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*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Midsomer Murders: Beyond the Grave is set in the Midsomer village of Aspen Tallow & starts as Alan Bradford (Malcolm Sinclair) the curator of the Aspen Hall museum is just finishing the Jonathan Lowrie death tour with some tourists when he discovers a valuable 17th century painting of local legend Lowrie has been slashed with a knife, local painting restorer Sandra MacKillop (Cheryl Campbell) is commissioned to fix it. DCI Tom Barnaby & Sgt. Gavin Troy (Daniel Casey) are called in but decide it's a matter for uniform, however that soon changes when Marcus Lowrie (Charles Simon) the great, great, great, great, great Grandfather of Jonathan is found dead in the museum with his head based in. Local legends claim that the ghost of Jonathan Lowrie walks the corridors of Aspen Hall & several strange things begin to happen, could a ghost be responsible for the murder & is Aspen Hall museum haunted as Barnaby quickly discovers the case is far more complex than he had first thought...Episode 4 from season 3 this Midsomer Murders mystery was the final story from that very short season & was directed by Moira Armstrong who turns in another fine British crime drama with a spooky twist. The script by Douglas Watkinson has all the usual intrigue & mystery but there's slightly more to Beyond the Grave than just a standard whodunit, I really liked the supernatural theme for starters & old British country houses lend themselves perfectly for such a story, I liked the complex ending here a lot as well & I seriously doubt anyone will be able to figure it out. In fact it kept me guessing right up to the very end & it had a nice unexpected climax with some good twists & turns, I also liked the last few seconds with the rocking chair which rocks back & forth on it's own & is a nice light hearted touch maybe indicating the presence of the ghost of Jonathan Lowrie. The killers motives are suitably over-the-top & aren't easy to work out. Even more than usual you need to watch & listen to this Midsomer Murders episode carefully because you can easily miss something which turns out to be vital & as a result the end explanations may not make as much sense as they should. This one also has some nice deadpan humour & an actor who is going to play a Sgt. in a TV soap opera gets to shadow Troy in an amusing sub plot.As usual this looks fabulous with it's distinctly English country locations, I really hope this show gets the HD (high definition) treatment sometime soon. Ewelme in Oxfordshire was used as the location for Aspen Tallow while Chenies Manor in Buckinghamshire was used as the Aspen Hall museum & was last seen in Judgment Day (2000) one episode ago as Edward Aladice's house! This one has two murders, someone is rather violently bashed over the head with bloody results while the other one is off screen, there's also a slightly higher profanity content than usual. This is extremely well made as one expects & believe me is one of the best looking things made for British TV, the acting is also great including a small role for Prunella Scales & for those who enjoy series continuity issues Joyce Barnaby changes her hair style in this one from her usual straight bob to some hideous styled monstrosity which doesn't suit her at all.Beyond the Grave is yet another great Midsomer Murders story in an exceptionally high quality first three seasons with only Blue Herrings (2000) letting things down slightly, top quality work from the whole production team but can they maintain it through season 4...
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