All language subtitles for Midsomer Murders S23 Special 25 Years of Mayhem 1080p BluRay x264-BORDURE_track3_[eng]-eng

(groovy upbeat music)

- "Midsomer Murders" is like
Agatha Christie on speed.

(horse whinnying)

- We're in Midsomer now, and
things happen differently here.

(gun blasting)

- The deaths are
unusual and fascinating.

- Who in their right
mind chooses to be
surrounded by death?

- [Narrator] "Midsomer Murders"

is one of the most
popular crime dramas,

not just in Britain,
but on the planet.

(translator speaking
in foreign language)

- The French version
is quite my favorite.

- [Narrator] Over the next hour,

we'll celebrate 25 years
of the strangest goings on.

- I loved the human candle,

which was particularly amazing
to just see on set actually.

- [Narrator] Reveal the
show's dark secrets.

- I believe I've killed 18
people. And I'm still at large.

- [Narrator] Bring
curious insights.

- He said, "I'm
not gonna blink."

And I went, "Wow."

- [Narrator] And look back
at the world-famous stars-

- I will drive
straight over you.

- [Narrator] Who dared
take their first TV steps

in Midsomer County.

- It's actually quite
family-friendly,

despite all the
murders. (chuckling)

- [Narrator] As we
go behind the scenes

on a quarter of a
century of mystery-

- It's like I was in some
sort of apocalyptic world

where people just died
all the time. (laughs)

- [Narrator] And mayhem-

(shelves crashing)
(cheese clattering)

- You know, we Kill
people with cheese.

There isn't another program,
I think, that can do that.

- [John] Have we
got a murder weapon?

- You're standing in it.

- [Narrator] In the glorious
English countryside.

- What's not to
like about Midsomer?

(pensive whimsical music)

As long as you
survive it, really.

- [Stephen] I killed
them because I wanted to.

- [Fleur] Death by chocolate.

- [Artie] No good deed
goes unpunished, eh?

(shelves crashing)
(cheese clattering)

(upbeat rock music)

- [Narrator] Here in
these deadly woodlands,

filming for the latest series

of "Midsomer Murders" has begun.

- [Director] Action!

- [Narrator] And
Inspector Barnaby

has yet another
death to investigate.

Quite possibly, the
396th Midsomer murder,

but no one really knows.

- They've got this
beautiful scenery

and then they've
got these murders,

which sometimes are
quite outlandish.

- [Narrator] Over
the past 25 years,

audiences the world over have
embraced Midsomer's reputation

as the deadliest
place on television.

- "Midsomer Murders"
has a light feel to it,

in a lot of ways,

and has an awful lot
of comedy within it.

- Of course, the public laughed

at the unfeasible number of
deaths, and all those things.

There would be at least
three or four murders

before Tom Barnaby
found out whodunit!

(laughing) He's the most
useless cop in the world!

- [Narrator] But, thankfully,

the Causton Police are
dogged and reliable,

and over the years have
brought us, not one,

but two Inspector Barnabys to
keep on top of the body count.

- Midsomer takes everything

seriously enough
for us to enjoy it,

but not so seriously
that we can't also go,

"What is going on in
this place?" (laughing)

- There's nothing
intrinsically nasty

about Midsomer anywhere.

Although, people get murdered.

- They're sort of escapist
deaths, fun deaths.

(light upbeat music)

- Here we are all celebrating
the 25th anniversary

of "Midsomer Murders".

- [Narrator] Already
enjoying the sights

of Oxfordshire today, this
group of "Midsomer" fans

are about to
discover the location

of one of the series'
most infamous murders.

- Here we are in Badger's Drift,

otherwise known as The
Lee in Buckinghamshire.

And what you are looking
at here is exactly where,

in the opening sequence of
that very first episode,

you saw Emily Simpson riding
her bicycle along the road.

Here is where the whole story
of "Midsomer Murders" started.

(bright majestic music)

- [Narrator] 25 years ago,

the fictional Midsomer
village of Badger's Drift

was the sleepy setting
for the debut episode

of a brand-new crime drama.

- Hello, Miss Simpson.
Have a very good afternoon.

- The "Killings at
Badger's Drift,"

all the tropes of the provincial
murder drama were there.

There was blackmail
and knife killings

and all the rest
of those things.

- How'd she die?

- [George] That's
easy. Broken neck.

The question is, did she fall?

- (chuckles) Or was she pushed?

- The brother and sister had
been caught by the Rainbirds,

who were the local undertakers.

And so they were
blackmailing people.

- How much do you
think it's worth?

- Think what the
police will make of it

if their forensic
people get hold of it!

- (laughs) They'd
have a field day.

- Oh! (laughing) This
is the big one, Denny.

This is going to make
us very, very rich!

- Mummy!

- The characters were
wonderfully well-written.

They were caricatures,
of course, they were.

(light whimsical music)

- [Narrator] But of
course, the main star

of this opening whodunit,

was the genial local
detective, Inspector Barnaby.

- Who are you? What do you want?

- I'm Detective
Inspector Barnaby

and this is Detective
Sergeant Troy.

Who are you?

- The producer came to see
me with the proposition

that I should play a detective

in this new series
he had coming up.

