In "Master Class," a protege piano school is having its tryouts, and a very select few are being allowed into the top spots. Among these talented candidates is a young girl named Zoe. Barnaby, Ben Jones (Jason Hughes) and the rest of the department are brought in when Zoe witnesses a woman jumping from a bridge into a stream with a baby in her arms. Even though the search for the woman proves fruitless, Barnaby remembers a drowning that occurred in the manner Zoe described almost two decades prior. To make matters more interesting, deaths start happening around the school, and Barnaby ends up uncovering a couple of interesting plots going on that have spanned many years and involve many of the locals.
"The Noble Art" guest stars both Kevin McNally (Gibbs from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies) and Michelle Fairley (Catelyn Stark from Game of Thrones). When a Midsomer local wins a world title in a boxing match in Madison Square Garden, the whole area celebrates. In commemoration of the event, a local lord, Gerald Farquaharson (McNally), decides to put on a party with a statue of another famous boxer and an exhibition match with the new champ. Unfortunately, a local solicitor ends up dead, and the ensuing investigation leads to discoveries of financial issues and questions about bloodlines.
Midsomer Murders: Set 20's third episode, "Not In My Backyard," finds Barnaby and the group investigating deaths that are somehow connected to a local land development that seems to be a hot topic in the village of Great Pelfe. At the same time, local elections make the truth about both the deaths and the development site all the more important.
"Fit For Murder" ends not only Series Thirteen and Set 20, but also the last episode to feature Tom, Joyce (Jane Wymark) and their daughter Cully (Laura Howard) Barnaby. In this episodes, Tom and Joyce head to a retreat. Tom's birthday is just around the corner, and so is a physical from the police department. Joyce insists that Tom use the time to de-stress and relax before the tests, but he finds this hard to do, especially as we learn about some anxiety he has concerning his father. Needless to say, a murder at the spa doesn't help and while he proclaims Jones as the lead inspector on sight, Tom still has to help guide the young Detective.
There are only two special features in Midsomer Murders: Set 20. One is a 2 minute photo gallery of Nettles throughout the life of the show and the other is three screens of text where a few choice scenes are described that were apparently fan favorites. While not a lot, and not quite the full sendoff I would have liked to see for Nettles, it is still a nice touch.
Midsomer Murders has contained a great collection of mysteries and every one of them has featured Nettles working his way through the different deaths in each episode until he nails the perpetrator. It will be sad to continue watching this series without Tom Barnaby heading up the investigations, but the show continues with his cousin John Barnaby (Neil Dudgeon). For those that don't remember, this new character was introduced at the beginning of Series Thirteen (Set 19) and it will be interesting to see how the show changes in the next collection.
While I've said that past collections were great episodes to own for anyone familiar with the show, this is a must have if for nothing else than because of the last episode.
