Tien jaar geleden: Bradley Wiggins is eerste Britse Tourwinnaar

Het is vandaag al tien jaar geleden dat Bradley Wiggins de eerste Britse Tourwinnaar werd. Sindsdien is er enorm veel veranderd in Groot-Brittannië. Waar wielrennen oorspronkelijk enkel een hobby was voor de upper class, is het land nu totaal wielergek geworden. Vorig jaar zag ik zelfs een hilarische aflevering van “Midsomer Murders”, waarin de moord op een wielrenner centraal stond. En zoals het meervoud in de titel reeds aangeeft, bleef het niet bij één…

In 2016 was één van de afleveringen van de bekende serie “Midsomer Murders” gewijd aan moorden in het wielermilieu (“Breaking the chain”, geschreven door Chris Murray en geregisseerd door Rob Evans). Op de Internet Movie Database waren de fans van de serie “not amused”. De enige min of meer positieve reactie kwam van een zekere Tweekums en daarmee wil ik dan ook openen: “This episode sees the world of elite cycling come to Midsomer; not quite the Tour de France but an important national competition that could be a stepping stone to the very top of the sport (al wordt er wel geaarzeld tussen een wegrit en een veldrit, zoals men kan zien op bovenstaande foto, RDS). Shortly after the race the winner is found murdered. He was part of a locally based team and had broken team orders to win; the winner was meant to be one of the sons of the team’s owner. As the investigation progresses it also emerges that one local is strongly opposed to the races claiming the spectators damage the countryside and that somebody died during a previous race and later it becomes apparent that somebody is sending threatening messages to the woman responsible for bringing the race to the area. If that weren’t enough there is the possibility that certain riders are drug cheats and there are romantic involvements between the riders and women working for the team. This was another fun story of murder within a special interest group; something Midsomer Murders does rather well. There are certainly enough suspects to choose from and that number increases after a second murder occurs. Of course the viewer will eliminate several early on as their motives are too obvious and we all know the obvious people never did it in the world on murder-mysteries.”
Maar tot daar de overeenkomsten met de andere afleveringen uit de serie, want Mr.Ollie vraagt zich af: “What has happened to the theremin? The wonderful sound this instrument made added tension and anticipation to many scenes when a murder was about to happen. Sadly now gone. John Barnaby and his wife do not have the same chemistry as Tom and Joyce Barnaby.”
En Pensman voegt eraan toe: “Worse, what happened to the wonderful Midsomer towns? There is no scenery anymore. Either these episodes are being shot on an incredibly cheap budget or the money is being overspent on Neil Dudgeon (de “nieuwe” Barnaby, RDS). It can’t be going to the writers because this current crop is nowhere near the quality of Anthony Horowitz.”
Pensman is een Amerikaan (de eerste twee waren Britten), maar de Australiër Richard B. sluit zich bij hem aan: “It’s just not the old MSM. There was not a vicar in sight, no upper class twit on the rampage, and the TCI (Thatched Cottage Index) was bumping along at rock bottom – only one was on show and that was the pub. The only bicycles to be seen were new – fangled racers and none had baskets on the handle bars.” Alhoewel… in “the fun ride” waren ze wel aanwezig (zie foto hieronder).

Ronny De Schepper