I thought, "Well, I've
already done 'Bergerac."

But it was as far away from
the world of "Bergerac"

as could possibly be.

Here was a guy who was a
respectably married man.

He had no hang-ups,
no psychological
difficulties of life.

- What's this, then?

- It's Delia Smith.

Stewed neck of lamb
with mushroom dumplings.

You can't go wrong
with Delia Smith.

- That's what I've always thought.

- He finds himself in a world

full of extraordinary
characters.

Every one of the people he
sees in the high street there

is a potential murderer.

And I thought that was fun.

- You know, Mrs. Rainbird, I'd
have said that eight o'clock

was a bit late for your hobby.

I mean, what are you likely
to see flying at that time?

- Owls.

- I was right there
from the beginning.

The pilot, we went
to the then producer,

Brian True-May,
and we said to him,

"So, you know, do you
think this is going well?

"Do you think we might
get a series out of it?"

And he said, "I've got
plans for 'Midsomer Murders'

"for 12 years."

We went straight to John

and said, "Do you wanna
hear something really funny?

"Apparently, we're gonna be
doing this for 12 years."

- Why do I get the feeling
that everyone is lying to me?

Everyone!

- They always lie to you,
Tom, and you always know.

That's why you're
so good at your job.

- And then I was in it for
another 14 years. (laughing)

- Oh, it was amazing.

We got 15.8 million viewers
for that first episode.

- It's 2:15.

Said I'd meet Joyce at
the fete. You coming?

- Yeah, I thought I'd
win myself a coconut.

- [Narrator] And what
inspired this series,

full of strange
people and plots,

was a collection of
acclaimed crime novels.

- Argh!

- It was a series of
books by a lovely writer

called Caroline Graham.

I'd read them, actually,
and they were terrific.

The original sort of artistic

producer on it,
Betty Willingale,

it was clever to
spot it, you know,

and do what she did, along
with the first writer,

to make it work for television.

(gun blasting)

- [Narrator] Caroline
Graham's books

inspired the first
five episodes,

but over the next few years,

a host of new writers
would take Barnaby

on many new adventures.

- We're on.

- [Narrator] But there
was another key character

whose role was to remain calm

amongst this wicked
world of murder.

- Dinner's ready, Tom.

- Believe you me, it's not easy

playing the nicest
woman in the world.

- You know Cully's
coming tomorrow?

She's going to want
to see a bit of you.

- Yes.

- Just I know how you are when
you get started on a case.

- Yes.
- For 14 years,

it was Barnaby's wife, Joyce,

whose happy home life with
Tom and their daughter, Cully,

was in stark
contrast to the many

deadly challenges they faced,
including Joyce's cooking.

(toaster clanks)

- Not much meat on
this chicken, is there?

- It's not a chicken,
it's a quail.

- She was a terrible cook.
Fried wren and stuff like that.

And Barnaby had to
pretend to like them.

- Dad, I brought you a
present from Cambridge.

- [Tom] What is it?

- It's chicken and ham.

- The bad cooking
lasted for a bit

but there's limits to how
many lousy meals you can cook.

- So she became more
and more involved

in the actual cases
as time went on.

- It was very handy that
Joyce didn't have a career,

because she could
therefore have hobbies.

- You've caught me digging up
rather too much of your lawn.

- Yeah, I'm still
working, actually.

Do you have pictures in those
plant encyclopedias of yours?

- Yes.
- That was quite a handy

device for writers and
nice for me, you know,

to not always be
sitting in the kitchen.

Being out in the world,
being blown up in a canal.

Or doing watercolor painting,
that was a good one.

- Instead of being
a kind of grace note

in the great symphony
of "Midsomer,"

she became a whole
theme on her own.

(dramatic music)

- [Narrator] Coming up,

there's confessions of
a "Midsomer" sidekick-

- When I think of my time on it,

it's like I was in some
kind of apocalyptic world

where people just
died all the time.

- [Narrator] As we
celebrate a hit series

that's always left
us seeing stars.

- I'd already watched the
show since the beginning

and loved it, so I
jumped at the chance,

little thinking that I might
return for a longer stay.

- This is the new DCI Barnaby,

cousin of the other DCI Barnaby.

- [Narrator] For 25
years, "Midsomer Murders"

has led us on a trail of
death and destruction.

(explosion blasts)

A path which, has, in turn,

put many of the quaintest
villages in Oxfordshire

on a rather unusual tourist map.

- Here we are outside
the estate agent

that was used in an episode
called "House in the Woods."

It was Harriet Davis
estate agency in that show.

In that episode,

a couple who were looking to
buy the house in the woods

find themselves garrotted
outside the house,

and there, the mystery begins.

- [Narrator] Over the years,
fighting crime in Midsomer

has been quite a task
for the overworked,

understaffed Causton Police.

And when it comes
to the real legwork,

the running, jumping,
flirting, or going undercover,

it often falls to the
"Midsomer" sidekick,

the lowly detective sergeant,

and first in line was
Detective Sergeant Gavin Troy.

- John and I
clicked from day one

and we laughed every single day.

- [John] In the books, he
was a right little thug.

- I could force it, sir.

- You've broken enough
rules for one day, Troy,

thank you all the same.

- He had no charm at all

and was entirely not
good detective material.

