Birds of Prey (31 Jan. 2003)

The police investigate the apparent suicide of Julian Shepherd who drowned after driving his car into a nearby river. Shepherd along with several other local residents had invested money in... See full summary »

Director:

Jeremy Silberston

Writers:

Michael Russell (screenplay), Caroline Graham (characters)

Stars:

John Nettles, Daniel Casey, Jane Wymark

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
John Nettles	...	DCI Tom Barnaby
Daniel Casey	...	Sgt Gavin Troy
Jane Wymark	...	Joyce Barnaby
Laura Howard	...	Cully Barnaby
Barry Jackson	...	Dr Bullard
Kate Buffery	...	Mallory Edmonton
David Calder	...	George Hamilton
Alexandra Gilbreath	...	Naomi Sinclair
Robert Morgan	...	Julian Shepherd
Rosalind Knight	...	Eleanor Macpherson
Sheila Shand Gibbs	...	Jane Macpherson
Anton Lesser	...	Eddie Darwin
Candida Benson	...	PC Sarah Pearce
Janet Maw	...	Eileen Hamilton
Trevor Cooper	...	Sean Moorcroft

Storyline

The police investigate the apparent suicide of Julian Shepherd who drowned after driving his car into a nearby river. Shepherd along with several other local residents had invested money in Charles Edmonton's latest invention, a fuel-less transportation system. Edmonton, despite his advanced years, instilled a good deal of confidence in his investors but Shepherd was facing severe financial difficulties and urgently needed his investment to be returned. Troy meanwhile finds himself working with the comely PC Sarah Pearce who, as a wildlife liaison officer, is investigating the illegal sales of birds of prey and their eggs. The two cases come together when a birds' egg collector is found dead after a visit to the Edmonton estate. As the number of dead bodies begins to climb, Barnaby realizes that there is something far more sinister at play.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 January 2003 (UK)

Filming Locations:

Bledlow, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bentley Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Quotes

[first lines]
George Hamilton: As long as George is kept out of the way and no-one sees him in a week, we'll all be done.
Mallory Edmonton: That phone never stops ringing.
George Hamilton: Oh, refer them to me; I'll handle it.
Mallory Edmonton: You handling Julian Shepherd?
George Hamilton: Let's just ignore him.
Mallory Edmonton: No, he's making trouble, George; I don't want anything to go wrong.
George Hamilton: All right. I'll see to it.

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Connections

References The Dam Busters (1955)

User Reviews

The Birds

Inspector Barnaby and his partner Gavin Troy are after "Birds of Prey" in this 2003 episode of the Midsomer Murders. For a pretty place, it sure has a lot of crime.

Nettles and Troy investigate a suicide that soon starts to look like murder. A man named Julian Shepherd has driven his car into the river and drowned. He and other people are investors in an fuel-less transportation system developed by the elderly Charles Edmonton (Richard Todd). Before his death, Shepherd has gone to ask for his investment back because he was in financial trouble. He'd been put off by George Hamilton (David Calder), who works with Edmonton and keeps things organized for him.

As usual, very good, with John Nettles his usually wily self as his wife plans a trip for them to Africa where they will ride on elephants. For some reason, of all the young men who have worked with Barnaby, I liked Gavin Troy (Daniel Casey) the best. Well, he did play the role for nine years, maybe that's why. And it was wonderful to see Richard Todd, whom I only knew of as a much younger man making movies.

Beautiful scenery - just lovely, and a good atmosphere throughout. An interesting mystery from this intelligent and entertaining series.