13:48

the ones found by Dr. Markham's body

13:51

in the woods, but Foxley says they're

13:53

from shooting vermin. Confronted, he concedes Ralph

13:55

did find the rare hupu, but only

13:57

after Foxley shot him, he was shot.

14:00

shot it down in error. Now the detectives go

14:02

to Ralph's workshop, find the hoopoo,

14:04

but stuffed. The taxidermist may

14:06

have lied, but he insists that he

14:08

couldn't hurt another living creature, let

14:10

alone the two dead men. Did you see anyone else out

14:13

by the lake last night? Oh, no, no. Do

14:15

you want a shotgun, Tim? Me. Yes,

14:18

yes. I do a bit of clay

14:20

pigeon shooting in case. Keep it locked

14:22

away. Good. Mind if we take a

14:24

look at it? Well, actually, I'm running

14:27

a bit late. It's Amy's

14:29

ballet graduation class tonight. I'd only take you a

14:31

minute to get it, Mr. Whitley. It'd be very useful to

14:33

us if we could eliminate it from our inquiries. Yes,

14:36

of course. So. Isn't

14:38

it amazing how everybody who has something that

14:41

Barnaby wants to look at, is like, well,

14:43

can we see it? Well, you know, I

14:45

am really busy right now. So can we

14:47

do this later? Yeah. Do

14:50

you know what? If there had been a

14:52

death or two deaths in my local town

14:54

or village, and a chief inspector came knocking

14:56

at the door and a detective sergeant, I'd

14:58

be absolutely petrified. And the one thing you

15:00

get time and time again is they're so

15:02

relaxed about it. They say, oh, yes, a

15:04

little bit later, I'm off on my way

15:06

out. But they don't seem too phased or

15:08

frightened. Even if you know you didn't do

15:10

it, it still would get

15:13

to me. Yeah, I'd be scared rigid.

15:15

But of course, the boys are close

15:17

to solving it. This is the recording

15:19

that Tim Whitley made on the night

15:21

of Patrick's death. Now there's the church

15:23

bells striking midnight, then Patrick's cry, and

15:25

a little later the splash. Yes. Yeah,

15:27

I remember all that. What else can

15:29

you hear? Nothing. Exactly.

15:33

I think we've got our killer. Come on. You

15:37

remember when the

15:45

time of Patrick's death, he was at home playing

15:47

the over. But if he had been playing his

15:49

over, Tim Whitley's microphone would have picked it up.

15:51

But he didn't. There was nothing on the recording.

15:54

So he wasn't playing it at the time of

15:56

Patrick's death. No, he was lying. I

15:58

think neither is next. victim. And

16:01

off they run to try and

16:03

save Nina before Michael Hipsman gets

16:05

to her. Well I think you

16:07

know when you think about all of the

16:09

police procedural programs it's always the butler who

16:11

does it. Now I'm going to start my

16:14

first questions like is there an

16:16

oboe player amongst you because you never

16:18

trust the oboe player. Not

16:21

the fact that they've got such

16:23

sophisticated recording equipment to chase after

16:25

some birds that they can pick

16:27

up things like two or three

16:29

miles away. So

16:33

Bill one of the actors

16:35

has caught my eye in a cameo role. I

16:37

wonder if it's the same as the one you

16:39

I'm sure you're going to share with us. Well

16:42

the first one that immediately came to mind was

16:45

Ralph Ford who is played by the

16:47

actor James Dreyfus. I recognize

16:49

him from a number of different comedy

16:51

series one being Thin Blue Line which

16:53

was started Rowan Atkinson but also

16:56

Gimme Gimme Gimme and then

16:58

more recently Mount Pleasant. Yeah he's a superb

17:01

actor really really good.

17:04

This your hobby Mr. Ford? My

17:07

profession. I'm a taxidermist

17:10

you'd be surprised at what people want to preserve and

17:12

how much they're prepared to pay for it. You

17:14

name it I've stuffed it. Now

17:16

there's another actor that I noticed his

17:19

name in the show was Dave Foxley

17:21

the local bad boy good-looking bad boy

17:23

as well. Actually the actor

17:26

is Paul Nichols who where a lot

17:28

of us over here will know from

17:30

EastEnders he played DS and Casey in

17:32

the ITV drama Law and Order UK

17:34

and he was also in a Channel

17:36

4 drama at Clea Bridge but we

17:38

all know and loved him as Joe

17:40

Wicks in EastEnders and he was a

17:43

heartthrob back in the day a total

17:45

heartthrob. So you noticed him as Paul

17:47

Nichols or you noticed him just because

17:49

he was the local bad boy in

17:51

Midsomer Murders. Well he really did have a

17:56

huge role in EastEnders he had some great lives

17:58

I'm not sure how to long he was in

18:00

it for, probably a couple of years, but as it's

18:02

on nearly every single day, you know, he wouldn't have

18:05

been able to walk down the street without

18:07

being recognized. I mean, as soon as

18:09

he came onto the screen, I was like, ah, yes,

18:13

good actor. What I've

18:15

noticed in a lot of these episodes

18:17

is that you do have a lot

18:19

of people that have been pulled from

18:21

EastEnders, the Bill, doctors, people

18:23

who are in it every day. So

18:26

very recognizable individuals and actors. Yeah, household

18:28

names, as we would say. What's the

18:30

matter, Ralph? Dodgy ticker, have

18:32

you? I'm not surprised. That nasty secret

18:35

you've been sitting on. What

18:37

you mean? You had a row with Morgan over

18:39

that bus. Now, if I told

18:41

the world what went on there, you were in the sticky

18:43

stuff. You wouldn't do that, would

18:45

you, Dave? Brattle a few teacups round here,

18:47

that, wouldn't it? Please, please.

18:49

Don't worry, Ralph. I

18:52

don't rot on people. Not even to the coppers. I

18:56

love that. You wouldn't do that, would you, Dave? Well,

18:58

if there's money involved, yes, Dave would. Oh,

19:03

yes, indeed. Yes. Some

19:08

people just know the best way for you is

19:10

a rate based on you with all stuff. Not

19:13

one based on the driver who treats the highway

19:15

like a racetrack and the shoulder like

19:17

a passing lane. Why

19:19

pay a rate based on anyone else? Get

19:21

one based on you with DriveWise from Austin.

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In some states, participation in DriveWise allows all states to use

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19:45

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with driveways. Austin Baron casually interns coming in affiliate

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service from Illinois. In each episode of Midsummer Murders

20:10

Mayhem we like to delve into our

20:12

archives to hear from some of the people who

20:14

made the show what it is. And

20:17

this week what a delight we're

20:19

hearing from Jason Hughes otherwise known

20:21

as DS Ben Jones. So

20:24

he took over from DS Daniel

20:26

Scott and held the show transition

20:28

from DCI Tom Barnaby to DCI

20:31

John Barnaby. Jason

20:33

was born in Wales in 1917 joined the

20:36

National Youth Theatre of Wales when

20:38

he was 16. He actually lived

20:40

in the same halls of residence

20:42

as actor Michael Sheen before heading

20:45

to London to study drama at

20:47

the London Academy of Music and

20:49

Dramatic Arts. He landed the

20:51

role in Midsummer Murders in 2005. But do

20:53

you remember how he's first

20:57

came into the scene? Well we'll

20:59

let Jason explain. Yeah I thought it was

21:01

just brilliant the way that they did it.

21:03

No Scott this morning? No he called in

21:05

sick come on. I just showed up in

21:07

a uniform and somebody said well where's the

21:09

guy and they were oh sick that

21:13

was it he was gone and I was

21:15

in. He possessed

21:18

a suit Jones. Yes

21:20

sir. The tie?

21:23

I do sir yes. How do you fancy working with the

21:25

ID for a couple of days? Yes

21:28

sir. And once he was part

21:30

of the Midsummer Murders family he got

21:32

roped into all sorts of roles such

21:34

as when he had to dress up

21:36

as a nun in a sacred trust.

21:38

The thing was that because they knew

21:41

I was stupid enough to

21:43

say yes to pretty much anything that they

21:45

threw at me they just decided well let's

21:47

do that then and it also

21:49

made my day more interesting. I feel like I was

21:51

very lucky I got to do so so much fun

21:53

stuff. As I mentioned DS

21:56

Ben Jones was the detective sergeant

21:58

who held the show to transition. from

22:00

John Nettles to Neil Dudgeon. But

22:03

how was it? Well, here's

22:05

Jason Hughes explaining at the time

22:07

how he was finding it. Working

22:09

with a new inspector, Neil, has

22:11

been an absolute joy, I have to say.

22:15

He's just such a lovely guy and he's

22:18

incredibly kind. He

22:22

works really hard and he's

22:24

trying his utmost to be

22:26

as good as he possibly can. And what's really

22:28

lovely is watching him grow into

22:31

the path as well. It's

22:33

really nice seeing him kind of get

22:36

stuck into it more and

22:38

exploring it more and becoming

22:40

more and more confident about

22:42

who this guy is. Working

22:45

with a new leading man meant that

22:47

there was some adjustments to his role

22:49

too. The involvement of

22:51

Jones in these scripts has definitely changed. He's

22:54

got much more to do now, or

22:56

at least he did have. I think because

22:58

he was the bridge from the old to

23:00

the new. So it was

23:03

important, I think, for the audience. And

23:06

also it worked contextually as well

23:08

to have a linking device and

23:10

Jones is that device, Jones is

23:13

that link. And it

23:15

worked. It's quite legitimate

23:17

because there's a guy who comes from

23:19

somewhere to work in a place and

23:21

he's working with a guy who's grown

23:23

up there and knows the area very

23:25

well. So it's completely valid to have

23:27

somebody take him around, show him what's

23:29

what, where this is, the geography of

23:31

the place, the kind of people that live there,

23:33

the way things are done. So it all worked.

23:35

And as a result, fortunately for me as an

23:38

actor, it was great because I got a lot

23:40

more to do. Now, we

23:42

all know this show isn't particularly true

23:44

to life and Jason isn't ashamed to

23:46

admit it. We're not trying to be real.

23:49

It's a made up land. You know,

23:51

these stories are fantastical and

23:54

we're not gonna apologize for it. And

23:57

I think that's probably something that people enjoy.

24:00

I will leave there honest. You're not trying to

24:02

be anything, you know, that they're not. Well,

24:04

the stories may be made up

24:06

but the settings certainly aren't, which

24:08

is part, I think, of Midsummer

24:10

Murders' unique charm. Jason Hughes.

24:13

We just ended up day

24:16

after day after day after

24:18

week after week in

24:20

these most extraordinary

24:23

locations. These incredible

24:26

houses, houses that had

24:28

these incredible grounds, beautiful

24:30

farmland, beautiful forests,

24:33

which is really quite an amazing thing for

24:36

an actor to have that as your backdrop.

24:38

It definitely makes your job easier. It's quite

24:40

breathtaking. But since he left the show, has

24:43

he been back to the county of Midsummer?

24:45

When I think of my time on it, those seven

24:47

years, I was in some kind of apocalyptic world where

24:49

people just died all the time. I

24:52

haven't been that way for a while.

24:54

Junction Tooth, Junction 7 on the M40,

24:56

I just diverts, goes somewhere else. That

25:00

was the lovely Jason Hughes,

25:02

otherwise known as DS Ben

25:04

Jones. In

25:08

each episode of Midsummer Murders' mayhem, we

25:10

like to bring in the experts for

25:12

you. Now, sometimes we have our in-house

25:14

expert on the dead. Other times, we

25:17

chat to people who are involved behind

25:19

the scenes or who can answer whether

25:21

it really is possible to die by

25:23

the means that they do on

25:26

the show. This week, we're joined

25:28

by Jamie Burntell. Now, if you've

25:30

ever wondered if queer theory comes

25:32

into Midsummer Murders or how to

25:34

write the perfect crime, then guess

25:37

what? Jamie is your man. His

25:39

TED Talks education video, how to

25:41

write the perfect crime according to

25:43

Agatha Christie, has been viewed over

25:45

300,000 times. I

25:49

began by asking him what makes

25:51

this type of whodunit so

25:54

popular? As a crime

25:56

writer and at the heart of the

25:58

best and most baffling mysteries, simplicity.

26:01

It's about having a simple

26:04

pool of suspects, contained location

26:06

and a really

26:08

battling mystery that you can explain in

26:11

three or four lines.

26:13

It's about having something that

26:15

feels really complex but can

26:17

actually be understood by pretty

26:19

much anyone really easily. But

26:21

amongst the traditional crime novels,

26:24

is it actually possible to

26:26

weave in the themes of

26:28

LGBTQ plus and also diversity?

26:30

Oh yes. So a lot of people think

26:33

of Agatha Christie and a lot of people

26:35

think of cosy

26:37

crime fiction perhaps as a

26:40

very old-fashioned genre where there's

26:42

not necessarily much diversity. But

26:45

if you scrape beneath the surface you

26:47

find a whole range of human emotions

26:50

and behaviours going on as

26:52

there is in the real world reflected in

26:54

these books. The really key thing about a

26:56

lot of crime writers is that

26:59

they see through the socials charade.

27:02

They have to be able to see

27:04

through prejudice and stereotypes in order to

27:06

use them to shock the reader. So

27:10

in a way to write good crime fiction

27:12

you have to be really open-minded and outside

27:15

all the kind of prejudices and moral

27:17

panics going on at

27:19

the time you're writing. It works with

27:21

character types, it works with relationships too.

27:24

The very first episode of Midsomer Murders

27:26

plays brilliantly on the idea of a

27:29

relationship that we as viewers

27:31

wouldn't expect. Even if

27:33

we're looking for a secret romance

27:37

there are two characters we wouldn't expect to

27:39

end up together and once you realise they

27:41

are that's the whole key to

27:43

the mystery solved. So what

27:45

do you think of the episode A

27:47

Rare Bird? I thought

27:50

it contained elements of Midsomer Murders at

27:52

its best. There was

27:54

a lovely amount of slapstick comedy, a

27:56

good strong mystery at the heart of

27:58

it and some... wonderfully eccentric

28:00

and rather unlikeable in places

28:02

characters. Where were you late

28:04

last night? Oh,

28:07

Sparkat. Five pints and I'm nobody's...

28:11

Mr Morgan was killed last night. Never.

28:16

Mrs Morgan, do you know her well? Well,

28:18

not as well as I'd like to. She

28:21

fit all what, Jonesy? Eh? Now, obviously

28:23

you've studied Olga for Christie's work,

28:25

and you know it inside out,

28:27

but how do you think she

28:29

compares to Caroline Graham? I think

28:32

Caroline Graham is one of the greatest

28:34

crime writers of the 20th century, I

28:37

think, in creating Inspector Barnaby. She

28:40

created a really new type of

28:42

detective, but also a really new

28:44

type of detective story that didn't

28:47

just focus on the puzzle, or

28:49

just focus on psychology, or just

28:52

focus on violence. It

28:55

provided a really good and

28:57

cynical mix of psychology and

28:59

puzzle and location. What do

29:01

you think is the appeal

29:03

of the show? Midsummer Murders

29:05

is more

29:07

English than any real English

29:09

thing. There isn't really

29:11

a place like Midsummer, but

29:14

it's very nice to imagine there

29:16

is. I mean, thank goodness, otherwise

29:18

the homicide rate would be through the roof. It's

29:21

nice to escape into the relatively

29:24

uncomplicated world of Midsummer Murders,

29:26

and also I think the

29:29

quality of the writing they

29:31

get is excellent. Any episode

29:33

you sit down and watch,

29:35

you recognise famous faces, perhaps

29:37

playing the type of character you

29:39

wouldn't expect them to play. So

29:41

this real genius in Midsummer Murders,

29:43

it's just the perfect export, if

29:46

you like. Alright then, now before

29:48

we wrap up the interview, Jamie, what

29:50

do you think is the perfect murder

29:52

weapon? I think the

29:54

ideal weapon in Midsummer has to

29:56

be something very English, maybe...

30:00

jar of honey from the

30:02

village fate or something like

30:04

that. Some sort of ornament

30:06

you'd find in a lovely

30:08

cottage, a lovely English cottage,

30:10

a lovely gardening ornament, something

30:12

like that. These seem like

30:14

completely random shock

30:16

value ways to kill but they're quite

30:19

clever in a way because they show

30:21

us that these

30:23

pursuits we associate with the

30:25

countryside, the idyllic English worldview

30:28

of bird

30:30

watching which links instantly to hunting

30:32

of course and the presence of

30:35

rivers can be dangerous places. This

30:37

violence hidden in the most perfectly

30:40

manicured lawn and the most perfectly

30:42

clipped trees. That was Jamie

30:44

Burntell who specialises in queer theory

30:46

and wrote a Ted educational talk

30:49

all about how to write the

30:51

perfect crime according to Agatha Christie.

30:55

It's now time for everybody's favourite segment

30:57

of the podcast. It's the Midsummer Murders

31:00

Superfan Face Off Mega Quiz with the

31:02

Ashley Aaaaah! And

31:07

today I'm joined by Caroline who's

31:09

in Scotland and Bobby who's in

31:11

Philadelphia. Go Eagles! Caroline,

31:15

I need you to give me a buzzer sound. Any

31:17

sound you want. Buzz! Oh baby, we don't

31:19

have the money for buzzer sound so you

31:22

have to make your own sound. What's your

31:24

sound? I'll do the typical B. So

31:27

we're just going both buzzy bees. Well yeah, buzzy

31:29

bee. Very creative,

31:32

right. It's time

31:34

for your questions. Are you ready ladies?

31:36

Yep. Yes.

31:38

Okay, it's an easy one to

31:40

start off with. Question number one,

31:43

what is the name of the

31:45

pub frequented in the episode A

31:47

Rare Burn? The

31:49

Feathers. Yes, Bobby. The

31:52

Feathers. It is the Feathers. Bobby nails it one

31:54

point on the board for Bobby. It's the field

31:56

goal. It's

32:00

mine, don't worry Caroline, there's plenty

32:02

of time. There's ten questions. Question

32:05

number two. The alleged

32:07

sighting of which rare bird

32:09

excites the village birdwatcher? I'm

32:13

gonna go Caroline first. The

32:16

blue speckled hupu? So

32:19

close but no coconut! Nice poppu! Blue

32:24

crested hupu. It

32:26

was the blue crested hupu. Which

32:30

also is weirdly my secret name on

32:32

Tinder. Question

32:34

number three. The

32:37

gentle stroll that Sarah Barnaby

32:39

plans and which John calls

32:41

a root march is how

32:43

many miles long? Eight.

32:47

Yes Bobby, it is

32:49

eight miles, correct. Bobby's

32:52

got game. Bobby has, Bobby's got game.

32:56

Bobby's got mid-summer murder knowledge coming

32:58

out, or I was gonna

33:01

say blue crested hupu but that feels

33:03

inappropriate. Question

33:05

number four. Finish this sentence.

33:08

I could never harm another living thing.

33:10

I mean, I couldn't. I'm

33:14

a...catalyne. Vegetarian? It

33:16

is vegetarian catalyne. Oh, if I only

33:19

get one today that'll be enough. I

33:21

have some dignity. Question number

33:24

five. Which village

33:26

does this episode take place in?