That was changed in
the television version.

(cat food squelching)

The character became, I
think the word is lovable.

He couldn't drive a car.

Wherever he went,
used to hit the hedge

or hit somebody else.

- Yeah, Troy was an
appalling driver.

(car horn blares)
(car tires screeching)

But I used to love it because
it meant that I could do

a lot of the stunt
driving that we could do.

Some of it I wasn't allowed
to do, but a lot of it I was.

- No, no, no! Hey!

(bicycle bell ringing)

(car tires screeching)

Troy!

- [Narrator] But after six
years on the rural beat,

actor Daniel Casey decided
to move onto pastures new.

- Thank you, sir.

I mean, thank you for
everything over the years.

- I will never forget
that final scene

‘cause we filmed that last,

and when Barnaby speaks to Troy

it did feel very real.

- I know how much I've
relied on you, Troy.

(gentle thoughtful music)

Midsomer will miss you.

- And I'll miss Midsomer.

- He's a leading man in
every sense of the word.

He led that company beautifully.

- Troy?

- [John] Now, the next
sidekick was John Hopkins.

He's a terrific actor.

- What we got?

- Good question, sir.

Victim's name's Nicholas
Turner, he's a local solicitor.

Took a stroll off his roof.

- He was a very dark and
kind of brooding figure.

- Initial impression
as to cause of death,

catastrophic head
and spinal injuries.

- He's quite a snappy dresser.

-Um.

- And then Jason Hughes came in.

- And you are?

- Constable Jones, sir.

- Constable Jones.

- Yeah, I thought it
was just brilliant

the way that they did it.

- [George] No
Scott this morning?

- No, he called in
sick. I'm on my own.

- I just showed up in a uniform

and somebody said,
"Well, where's the guy?"

And they went, "Oh,
he's sick." (laughs)

And that was it!

He was gone and I
was in. (laughing)

- Do you possess a suit, Jones?

- Yes, sir.

- And a tie?

- I do, sir, yes.

- How do you fancy working

with the CID for
a couple of days?

- Yes, sir.

- They made me do
all kinds of stuff.

The nun would be
the standout one.

I was luring a Killer,
to then pounce on them.

(suspenseful music)

- Oh! Oof!
(blows thudding)

(lights clanking)

- [Officer 1] Stay on the floor!

- [Officer 2] On your feet.

- Who the hell trained her?

- I mean, when I think of my
time on it, those seven years,

it's like I was in some
kind of apocalyptic world

where people just
died all the time.

(camera shutter whirring)

I haven't been up
that way for a while.

Junction two to junction
seven on the M40,

I just divert, go
somewhere else. (chuckles)

Start to get kind of hot flashes

and you know,
memories of murder.

- [Narrator] Well, there's
plenty of that around,

but one of the key questions
in any episode of "Midsomer"

is not just whodunit, but
more like, who's in it?

- How wonderful!

But no.

- [Narrator] I was one
suspected of murder myself.

- Apart from the
person who killed him,

I was probably the
last person to see him.

- [Narrator] Because
across the past 25 years,

the series has played
host to a who's who

of the British
acting profession.

- We get fantastic guests.

- Over the years, there
was just the entire range

of the British
acting profession.

- I took an order earlier,

three-tiered Dungeons & Dragons
in white and dark chocolate.

- As an actor, I always
think "Midsomer Murders,"

it's one of those boxes
that has to be ticked.

What was brilliant about
my character is that

she was the suspected murderer

for pretty much
the whole episode.

- Do you really think
I would kill Dominic

and keep the weapon?

I mean, do you honestly believe

that I would be that stupid?

- The twist was she actually
wasn't the murderer.

That was ideal for me.

- [Narrator] And there was one
TV comedy national treasure

who set the wheels in motion
for guest stars to come.

- An early one was
Richard Briers. Legend.

- [Narrator] In "Death's
Shadow," from 1998,

the star of "The Good Life"
was playing the village priest

and "Call The Midwife's"
Judy Parfitt, his wife.

- I have a police
inspector coming to see me.

- Oh, don't tell me, Stephen,

you've been found with your
hand in the steeple fund.

- Don't be ridiculous.

- He came along to play a priest

and he was wonderfully
enthusiastic.

- Yes, vicar.

Looks as if we are gonna
have the weather for it.

- Absolutely.

- Did you manage to find
someone to open the fete,

a celebrity?

- No, not yet, but I
may have had an idea.

I'll be back forthwith.

- We were sitting waiting
to go into the church

where there was gonna be
the big scene, the reveal,

that Richard Briers,
who, you know,

the loveliest man in
the world kind of thing,

does turn out to be the bad guy.

And I'm sitting with him

and he says to me, "I'm gonna
do some acting in this scene."

And I went, "Are you,
Richard?" (laughs) Yes.

He said, "I'm not gonna blink."

And I went, "Wow."

And that's exactly what he did.

It was terrifying.

- Stephen Wentworth, we're
arresting you for the murders

of Richard Bailey, David
Whiteley, and Simon Fletcher.

You don't have to say anything
but it may harm your defense

if you do not mention
when questioned

something which you
later rely on in court.

- It was him.

- [Tom] No planning,
no calculation,

he had to die by your
hand before his operation.

