This is mostly for Jenn who identified herself as a fan of “Inspector Morse” with John Thaw and called out the prequel and sequel series (“Endeavour” and “Lewis” respectively).

I watched a half-dozen or so of the “Endeavour” episodes and while they’re well-made indeed, great writing and I adore Fred Thursday (Roger Allam), it feels to me like it doesn’t fit with Morse. The protagonist of “Endeavour” just doesn’t plausibly (for me) grow into the Morse of “Morse.” The younger incarnation is far too diffident – he’s confident in his abilities but he’s way too “iffy” for me.

On the other hand – I binged a dozen or so episodes of “Lewis” over the weekend (they’re up on Youtube). It is an absolute gem. Kevin Whately was totally brilliant (in “Inspector Morse”) in his creation of the young Sergeant Robbie Lewis figuring out how to be a Geordie at Oxford in the wake of a Guvnor who was not only an Oxonian but a Wagnerian and did the Times crossword in ink. But he did it and between them he & Thaw created a really beautiful copper-dyad.

Well Whately has done it again with Laurence Fox (of the Brit Theater aristocractic Fox family, see James), who has echoes of Morse along with a LOT of wrinkles of his own (former seminarian, smokes cigarettes plays guitar in a world-music/madrigal group). These idiomatic wrinkles plus the fact that their “Guvnor” is a (very ballsy and very attractive) woman, makes the thing work extraordinarily well.

DQ

Visit WriteFreeorDie.org