"Midsomer Murders" Destroying Angel (2001)

Director:

David Tucker

Writers:

David Hoskins (screenplay)
Caroline Graham (characters created by)

TV Series:

"Midsomer Murders" (1997)

Original Air Date:

26 August 2001 (Season 4, Episode 2)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

Plot:

After the severed hand of an heir to a scenic rural hotel and pub is found in the woods, the other heirs receive death threats from an unknown source.

Plot Keywords:

Heir | Hotel | Mushrooming | Murder | Severed Hand

Cast

John Nettles	...	D.C.I. Tom Barnaby
Daniel Casey	...	Sgt. Troy
Jane Wymark	...	Joyce Barnaby
Adie Allen	...	Annie
Glen Berry	...	Ben
Nigel Betts	...	Sergeant
Samantha Bond	...	Suzanna Chambers
Philip Bowen	...	Gregory Chambers
Jonathan Coy	...	Kenneth Gooders
Niamh Daly	...	Denise Daly
Lisa Ellis	...	Junior Cook
Roger Frost	...	Colin Salter
Tony Haygarth	...	Tyson
Caroline Holdaway	...	Florence
Barry Jackson	...	Dr. Bullard

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

UK:12 (VHS/DVD rating)

Filming Locations:

Brightwell Baldwin, Oxfordshire, England, UK

Company:

A&E Television Networks

Trivia:

Last TV role of Edward Jewesbury.

Quotes:

Sergeant Gavin Troy: [mildly shocked to see Salter answering the door clad only in a woman's apron] I'm not sure that's legal, sir.
Colin Salter: A man can dress as he wishes in his own home.
D.C.I. Tom Barnaby: [clearly uncomfortable] Would you mind putting something on, Mr. Salter, I'd like to ask you a few questions.

One of my favourite Midsomer Murders. Period.

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Midsomer Murders: Destroying Angel starts as Tom (John Nettles) & Joyce Barnaby (Jane Wymark) turn up to attend the funeral of a recently deceased hotel owner named Karl Wainwright (Edward Jewesbury) & a village fête straight after. It soon becomes apparent that Gregory Chambers (Philip Bowen) who is due to perform the Punch & Judy show at the fête hasn't turned up & wasn't at the funeral either, his friend & protégé Clarice Opperman (Madeleine Worrall) presses the issue & says she is worried. Tom is also concerned & a search party is organised to scour the local woods where Gregory was know to be Mushrooming earlier that morning. Gregory is not found but his severed hand is, now Tom is faced with a murder case & plenty of suspects. Was it his unfaithful wife Suzanna (Samantha Bond)? Was it her lover Tristan (Tom Ward)? Was it someone who wanted him out of Wainwright's will? Watch it to find out..

Episode 2 from season 4 this was originally broadcast here in the UK during August 2001 (almost a year after the previous story Garden of Death which the IMDb has as Episode 1 from season 4), directed by David Tucker I have to say this is one of my very favourite Midsomer Murders episodes although shamefully it doesn't often get a mention as a classic of the series. The script by David Hoskins has it all, there are some terrific twists & turns, plenty of dead bodies, lots of red herrings & several suspects who could have done it. The script has a really nice balance & it's extremely well paced, it's absorbing & gripping, it's clever, complex & ambitious & it manages to implicate various character's but not enough for the killers identity to be obvious while managing to keep them very much in the frame for the murders so your never quite sure. The ending to destroying Angel is one of the finest in the whole series, the final 30 minutes is constant twists, turns & revelations as the whole complicated but well thought out murder mystery is solved. You need to listen & watch carefully from beginning to end as it can get very complicated but if you have kept track properly it all comes together wonderfully in a highly satisfying & unexpected twist ending. I would be willing to bet good money no-one will be able to guess the killers identity &/or motives, this one also manages to make you feel some sympathy for the killer. The one problem I do have with Destroying Angel are the unlikely co-incidences, for instance that a police officer like Barnaby would mount a search for a man who has been missing for mere hours, the fact that a dog finds the severed hand in a huge wood & takes it back to his owner & the notion that the killer 'accidently' dropped the severed hand without noticing in the first place. Having said that all of those things are possible, just not very plausible.

This is one of the few Midsomer Murders episodes in which the village it takes place in is never named, as usual picturesque British locations in Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire were used. If your interested the title Destroying Angel refers to a type of Mushroom which once eaten causes a slow painful death over several days & for which there is no antidote, I am not sure if this is a real Mushroom or specifically made up for this though. The acting is top quality as usual, Samantha Bond better know for her role as Miss Moneypenny in the Pierce Brosnan James Bond films makes an appearance. There is a fairly high body count in this including people shot with arrows, people smothered, poisoning, shotgun shootings & people being crushed. This is also slightly more gruesome than usual with a few scenes involving a severed hand.

Destroying Angel is a fantastic Midsomer Murders mystery, sure it's over-the-top & elaborate but that's what I want to see. There's plenty of murders, twists, turns & potential suspects & victims to keep fans of the series & crime dramas happy for 100 minutes. Brilliant stuff & one of my very favourite episodes.