Midsomer Murders (TV Series) Master Class (2010) User Reviews

Intriguing

[blanche-2 · 8/10 · 29 October 2013]

At a music school, a gifted piano student, Zoe Stock, thinks that she sees a woman drown after leaving her baby on the bank. She jumps in but doesn't see the woman, and there's no baby. Barnaby & Jones are called in, and though there is no proof that anything happened, Barnaby vaguely remembers an actual, similar drowning that took place about 18 years earlier. Back then, the body was found by a Catholic priest, Father Gregory.

Zoe is competing to participate in a master class run by the world-famous Sir Michael Fielding (James Fox); the school is administered by his daughters Miriam and Constance (Sylvestra Le Touzel and Frances Barber). Only three students from the current crop will be chosen, and when they are, Zoe is one of the three, along with Orlando (Matthew James Thomas), and Francesca (Katharine Press). The winner of the Fielding Prize is assured an international career.

When an attempt is made on Zoe's life, Barnaby investigates further, and then the bodies start falling. Is it the rejected student, who is still hanging around, responsible? Or is it someone else? The denouement of this story is bizarre, and you'll be trying to figure it out through the film. A dark story and an excellent one, with some well-drawn characters and excellent performances.

Highly recommended.

Keeping it in the family

[Tweekums · 9/10 · 13 October 2010]

Despite the notoriously high number of murders in Midsomer the series is usually fairly whimsical and seldom touches on anything really unpleasant; most murders seem to be based on the petty jealousy of members of one hobby group or another. When this episode opened I assumed that it would be the same, especially when we saw Joyce Barnaby helping at the auditions for a master class to be run by pianist Sir Michael Fielding. It looked like the first death would be Zoë, one of the aspiring pianists, when she started bleeding profusely from her nose but it turned out it was just a symptom of a panic attack. Despite only playing the opening bars of her piece she was invited to go forward to the next round of the competition. While here she saw a woman drowning in the river and tried to save her, the police were called but found no sign of a drowned woman; strangely though Barnaby recalls that a woman did drown at that spot almost twenty years before. Zoë and two other students are selected to go on to the final round and when one is murdered it looks as though the most likely suspect is a student who felt hard done by for being rejected. We soon realise that he probably didn't do it when there is a second murder followed by a car crash involving Zoë's parents.

This was a better than average episode of a series I nearly always enjoy, it made an interesting change to have an episode with a darker tone. Instead of petty jealousy we have a family keeping a very dark secret involving a case of incest and a clear intention to commit that crime again with the daughter of the original victim… making it even darker the whole family was involved. As well as the regular cast guest stars Lydia Wilson and James Fox put in notable performances as Zoë and Fielding.

A fantastic episode!

[harrykivi · 9/10 · 28 November 2022]

"Master Class" shows a real master class in writing to be honest. It's easily the best episode in the 13th season of "Midsomer Murders" and one of the better episodes in the series for sure.

Let' s start with the good aspects, shall we?

. The production values of this episode are great as usual. The direction's good and the music fits the scenery perfectly. The acting is strong all around. John Nettles and Jason Hughes are great in the leads. Always been a big fan of Frances Barber and Sylvestra Le Touzel. James Fox gives one of the best performances I've seen from him and Lydia Wilson is, agreed, a talent to watch.

. The murder mystery is very engaging, filled with interesting characters, great twists and turns. The solution ( Sir Micheal and his daughters turn out to be the killers) is quite disgusting, but the writer manages to make the solution very appealing.

But...

. There are some issues with pacing here and there. The story does drag during the first 45 minutes and some scenes could have been left out or shortened.

Overall, a great episode. One of my favorites.

9/10 HK.

A Masterclass in writing.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 10/10 · 8 August 2015]

A definite contender for one of Midsomer's top 5 stories. A few dogs had gone before and interest in the show was starting to falter, boy did they come up with the goods for this one, how could they fail with a family consisting of Sylvestra Le Touzel, James Fox and Frances Barber, they are all so good.

Zoe Stock (Lydia Wilson) a talented pianist at a masterclass school sees a woman fall in a river and drown, a deep, dark and intriguing story follows, with a lot of twists and turn. Plenty to retain the viewers interest, the ending is very dark and chilling.

Screenplay writer Nicholas Martin did an amazing job writing Masterclass, he then went on to pen possibly the worst ever episode, Night of the Stag, talk about from the sublime to the ridiculous.

I must point out that Joyce is particularly annoying here, and once again she has a new job at the place of a murder, she must have kept Job Centre Plus busy. Despite the minor flaws, this one ranks as a classic.

A classic

[james_89 · 10/10 · 9 October 2010]

Talented piano student Zoe Stock has won a place at the Devington winter school taught by celebrated pianist Sir Michael Fielding. By the river in the grounds of the manor she sees a woman abandon a baby on the banks and jump in. Zoe tries to help but the current is too strong. The woman drowns and her body vanishes.

With no body and no baby, just gut instinct, DCI Barnaby is convinced Zoe saw something. His suspicions are confirmed when a hooded figure tries to kill Zoe at a nearby abbey. Soon after, Barnaby does have very real dead bodies as he struggles to solve what will become the most disturbing case of his career, and prevent others falling victim to the killer.

Well, what a story! I was beginning to think the series has lost it, but this sort of episode proves there's life in the old dog yet! All the producers need to do is hire the right script writers and the series can go on indefinitely! Unfortunately though, one brilliant episode once in a blue moon doesn't bode well for the series.

Master Class, by Nicholas Martin, is packed full of intrigue, twists and turns, subtle humour (not pantomime as has been the case recently) and a solution to the mystery that is genuinely horrific. Also, there are some brilliant actors in this one, who after reading the script must have really wanted to be a part of it. Lydia Wilson, who plays Zoe, i suspect is a name to watch out for. She's a star in the making.

Not only one of the best for years but one of the best ever.

Note to producers: Keep Nicholas Martin as a regular writer. He's a genius! And get rid of the dead wood!

Creepy, interesting story.

[vitoscotti · 10/10 · 9 March 2020]

Never is boring throughout. Lydia Wilson as Zoe Stock is marvelous. Curious, who were Fielding's daughters and sons mother? Zoeys? Not one pianist in the cast? They never show a pianist face and fingers tinkling the ivories at the same time. I like Joyce is put into some episodes like this involved in a minor role tied in to the story. The more of her the better. Barnaby couldn't crack the original case as a young detective. Vito S 3-6-20

Sophisticated Clever Episode

[Hitchcoc · 10/10 · 1 June 2016]

After so many recent disappointments, this was an outstanding mystery. I think that for once, Barnaby and his family aren't center stage. A strange series of events have taken place involving a piano school where the master can make or break a career. A pretty young woman is a classical virtuoso and is the favorite to take the prize. But there is something strange going on among the people that are intimately involved in the studio. This young woman is very fragile and her competitors begin to play mind games with her, including their parents. One day she sees (or thinks she sees) a woman with a baby drown. The police are brought in, but no body can be found. The conclusion to this episode is striking and well conceived. My faith is being restored.

Implausible Story

[wjspears · 6/10 · 4 January 2022]

I wish I could be as enthusiastic as all the "10" raters here. But frankly this story is a mess in my estimation. How are we supposed to be interpreting Zoe's visions of her mother's drowning, when she was left in the woods, as her mother jumped in the river and drowned herself?

Before any of the murders occur, Zoe's recognizes a cabin in the woods--taken to by Barnaby. Zoe lived there until her mother-Mad Molly-hid baby Zoe in the woods and drowned herself.

And in that cabin is a doll with a pull string that has evidently been laying in the abandoned cabin for almost 20 years. Zoe knows exactly what the doll is going to say when she pulls the string.

To heck with the piano master class, Zoe needs to be taken to a parapsychologist!

Typically, Barnaby has been skeptical of supernatural and spooky explanations. But in this episode he is seems completely on board for explanations that defies all logic.

I don't dislike shows that live in the supernatural realm. But that world needs to be consistent, it seems to me.

