To be honest Gaynor it sounds just like Ferndale on a Saturday night minus the temperance of course.

Tonight's Midsomer Murders is a repeat but involves a taxman found in a large vat of cider, men dancing with deer antlers (as one does) and a temperance society led by a man who claims he created his six children for the glory of God but took no pleasure in the act itself - to which someone replied "I expect your wife could say the same"! Just an everyday story of English country folk.

Have you tried the books that it is based on? By Caroline Graham. Much darker than the TV.

Well, it is true that it's very tongue-in-cheek. I also agree with Gaynor's observation that only in Oxford is the murder rate higher .

I understand that in some countries it is called "Barnaby" which is why Neil Dudgeon had to be John Nettles' cousin when he took over, so that the lead detective is still called Barnaby. The number of people who get killed in the fictional area of Midsomer is even greater than the number killed in Oxford during both Morse and Lewis's tenure! Sergeant Jones is played by a Welshman of course.

Another thing we like is that it has a long list of guest stars each episode. Many of the guest stars are the who's who of British television who may no longer be "first string," or starring in their own series--but are still very, very good at their trade.

We watch Midsommer Murders on Netflix. Until recently they had all episodes from Series 1 through Series 12. I think they've recently dropped some of their earlier years as they added more recent ones (I'm talking about live streaming--they still probably have all series on DVD).

Midsommer Murders

One of our favourite UK television programmes is Midsommer Murders. Midsommer is a fictitious, mostly rural county in England bordering Wales. It is full of tiny hamlets and villages where, during each episode, the residents murder each other, and, where DCI Baranaby and Detective Sergeant Jones sleuth their way through the quaint countryside in search the culprit(s). It is a tongue-in-cheek portrayal of the darker side of humanity.

Anyway, one of the things we like is the theme music..

Celia Sheen (who recently lost her battle with cancer) plays a Theremin as the lead instrument. The Theremin is an instrument with only two antennae. The musician moves his or her hands in proximity to the antennae without touching any strings or keys. The antennae senses the position of the hands and creates a hauntingly beautiful sound. The Theremin was invented in 1920 and was frequently used in Science Fiction flicks in the 1950's.

I have posted a video of Celia Sheen playing the theme music to Midsommer Murders.

updated by @harold-powell: 11/11/15 10:38:18PM