Orchis Fatalis, S8E3

Directed by Peter Smith and written by Terry Hodgkinson, "Orchis Fatalis," is a major improvement from the first two episodes of Season 8 as it delivers humor, mystery, interesting characters, and gorgeous flowers. Set at the Annual Midsomer Malham Flower and Orchid show (with an opening scene set in Borneo!), S8E3 was filmed in the Botanic Gardens, High Street in Oxfordshire; Chenies Manor House, Chenies, Buckinghamshire; and Church Pond, Haddenham, Buckinghamshire. Apparently the British are famous for their suggestive innuendos, and in this episode there are several (perhaps too many!). Scroll to stroll and to read my bonus commentary. Enjoy!

Commentary

In typical fashion, we start off with the Barnaby family at a show, and this time it's a flower and orchid extravaganza...

Can't have a festival without some live music!

And Tom's even got roped into volunteering at the tombola, giving away badly received terrible prizes...Ha!

Tom is never off-duty, always listening in to catch the drama of the small but fiery Midsomer villages...

Joyce has organized the flower show--no wonder Tom had to wear that silly outfit!

The dead bodies in this episode are hard to see. I had the same horrified expression as this woman here...

ESPECIALLY horrifying was the death by gardening fork scene. Close your eyes when you see that fork slowing moving toward the victim, otherwise you'll have to deal with witnessing the mess, just like poor Scott and Tom here...

Thankfully, these three folks ducked out of the way just in time! This flying gardening shovel would have created another terrible image...

The innuendos not only made Scott uncomfortable, it was no picnic for me to watch either...

This was just too much...

She started to get too touchy with the inspector, but he stopped her hand with a crushing pause...

An East Asian character acted in the main plot, which is so unusual in Midsomer that Tom actually said, "Jimmy FONG? Who he?" Another East Asian with lines also appears!

Twas a unique bit when the colors were all flushed except for the beautiful flowers...

Cully's here now working as a travel agent and playfully joking with Sgt. Dan Scott...

A funny bit about Scott's clumsiness destroying a rare blooming flower...

I had this IKEA chair in black, which is only interesting to me, I know.

Interesting camera shot...

Jokes...

Everyone loved the flowers except Scott, constantly sneezing!

They find a diary written in Latin...and by "rude" he means obscene...

No, no, no, no, no, no. Too much. 

Sgt Scott has some tricks up his sleeve. Well, he can open a locked safe with an ax...

Ha! 

Here's an earlier review I did on IMDb: 

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

My memory may be off, but it seems like several episodes include a much older woman character having a bit of an intimate relationship with a younger man. It was unique at first but now it seems to go on so often that it's bothering me, unless it's some sort of running gag, I don't know. Anyway, this episode included an actual ethnic actor and character within the plot line which was quite refreshing in its own way. Again, it may just be me, but there have been times when a couple of the English men characters looked so much alike I got confused, so diversity can be a good thing in more than one way I'd say! This plot was rather more plausible than most from MM, rich collectors and savvy poachers and then the unlikely (therefore very likely) character who is looking to get his own behaving in a murderous manner! The death by pitchfork was very grisly and gruesome though. I definitely turn my eyes away from the scenes with dead bodies and murder flashbacks. But then at the end, when the camera pans wide and the view of the peaceful green rolling hills emerge, it makes it all worth the watch again!