The character of Zoe was well drawn, and played by Lydia Wilson. And all three of the Fieldings were sufficiently creepy to hold my interest. And the Benedict Marsh character (Richard Fleeshman) was maniacal enough to keep me watching!

This was hardly an awful episode--maybe it deserves a seven. But I don't believe it deserves the high praise it is receiving here.

Masterly

[TheLittleSongbird · 10/10 · 24 February 2017]

As has been said by me a number of times, 'Midsomer Murders' is one of my most watched and most re-watched shows. It is nowhere near as good now and the Tom Barnaby-era wasn't alien to average or less episodes, but when it was on form or at its best boy was it good.

This review summary may sound ridiculously hyperbolic for a show that has been wildly hit and miss and mostly pretty stale since Season 10, but it is proof that once in a while a not-so-good period in a show's run can produce the odd gem. This is the case with "Master Class", not only is it easily the best episode of Season 13 (a season that saw embarrassments such as "The Made-to-Measure Murders" and especially "Blood on the Saddle") but to me it is also the best 'Midsomer Murders' episode since "The House in the Woods" way back from Season 9.

So many great things in "Master Class". First and foremost, the production values as always are just great, the idyllic look of it contrasting very well with the story's grimness, and quaint and atmospheric photography. The music fits perfectly, with some lush jauntiness and sometimes an ominous quality, and the theme tune one of the most memorable and instantly recognisable of the genre.

Writing provokes a lot of thought, and has a healthy balance of the humorous and the darkly twisted, contrary to a previous commentator calling it silly and ridiculous (adjectives to me best suited to the likes of "Blood on the Saddle" and "Shot at Dawn") "Master Class" was the closest the show has come in a while to have the maturity seen in "classic" (Seasons 1-7 mainly) 'Midsomer Murders'.

"Master Class" story is absorbing throughout and is one of the show's darkest, complex and full-of-twists-and-turns episodes in a long time without being simplistic or incoherent. Sure, there is padding, which tended to be a very bad thing in recent episodes, but because the characterisation and their conflicts and twists and turns are fascinating, serve a point and feel relevant and come together at the end this was a rare case of what could have been a big problem was not.

Characters are closer to the more colourful and eccentric characters of the classic era rather than the lifeless ones that too many of the recent episodes had and while the conclusion is somewhat bizarre (more often than not not a good adjective) it is strikingly twisty, with the motives more inspired than the dull, flimsy and old-hat motives of many recent episodes and almost a return to the wonderfully elaborate and twisted ones, and just about easy to understand, so long as the rest of the episode has fullest attention.

John Nettles and Jason Hughes are both superb, individually and together (their chemistry, and the chemistry with Daniel Casey and John Hopkins before Hughes, being a huge part of their episodes' charm). Lydia Wilson proved one to watch and James Fox sinks his teeth into his role.

In conclusion, masterly episode and one of the best of the show in some while. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Interesting

[Schweizer85 · 6/10 · 26 March 2021]

Interesting episode, albeit with a slightly disturbing plot line involving incest

It was great to see them using the old creepy house from 'The House in the Woods' episode a few years previously, I like seeing them use the same locations again and again. The characters in this episode are allowed to develop and we see some very convincing performances particular from the three younger cast members who are chosen for the Master Class, Orlando in particular. The three family members who run the school play creepy very well, it was pretty much certain that they'd be instrumental in the conclusion.

Shocking

[LordWimsey · 10/10 · 13 October 2019]

This is really one of my favourite episodes of Midsomer Murders. Actually all Barnaby films are really good and I really enjoy this fantastic TV show. Above all I like the cases that are connected with the past. And this is such one.

The talented, successful young pianist Zoe takes part in a piano competition by the famous pianist Sir Michael. He is looking for young talents for his Master Class. But having won the competition and then being a part of Sir Michael's selection, she is suddenly confronted with her past - or what seems to be her past although she had nothing to do with the strange experiences before. Near Sir Michael's estate she sees a young woman running to a river where she drowns herself. However, Inspector Barnaby and his team don't find anything there...

This is really one of the mysterious cases that reminds me of the earlier episodes somehow. It is filled up with many occurrences; Barnaby soon finds out that something very bad happened about 20 years ago. And soon the first murders take place. It is almost shocking what is hidden behind all those murders and once again the TV show clarifies human abysses. I mean how could it have been done?

In conclusion, a very thrilling episode.

Medically and theologically speaking....

[misstoes · 6/10 · 19 April 2023]

I do so hate it when the details aren't right. As a person with porphyria I can say that heme arginate wouldn't be stored in a bottle on a shelf, "ready to ingest" as it were. It's an intravenous medication. Always. It was never anything else. (Doc Martin got their facts wrong too.) Theologically, that was no Catholic church, and no religious sister would assist at communion, though I suppose Barnaby can be excused for not catching that one because she needed the DNA? Oh except even the most basic DNA test requires about a spoonful of saliva. How do I know? From my genetic testing to determine what type of porphyria I have. The implication yet again is that porphyria is a disease caused by inbreeding. In reality it's totally random.

Three strikes means "you're out" in American baseball, and as soon as I saw the pub owner wearing sunglasses indoors, I knew the entire plot. That's a symptom of untreated porphyria.

So very disappointing.

The silliest Midsomer Murders ever.

[poolandrews · 3/10 · 29 August 2011]

Midsomer Murders: Master Class is set in the small Midsomer village of Devington where eighteen year old pianist Zoe Stock (Lydia Wilson) has won an opportunity to attend a prestigious music school run by Sir Michael Fielding (James Fox), Zoe is to perform for the ultimate prize of international recognition & a professional contract against two fellow students Orlando (Matthew James Thomas) & Francesca (Katherine Press). While taking a walk by a river Zoe sees a woman dressed in white carrying a baby, then moments later Zoe sees the woman fall into the river & drown, DCI Tom Barnaby (John Nettles) investigates but no body is found & no trace of the baby is discovered either. However Barnaby has his suspicions & remembers an incident where a woman drown in the same spot eighteen years earlier, suspecting something is wrong Barnaby soon finds himself investigating a murder when Orlando is found hanging & that's just the start...

Episode five from season thirteen this Midsomer Murders mystery was directed Renny Rye & is surely one of the most ridiculous & silly the series has to offer, once all is revealed & all is explained at the end I just couldn't take Master Class seriously at all & found it hard to stop shaking my head in amazement. For a start the script is extremely slow going, apart from the mystery of the drowning woman it's over an hour before anything really happens with the first murder, that's just too long to wait & far too much exposition & padding to wade through with nothing to really maintain your interest or hook you. However where Master Class becomes ridiculous & in a way one of the series most memorable episodes is at the end when the motives for murder are revealed, I mean a guy who wants to have sex with his daughter & granddaughter to pass his genes on & produced the ultimate pianist is just such a silly concept, who came up with it & did they think that anyone watching would be convinced by it in the slightest? Then there are Zoe's parents who knew a lot of the background to what was going on so why did they let Zoe audition & then stay at the music school in the first place? The two eventual killers don't even get to say anything at the end as they just led away, as an over the top Hollywood thriller Master Class might have been fun but as a straight laced, serious British crime drama Master Class is just one of the most ridiculous things I've seen in ages. I don't really know how Zoe would have remember something so vividly she never even saw properly when she was a one year old baby either, in fact you could pick Master Class apart bit by bit with character motivation & decisions that make no sense.

Despite the flashback being set in 1993 the woman seen seems to be wearing clothes from the 70's for some reason, I understand the makers wanted to emphasise the events took place in the past but it doesn't look right. The kills when they eventually come are standard fare, a hanging & a slit throat. Well filmed as usual though & there's plenty of classical piano music featured if that's your sort of thing but I'm very much with DS Jones when he says it's not his sort of music. Master Class looks nice enough & has that unique British appearance, Dorchester Abbey in Oxfordshie was used as Saint Cecilia's Abbey while St. Katharine's Convent was used for the location of Devington Hall. The acting is good from a solid cast.

