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The House in the Woods

Caroline and Peter Cave are househunting, and come across an old rundown house, Winyard, in the woods. One morning they are found garroted in their car 200 yards from the house. The murder weapon is a piano wire. The first one on the scene is DC Ben Jones (Jason Hughes), who is persuaded by Inspector Barnaby to assist him in his investigations, as DS Scott is off sick (and never to return).

This episode also features George Baker in the roles of identical twins Charlie and Jack Magwood.

A Worm in the Bud

Susan Bartlett, who was depressed about her infertility, is found dead in a wood - with the appearance that she killed herself. But then Barnaby finds that Susan's emailed suicide note was sent after she was dead. The ensuing murder investigation uncovers old feuds, infidelity and witchcraft.

Bad Tidings

Barnaby's new partner, Sergeant Dan Scott, arrives from London's Metropolitan Police and expects to have a quiet life. But then the murders begin. The first victim is Fiona Thompson, stabbed several times with a long knife on her way home from a flamenco night at Midsomer Mallow village hall - and a witness reports a mysterious squeaking noise at the scene of the crime...

Beyond the Grave

The village of Aspern Tallow is being haunted, according to the villagers. Then a body is found in the graveyard, and Barnaby and Troy find themselves investigating the ghost.

Dark Autumn

A postman is brutally murdered on his morning round in the hamlet of Goodman's Land. Local WPC Jay Nash helps Barnaby and Troy to establish that Dave offered a very personal service to the female villagers, leaving a trail of jealous husbands in his wake, and it becomes clear that the tiny village is riven with other adulterous affairs. Then the body count begins to go up...

Meanwhile, romance is blossoming between Troy and Jay.

Dead Letters

In this episode Barnaby is convinced he has seen two people somewhere before, but can't think of where and when. Then it dawns on him: Iris and Dennis Rainbird from Badger's Drift! But they were brutally murdered, so who are the look-alikes. It turns out to be Iris's sister and Dennis's cousin!!!!

A body of a woman is pulled from the river during the local Oak Apple Carnival. It appears that the drowning was deliberate, and as Barnaby and Jones find out more about the villagers, they learn that the killing could be linked to the death of the victim's daughter eight years previously.

Death and Dreams

Barnaby investigates a death which looks very much like suicide. The dead man was a troubed and depressed gambler on a losing streak, but Barnaby's nose tells him to look for a murderer. During the investigation he recognizes someone from his past, in the shape of Dr Jane Moore.

The doctor is a widow who juggles her career with being a mother to her three children. Her 'Care in the Community' approach does not meet with the approval of many of the villagers.

Death’s Shadow

Barnaby and Troy are in Badger's Drift again, this time to investigate the murder of an unpopular property developer called Richard Bayly who had been suffering from a brain tumour. Bayly had recently come up with plans to build a new housing estate in the sleepy village, despite determined local opposition, and he was killed with an Indian sword belonging to Stephen Wentworth, the local Vicar.

Another interesting factor is the recent arrival in the village of Simon Fletcher, a theatre director with unhappy childhood memories and perhaps an old grievance.

Destroying Angel

Barnaby attends the funeral of the owner of the Easterly Grange Hotel and hears that the hotel manager has gone missing. The will is read, and it seems the hotel has been divided between the missing manager and his beautiful wife, the hotel's chef and its accountant.

A dog finds the hotel manager's severed hand, and the others named in the will receive threatening notes. Then accidents start to happen to them all, including mushroom-poisoning, an apparently accidental shooting, a falling drinks cabinet and a sabotaged vehicle. Barnaby next learns that the missing hotel manager had in his possession a more recent will, which is also now missing....

Hidden Depths

When solicitor Nick Turner falls to his death from a roof, Barnaby and Scott must discover if it is suicide or murder. Nick had money problems and rival lawyer Otto Benham was spreading rumours that he was stealing from clients. One night, Otto is drugged and made into a human target in the middle of his croquet lawn, then fired on with bottles of vintage wine using his replica Roman catapult. The elaborate murder looks like revenge - but what for?

Judgment Day

A thief gets killed with a pitchfork, and the villagers of Midsomer Mallow worry that the killing may undermine their chances of a prize in this year's Perfect Village competition. Things clearly take a turn for the worse when two of the competition judges are the next to be murdered.

Killings at Badger’s Drift (Pilot)

A gentle stroll in the woods for Miss Emily Simpson ends in tragedy. To the village doctor Miss Simpson's death looks natural, but her old friend, Lucy Berringer, is unconvinced. Lucy eventually draws the unwilling Chief Inspector Barnaby into the cae. Barnaby's investigation reveals old rivalries, old loves and new scandals. Then a second horrifying killing shocks Barnaby into running the murderer to the ground.

Midsomer Rhapsody

This plot concerns forgery, old grudges and murder, centered around a piece of music and its composer.

The retired music teacher, Arthur Leggot, is battered to death in his house which is now up for sale. Arthur Leggot used to teach a girl who later became a famous composer, Joan Alder. Joan Alder died in an accident during the mid 80s, and Barnaby and Scott start wondering if the reason why Leggot was murdered was because he surprised someone looking for an original musical score by Joan Alder which would now be worth a fortune.

Painted in Blood

Barnaby's wife, Joyce, finds a dead body on the Midsomer Florey village green while taking part in a watercolour painting class, and she recognizes it as the elderly Miss Fairfax.

Barnaby is given the case, then finds himself taken off it and replaced by a team from the National Intelligence Squad, while he is assigned to deal with a missing handbag. However, he continues his investigation into the murder, finding deceit and double-dealing. It appears that 'Miss Fairfax' was not an elderly spinster at all, but a young detective sergeant from the National Intelligence Squad working under cover, and that her colleagues are busy fitting up the village handyman for the murder of an old lady who never was.

He discovers that someone is busy hunting for some five million pounds still missing from an old robbery. In the closing moments, Barnaby has to lock two of the National Intelligence Squad's officers in a bank strong-room, where they are trying to snatch the missing cash, and to arrest the head of the Squad's operational team for the murder under investigation.

Sauce for the Goose

A tour of Plummer's famous relish factory ends in tragedy when one of the visitors is crushed against towers of relish bottles and dumped naked into a 200-degree sterilizer. When the dead man is found to be an executive with rival company Fieldway Foods, Barnaby and Scott's investigation uncovers many secrets and lies among the Plummer family. Someone is also trying to frighten matriarch Amelia Plummer. But who feels strongly enough about Plummer's Relish to commit murder?

Second Sight

Barnaby and Scott investigate a death in Midsomer Mere, where villagers seem to have the ability to predict future events. John Ransom's head was covered in scorch marks, the result of his brother Max's research into second sight. Is his death due to a pub brawl with his brother-in-law Ben Kirby over plans for a baptism, or is he a casualty of the bizarre experiments? In the battle between faith and science, even Barnaby thinks he has seen a man somewhere before. It's time to delve into the village's history for clues.

Strangler’s Wood

The beautiful Brazilian, Carla Constanza, is the face of 'Carla' cigarettes. 'Carla' is a very popular brand of South American cigarettes in which Monarch Tobacco, a company based in Midsomer Worthy, has a significant stake. When, nine years after a series of unsolved murders (strangulations) at Ravens Wood in Midsomer Worthy, the young Brazilian woman is found strangled, it leads to fears that the serial killer is back in business. Barnaby and Troy look out the old files in dealing with the first new murder - and then others follow.

Tainted Fruit

Barnaby and Troy go out to the village of Midsomer Malham to investigate death threats against Melissa Townsend, the beautiful daughter of the big house. They find that some Midsomer Malham villagers blame Melissa for causing the death of a local poacher by failing to get the leaking roof of his cottage mended.

Then barbiturates are stolen from Raif and Georgina Canning's veterinary surgery and the district nurse is found in her crashed car in a confused state. Barnaby and Troy dash to the Manor, fearing the drugs theft may be connected to the death threats - but they find Melissa is already lying dead by the swimming pool with a syringe in her stomach. Now they have a murderer to find.

The Bantling Boy

Barnaby and Scott enter the world of horseracing when the trainer of thoroughbred Bantling Boy is battered to death. Bruce Hartley was an alcoholic who had vowed to expose the reason why his father bequeathed the horse to four Midsomer villagers. The other members of the syndicate come under suspicion, but the killing continues - then Bantling Boy falls ill. The detectives must unravel secrets hidden at the aristocratic Bantling Hall to find the killer.

The Orchid Fatalist

When one of the world's rarest orchids is smuggled illegally into Midsomer Malham, it triggers a catalogue of passion, jealousy and death. First a retired classics teacher and secret sexual siren is poisoned with hemlock, then compulsive collector Henry Plummer is strangled and his beloved orchids destroyed. Barnaby and Troy must find the delicate yellow Roth plant and root out who is prepared to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds, and commit murder, just to get their hands on it.

The episode mirrors the recent true life story of the stolen Lady’s Slipper Orchid, at Silverdale Golf Club, Lancaster where it had been protected for 20 years.