Friday, September 2, 2016

The Green man: Commentary


Sgt. Troy is now an inspector! He receives notice that he's achieved both a promotion and a transfer to a larger precinct which means he will be leaving Midsomer! Here you can see how both Troy and Tom take the news. Troy is excited! Tom is proud of Troy but will certainly miss him!


"The Green Man," includes a charming nature theme with beautiful woodland creatures throughout. Beware that there is a sad scene in which a fox is shot dead. There's a sweet scene, though, towards the end of the episode where a family of foxes arrive and sleep at the foot of the man who lives peacefully among them...


SPOILER: A shot of a swing is casually in focus within one of the many exterior shots. Notice the young fella that is always on that swing, particularly after dead bodies are found. 
Hmm...is this a clue ? (Hint, Yes. Yes it is). Ha! 


Here we have a shot of what I think is another clue as to the killer and his motives. This woman's hand is shown in the beginning of the show in a separate scene and here again towards the end when the viewer gets closer to understanding the truth of the who and why of this episode. I did not take a screenshot of the first scene in which the hand appears because it's a crude sexual situation. By the way, this episode also includes some close ups of bloody gunshot wounds (just squint your eyes a bit to overlook these grim details).


Cully is here and she is now volunteering as a PR agent. 


A random yet unique shot of Medical Examiner George Bullard who appears in nearly every season until the 13th. Bullard is there to give all the details after a body is found. Each case depends on his expertise! He's married to Psychiatrist Dr. Cathy Bullard who is also in the series a few times, giving Tom some helpful information as well. 


Speaking of random and unique, check out this shot of Tom checking out a town miniature.


Instead of falling victim to a psychopath, Cully gets the full confession (something similar happens to her mum, Joyce, in a different episode). 


Look at these guys. Are they one guy? Two guys? Are they 3 different guys? I was so confused the first time I viewed this episode because I could not tell the difference between these 2 dudes. It didn't get much easier the second time around as I had to pause and rewind to get their names and faces straight. Apparently one these is Henry Cavill of Superman fame. One of these losers is also the character who shoots that sweet fox with a gun. Losers! 


Tom has a really emotional time this episode. First he loses his sidekick, then he hears that Joyce is trapped inside a collapsed tunnel, and at the end he fears for Cully as she unknowingly walks off with a killer! John Nettles does an amazing job of expressing his feelings here through facial expressions. And I love the close up shot of he and Joyce holding hands after she is rescued. 


Here we can see what lengths these detectives go to pursue justice: Climbing an hour up a muddy hill in dress shoes and suit (only to find that the person is not even there!). At least it's a beautiful view at the top!  


Very appropriate for Troy's swan song...he busts Tom's rear view mirror.


Ah,yes. Cozy life at the Barnaby home... until someone's at the door to talk about a case of course!


This scene marks the first time Troy solves a case on his own! Tom hopes Gavin's thought process pans out this time, and it does indeed! 


Farewell dinner to Gavin in the lovely back yard of the Barnaby home. They've got him an amazing cake as well! 


Cully gives Gavin the side eye when she cheers "to old friendships." That's right Gavin, did you forget about the kiss not too long ago? I suspect you never called Cully afterwards! Gavin is forever clueless. Ha!


One last conversation between Sir and Troy. (Why didn't Tom tell Troy the whole story about Eric? Perhaps he didn't want Troy to know he'd bent the truth, especially as Troy begins his new journey to justice. By the way, Troy tried his hand at interrogation on his own but did not get too far. Tom stepped in and used his more subtle and engaging style to get the suspect (also named Tom) to talk. We also find out that Tom is named after his grandfather. 


Aww, a very sweet farewell. No other sidekick in Midsomer Murders gets a send off like this. Actor Daniel Casey is off to try new roles!




It's the end of an era

What will Midsomer be like with a new sergeant? We'll have to see...

On to S7E2 here.

2 comments:

  1. I didn't care much for Troy due to his bigotry, awful driving and cluelessness with Cully who any man would be lucky to have caring about him. Goodbye Troy and bring in the better DCs.

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  2. Glad to see this site is still active. I was wondering if anyone knew how they did the fox in this episode? It looks really good for a tv show, an older one at that.

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