Master Class is both one of the silliest & therefore most memorable Midsomer Murder episodes, I can't say I liked it that much & found too many holes in it. Not one of Midsomer Murders finest two hours.

Absolutely riveting

[altumshell-34444 · 10/10 · 26 December 2020]

Absolutely riveting. Genius, music and the perversions of musical genius that sometime obliterates everything. Everthing is sacrificed at the alter of music. My favorite Midsomer Murder episode.

A Thrilling Murder Mystery

[malabarspiceghk · 10/10 · 20 June 2023]

A very good murder mystery. The central theme of this episode is similar to the fist Midsomer Murder episode written but the author Caroline Graham. The tone is rather dark and this would rank as one of the 5 best stories in the series. Lydia Wilson is remarkable as Zoe and so is James Fox. Nettles and Jason Hughes has excelled themselves in this story. The series was going nowhere with some silly and ridiculous stories. I was about to give up however, this episode had tempted me to keep on going. Apart from this, I wanted to see John Barnaby in action as the new DCI in the series. I sincerely hope future episodes would be as good as this one.

The female cliché is passé.

[chart17629 · 1/10 · 10 July 2020]

Well, I'm off the Midsomer Habit.

Routine sloppy handling of evidence, eh. Routine illegal searches (which apparently never cost the Crown at trial), eh. Routine "the killer is a nutter!", eh. Routine "get there in the nick of time to thwart the last murder attempt", eh. Routine script writing dependent upon weird, impossible time compressions (going from Point A to Point B, interviewing someone and getting back again waaay too soon) (on site pathology staying from dawn to dusk or, gone in an hour or so, whatever), eh.

I can live with all that. It's just a TV show, after all. They're on a budget, they're on a deadline, they have to keep crankin' 'em out. Over all, not a bad example of the BBC detective genre. Entertaining enough.

All that, and I was still not off the Midsomer habit.

But one aspect Has been piling up.

The constant habit of every woman who finds a body has to scream has annoyed me from the first. (Men, pretty much never.) (Maybe 2 exceptions each in ~70 scripts.) Then several episodes ago the new DC walks away from a witness interview to cry about the school children who've lost their teacher. Except I don't recall any of the four other cops ever having to stop their job to cry. Barnaby tells the DC that's OK. Except Barnaby has usually mocked his junior officers when they have shown any revulsion to a gruesome murder. Oh. Did I mention this emotional reaction was on the part of the woman officer?

But, I'm still watching.

In this episode a strong willed (defies her parents, is focused on her career goal, etc.) woman, suddenly gives in to a man she HAS SEEN & KNOWS is faithless and untrustworthy and self-centered. Because, you know, he's a man. Handsome. And she wanted him before. So all she's learned about him cannot outweigh her need for him, the Handsome Man.

Then, the topper. Here in "Master Class", Barnaby tells - nay, Orders - his DC, "You look after her, Stevens, No one is to talk to her, no one. Alright?" That's pretty cut and dried, is it not? And the Detective Constable lets not one, but THREE people in to talk with the person of interest. Heck, the Detective Constable even BRINGS THE PERSON A MILE OR MORE AWAY FROM WHERE THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO STAY TO SEE AND TALK TO SOMEONE. Oh, but this Detective Constable is a poor little, weak, sympathetic, wussy WOMAN Detective Constable. She can't really be expected to FOLLOW ORDERS like her male counterparts. I know this is so, because Barnaby never corrects, never reprimands, never penalizes her. Because, you know, she's just a woman. Of course she can't stop people from entering a room. Of course she will LEAVE THE PERSON ALONE with other folks because, safety and the investigation be da__ed, it's just Right to not interfere in someone else's business. Of course we can't expect her to act like a Real (read, male) Detective Constable.

I am so tired of this. The "allowances" for the fair sex. The scripts that use a woman's "weaknesses" as plot points. (I was a fan of Scott & Bailey until they kept kidnapping a cop and it was always a woman cop, all the way to the CHIEF DCI woman cop.) The routine "otherwise smart woman lets obviously lousy man woo her" bit.

That's it. I'm off the Midsomer habit.