Barnaby gets a new partner as the latest season of Midsomer Murders comes to Blu-ray and DVD this week.
Midsomer Murders: Set 25 (Acorn/Blu-ray/DVD, 2014, three discs, five episodes, featurettes, photo galleries). More countryside murder mysteries in the heart of rural England as Detective Chief Inspector John Barnaby (Neil Dudgeon) adjusts to a new partner, Detective Sgt. Charlie Nelson (Gwilym Lee). But Nelson steps up to the plate quickly and proves to be an amiable partner and an effective investigator.
The mysteries include a Christmas episode, killings that mimic a recently uncovered ancient fresco, a celebrity chefs restaurant, a group of small-plane pilots and a poisoning in Denmark that has Barnaby and Nelson teaming up with two female Danish coppers. (The latter also marks the series 100th episode.)
Theres also a strong emphasis on regular characters this season, with medical examiner Dr. Kate Wilding (Tamzin Malleson) more prominent and Barnabys pregnant wife, Sarah (Fiona Dolman), fixing up a nursery and eventually giving birth to their first child. Guests include Haley Mills yes, that Haley Mills and Sharon Small (late of The Inspector Lynley Mysteries).
Lilies (Acorn/DVD, 2007, three discs, eight episodes, featurette, text production notes, photo gallery). The Moss sisters, whose dour, widowed father calls them his lilies, keep house and work to put food on the table as they struggle in post-World War I poverty-stricken Liverpool. There is also a shell-shocked brother. But each of the young women has a personal aspiration and yearns to experience life. One-season series benefits from solid production values and earnest performances.
Serangoon Road (Acorn/DVD, 2013, three discs, 10 episodes, featurette, text production notes, photo gallery). Another period piece with solid production values, this one is an unusual police procedural. An Australian-Singapore co-production set in 1964 Singapore, it focuses on a former Australian military intelligence officer (Don Hany) recruited by a woman (Joan Chen) who has inherited a detective agency after her husbands murder.
The Carol Burnett Show: Together Again (StarVista/DVD, 1973-78, three episodes). Three uncut episodes of Carol Burnetts variety show with guests Richard Crenna, Roddy McDowall, Gloria Swanson, Ruth Buzzi and Ken Berry. They join regulars Burnett, Tim Conway, Harvey Korman and Vicki Lawrence for movie spoofs and recurring sketches featuring The Family, The Old Folks and Carol and Sis.
Mountain Men: Season 3 (Lionsgate/DVD, 2014, four discs, 16 episodes, deleted scenes). The survival reality show follows several people who live in the wilderness, some teaching survival skills, others just living off the land, in remote areas of the United States from Alaska to Montana to North Carolina to Maine.
Breaking Amish: Los Angeles (TLC/Cinedigm/DVD, 2012, three discs, 12 episodes). This is either the second season of Breaking Amish, after a season in New York, or a spinoff. Reports are conflicting. Here, five Amish and Mennonite young adults leave their familiar surroundings to experience life in the outside world, which includes a trip to Las Vegas. Then they must decide to either stick with it or return to their more cloistered world.
Zoey to the Max (Cinedigm/DVD/Digital, 2015, not rated). Family comedy about 13-year-old foster child Zoey (Cassidy Mack), whose dog Max is stolen by Home Alone-style villains. The foster parents are played by Amy Smart and Grant Bowler.
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic: Adventures of the Cutie Mark Crusaders (Hasbro/Shout! Kids/DVD, 2011-14, five episodes, sing-along; downloadable wallpaper, coloring sheet). Episodes from various seasons on the subject of coming-of-age ponies obtaining cutie marks after discovering unique characteristics about themselves.
Julius Jr.: Pirates and Superheroes (Lionsgate/DVD, 2014, six episodes). Animated preschool program (airing on the Nick Jr. cable channel) about a precocious monkey and his friends going on musical adventures via his magical cardboard-box playhouse.
Midsomer Murders: Set 25 (Acorn/Blu-ray/DVD, 2014, three discs, five episodes, featurettes, photo galleries). More countryside murder mysteries in the heart of rural England as Detective Chief Inspector John Barnaby (Neil Dudgeon) adjusts to a new partner, Detective Sgt. Charlie Nelson (Gwilym Lee). But Nelson steps up to the plate quickly and proves to be an amiable partner and an effective investigator.
The mysteries include a Christmas episode, killings that mimic a recently uncovered ancient fresco, a celebrity chefs restaurant, a group of small-plane pilots and a poisoning in Denmark that has Barnaby and Nelson teaming up with two female Danish coppers. (The latter also marks the series 100th episode.)
Theres also a strong emphasis on regular characters this season, with medical examiner Dr. Kate Wilding (Tamzin Malleson) more prominent and Barnabys pregnant wife, Sarah (Fiona Dolman), fixing up a nursery and eventually giving birth to their first child. Guests include Haley Mills yes, that Haley Mills and Sharon Small (late of The Inspector Lynley Mysteries).
Lilies (Acorn/DVD, 2007, three discs, eight episodes, featurette, text production notes, photo gallery). The Moss sisters, whose dour, widowed father calls them his lilies, keep house and work to put food on the table as they struggle in post-World War I poverty-stricken Liverpool. There is also a shell-shocked brother. But each of the young women has a personal aspiration and yearns to experience life. One-season series benefits from solid production values and earnest performances.
Serangoon Road (Acorn/DVD, 2013, three discs, 10 episodes, featurette, text production notes, photo gallery). Another period piece with solid production values, this one is an unusual police procedural. An Australian-Singapore co-production set in 1964 Singapore, it focuses on a former Australian military intelligence officer (Don Hany) recruited by a woman (Joan Chen) who has inherited a detective agency after her husbands murder.
The Carol Burnett Show: Together Again (StarVista/DVD, 1973-78, three episodes). Three uncut episodes of Carol Burnetts variety show with guests Richard Crenna, Roddy McDowall, Gloria Swanson, Ruth Buzzi and Ken Berry. They join regulars Burnett, Tim Conway, Harvey Korman and Vicki Lawrence for movie spoofs and recurring sketches featuring The Family, The Old Folks and Carol and Sis.
Mountain Men: Season 3 (Lionsgate/DVD, 2014, four discs, 16 episodes, deleted scenes). The survival reality show follows several people who live in the wilderness, some teaching survival skills, others just living off the land, in remote areas of the United States from Alaska to Montana to North Carolina to Maine.
Breaking Amish: Los Angeles (TLC/Cinedigm/DVD, 2012, three discs, 12 episodes). This is either the second season of Breaking Amish, after a season in New York, or a spinoff. Reports are conflicting. Here, five Amish and Mennonite young adults leave their familiar surroundings to experience life in the outside world, which includes a trip to Las Vegas. Then they must decide to either stick with it or return to their more cloistered world.
Zoey to the Max (Cinedigm/DVD/Digital, 2015, not rated). Family comedy about 13-year-old foster child Zoey (Cassidy Mack), whose dog Max is stolen by Home Alone-style villains. The foster parents are played by Amy Smart and Grant Bowler.
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic: Adventures of the Cutie Mark Crusaders (Hasbro/Shout! Kids/DVD, 2011-14, five episodes, sing-along; downloadable wallpaper, coloring sheet). Episodes from various seasons on the subject of coming-of-age ponies obtaining cutie marks after discovering unique characteristics about themselves.
Julius Jr.: Pirates and Superheroes (Lionsgate/DVD, 2014, six episodes). Animated preschool program (airing on the Nick Jr. cable channel) about a precocious monkey and his friends going on musical adventures via his magical cardboard-box playhouse.