- And it was all
the more shocking

because it was Richard Briers,
‘cause you didn't expect it.

- Please, come in.

(tense dramatic music)

(drum thuds)

- It was a lovely
bit of casting.

- [Narrator] Many a famous face

has popped up in
"Midsomer Murders,"

but the cast list also includes
some now well-known names

who weren't quite so
familiar at the time.

- [Bernice] Edward, what
was all the noise about?

- It was a police car.

- Police car?

- [Narrator] In 2009,
the Causton Police

were called to investigate
the very strange death

of a young man in Midsomer's
miniature village.

What they found

was future Oscar-winning
actress Olivia Colman

playing the unlikely
suspect, Bernice.

- The police have found a
body. Here in the village.

- A body?

- Oh, Edward, that's terrible.

- She wasn't a huge star then.

She just has a kind of
truthfulness as an actor.

- I was just gobsmacked.

She had that
extraordinary ability

of being 100% within the part.

- I just know
you're going to win.

I'll be cheering
for you all the way.

- Oh, for God's sake,
leave me alone, will you?

- She just can't step
an emotional foot wrong.

I don't think she could
do it if she tried.

- [Bernice] She didn't like me

putting flowers on the graves.

She smashed them.

(hammer thudding)

So I smashed her.

(ominous music)

♪ And the green grass grows
all around, all around ♪

♪ And the green grass
grows all around ♪

- I'm not in the least surprised

that she's gone on to be a
great lady of English acting.

Not at all surprised.

- [Narrator] But amongst a cast

of more than 1,000
actors over 23 series,

there have been some surprises.

- Are you still
seeing that girl?

I wonder what she'd say
if she knew about me.

- Get lost, Laura.

- I used to do mentoring
at the Guildhall School

and one of my mentees
was Orlando Bloom,

and the minute I met him,

I knew he was gonna
be a movie star.

And so I read the current script

and I thought, "Well, Orlando
could do that so easily,"

so I put his name forward
to the casting director

and there you go.

- You're Peter Drinkwater?

- And you're police.

It's the same smell.
You can always tell.

(car engine revving)

- And then he went on to be an
elf, there you are. (laughs)

- [Narrator] And "Midsomer"
was the starting point

for another British movie star.

Spotted here by "Harry
Potter's" David Bradley,

who's worked with a fair
few budding actors himself.

- Nice day for it, young'un.

- It was my last episode and
there was this young boy,

really handsome and he
was quite a gentle soul,

really nice guy.

I just thought, "I hope
he doesn't get eaten up

"and spat out by this business."

- I will drive
straight over you!

(car horn blaring)
(car engine revving)

- Henry Cavill went on to
do rather well for himself.

- [Narrator] Unfortunately,

for the future
star of "Superman,"

Henry's Kryptonian powers
weren't quite developed enough

to save him from
death by "Midsomer."

(dramatic music)

(gun blasting)

But there was one
fleeting appearance

that would blossom into
something far more long-term.

(light upbeat music)

- Excuse me.

- Neil actually had appeared
in "Midsomer Murders"

in a fairly early series, I
think, playing a gardener.

(cork pops)

(Gavin sniffs)
(Gavin coughs)

- He spent a lot of time in
the hothouse being quizzed

and being generally suspicious.

- Where are you going?

- Back to the garden.

I'm a gardener, remember?

- A particularly randy gardener

who flirted with Joyce Barnaby.

Much to Tom's irritation.

- Brought you a few
Pennington Gems.

- Oh, that's very
kind of you, Daniel.

- Bear in mind, the
White Bedder is vigorous.

- I think that was the only time

anybody flirted
with Joyce Barnaby.

- I'd be quite
happy to come back

and make sure
everything's nicely-

- Bedded in?

- [Jane] That was a
fun day's filming.

- Right. Well, uh,
I'll be off, then.

- I'd already watched the show
since beginning and loved it,

so when my agent rang up

and said, "Ooh,
they've offered you

"an episode of 'Midsomer.""

I said, "Oh, that'd be
fantastic, that'd be brilliant."

So I jumped at the
chance, little thinking

that I might return
for a longer stay.

- [Narrator] It was
nine years later

when that moment finally
came for DCI Tom Barnaby,

and actor John Nettles,

to retire from this hotspot
of murder and mayhem.

(all cheering)
- Whoa! Champagne!

- Well, I did it for 13
years. A long, long time.

I was getting on for 70
and I couldn't run anymore.

I couldn't think of any more
reactions to dead bodies,

to be honest with
you, I couldn't.

- [Ben] So, are we
saying it's suspicious?

- Well, the question is, was
she dead before immersion?

There's no obvious
signs of struggle.

I'll know more when
I've opened her up, Tom.

Tom?

- Sir?

- Ah, yeah. Well, I suppose
I'd better get changed.

- When John decided to retire,

we started quite a long process

of quite a long list of
potential replacements.

- [Narrator] After two
years, it was finally decided

that Neil Dudgeon was
the man for the job.

(phone ringing)

- Barnaby.

- It's John.
- Oh, John!

- He was on
everybody's shortlist.

- This isn't
personal, is it, Tom?

- Oh, no, no. This is
preventative detection.

- Okay. I'll, uh,
dig a little deeper.

- [Narrator] But there was
something of an unusual hurdle

for anyone replacing
Inspector Tom Barnaby.

- In Britain, "Midsomer Murders"

is known as "Midsomer Murders,"

whereas in a lot of
territories around the world,

it's called "Barnaby"
or "Inspector Barnaby,"

so somebody came up with
the idea that Tom Barnaby,

John Nettles's
character, has a cousin

who's also a police
detective chief inspector

and his name, of course, being
his cousin, is John Barnaby.

- That was miraculous. (laughs)

- Yeah, he was a cousin
who had come from

Cousin Land.

- This is the new DCI Barnaby,

cousin of the other DCI Barnaby.

- Oh.

- And I certainly didn't think,
"Oh, I'm going to 'Midsomer'

"and change anything.

"I'll go to 'Midsomer' and
do what John was doing,

"'cause it was brilliant."

It's a great show.

- You're the local. You take it.

(gate creaking)

- My first scene
as John Barnaby,

once John had left and
I'd kind of moved in,

it was in the sort
of pathology lab

and then all these people
came into this little room

and they were all having a
look going, "Can he do it?

"Is he gonna be all right?

"Is this okay,

"or are we all gonna be looking
for another job next week?"

- But somehow we have to
encompass this little news item.

"Palmer was never keen
on driving a Lotus X4,

"because being a left-hander,

"he found the positioning
of the gear lever

"more awkward than usual."

See, right-handed
headshot, easy-peasy,

bang, as per your photos.

But, as a lefty,

damn near impossible.

Conclusion?

(light whimsical music)

Precisely.

See you later.

- [Narrator] But the
real test would come

when we saw the new
Inspector Barnaby on TV,

along with his wife,
Sarah, and dog, Sykes.

- When we first took over,
there was lots of talk

of there being sort
of big shoes to fill.

I think, for fans, there
was a mixed reaction,

I think at the beginning.

- [Millie] Mr.
Barnaby, Mrs. Barnaby.

- I was certainly concerned,

but, actually, the
reception was very warm.

- I hope Sykes didn't
disgrace himself.

- Oh, he did make
some amorous advances

towards two of my bitches,
which wasn't the best of starts.

But I think from
Sykes's point-of-view,
it was top banana.

Consider him part of the pack.

- Fantastic news, thank you.

- I get people who sort of
see me in the street and go,

"Oh, yeah, you are the new
Mrs. Barnaby, aren't you?"

And you think, "I've been
doing it for 10 years,

"how long do I need
to do it?" (laughing)

- Here we are, 10,
12 years later,

we're still here talking
about it, so fingers crossed.

- [Narrator] Coming up,

how "Midsomer Murders"
went on to make a Killing

around the world.

(translator speaking
in foreign language)

- It's just great in French.

- [Narrator] And
"Midsomer's" greatest mystery

is finally solved.

- A lot of people think
it's the same village

we keep going to.

- They look at you
and then they say,

"There can't be anybody
left alive in that village."

- [Narrator] In the
Oxfordshire town of Thame,

a place that has
featured regularly

as the fictional
town of Causton,

a "Midsomer Murders" guided
tour is in full swing.

- Here we are, at
Causton Town Hall,

the center of Midsomer County.

Of course, it's
not really Causton,

we are actually outside Thame's
Town Hall, as you can see.

- [Narrator] Indeed, one
of the key attractions

of "Midsomer Murders" is
its quintessentially English

chocolate box setting.

- The countryside's
very important, I think.

When I used to watch it
before I was in the show,

I'd be on the sofa with my wife

and you'd have this opening
shot of some beautiful village

and a Norman church and
lovely thatched cottages.

We were sort of intrigued,

"Where do they film
that? It's so beautiful."

And I still, I find myself in
a beautiful village like this

and I say, "Where
are we exactly?"

(cricket bat thwacks)

- Yep!
(spectators applauding)

- Midsomer is...

Well, it's along the M4,
M40 corridor, usually west.

It's Hertfordshire,
it's Oxfordshire,

it's Buckinghamshire.

Anywhere the script demands.

- [Narrator] Hear that,
dear viewers? A script.

Because Midsomer,

home of the national
collection of rural murders,

is, we must remind you, a
completely fictional place.

- I don't know how many times

I've had to sort of explain
that to people who go,

"This little village
and all these murders?"

- They look at you first,
they set it up as a gag,

and then they say,

"There can't be anybody
left alive in that village!"

- "Bet it's cheap
to buy a house!"

- A lot of people think
it's the same village

we keep going to, but it's not.

We make up the names.

Gotta hammer that
home, it's not.

- It's not a village.

- It's a county,
everybody, not a village.

- It is a huge English county
made up of beautiful villages.

And made up of
people who are insane

and want to Kill
people! (laughing)

- Suddenly, there was a rather
weighty object in my hand,

and, well, what can I say?

She stepped out in front of it.

- Let's put Solomon
Gorge on the Psycho map!

Are you ready?

(runners cheering)

Three, two-

- [Narrator] Over 25 years,
Midsomer County, not village,

has delivered an impressive
number of murders,

nearly 400 at the last count,

with ever imaginative new ways
to tax the Causton Police.

- I think what's genius about it

is that it manages to marry
together all of the components

of your Agatha Christie,
Margery Allingham,

you know, all the
greats of the golden age

of whodunits in England,

while being nominally
contemporary.

- This is the essential
contradiction,

that all these beautiful,
look-at-me villages,

the half-timbered
cottages and so forth,

all this is subversive, of
course, in "Midsomer Murders"

because your dear old lady
is a homicidal maniac.

- All human life is there.

That chocolate box image is
frayed slightly in Midsomer.

- I always say that if
Jesus had played a sport,

I'm sure it would
have been cricket.

(chuckles) Come in.

(gentle whimsical music)

- You're looking at beautiful
cottages and gardens

while fetishes are going on
in the background! (laughing)

- (panting) Behold, I
was shapen in wickedness.

- People just like to see,

especially somewhere
where you think,

"This is all so beautiful,
isn't it? This is all lovely.

"Oh, my goodness, that man's
been eaten by a wild boar!"

- Most of his chest
and stomach are gone.

Not to get too
technical about it,

I'd say he's been
eaten by something.

- That sort of contrast
of one with the other,

I think, is sort of rich
and appealing to us,

in some human way.

- [Narrator] It might seem like

the most British of TV dramas,

but you might be surprised
to hear that "Midsomer"

is exceptionally well-traveled.

(translator 1 speaking
in foreign language)

(translator 2 speaking
in foreign language)

(translator 1 speaking
in foreign language)

- The international
appeal of "Midsomer"

is something that a lot of
people don't know about.

(translator speaking
in foreign language)

- It's massive in
Scandinavia, huge in Europe,

and Australia and New Zealand
love it, it's now in America.

When I signed up to the
job, I didn't know that.

(translator speaking
in foreign language)

- Yeah, I got recognized
on my honeymoon

in Vietnam, of all places.

And I was just
like, this is crazy.

(translator speaking
in foreign language)

- [Tom] John Kinsella.

(boxer grunts)
(blow thuds)

- It's just great in French
because the man voicing me,

he had the most beautiful
voice in the world,

and he made Tom Barnaby
sound like the most kind,

loving man God ever
put breath into.

(translator speaking
in foreign language)

(translator speaking
in foreign language)

- Denmark is one
of the countries

that has been a great
supporter of "Midsomer's."

When we got to the 100th
episode of "Midsomer,"

as a kind of celebration

and a sort of thank you to
the international audience,

somebody came up with
the brilliant idea

of setting part of the
100th episode in Denmark.

We were in Copenhagen
with some lovely actors

who I'd only just stopped
watching in "The Killing."

- Everything here tallies
with the crime scene

at the Calders factory,

which means he was
killed in Midsomer.

- And that makes
him your problem.

- Ann Eleonora Jorgensen,

she played the mother
in "The Killing,"

and she said, "They said,
'What are you doing next?"

She said, "I'm doing an
episode of 'Midsomer Murders."

They go, "You're doing an
episode of 'Midsomer Murders?'

"That's fantastic."

She said they just go bonkers

for "Midsomer
Murders" in Denmark.

- We're treated incredibly well.

The name "Midsomer" or "Barnaby"

opened doors you
would not believe.

We were allowed to film
outside the royal palace,

we filmed inside Copenhagen's
police headquarters.

And we had a fantastic
couple of weeks in Denmark,

and I think made for
a very good episode.

- You're sneaky.

That impresses me.

- Well, I'm glad
you're impressed.

(Birgitte chuckles)
(upbeat whimsical music)

- [Narrator] Coming up,

(gun blasting)
"Midsomer's greatest murderer

is finally unmasked.

- I believe I've killed 18
people, and I'm still at large.

- [Narrator] And how
"Midsomer" dines out

on the most savory of deaths.

(shelves crashing)
(cheese clattering)

(upbeat mysterious music)

"Midsomer Murders"

has found a unique place
in television history,

not just because it's been
killing people off for 25 years,

or the volume of deaths
it manages to squeeze

into each episode.

No, it's the way they kill them

that's really caught
our imagination.

- The great joy about "Midsomer
Murders," one of them,

is that, for the slightest
reason, people will Kill.

- What are you doing?

- I was just...

(victim screams)
(body thuds)

- She fell.

- [John] They don't have
to have great motive.

- Very short tempers.

In Midsomer, you don't wanna
go upsetting the apple cart

down there, mate.

- Just wanted to shut him up.

And the bowling machine
was right there.

- There are many
favorite odd ways

that people have found
to kill other people.

(dramatic music)

(gun blasting)

It's not your urban
murdery thing where,

oh, it's some sort of
drug-addled mugging goes wrong.

(water splashing)

They're sort of escapist
deaths, fun deaths.

- [Narrator] Over 22 series,

the pressure to deliver
ever more outlandish deaths

has proved a grisly challenge

for the writers
and set designers.

- I love the human candle,

which was particularly amazing
to just see on set, actually,

the way that they made the,
sort of, entire wax body.

- The human Roman candle.

One of Nero's favorite ways
to kill naughty Christians.

- My favorite
deaths in the show?

There are so many to
choose from over the years.

There was an episode
called "The Dark Rider."

It opened, there was a
storm over this castle.

(lightning crashing)

In the storm, he looks down
and sees a headless horseman.

(dramatic music)

- Argh!

(horse neighs)

- And I love it when
I'm reading an episode

and think, "How are we
gonna sort of justify

"he, and we, have seen
a headless horseman?"

(light pensive music)

- [Ben] Eye holes.

- But no current occupant.

- [Narrator] And fans
on our tourist trail

are about to
discover the location

of one of "Midsomer's"
most infamous crimes.

- Everything in this village
centers around one thing,

the dairy.

- So, this is the beautiful
picturesque village of Turville,

which has been used frequently,

not only in "Midsomer Murders,"

but in "The Vicar Of Dibley"
and "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang."

In fact, you can see
at the top of the hill,

the very windmill that was used

in "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang."

And, of course, also in
"Schooled in Murder,"

the episode where it
particularly featured

in "Midsomer Murders."

- The cheese one is the one
that everyone absolutely loves.

(tense music)

- Hello?

- People are forever saying,

"Oh, the one with
Martine McCutcheon."

- What are you playing at?

Because I'm not in
the mood for games.

Not today.

(shelf creaking)

(shelves crashing)
(cheese clattering)

(cheese smashing)

- Crushed by wheels of cheese.

Brilliant. (laughs)

- And I think that's
really, sort of, clever.

- [John] Have we
got a murder weapon?

- You're standing in it.

- We kill people with cheese.

There isn't another program,
I think, that can do that.

- I mean, the writers,

whoever are thinking up
all of these murders,

how they keep going, finding
new ones, I'll never know.

- Picking a murder out
of the air is amazing.

I spend most of the year
sending texts to myself saying,

"This'd be a great murder.

"Oh, this'd be an
even better one."

(gun blasting)

- [Narrator] Over the past
eight years, writer Jeff Povey

has come up with
some of "Midsomer's"

most talked about deaths.

Hooking in some deadly fishing-

- The man in the vat of
worms, he was Killed,

and then dragged
into the tackle shop.

The actor was amazing, he
said, "Yeah, I'll get in there,

"and they can crawl
over me if they want."

- [Narrator] Creepy
comic book capers,

and a somewhat gruesome
adventure in the art world.

- I had one where he
was drowned in paint.

- You know what
they say, Nelson,

in art, everything
has a deeper meaning.

- I think the process
for a spectacular death

is, basically,
what is your world?

- What are you doing here?

Come to tell me how great I am?

- When I did the cricket
one, I knew for a fact

that they had these bowling
machines that hurled balls down.

(button clicks)

(ball thuds)

I thought, "What if you were
tied up and you couldn't move?

"And there was 100 balls
going 100 miles an hour,

"it's bound to kill
you, isn't it?"

And then we talked
to a medical person,

they said, "It just takes
one to hit them on the heart

"and it'll stop it"
or whatever, you know.

And you go, "Okay."

(balls thudding)
(tense music)

That's probably one
of my favorite ones

‘cause it's very visual.

And you could feel it,
you can really feel that.

(balls thudding)
(tense music)

- And I just think the
writerly imagination,

you sometimes think,
"Oh, get help.

"Where has this come from?
What's wrong with you?"

- There's a few good
deaths in the next one,

that's filming at the moment.

- [Director] Camera
set! And action!

- [Actor] As soon as
you get this message,

grab Etta and get
to the shelter.

- Including this latest episode,

I believe I've killed 18 people.

And I'm still at large.

- Prior to his demise,
he called two numbers.

- It's terrible to say, but
it's great fun killing people,

it really is. (laughs)

- [Narrator] But come
every "Midsomer" murder,

often the first person
at the death scene

is not a police officer.

- Looks like she was
immersed in this stuff

when it was in liquid form.

- For Kam, I think one of her
favorite murders, possibly,

was the incident at Cooper Hill,

with the aliens
and the spaceships,

because she couldn't solve it.

- So, you're saying
this stuff's alien?

- I'm saying it's alien for me.

- For her, that
was probably fun,

for the actors, but
was probably not fun,

because they had to be
put into black bags,

covered in black goo.

I used to be very protective
over the murdered actors.

Just because they had to hold
really uncomfortable positions

for long periods of time.

I would just make
sure there's a pillow,

or they could lean on
something. (laughs)

- [Narrator] In 2016, Manjinder
Virk became the fourth actor

to take on the busy role
of Midsomer pathologist.

- [Manjinder] The first day
on set, it was quite surreal.

- Please, call me Kam.

- There was something familiar
about being with Neil,

it was part of my growing up.

- Don't suppose there's
much you can tell

from an empty room, is there?

- Quite the opposite.

- Right.

- I took the job on because
I liked the character,

and I thought she
was interesting.

- See this? The
weft of the carpet?

It's flattened in the same way.

- I didn't realize that
it would be part of

a, sort of,
controversial headline

because I was the
first person of color

as a regular on the show.

It's important to
have this discussion.

And the thing about "Midsomers"

is it's so out there as a show,

it's important to realize that
people from all walks of life

can be represented.

- So, how are you
finding the job?

- It's not what I
was expecting so far,

but I'm enjoying the challenge.

