Shot at Dawn is the first episode of the eleventh series of Midsomer Murders and originally aired 1 January 2008.
The Hammonds and the Hicks have been feuding for over 90 years ever since Pte. Tommy Hicks was found guilty of cowardice under fire and executed by a firing squad commanded by Lt. Duggie Hammond. The Hicks family has managed to have the good name of Pte. Hicks restored, much to the consternation of the elder Colonel Henry Hammond, and the ill-feeling between them continues. The Hicks are nouveau-riche and just love sticking it to the landed Hammonds who have their own problems. Col. Hammond's son Johnny is gay and unhappily married to Arabella, while their daughter, Kate, just cannot understand why her mother married the man in the first place. Their other daughter, Sophie, is going to marry Will Hicks to the consternation, or amusement, of both families. When Henry is killed — with Duggie's 1916 pistol— and an attempt to bomb the elder Lionel Hicks goes awry, Barnaby and Jones have a case to solve. There will be another death before they get to the bottom of it, however.
Tropes:
- 1-Dimensional Thinking: Arabella Hammond, being chased by a hay baler, attempts to flee directly away from it. Granted that turning may not have helped as the baler was being steered, but she could have at least tried, as it would have taken time for the baler to turn.
- The Atoner: In his later years, Duggie Hammond became deeply remorseful about killing Tommy Hicks and resolved to make amends, ultimately putting a clause in his will that would bequeath Hammond land to the Hicks family as recompense.
- Baguette Beatdown: Lionel Hicks and Col. Henry Hammond get into a jousting match with baguettes that interrupts Inspector Barnaby's dinner.
- Brother–Sister Incest: Subverted, as the prospect is raised with respect to the newly-engaged Sophie and Will, who are unaware that her mother and his father have been carrying on for decades; Arabella only laughs and says that she's been very careful to ensure none of her children are the result of the affair.
- Deadly Remote Control Toy / Murder by Remote Control Vehicle: A remote control toy car filed with explosives is run up alongside wheelchair-bound Lionel Hicks, although his friend manages to hurl it away before it explodes. Lionel was actually the killer and was faking an attempt on his life to divert suspicion. As he had the remote control, he was sure not to detonate the bomb until it was well away from him.
- He uses remote control vehicles several times, either by crashing a vehicle the victim is in or using a vehicle to chase someone down.
- Even Evil Has Standards: David Hicks is a Sleazy Politician happy to corruptly usurp planning law out of self interest and casually cheating on his wife, but he's clearly horrified that his father Lionel murdered two people and tried to kill a third in order to settle a decades old grudge.
- Foreshadowing: Lionel Hicks looks awfully excited for a man who's just almost been blown up.
- McGuffin: Barnaby has proof of who the murderer is in a box, and even refers to it as a “McGuffin” when Jones asks him what it is.
- Shot at Dawn: The episode opens with Pte. Tommy Hicks being executed by firing squad during World War One for cowardice and desertion. His CO, Lt. Duggie Hammond, administers the Coup de Grâce, then throws up.
- War Reenactors: Several suspects (and victims) are members of a World War I reenactment group who are preparing a major public display.