33:29

Bobby. Midsummer and the marsh. Bobby, Midsummer

33:31

and the marsh. You did it. Question

33:34

number six. Barnaby

33:36

and Jones discuss the potential of

33:38

an affair between Nina and another

33:41

villager. What is the

33:43

name of the D.H. Lawrence novel

33:45

mentioned in this conversation? Who's...

33:50

Caroline. Lady Chatterley's lover. It's

33:53

the big filthy novel, Lady Chatterley's

33:55

lover, well done Caroline. Question number

33:58

seven. A rare bird... is

34:00

from season 14 of Midsummer

34:02

Murders. How many

34:05

episodes are in this season? Caroline.

34:08

Eight? She's got

34:10

it in one! Come on Caroline! Okay,

34:13

question number eight. How

34:15

much does the ice cream

34:17

van charge Jones for two

34:20

99s? Bobby? A

34:23

penny? Like, oh

34:26

wait. No. With

34:29

the cost of dairy in this country, no, stop it

34:32

Eddie! No, Bobby, Caroline

34:34

have you got an answer? I know it's a

34:36

lot. I'm just gonna go with the five or

34:38

five pounds. Of course but

34:40

no coking up Bobby. I'll come back to you for

34:42

your final shot. No, I can't get it. I know

34:44

it's like two for something and I can't get

34:46

it. Which means I

34:48

get the point. The answer was four pounds.

34:52

Which is too much for a 99. Question

34:58

number nine. In

35:01

which season 19 episode

35:03

does Jones make a guest appearance

35:06

after being replaced by the S

35:08

Charlie Nelson? Bobby

35:10

was in first. Last man

35:12

out. It is

35:15

last man out. It is on

35:17

YouTube a really, really hardcore Midsummer

35:19

Murderer fans. This is exciting. Final

35:22

question. Are you ready

35:25

ladies? Take a breath. Final question. Which

35:28

Tchaikovsky does the murderer

35:31

take inspiration from? Caroline.

35:38

She's right. She's right. Okay.

35:44

The scores are Bobby four,

35:46

Caroline five, Ashley one. Well

35:48

done me. Ladies,

35:51

that was amazing. That was probably

35:53

one of the most tense listeners.

35:55

You can't see their faces but

35:57

never before have I seen two

35:59

women. and look so concentrated

36:01

on Midsomer Marders

36:04

in my puff. That was

36:06

great. Thank you so much

36:08

Caroline and Bobbie. Well done

36:10

Caroline, Bobbie. You fought

36:12

valiantly. Thank you. Thank you ladies. Thank

36:15

you. Now at the

36:21

end of each episode we like to

36:24

wrap up so we can finally later

36:26

rest and answer, well, who done it?

36:29

As Nina leads her ballet pupils

36:31

through their end of year concert,

36:33

Sarah shows Barnaby footage of the

36:35

ballerina in her prime. In

36:37

the theatre, Barnaby spots a

36:40

familiar face and realises the

36:42

extent of the murderer's obsession.

