MovieChat Forums > Midsomer Murders (1998) Discussion > The worst episode of MM you've ever seen...

The worst episode of MM you've ever seen?

posted 8 years ago by GladysOver
23 replies | jump to latest

As the thread title implies, it's time to name and shame! What's the worst episode you've ever seen and why do find it so irredeemably dire?

I'll start: the more I watch MM repeats from John Nettle's tenure via ITV3 the more I realise that that utter turd of an episode from the most recent, largely poor new series will unlikely ever be beaten.

I am of course referring to that piss-poor UFO/drone themed 'Incident at Coopers Hill'. F^cking hell what a load of old cobblers that surely 'jumped the shark' several times over, and then some.

It's shortcomings are legion but here are some of the particularly poor lowlights:

- a lazily recycled premise - even by MM's usual 'regurgitated' tendencies, I.e. UFO's (of which was done far better the first time too).

- Michelle 'Eastenders' Collins.....as a cockney-accented, retired lead computer programmer/scientist/all round genius! Yes really. No, me neither.

- Collins' boffin character apparently building a drone craft back in the 80's boasting technological features arguably 40-50 odd years ahead of their time (not least because it had near silent VTOL capabilities that modern and even merely future/conceptual/proposed drone craft don't have ffs)!

- Pseudo child genius (Collins' character's daughter if I recall) who has a ludicrously implausible aptitude/affinity with mechanical equipment and found said top secret craft effectively abandoned/poorly guarded....because apparently successful, super advanced, super expensive and indeed 'effing revolutionary government-funded technology always gets shelved/stored away/forgotten about!

- Worse, said child genius was apparently capable of secretly rebuilding/restoring the drone craft to operational condition! Naturally like any self-respecting, drone-rebuilding child genius of the 21st century she possessed superlative knowledge of 80's tech and the suitable spare parts to do so of course......

-------

*sigh* As I say, what a turd of an episode this truly was. 

P.S. Before I'm likely reminded, yes, I fully appreciate that MM is pure fiction (obviously) but one's suspension of disbelief can only stretch so far....

P.P.S. Considering that the producers evidently didn't see a credibility problem casting Ian Beale's former slapper missus as a genius-like scientist/computer programmer from the 1980's one can only presume that Danny Dyer must've been too busy to take the role or something.... 

[–] By-TorX-1 8 years ago

Agreed, 'Incident at Coopers Hill' was beyond dire (and echoes a far better UFO-themed Nettles-era episode). Midsomer Murders is a show that needed to retire with Tom Barnaby.

Best films ever:

Snakes on a Plane
Snakes on a Train
Snakes on a Crane
Snakes on Mark Twain

[–] caviar1234 8 years ago

Days of Misrule is tedious. And The Dagger Club is rediculous.

[–] GladysOver 8 years ago

The Dagger Club

*Urgh* I'd mercifully forgotten about that one, or at least was trying to forget!

Yes agreed, that one was a total turd too. Personally I think that most of the near universally accepted 'bad' episodes will inevitably hail from the Neil Dudgeon era of the show. Not his fault of course but it seems that MM really started to become a parody of itself when he took over, although in truth perhaps that's been the case for years now...

[–] de3206 8 years ago

Oh man, the Flying Club HAS to be in that list. Although I agree about Dagger Club.

[–] lollipop15 8 years ago

Many of the new episodes with Neil Dudgeon and the later ones with John Nettles are poor... but these are some from the 'classic era' which I didn't like:

- The Fisher King
- The House in the Woods
- A Worm in the Bud
- Bad Tidings
- The Maid in Splendour
- Death and Dreams
- Midsomer Rhapsody
- Dead in the Water

[–] cstep166 8 years ago

Any episode after the first few that drag out Incest as a plot device. It seems that the writers use it as a crutch when they have writers block. There are at least 2 or 3 episodes each season that features Incest. I just roll my eyes and think "Yeah I get that you want to shock us, but by now I am more shocked if there isn't Incest in the episode!" LOL

[–] pc-daisy 8 years ago

I thought Blood on the Saddle was ridiculous, even by MM standards And I love the show. Well I did up to Series 14, but am tapering off my interest now, that along with John Nettles, the clever writing and fun stuff seems to have diminished rapidly.

[–] caviar1234 8 years ago

I forgot to mention The Electric Vendetta. They even forgot to put in the solution to one murder during editing process. Can you even imagine that? And I dislike the solution to Blue Herrings either. But it seems many people liked it.

[–] carrie45 8 years ago

Any episode that featured Cully is bad. I liked all of the new season, even the UFO. The best was the first with the missing bodies. I am missing the Barnaby "aha" moment, though. The writers have John just falling into the solutions.

[–] pc-daisy 8 years ago

From the JN era, Blood on the Saddle would have to come close to being my least favourite. And I am trying to give ND a go, but the writing has poor old Jones so dumbed down, it is so annoying, I thought it was worth a topic all of its own!

[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] GladysOver 8 years ago

Any episode that featured Cully is bad.

Blimey that's the vast majority of them then and in particular practically every Nettles era episode to boot!

Can one, ultimately minor recurring character really spoil things to that extent?