Liverpool Sound and Vision * * * *
Cast: Neil Dudgeon, Nick Hendrix, Fiona Dolman, Annette Badland, Christopher Timothy, Tom Chambers, Jaye Griffiths, Natalie Gumede, Nigel Havers, Jack Hawkins, Ty Hurley, Michelle Jeram, Chen Yip Lai, Cassidy Little, Danny Mac, Carolina Main, Colin Murtagh, Guy Normas, Kazia Pelka, Steven Pereira, Luke Pierre, Mike Ray, Isabel Shaw, Faye Tozzer, Jo Wheatley, Susan Fordham, Tim Wildman, Chris Wilson.
Dance is not for everyone, like most art it can be a subjective pursuit, one that is open to interpretation and double meaning; like the lies we tell when we wish to impress, interpretation is one that either scores well or is seen to be lacking in its detail and glamour.
The art of murder is a form of dance, the leading of the police through the steps of investigation, a tango beat of illusion turning to the slow turn of resolve and revelation, in the end you can lead a deep thinking police officer a merry dance, but in the end the steps just catch up with you. So, it is with the opener of the new series of Midsomer Murders and the episode The Point of Balance, a tale of murder conceived away from the dance floor, but one that has repercussions riding on it as Midsomer is bitten by the dance bug.
One of the great selling points of the show is its almost unique perspective when it comes to setting the scene for murder, and whilst the show’s first victim ultimately is found on the floor of their home, the rarity of a death caused by accident is perhaps just as telling, leading the armchair detective away from the truth by the hand and deceiving with an expert eye, the quick feet of subterfuge working overtime.
The episode also cracks open the idea of having served, how we acknowledge those who say they have been in war and how arguably they should be treated for their “Walter Mitty” point of view. These two moments combining well in the quick step of lies that surround this particular story.
It is to be noted that the addition of Christopher Timothy to the series as Ned Barnaby, the erstwhile father of Detective Chief Inspector John Barnaby, is one that truly grasps the imagination; two very similar acting styles playing of against each other to perfection, and one that brought out a very different stance in Fiona Dolman’s much-loved character of Sarah.
With tremendous support from Nigel Havers, Tom Chambers and Kazia Pelka, The Point of Balance is restored; murder after all has a groovy beat for some, for others it is all sequins and cover ups, Midsomer has never felt such a ball.
Ian D. Hall