36:44

Remember that word, obsession. And

36:47

as Barnaby can, he rouses Jones to

36:49

meet him at the concert to intercept

36:51

Nina before she can be harmed. Well,

36:53

they discover Nina's car has been tampered

36:55

with leading her to accept a ride

36:57

from, you guessed it, the

37:00

oboe player Michael. We find out

37:02

the hipsman played in the

37:04

orchestra where Nina used to perform

37:06

as one of the prima ballerinas and

37:09

he's had an obsession with her all

37:11

that time and tracks her down to

37:13

this village and is playing

37:15

for her every single week when she goes

37:17

to the village hall with the children to

37:19

do dance classes, to do ballet classes. I

37:22

mean, that's quite an obsession. Well, don't

37:24

forget the creepy shrine too. Barnaby

37:26

and Jones rush to hipsman's home where

37:28

they discover a shrine in the barn

37:30

a fuller photograph of Nina as a

37:33

ballerina. Barnaby remembers in the

37:35

end of Swan Lake the lead drowns

37:37

with her lover prince in a lake

37:39

of tears. What's that? It's

37:42

a circle, Nina's circle from the

37:44

ballet Swan Lake. She threw

37:46

it into the audience at the end of her final

37:48

gala performance and Michael

37:50

caught it and my guess is that

37:52

now Michael will want to

37:54

destroy her. Innocent

38:00

white swan was made pregnant

38:03

by Dr. Markham. She became

38:05

Odile, the corrupted, the black swan. You

38:07

know, I have to think, anytime you discover a

38:09

shrine in the barn, one, it's

38:12

creepy, but... Never bird. ... gives you away.

38:14

Now, the detectives make for the edge

38:17

of Swansdown Lake. There they find Michael

38:19

and Nina. Michael has Nina

38:21

snared in a mist net, again, barely

38:24

conscious. Now, Barnaby keeps Michael distracted

38:26

as Joan circles around the jetty.

38:28

Just as Michael is about to

38:30

toss Nina to her watery grave,

38:33

Joan pounces on him as Joan's can,

38:36

plunging both men into the water. You

38:38

decided to kill Patrick? You did kill

38:40

him, didn't you? Stay still,

38:42

Nina! Keep away from me! No,

38:44

Michael, you... Wait, wait!

38:48

Why did you send us those photographs? You

38:50

were trying to throw suspicion up to Markham.

38:52

But once you heard that Markham was the

38:54

father of Nina's child, he had to go

38:56

too, didn't he? No! You

39:01

shot him. You can't lose the smell

39:03

of the tree, Cindy. You picked him in the

39:05

water. Case is from Dave

39:07

Foxley's shotgun, trying to implicate him

39:09

as well. You seem to

39:11

know everything, Inspector. It's my job, Michael.

39:14

Then you'll know why Nina has to

39:16

die in the lake. We'll both

39:18

go down together. How? End of

39:20

the episode, Michael. She's innocent.

39:22

She's still on deck. She's still on

39:25

my squad. Now, now, now, look at

39:27

that! The black swabbers! We

39:29

were thrown together in the lake of tears!

39:32

The killer is apprehended. Barnaby

39:34

and Jones sit in their

39:36

office, admire the confiscated stuff,

39:38

hoop-ho, and host a very rare

39:41

bird indeed. In

39:44

the next episode of Midsummer Murders

39:47

Mayhem, Ashley and I will

39:49

be taking a walk on the cultist

39:51

side of life with the Oblong Murders.

39:53

How about going undercover on

39:55

one of their induction courses?

39:58

No, I've got a week off, sir. I need

40:00

it. I just

40:02

pop in. I think this is what he's

40:05

called an amazing opportunity. Intelligence

40:07

gathering skills, you see? The course has

40:09

not been in vain. And

40:11

it wouldn't do your promotion prospects

40:13

any harm either. We're going to

40:16

be hearing from Jill Radings, the

40:18

trainer of Sykes, DCI John Barnaby's

40:20

Jack Russell Cross. Sykes

40:22

had no limitations. He was what I

40:24

call an old singing old dancing dog.

40:27

And of course, Ashlee will round things

40:29

off with the superfan quiz. Midsomer

40:38

Murders Mayhem is presented by

40:40

me, Nikki Chapman. A

40:42

massive thank you to Bill

40:44

Young, Ashlee's story and our

40:46

guest, Jason Hughes. This has

40:48

been an all three media

40:50

international production with special thanks

40:52

to associate producers, Rachel Baster

40:54

and Danny Waugh. This

40:56

series was created by Story

40:59

Hunter. The executive producer was

41:01

Kirsty Hunter produced by Shannon

41:03

Delwish. The production team was

41:05

Pam Mueller, Annie Abraham and

41:07

Ray Hemmuse. Some

41:14

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