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Midsomer Murders
E1 of 6
About
Episode Guide
Series 20 - Episode 1
The Ghost of Causton Abbey
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Review
by
David Brown
When people drown in
Midsomer Murders
, they rarely do so in anything so mundane as water. Over the years, I’ve seen victims expire in a cauldron of tomato soup, casks of cider and mulberry wine and now – perhaps most gruesomely of all – in a boiling vat of beer. But then the main joy of this show comes not from watching its stars (Neil Dudgeon still permanently looks as though he’s managed to rub salt into a mouth ulcer), but in witnessing the lurid ways in which the supporting characters are bumped off.
Among those in danger in the breezy, brewery-set mystery that opens series 20 are guest actors Anita Harris and Elaine Paige. What’s baffling, though, is why the pair aren’t given the opportunity to do at least a little singing. At one point, Barnaby even offers up the perfect chance when he says of the deceased: “We have to find someone who knew him well.” To which Paige should really have appeared and sung: “I knew him so well.”
Summary
A disused abbey that is believed to be cursed is about to be turned into a pub, a decision that has angered many superstitious locals - not to mention the real ale society. The day after the launch night, the curse appears to have claimed a victim - a body is found boiled to death in a kettle of beer, in a manner very similar to an infamous execution on the site in the 16th century. Elaine Paige guest stars, while Annette Badland joins the cast as new pathologist Fleur Perkins.
Cast & Crew
DCI John Barnaby
Neil Dudgeon
DS Jamie Winter
Nick Hendrix
Sarah Barnaby
Fiona Dolman
Sylvia Reynolds
Elaine Paige
Emani Taylor
Amber Aga
Fleur Perkins
Annette Badland
Keith Grundy
Michael Byrne
Russell Grundy
Tony Gardner
Jenny Moss
Angela Griffin
Irene Taylor
Anita Harris
Paul Taylor
Jason Merrells
Faiza Jindal
Anjli Mohindra
Young Sylvia
Beth Cooke
Brother Jozef
John Cummins
Toby Grundy
Zebb Dempster
Kwame Asante
Chu Omambala
Adam Osoba
Justin Pierre
Director
Matt Carter
Executive Producer
Michele Buck
Executive Producer
Jonathan Fisher
Producer
Guy Hescott
Writer
Helen Jenkins
see more
Drama
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