Bantling Boy (16 Jan. 2005)

A four-member syndicate owns a racehorse that two of them are desperate to sell and two of them are determined to keep. When one of them is murdered, Barnaby is on the case.

Director:

Sarah Hellings

Writers:

Steve Trafford (screenplay), Caroline Graham (characters)

Stars:

John Nettles, John Hopkins, Jane Wymark

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
John Nettles	...	DCI Tom Barnaby
John Hopkins	...	Sergeant Dan Scott
Jane Wymark	...	Joyce Barnaby
Laura Howard	...	Cully Barnaby
Barry Jackson	...	Dr Bullard
Caroline Blakiston	...	Angela Hartley
Philip McGough	...	Geoffrey
Simon Kunz	...	Bruce Hartley
Anna Wilson-Jones	...	Marianna Hartley
Barnaby Kay	...	Dr Osgood
Charlie Condou	...	Jake Foley
Julia Ford	...	Joanna Craxton
Shane Attwooll	...	Ray Craxton (as Shane Attwool)
Thomas Grant	...	Peter Craxton
Geoffrey Freshwater	...	Sam Tate

Storyline

Barnaby and Scott enter the world of horse racing when the trainer of thoroughbred Bantling Boy is battered to death. Bruce Hartley was an alcoholic who had vowed to expose the reason why his father bequeathed the horse to four Midsomer villagers. The other members of the syndicate come under suspicion, but the killing continues - then Bantling Boy falls ill. The detectives must unravel secrets hidden at the aristocratic Bantling Hall to find the killer.

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Plot Keywords:

syndicate | murder | boy | thoroughbred | stable | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 January 2005 (UK)

Filming Locations:

Dorney Court, Dorney, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bentley Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min 94 min (DVD)

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Quotes

[first lines]
Peter Craxton: Unhand the maid, or perish.
Geoffrey: Never! I'll unhorse you here.

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Connections

References The Terminator (1984)

User Reviews

Good mystery surprise ending

This episode is about a group of people interested in horse racing and a horse.

They all own the same horse. Some want to sell the race horse and some don't. The horse starts acting funny so he is removed to a farm that takes care animals for free. He is put there for his safety.

During the process of the story there are many characters, all angry and some hate each other. There is a young boy who is intensely interested in games on the computer. He plays with a man named Jeffrey as his opponent in a medieval game.

A doctor gets murder and several others all in the same way. They are all killed the same way and their mouth is tied with a rag to make a statement to those who find the victims.

This show like many of Midsummer Murder is very violent. Barnaby questions the boy as to why he plays such a violent game and the kid responds that it is only a game.

In the end Sergeant Dan Scott who replaced DSi Troy in Season 7 says to Barnaby that he does not understand how a person can turn murder into a game-- Barnaby replies "When killing becomes entertainment we all seem to lose touch with reality." I think that statement says it all. Many of the so police series like, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and more are series about murder. They are for "entertainment".

Government representatives then wonders why people kill other people. They want to blame the method used like guns. I think, and this is my opinion is that everything can be turned into a murder weapon when gullible people, unhappy people see the results of a murder and how to plan one.