Midsomer Murders- Picture of Innocence (2007)

 

Here’s an odd episode. It’s very enjoyable to watch and has a strong cast, it’s even got quite a clever title when you think about it. It is just that the plot doesn’t really make too much sense. Every television detective will eventually come to a case in which they become personally involved somehow and `Picture of Innocence` is Midsomer Murders’ attempt though there are times when you might think they’re doing a spoof.

 

"It doesn't even look like me!" Barnaby is framed.

Given that the private lives of the programme’s regulars are never really very troubled (apart from Joyce’s habit of finding bodies and never remembering she’s found them before!) it follows that the series’ approach to this trope would be somewhat lighter in tone. So while it takes the same route you’d expect including having Barnaby taken off the case after which he covertly continues to investigate the scenario is somewhat unlikely.

At a photographic exhibition a rogue shot of Barnaby kissing a woman is on display much to the consternation of Joyce (her face is itself a picture!) and the bafflement of her husband. The woman is an old girlfriend called Marion Bell whom he’s not seen in decades. The photo is obviously faked- but why?

We enter the hitherto unknown world of photographers and their rivalries, specifically that between digital cameras and old school film. Modern technology is anathema to the superbly named Headley Madrigal who specialises in old fashioned techniques with a dark room and takes a photo of the same spot of road every day. By contrast chippy Steve Bright and his mates use the latest equipment and there is tension between both groups. Meanwhile Headley’s strangely distant son Seb is secretly working on computers as well as helping his father. And taking a picture of his dinner every day!

You would never imagine any of this would lead to public confrontations and murder but then you’ve never lived in Midsomer! Barnaby and Jones investigate the death of a photographer seemingly throttled by part of his camera equipment. After a public altercation at the exhibition Bright is the obvious suspect until he, too, is despatched in a similar manner. Meanwhile clues start to place Barnaby himself at the scene of these crimes - his prints on a wine glass, his phone number in a diary and so on. These `clues` are so obviously planted but help the case of up and coming inspector Martin Spellman in whose interests it is for Barnaby to be edged out. Poor old Jones is stuck in the middle!

John Nettles relishes the opportunity to divert from the usual getting in and out of cars and asking questions. By now he’d been making the show for ten years but he still finds interesting ways to keep Barnaby fresh. It has been suggested that the storyline actually came from a real life incident involving Lisa Goddard (who turns up in a cameo as Marion Bell) who successfully sued a newspaper which had alleged she and John Nettles were an item.  

There is a lot to enjoy about this scenario -especially Jones’ incredulous reactions which make this one of Jason Hughes’ stand out episodes. I also like Spellman’s incredibly nonchalant detective work- Richard Linten is great and succeeds in making you dislike him which is the point. In fact the cast are all good with Martin Hutson’s Seb intensely creepy but in an ordinary rather than melodramatic way. When stage actors venture into tv they often give especially interesting performances. There’s also an effectively understated performance from Montserrat Lombard as the somewhat sad figure of Philomena. Adrian Scarborough is always good value though is a bit underused in this plot.

However, here’s the thing, enjoy the episode so long as you realise none of it makes sense. Detective fiction can be as clever as you like but it needs to also be believable. However odd the motive, however unusual the crime the audience has to understand the why as well as the how. This is where `Picture of Innocence` somewhat loses its thread. It is not really clear why the killer would go to such lengths to frame someone they barely know nor why Spellman acts the way he does. Nobody seems to ask the obvious questions and yet everyone is so easily fooled by the most circumstantial evidence against Barnaby when even the least experienced PC would surely realise he was being framed, literally. The denouement is set up so bizarrely that you can’t believe the intended final victim falls for it.  So it all works best if you view it as a parody of this type of episode in which case you’ll enjoy it enormously.