John Nettles Movies

Provincial police inspector Tom Barnaby (John Nettles) is busier than ever in Series Eight of the popular British mystery program Midsomer Murders. Instead of the usual four feature-length episodes, this year's schedule yields no fewer than eight challenge mysteries for Barnaby and his new assistant, Sgt. Dan Scott (John Hopkins). In the opener "Things that Go Bump in the Night", Barnaby tries to determine if a killer is lurking amidst a spiritualist group. In "Dead in the Water", a corpse puts a crimp in the annual Midsomer rowing regatta. "Ghosts of Christmas Past" proves to be something of a relief for Barnaby, inasmuch as his investigation of strange events at an ancient historical landmark enables him to escape his irksome Christmas house guests. In "Orchis Fatalis", the murder of a supposedly respectable schoolteacher is at the center of a mystery involving an unusually valuable orchid. "Bantling Boy" is the story of a race horse, a groom with an unsavory past, and sudden death. In "Second Sight", Barnaby comes upon a village populated by psychics--at least one of whom is a murderer. In "Hidden Depths", a brace of suspicious deaths is somehow linked with a cache of counterfeit wine labels. Finally, "Sauce for the Goose" serves up the unappetizing spectacle of man crushed to death in a vat of relish! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The first feature-length episode in Series Six of Midsomer Murders is "The Green Man"--which also marks the final appearance of Sgt. Gavin Troy (Daniel Casey), longtime assistant of provincial Detective Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby (John Nettles). After Troy has been promoted and transferred, his replacement, streetwise city lad Sgt. Dan Scott (John Hopkins, quickly discovers that the Midsomer County beat won't be as easy or as boring as he imagined it would be in the episode "Bad Tidings". By the time "The Fisher King" rolls around, Barnaby and Scott are working together like a well-oiled machine as they investigate a murder committed by bow and arrow at an ancient burial mound. Next up is "Sins of Comission", in which a local literary festival is upset by the death of the guest of honor, to say nothing of an embarrassing sex scandal. In "The Maid in Splendour", a bartender's thwarted romance leads to murder. And in the sixth and final episode "The Straw Woman", Sgt. Scott has a tragically brief romance during the pursuit of a case involving witchcraft. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Probably the most filmed of all Sherlock Holmes stories, Arthur Conan Doyle's 1901 novel The Hound of the Baskervilles was given another go-round with this BBC television production. Richard Roxburgh, best known as the libidinous nobleman in the 2001 theatrical feature Moulin Rouge, is cast as The Great Detective, with Ian Hart as Holmes' friend, assistant and chronicler Dr. John Watson. The game is afoot when Holmes and Watson head to gloomy Baskerville Manor near the forbidding Grimpen Moor, the new home of young Sir Henry Baskerville (Matt Day). A number of curious events have led the detectives to the conclusion that Sir Henry's life is in danger -- that, in fact, he may at any time be torn asunder by a gigantic, vicious hound. Is this the fulfillment of "The Baskerville Curse," brought about by villainous debauchery of Sir Henry's ancestor, or is the would-be murderer a human being, using the legend of the Hound as a smoke-screen? Taking quite a few liberties with the original, The Hound of the Baskervilles was a nonetheless entertaining "shorthand" version of the Doyle classic. Making its British broadcast debut on December 26, 2002, the film was curiously premiered over Canadian television some five weeks earlier, on November 18. In the United States, The Hound of the Baskervilles was first seen as part of PBS' Masterpiece Theatre anthology on January 19, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The 11th feature-length episode of the British detective series Midsomer Murders, "Blue Herrings" finds Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby (John Nettles) taking a "working vacation" so he can redecorate his digs. But first, Barnaby pays a visit to his Aunt Alice (Phyllis Calvert), who is convalescing from an operation at the Lawnside Nursing Home. Murder inevitably rears its ugly head when several of Alice's fellow patients die mysteriously after altering their wills. First telecast in the U.K. on January 22, 2000, "Blue Herrings" made its American cable-TV bow on September 23 of that same year. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The eighth feature-length episode of the British detective series Midsomer Murders, "Dead Man's Eleven" premiered in the U.K. on September 12, 1999. Having had his fill of Midsomer Worthy, Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby (John Nettles) prepares to move himself and his family to the village of Fletcher's Cross. Alas, Barnaby's move is delayed by yet another murder: The wife of a prosperous landowner has been brutally bludgeoned to death with a cricket bat. Suspicion immediately falls upon the landowner's son (it was his bat, after all), but with no conclusive evidence, Barnaby and his assistant Troy (Daniel Casey) cannot close the case. And then another murder occurs...and another? "Dead Man's Eleven" first aired in the United States on August 12, 2000. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Midsomer Murders: Death's Shadow features John Netters as Inspector Barnaby who investigates a popular stage director about a series of murders. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Detective Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby (John Nettles) of Midsomer country once again encounters a full docket of baffling mysteries during Series Three of Midsomer Murders. The first of this year's four feature-length episodes is "Death of a Stranger", in which Barnaby's efforts to prove the innocence of a young man arrested for murder are complicated by several more killings. Next up is "Blue Herrings", featuring veteran British stage and screen star Phyllis Calvert) as Barnaby's slightly dotty Aunt Alice, who prevails upon her nephew to look into the strange goings-on at her nursing home. In "Judgment Day", the community of Midsomer Mallow may lose the annual Perfect Village competition thanks to three inconvenient murders (watch for a young Orlando Bloom as burglar. And in "Beyond the Grave", is it possible that Barnaby's most formidable nemesis is a 17th century ghost--or failing that, is it the annoyingly persistent new boyfriend of the Inspector's daughter Cully (Laura Howard)? ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

John Nettles narrates this three-part BBC-produced documentary miniseries about London's Heathrow Airport. Cameras captured both travelers and employees. In one section of the airport, a British Airways trainer gives recruits a lesson in emergency exit procedures. Elsewhere, VIP chief Anita Newcourt prepares for Queen Elizabeth's first commercial flight. Middle-aged paparazzo Dennis Stone photographs celebrities (Joan Collins, Hugh Grant, Elizabeth Hurley, Melanie Griffith, Antonio Banderas, Mick Jagger) passing through, while customs officers Cath Hall and Garth Powell keep on the lookout for narcotics. Totaling three hours, the miniseries features flight delays, phobic passengers, smugglers, a heart-attack victim, missing kids, and lost luggage. Taped in London by BBC Television, the documentary premiered in the United States July 9, 1998 on PBS. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

This is the first in a television series of British-made murder mysteries, adapted from Caroline Graham's novels about the polite and enigmatic Inspector Barnaby (John Nettles). Barnaby is married to the equally low-key Joyce (Jane Wymark), and they have an assertive daughter, Cully (Laura Howard). Barnaby's opposite is his acerbic partner, Troy (Daniel Casey). This pilot episode is set in the English county Midsomer. After the death of elderly Emily Simpson (Renee Asherson), her friend gets Barnaby to investigate, and the suspects include Michael Lacey (Jonathan Firth), curiously attached to his attractive sister Katherine (Emily Mortimer). The series premiered June 28, 1998 on A&E. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi