Based on Colin Dexter's novels, the series features Morse (John Thaw) and his sidekick Inspector Lewis (Kevin Whately), investigating murders and other crimes in and around Oxford.
Inspector Morse. Episodes comprise: 1. The Dead of Jericho: Morse who never quite finds romance thinks that at last things will turn out differently when he mee...
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Inspector Morse - Series 1
Super sleuth, Inspector Morse (John Thaw - Goodnight Mister Tom and Kavanagh Q.C.) has an ... more
ear for music, a taste for beer and a nose for crime. He sets out with Sergeant Lewis (Kevin Whatley - Peak Practice) to solve each intriguing case.The Dead Of JerichoIn this debut episode, written by the Oscar winning Anthony Minghella (The English Patient), Morse, who never quite finds romance, thinks that at last things will turn out differently when he meets beautiful Anne Staveley (Gemma Jones). But it is a love destined not to be when Anne is found hanging from a beam in mysterious circumstances. Morse suspects murder and sets out with Sergeant Lewis (Kevin Whately) to discover the truth.The Silent World Of Nicholas QuinnNicholas Quinn is a hard-of-hearing member of the examinations board...until one day he is found dead at home. Can Morse match up the clues with the killer? Romance is in the air as Morse becomes increasingly attracted to Monica (Barbara Flynn) but could she be mixed up in this too?Service Of All The DeadThe body of a church warden has been found with a knife in his chest in a quiet country church. This proves to be just the first in a series of gruesome killings in and around the church. As the mystery deepens, Morse has five bodies on his hands. In a desperate race against time, Morse tries to track down the ruthless killer.
it would run into the next century, maintaining throughout a quality of scripts and storylines that raised the genre of the detective series to a new level. Much of its success can be attributed to John Thaw's total immersion in the role. Morse is a prickly character and not obviously easy to like. As a detective in Oxford with unfulfilled academic propensities, he is permanently excluded from a world of which he would dearly love to be a part. He is at odds with that world--and with his colleagues in the police force--most of the time. Passionate about opera and "proper beer", he is a cultural snob for whom vulgarity causes almost physical pain. As a result, he lives from one disillusionment to the next. And he is scarred--more deeply than he would ever admit--by past relationships. But he also has a naïve streak and, deep down, sensitivity, which makes him a fascinating challenge for women.At the heart of Morse's professional life is his awkward partnership with Detective Sergeant Lewis, the resolutely ordinary, worldly sidekick who manages to keep his boss in an almost permanent state of exasperation while retaining his grudging respect. It's a testament to Kevin Whateley's consistently excellent performance that from such unpromising material Lewis becomes as indispensable to the series as Barrington Pheloung's hypnotic, classic theme music. Morse's investigations do occasionally take him abroad to more exotic locations, but throughout 14 successful years of often gruesome murders, the city of Oxford itself became a central character in these brooding two-hour dramas: creator Colin Dexter stating he finally had to kill Morse off because he was giving Oxford a bad reputation as a dangerous place! --Piers Ford
it would run into the next century, maintaining throughout a quality of scripts and storylines that raised the genre of the detective series to a new level. Much of its success can be attributed to John Thaw's total immersion in the role. Morse is a prickly character and not obviously easy to like. As a detective in Oxford with unfulfilled academic propensities, he is permanently excluded from a world of which he would dearly love to be a part. He is at odds with that world--and with his colleagues in the police force--most of the time. Passionate about opera and "proper beer", he is a cultural snob for whom vulgarity causes almost physical pain. As a result, he lives from one disillusionment to the next. And he is scarred--more deeply than he would ever admit--by past relationships. But he also has a naïve streak and, deep down, sensitivity, which makes him a fascinating challenge for women.At the heart of Morse's professional life is his awkward partnership with Detective Sergeant Lewis, the resolutely ordinary, worldly sidekick who manages to keep his boss in an almost permanent state of exasperation while retaining his grudging respect. It's a testament to Kevin Whateley's consistently excellent performance that from such unpromising material Lewis becomes as indispensable to the series as Barrington Pheloung's hypnotic, classic theme music. Morse's investigations do occasionally take him abroad to more exotic locations, but throughout 14 successful years of often gruesome murders, the city of Oxford itself became a central character in these brooding two-hour dramas: creator Colin Dexter stating he finally had to kill Morse off because he was giving Oxford a bad reputation as a dangerous place! --Piers Ford
it would run into the next century, maintaining throughout a quality of scripts and storylines that raised the genre of the detective series to a new level. Much of its success can be attributed to John Thaw's total immersion in the role. Morse is a prickly character and not obviously easy to like. As a detective in Oxford with unfulfilled academic propensities, he is permanently excluded from a world of which he would dearly love to be a part. He is at odds with that world--and with his colleagues in the police force--most of the time. Passionate about opera and "proper beer", he is a cultural snob for whom vulgarity causes almost physical pain. As a result, he lives from one disillusionment to the next. And he is scarred--more deeply than he would ever admit--by past relationships. But he also has a naïve streak and, deep down, sensitivity, which makes him a fascinating challenge for women.At the heart of Morse's professional life is his awkward partnership with Detective Sergeant Lewis, the resolutely ordinary, worldly sidekick who manages to keep his boss in an almost permanent state of exasperation while retaining his grudging respect. It's a testament to Kevin Whateley's consistently excellent performance that from such unpromising material Lewis becomes as indispensable to the series as Barrington Pheloung's hypnotic, classic theme music. Morse's investigations do occasionally take him abroad to more exotic locations, but throughout 14 successful years of often gruesome murders, the city of Oxford itself became a central character in these brooding two-hour dramas: creator Colin Dexter stating he finally had to kill Morse off because he was giving Oxford a bad reputation as a dangerous place! --Piers Ford
it would run into the next century, maintaining throughout a quality of scripts and storylines that raised the genre of the detective series to a new level. Much of its success can be attributed to John Thaw's total immersion in the role. Morse is a prickly character and not obviously easy to like. As a detective in Oxford with unfulfilled academic propensities, he is permanently excluded from a world of which he would dearly love to be a part. He is at odds with that world--and with his colleagues in the police force--most of the time. Passionate about opera and "proper beer", he is a cultural snob for whom vulgarity causes almost physical pain. As a result, he lives from one disillusionment to the next. And he is scarred--more deeply than he would ever admit--by past relationships. But he also has a naïve streak and, deep down, sensitivity, which makes him a fascinating challenge for women.At the heart of Morse's professional life is his awkward partnership with Detective Sergeant Lewis, the resolutely ordinary, worldly sidekick who manages to keep his boss in an almost permanent state of exasperation while retaining his grudging respect. It's a testament to Kevin Whateley's consistently excellent performance that from such unpromising material Lewis becomes as indispensable to the series as Barrington Pheloung's hypnotic, classic theme music. Morse's investigations do occasionally take him abroad to more exotic locations, but throughout 14 successful years of often gruesome murders, the city of Oxford itself became a central character in these brooding two-hour dramas: creator Colin Dexter stating he finally had to kill Morse off because he was giving Oxford a bad reputation as a dangerous place! --Piers Ford
Production Year: 2002 - Thriller - Director: K.C. Bascombe - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Jesse James, Rachel Skarsten, Charles Powell, Linda Purl, Kevin Zegars
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Thriller - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Timothy West, Neil Morrissey, Tara Fitzgerald, Annette Crosbie, Pauline Quirke, Rob Brydon, Denise Van Outen, John Thomson, Kevin Whately, David Suchet
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A review by SusanLesley on Inspector Morse - Series 1 (DVD) October 26th, 2009
Author's product rating:
Did you enjoy it?
Loved it
Story
Outstanding
Characters / Performances
Outstanding
Special Effects
Good
How does it compare to similar films?
Outstanding
Advantages:
Excellent stories and excellent performances
Disadvantages:
Occasional weaker episode but it is still good !
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
I have always been a great fan of Inspector Morse and I used to video tape and keep as many episodes as possible. I now have every episode on DVD and regularly sit down to watch one.
For those of you that don’t know Inspector Morse is, in my opinion, one of the very best detective series ever made. It is based on the books by the author Colin Dexter and starred the late John Thaw in the title role with Kevin Whately as his long suffering sidekick, Lewis. The actors both give outstanding and completely believable performances in every episode.
Each episode lasts about 100 minutes and revolves around the solving of a crime, almost always at least one murder. The viewer is invited to follow the reasoning and logic of Morse and Lewis as they follow the clues to find the truth, which is usually very well hidden!
Detective Chief Inspector Morse is the older of the two and is unmarried, set in his ways and sometimes grumpy. He relies on his instinct often bending and sometimes even breaking the rules to get the results. He is honest and doesn’t suffer fools gladly. He enjoys real ale and opera and is often seen enjoying both at various points during the programme. He is also often seen completing The Times crossword and correcting Lewis on his poor grammar!
Detective Sergeant Lewis is a married man with two children and is very much a family man. He is the one who ends up doing the legwork, the paperwork and the traditional thorough police work. He enjoys cricket and spending time with his family, although Morse does sometimes find this difficult to understand especially when there is a murderer to be found!
A large part of the enjoyment for me is the relationship between Morse and Lewis. As viewers we get to see the way that they work together with Morse thinking that he is the brains behind the partnership but often having to concede that Lewis has come up with an excellent idea. They usually end up in a pub at some point during the programme for Morse to have a pint, as ‘it helps him think’, and poor Lewis having an orange juice because he is driving! The best of it is Lewis invariably ends up paying for the drinks as Morse doesn’t have any cash or he tells Lewis it is his round!
As with all good partnerships each has his strengths and weaknesses and each has a share of the success of solving the crimes. Although Lewis is often ‘put upon’ by Morse there is an obvious mutual respect between the two characters and Lewis is very protective of Morse.
The first series of Inspector Morse was originally aired in January of 1987 – good heavens that’s over 20 years ago! Now I do feel old!
I have taken a brief look around the various sites selling this sort of thing and the best price that I have found for Series One is £12.97 on Amazon, although it may be cheaper on EBay but of course it may not be brand new.
Series One consists of three separate episodes which all originally aired in January 1987.
The Dead of Jericho
This was the first ever episode of Inspector Morse and was based directly on one of Colin Dexter’s books and it introduced us to the characters. Incidentally this episode was written by the Oscar winning Anthony Minghella of English Patient fame.
Morse, who never quite finds romance, thinks that at last things will turn out differently when he meets beautiful Anne Staveley, played by Gemma Jones, at choir practice. Sadly it is a love destined not to be when Anne is found hanging from a beam in mysterious circumstances. Morse suspects murder and sets out with Sergeant Lewis to discover the truth.
The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn
Nicholas Quinn is a member of the examinations board until he is found dead at home. Quinn was deaf and it appears that his skill of lip-reading could have meant that he ‘overheard’ a conversation about cheating in examinations which ultimately led to his death.
This is another episode which is based on a specific book and I understand it follows it fairly faithfully although I have never read any of the Morse books so I am going by what I have read about the programme.
Service of All The Dead
This one begins with the body of a church warden being found with a knife in his chest in a quiet country church. As the mystery deepens, Morse has five bodies on his hands, the only link between them being that they were all at the same church service.
This episode doesn’t seem to have the same strength as the others although the twist at the end is good. It is also another episode based directly on one of Dexter’s books.
In Conclusion
In my opinion the first three episodes really just served to consolidate the partnership between Morse and Lewis. I find that the later episodes when the partnership has developed to be more interesting viewing. Having said that these three stories are good in their own right and show us where the characters came from and how the whole thing began.
A definite must have for the Inspector Morse fan especially if you have all the rest of the series too as I do!
Plot: Based on Colin Dexter's novels, the series features Morse and his sidekick Inspector Lewis, investigating murders and other crimes in and around Oxford.
Release details
DVD Region: DVD
Studio(s): ITV DVD; CINRAM LOGISTICS
Release date: 19/02/2007
No of Discs: 1
Catalogue No: 37115 07473
Barcode: 5037115074737
Author: Colin Dexter
DVD Description
Based on Colin Dexter's novels, the series features Morse (John Thaw) and his sidekick Inspector Lewis (Kevin Whately), investigating murders and other crimes in and around Oxford.
Languages
Main Language: English
Technical information
Special Features: Interactive menu
Aspect Ratio: 4:3
Sound: Dolby Digital
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