The production values of "Shot at Dawn" are great as usual. The episode looks good and the music fits to the scenery. The acting's fine. Brian Capron is not bad in this episode and neither is Samantha Bond. The most intriguing performance is given by George Cole though... Personally, I've always preferred the first two eras of the series, namely the Troy era and the Scott era. The era of Jones in a duet with Tom Barnaby was ambiguous. Jason Hughes is a great actor, he perfectly plays all the scenes, from the comical to the tense, but you can't help noticing that the quality has greatly decreased. Season 9 turned out to be quite mediocre and was the first season that did not include a single episode on the top ten.10. The tenth season was a remarkable improvement. The eleventh is an ambiguous season, with three solid episodes of the show, one just good, two weak and this non-successful episode. 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. Gosia’s Take: “Cuddington lived up to its cuddly name, although I did keep one eye open for Barnaby!”

Why You Shouldn’t Visit: You may get swept away by the scenery and forget you’re in the middle of Midsomer County—a place where the body count rivals the population. The way Barnaby treats Jones is very similar to the way Insp. Henry Crabbe treats his various sergeants in "Pie In The Sky". The Barnabys' daughter Cully does not appear in this episode - Crabbe and his wife, Margaret, did not have children. Even the leaking kitchen roof scene echoes similar scenes of leaking pipes in the restaurant kitchen in "Pie In The Sky". I could go on, but if you have read this far you are probably having trouble staying awake. The script is a shallow mess with uninteresting characters, ridicolous moments (I agree that the pub fight was childish) and vulgarity. This is one of the first times in "Midsomer Murders" where full frontal female nudity is shown and sex seems to be an endless subject. I was quite disgusted at times to be honest.Nice filming location Midsomer Murders? Situated between Aylesbury and High Wycombe, Princes Risborough is a town that’s often seen on the little screen in Midsomer episodes. It has the audacity to be both charming and steeped in history. Why You Shouldn’t Visit: With a name like Cuddington, you might never want to leave. And can you really afford to disappear into a fictional English county? Best pubs used in Midsomer Murders? Nestled in Oxfordshire, Little Milton is yet another village that makes you question whether you’re still in the 21st century or not.

Donald Sinden, George Cole and Samantha Bond do what they can with weak material, Bond for example having some very stilted and clumsy "humorous and cutting" lines, and John Nettles and Jason Hughes also try very hard to enliven proceedings. As aforementioned, the opening scene is harrowing and poignant and it was a shame that the rest felt like a completely separate episode. These are yet another set of five Midsomer locations that you should avoid at all costs—unless you’re fine with the risk of never wanting to leave such dreadful beauty. But don’t worry, we’ve still got more places to caution you about. Keep an eye out for our next dive into this paradoxical paradise. 16. Princes Risborough The Hammonds are upper class, upper crust, snotty with a plethora of secrets. A Gay husband, an affair having, pill popping wife, a lesbian daughter and the elder daughter (who works for a clinic for the lower class).

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Shot at Dawn is the first episode of the eleventh series of Midsomer Murders and originally aired 1 January 2008. There are a few positives for "Shot at Dawn". The production values are without fault, 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. McGuffin: Barnaby has proof of who the murderer is in a box, and even refers to it as a “ McGuffin” when Jones asks him what it is.

Why You Shouldn’t Visit: The Roald Dahl Museum might cast a spell on you. You’ll leave with more books than you can carry. The solution to the mystery (Lionel did it) was not clever in any way and is quite obvious from the start as well. Then of course, since there is a feud, there must also be a romance...or two... between characters from the two families. No surprise there. What IS surprising is the relatively explicit nudity, which has not been a regular part of MM in the past.

He uses remote control vehicles several times, either by crashing a vehicle the victim is in or using a vehicle to chase someone down. Is Causton England a real place? Causton – the bustling hub of Midsomer where no one is safe from the local drama. As real as it might feel, Causton exists only in the vivid imaginations of Midsomer Murders’ creators. So, unless you’ve found a secret portal to fictional places, you won’t be booking a B&B in Causton anytime soon. How many Midsomer villages are there? It was an OK episode. Much better than Blood on the Saddle. And much better than some of the John Barnaby ones, too (Death in the Slow Lane is what came up). The whole characterisation of Tom Barnaby is markedly different from normal - in the pub "fight" scene, Barnaby displays a degree of middle-middle class food snobbery which you might expect from part-time restaurateur Henry Crabbe, less so from full-time copper Tom Barnaby. Richard Griffiths (RIP) played Henry Crabbe as a "crabby" character, but with a lightness of touch and a degree of sly humour which John Nettles did not bother to bring to this re-characterisation of Tom Barnaby.

We found this particular episode the best next to Midsomer Rhapsody. Now we didn't mind there wasn't a murder right away as we were interested in the story. This particular episode had more interesting & entertaining dialogue than most. The characters were well played & well suited to their parts. We enjoyed the interaction of each & found the humour outstanding & truly made the show. I even think the actors enjoyed themselves in their parts or at least seemed to. Midsomer Murders" has been one of my favorite series for quite a some time now. John Nettles era is in my opinion way better than Neil Dudgeon's, but there were some bad episodes when Nettles was around. "Shot at Dawn" is in my opinion one of those episodes. It's not an abysmal entry to the series, but it is terrible indeed.

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This episode is somewhat overdone with strange gadgets, murdering hay balers, a baguette fight in a pub - it's all silly. Barnaby is out of character, I think because it's a recycle from another show, and Jones is hardly in it.