Anna Adams

Posted By admin on July 2, 2012

Inspector Morse, that is. Do you love mysteries? I’ve mentioned Morse before, because I literally mourn him, and I mourn the actor who became him in my head, John Thaw. Morse is my favorite kind of character, a not-always good, sometimes-quite-bad fighter who cannot stop in his quest. He could be angry and arrogant and unkind in the search of truth. Sadly, he could be more interested in the puzzle than in the human detritus he sometimes left in his path. To someone who overanalyzes everything, from what’s for breakfast to what does “Hello” mean, Morse is a tortured soul who snatches empathy from its well source.

I’ve really fallen for the Lewis series, though I think I even wrote a blog on the things that dissatisfy me in Lewis, but last night PBS premiered Endeavour, a prequel to the Morse stories. From the moment the music began with that beautiful Morse spelling of Morse’s name, I could not look away.

Normally, I avoid stories based on my favorite stories. I have yet to read one of the Darcy spinoffs from Sense and Sensibility. I can’t imagine finding out what happened when tomorrow became another day for Scarlett because they weren’t written or given input by the original authors (though Margaret Mitchell’s estate apparently okayed Scarlett).

However, apparently, Colin Dexter, Morse’s author, is in on this prequel. He makes his usual cameo, and I’m going to admit, I almost cried when I saw him. Did cry when John Thaw’s daughter, playing a newspaper editor, asked if she and Morse had met, and when he said no, she answered, in a beautiful, wistful tone, “In another life, then.” There were many nods to the history of Morse, and this was a kind of a small thing, and yet–I swear, at the end, when Morse walks out of his boarding house, it looks almost like a double of the house where Lewis so many times picked him up for a case. And then, there’s the rear view mirror….

Obviously, Morse was a visit to a deeply missed old friend for me. I plan to watch again when I’m not all emotional about it! Younger Morse was excellent–you can see he is Morse, and Inspector Thursday is a great mentor with a life of his own I can’t wait to see. (Though, what happened to McNutt?)

I’ve just reread Harry Potter. It’s obviously time to tackle Morse again!

Categories: Endeavour, Inspector Morse, Prequels
Tags: Endeavour, Morse