- Cheers.
- Cheers.

- Cheers.
(glasses clinking)

(sparse upbeat music)

- [Narrator] Across the years,
the Midsomer pathologists

have had one of the most
gruesome jobs on television,

and not just because

of the criminally
shapeless boiler suits.

- Fleur came into the series
peering into a vat of beer.

- Boiled human flesh isn't
something I work with every day.

I'll need to consult
a specialist.

And possibly a cookbook.

- I believe there had
been five pathologists.

Barry Jackson played the
first pathologist, of course.

- So where is it,
then, the body?

- Most of it's in the hall.

- I know, of late,

they have been often the love
interest for the sidekick.

- Do you remember when they
took us to watch a postmortem

and the big Scottish
guy fainted?

(Kam laughs)
You and I

had to take him outside.

- Then you suggested we go
across the road for sushi,

and he nearly fainted again.

- Didn't know what
he was missing.

- Fleur came in and
she was not that.

(door clunking)

- Sorry I'm late,

I was removing a chainsaw
from a chest cavity.

- She's a force of nature.
She always knows best.

She's always sort of
solving the crimes for us.

And we sort of are scared
of her, love her, need her.

- Fleur has wonderful
backstories.

She's part of a
female biker gang.

She's been married in Las Vegas.

- [Fleur] It's bringing back
memories of my first wedding.

- I didn't know
you'd been married.

- (scoffs) I've been down
the aisle a few times.

Although, it wasn't an
aisle as such in Vegas.

- So, Neil and I spend
most episodes pulling looks

and going, "What?"

- What's that?

- A shinai stick.
With modifications.

They use it in kendo.

I once shacked up
with a local champion.

- She's some girl. (laughs)

- Enrobed, that's how they
describe it, isn't it,

on the box?

Mind you, they're usually
talking about a hazelnut.

- My very favorite murder to
explore was death by chocolate.

- I won't be able to get the
stuff out of his windpipe

until I get him back to the lab.

It'll be all the way into his
lungs, I shouldn't wonder.

- Pathologists, traditionally,

are shown to be rather
ghoulish, dark-humored people.

- I'd say he died because he
got turned into a human lolly.

- I think humor
is very important.

It's a light-hearted
show, really.

We're not "Line Of Duty,"
that's the point of "Midsomer,"

it's the other end
of that spectrum.

- The comedy element, I think,

is a very important
part of the tone.

- You missed a bit.

(Joyce huffs)

- It's what helps it to
be cozy rather than scary.

- It's not that we are glib.

You have to worry about
someone who's been Killed,

and then be humorous
to survive yourself.

- Now buzz off, let
me get back to work.

- Barnaby stays very, very sane

and true straight through it.

- Mrs. Dagmar, I'm here on
official police business.

- Oh!

In that case, I'm
all ears, all eyes,

and all the rest of me.

- He never jokes about
victims, never, ever.

Winter can, and he could
get admonished for it.

Fleur can, 'cause she does,
she jokes about everything.

- That's the last
time I go to a gym.

- You go to the gym?

- But as long as Barnaby
doesn't succumb to it,

we're on safe ground.

- Do you believe her?

- It all sounds
plausible enough,

but something just
doesn't feel right.

- I say this with some pride.

Years ago, there was some
sort of survey among police

as to what was the most accurate

representation of the police.

- All right, I give up.

Why did you cross the road?

- Like I said, it's my day off.

- (laughing) And "Midsomer,"

you'll be astonished
to hear this,

"Midsomer" was adjudged
the least accurate

representation of
actual police work.

Well, I was amazed.

- Which I think is probably
another part of its charm.

We're not trying to be real,
it's a made-up land, you know?

These stories are fantastical

and we're not gonna
apologize for it.

And I think that's probably
something that people enjoy,

‘cause they're like, "At
least they're honest.

"They're not trying to be anything
that they're not."

- Cheers.

- So, ladies and gentlemen,

this is where our tour
of Midsomer County ends.

Exactly where it began,
here in Badger's Drift,

25 years after that
very first episode.

And so I hope that you've
enjoyed our little tour today.

Thank you very much.

(group applauding)

- This is actually
my 25th year as well.

I started filming in 1997.

To be honest, it's as
fresh today as it was then.

(upbeat music)

- The storylines are...

What we're working on at the
moment, is extraordinary.

- Killer reconfigured
the venting system.

- 25 years?

It's kind of incredible that
any show could have within it

the seeds of its own reinvention

so much that it
can keep changing.

- There's no reason
for it ever to stop,

as far as I can see.

- When you look at the
rest of the TV landscape,

it's really astonishing.

- Are you retiring?

- Me?

Whatever gave you that idea?

- Well, you did. Sort of.

All those pictures
of quaint cottages.

- Retire? I'm in
my prime, Winter.

(Jamie laughs)
- I just want people

to carry on loving
"Midsomer Murders," as I do.

Happy birthday, "Midsomer."

(glasses clinking)

- Happy quarter-century,
"Midsomer Murders."

- Many, many happy returns.

(cork
po
- Oh! Pe)

- So many years, so many deaths,
so many criminals caught.

Well done.

(pensive whimsical music)

(pensive whimsical
music continues)

(pensive whimsical
music continues)