Inspector Barnaby Vol. 12 - DVD

Content: Inspector Barnaby is back and presents itself on the twelfth DVD box with four new cases. Nothing has changed in the tried and tested formula. Suspense and humor are perfectly balanced and the in the picturesque scenery of the fictional county of Midsomer embedded, sometimes somewhat bizarre cases are served by great actors with typical British dry humor. And that's what makes Inspector Barnaby still so entertaining after all the years he's been on the job now (which he finally quit in England in early 2011).

DVD 1: LIVING AND MURDERING IN MIDSOMER

A group of young townies looking to pursue their passion for off-roading in Midsomer find the body in the woods of Charlie Finleyson, who had lived in the county before running off with Christine, the wife of the heavily wealthy Guy Sandy. Naturally, Guy, editor-in-chief of Midsomer Life magazine, comes under suspicion of having killed the man who ruined his marriage. But when Guy himself becomes the victim of murder a short time later, Barnaby and Jones have to look around for new suspects. And since Guy has made plenty of enemies with his magazine, there are plenty of them.

DVD 2: LOVED, HUNTED, KILLED

Barnaby is confronted with a case from his past when his former colleague Jack Colby, who retired from the police force after a murder and sex scandal involving Lady Holm, is found dead. His wife Gina, who was also a police officer and now works as a therapist, is looking after Lord Holm, of all people, who had been convicted of his wife's murder at the time and became mentally ill as a result. The suspicion is that Jack's death has something to do with the scandal of that time - a suspicion that is strengthened when there is another victim.

DVD 3: THE FOREST OF THE LIVING DEAD

Once upon a time, Aloysius Wilmington and his friend Ernest Balliol had rediscovered the Celtic cult surrounding the Temple of Toth. But in the meantime, Aloysius no longer cares about the cult, instead devoting himself to his large library and magic shows he gives for children. When his assistant is killed during one of these shows, Ernest becomes suspicious of Aloysius, who claims in public that the cult of Toth was just an invention to profit financially from people's superstitions. But with Ernest having an alibi and another body soon found, Barnaby must take his investigation in a different direction.

DVD 4: MURDER ON THE ROAD

In this episode from the second season of 1999, two groups of traveling folk give Barnaby a hard time. Even though the people are playing by the rules with their caravans and animals, tensions soon run high in the village of Martyr Warren when a pig and a goose are allegedly stolen. Manor owner Hector Bridges in particular makes no secret of his displeasure with the besiegers. When he is found shot dead, the situation threatens to escalate. But Barnaby's investigations make it clear that the murderer could also be found in Hector's family.

That the series has been released in loose order on DVD in this country is no secret and has so far only once really attracted negative attention. But the fact that a very old episode of the second season, which is almost ten years older than the episode on DVD 3, has been packed here as the fourth episode, already seems a bit disturbing and is also only partly comprehensible. In the quality of the series, of course, hardly changes anything.

Neben the entertaining and sometimes quite exciting stories, the four episodes can again come up with several top-class guest stars from cinema and TV. Thus, familiar faces from films like Pirates of the Caribbean (Kevin McNally, DVD 4), the last two Twilight films (MyAnna Burning, DVD 1) or the comedy Hot Fuzz (Stuart Wilson, DVD 3), or from British series like Doc Martin (Selina Cadell, DVD 1) can be discovered here.

Suspense, some very amusing moments, such as a murder in life reminiscent of a classic scene from Bloody Valentine, and murders in Midsomer, and the dry humor typical of the series make this twelfth DVD box set again an absolute must for all lovers of fine English crime fare. Absolutely recommendable!

Picture + Sound: That the case on the fourth DVD is a significantly older episode, the technical implementation is noticeable - which is not only due to the different image format (4:3). Compared to the episodes from 2007 and 2008, the image sharpness is a little worse, which is particularly noticeable in smaller details. However, the differences are comparatively marginal and carry little weight. The sound is rather directional in all episodes and is dominated by the very front-heavy mixed dialogue, especially in the German language version. Overall, it can be said that the picture and sound of Box 12 are on a good TV level. No more, but also no less.

Extras: Unlike the last boxes Vol. 12 actually has bonus material to offer. Admittedly, this is in addition to trailers from the provider only a barely 8-minute interview with Ben Jones actor Jason Hughes (English with German voice over), in which the actor reveals, among other things, how he got the role in the popular series. For fans, however, this short extra is definitely worth watching and therefore a welcome bonus!

Conclusion: The twelfth DVD box set of Inspector Barnaby again offers the best crime entertainment with a great investigator duo, an engaging scenery, quirky supporting characters and original stories. And even though the last DVD takes a huge step back into the series' past, this twelfth collection of cases by the popular Inspector is also for fans of the series: absolutely recommended - especially as there's a little extra this time too!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp