Inspector Barnaby Volume 11 - DVD

Film: Inspector Barnaby goes into the eleventh round. While in England just Neil Dudgeon as DCI John Barnaby, the cousin of Tom Barnaby, has taken over the series scepter from John Nettles at the start of the 14th season, German Midsomer fans can only enjoy episodes from the 10th and 11th season. Unfortunately, ZDF again didn't air all the episodes and also didn't follow the correct order, which is again noticeable on the DVD release. For example, the last episode of season 11 is shown before the third episode. However, since these are completed cases, this not quite comprehensible release policy has less of a negative effect. And qualitatively here anyway again British crime entertainment is offered on quite high level.

DVD 1: WITH POISON AND GUILLOTINE

On an estate in Midsomer Magna a film about the French Revolution is shot. On set, the not-so-popular director Nick Cheyney is haunted by two former loves at once. With actress Gwen Morisson as well as with Leonie, the daughter of the estate owner, Cheyney had affairs in the past that didn't exactly end amicably. And so the first suspects are quickly found when Cheyney is found on the set one morning with her head severed under the guillotine. But when Tom Barnaby's investigation reveals a long-held secret, the case takes a surprising turn.

DVD 2: A MISSRATEN SOHN

The Christmas special from the eleventh season comes across as less than festive: the Parkes family's shipping company is firebombed. Barnaby, who was on an outdoor team bonding training course with his colleagues, is not sad to be pulled from the experiment. Arriving at the scene, it soon becomes apparent that there were many who would wish the Parkes dead. But when a body is found in the village pond, Barnaby gets on the trail of yet another crime.

DVD 3: THE UNDEAD OF BARTON WOODS

The final episode of the eleventh season sees Barnaby dealing with strange deaths. The ghosts of monks murdered in the 16th century are said to be haunting the woods around the village of Monks Barton. After two couples disappear without a trace and the bodies of one of them are found by, of all people, ghost seer Cyrus Le Vanu, more and more residents believe they really are dealing with a solid haunting. Even Barnaby's wife listens spellbound to Le Vanu's lectures, much to the investigator's discomfort. When the other two missing persons are found, Barnaby comes up with a hot lead, but it doesn't seem supernatural at all.

DVD 4: CHILD OF DEATH

The third episode of season 11 takes Barnaby and Jones to the village of Dunston, where the bodies of a couple who have lived a very reclusive life since the death of their son are found. Jones, who went to school in Dunston, encounters a wall of silence from his former classmates, especially after unloved builder Jack Purdy is also murdered. Barnaby soon suspects that there is far more at stake here than just the expansion of a highway, which activists dislike. And as is so often the case, Barnaby is proved right.

Two episodes in particular stand out in this set: Child of Death, as it shows a slightly more personal side of Detective Sergeant Jones. And The Undead of Barton Woods, as it mixes mystery elements with Inspector Barnaby's otherwise down-to-earth investigative methods. Only the resolution of this episode can not really convince, but until then, this episode is definitely one of the highlights of the set.

Picture + Sound: As with the first boxes also applies to the new episodes: Picture and sound are on a good TV level. The picture reveals some weaknesses in the area of detail sharpness and contrasts, as well as slight image noise in darker sequences. The sound remains largely unspectacular and primarily takes place in the front area. Still, overall there is a satisfactory: Good!

Extras: A photo gallery is the only extra on the eleventh box. Unfortunately, something little.

Conclusion: Although the presentation of the four latest cases does not adhere to the broadcast order from England, but in terms of content, the eleventh Barnaby box again offers British crime entertainment of the particularly worth seeing. Thrilling, a little bizarre, spiced with dry humor and sympathetic characters, so Inspector Barnaby has already played for over a decade in the hearts of viewers far beyond England's borders. Even if the series rarely breaks out of its fixed pattern and the DVD box unfortunately has no extras worth mentioning to offer, the four new cases from Midsomer are again: absolutely recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp