Inspector Barnaby Volume 13 - DVD

Content: Inspector Barnaby goes into the thirteenth round. The new DVD box set has four more cases from four different seasons to offer. Continuity does suffer a little from this, but as these are completely self-contained cases, that's no reason to completely dismiss this thirteenth box set. For fans, there is even a small treat through this somewhat confused stringing together: for the first time, there is a reunion with all the partners who stood by Barnaby in his TV career on this box. Besides Ben Jones (Jason Hughes) in episodes 1 and 4 of this collection, there are also Gavin Troy (Daniel Casey) in episode 2 and Dan Scott (John Hopkins) in episode 3. In addition, there are a few nice guest stars, such as Pierce Brosnan's Miss Moneypenny Samantha Bond or the from Bad Teacher and I see the man of your dreams also known in this country Lucy Punch, who may play in The Fruit of Evil once again excellent convincing the spoiled bitch.

So also offers Vol. 13 of Inspector Barnaby, despite the erratic episode selection, once again offers first class crime entertainment with dry British humour, the wonderful scenery of the fictional county of Midsomer and beautifully quirky characters.

DVD1: WHEN THE MORNING GRAYS, Season 11, 2008

This episode begins at the start of the 20th century. During World War I, young Lieutenant Hicks is executed by a firing squad for cowardice. Among the gunmen was Duggie Hammond, whose descendants live in the same village, of all places, as the descendants of the shot Hicks. There's no question that these two families aren't exactly on the best of terms. When Lionel Hicks nearly becomes the victim of a bombing and Henry Hammond is murdered, the family feud seems to have finally escalated. But when another murder occurs, Barnaby must consider other possibilities.

DVD 2: THE FRUIT OF EVIL, Season 4, 2001

When attractive Melissa Townsend (Lucy Punch) is killed at her pool after receiving several death threats, no one is quite surprised. For the young woman, who was not only a greedy, stone-cold rent-a-thug but also flirted shamelessly with many of Midsomer's men, has made countless enemies. However, two other deaths, including the very popular vet Raif Canning, cast doubt on whether Melissa's murder was indeed purely an act of revenge. Their investigation leads Barnaby and Troy to the nurse Sally Rickworth, who had a very special relationship with Melissa. A motive for the crime?

DVD 3: WET AND DEAD, Season 8, 2004

What was supposed to be a joyous regatta ends in tragedy shortly after the starting gun. For the body of Guy Sweetman, honorary president of a rowing club and womanizer, is pulled from the water by the rowers. Especially among the male members Guy was not very popular, a cuckolded husband even threatened him with murder. No wonder, then, that the latter is now being hidden from Barnaby by his wife Clare. But it is not Clare's husband who is the Inspector's main interest. Rather, his investigation focuses on club president Phillip Trent and his houseboat. And indeed, that is where the solution to the case seems to lie. But a murder in Midsomer is admittedly not solved that quickly.

DVD 4: THOUGH YOU ARE DUST, Season 10, 2007

Having their mother Delyth share a bed with doctor Dr James Kirkwood is bad enough for David and Megan Mostyn. But the fact that it appears to be real love, putting their children's inheritance in jeopardy, is too much. Is it any coincidence then that on the night Delyth and James are caught in bed, James' practice colleague is forced off the roadway in the rain? When James is nearly the victim of a supposed accident shortly after, Barnaby believes that the car attack was actually meant for him as well. With James now seemingly unsafe, Sergeant Jones sticks to his heels on a multi-day outing with the Midsomer walking club. When Barnaby's research leads him to suspect that the possible murderer may also be on the ramble, he tries to warn his partner. But of course, Jones' cell phone has no reception in the wild. And so Barnaby must resort to unusual means to reach his colleague.

Just this last episode once again offers the best entertainment. But also THE FRUIT OF EVIL, which can come up with black humor and dramatic moments in equal measure, makes this box absolutely recommendable for all Barnaby fans!

Picture + Sound: In the technical quality of the individual episodes has changed little compared to past boxes: The picture is largely clean, especially in the newer episodes the sharpness is also right for smaller details and the color scheme is overall very coherent. The stereo mix is clearly dominated by the dialogues, which sound a little less natural in the German language version and are heavily front-heavy, but also mixed a little stronger than the original English version. Good!

Extras: As a bonus to the episodes there is a nice interview with Joyce Barnaby actress Jane Wymark (about 7 min.), who briefly talks about the exit from the series, the work in the 14 years as the wife of the Chief Inspector and about her private life as a diplomat's wife. Not uninteresting, but unfortunately arguably brief.

Conclusion:Although the episodes of Inspector Barnaby on the 13th DVD box set are wildly jumbled, this new collection is also highly recommended to fans of the lovable investigator. Even though it would be nice to have the episodes presented in the order they aired, as a Barnaby fan you can also look on the bright side. After all, there is a reunion with all partners of the inspector here - and that should console a little about the time jumps between the episodes. The technical quality is about the same as on past DVD box sets, and there's a nice interview as a bonus. Therefore: definitely recommendable for fans!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp