Barnaby also possessed a dry wit and contagious sense of humor, which considerably lightened up the grimmer aspects of each story. Through it all, he remained cool, unflappable, and thoroughly professional, adhering strictly to the book and never overstepping his bounds (though admittedly, he did step on a few sensitive toes). In the course of his investigations, Barnaby would frequently bring to light such diverse elements as homosexuality, drug addiction, infidelity, incest, sorcery and even a spot or two of S&M. No matter where the good inspector turned, he was certain to come nose to nose with a baffling murder mystery. Graham, Barnaby's jurisdiction seemed to be populated exclusively by oddballs and eccentrics, with virtually every household harboring at least one closetful of skeletons. Based on the novels by Caroline Graham, the British mystery program Midsomer Murders starred John Nettles as Tom Barnaby, veteran detective chief inspector of the deceptively pastoral county of Midsomer.

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