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Loving Endeavour, but what next?

Posted on Aug 21, 2020 in Abigail Thaw, Endeavour, Inspector Morse, John Thaw, Roger Allam, Shaun Evans | 4 Comments

Some time ago, I mentioned that I had finished the Inspector Morse DVDs and had embarked on the follow-up, Lewis. Well, I’ve finished those too and now I have started the prequel, Endeavour. I think it is actually the best of the lot. Shaun Evans is perfect as the young Morse, gauche, too clever for his own good, and inclined to put everyone’s back up. He is more than matched by the sublime Roger Allam as his boss, Fred Thursday. Anton Lesser as Chief Superintendent Bright and Sean Rigby as Constable Strange (Morse’s boss in Inspector Morse) are excellent. It is fun, spotting the little nods to Inspector Morse. In the first episode Abigail Thaw, John Thaw’s daughter, plays the editor of an Oxford newspaper and asks Shaun Evans, ‘Haven’t I met you somewhere before?’

I love the period detail. The series begins in the early 1960s. They have really worked hard to get everything right: the clothes, the hair styles, and the attitudes, and mostly it is spot on. The scripts are good and the story lines gripping. It is a pleasure from beginning to end.

There is only one problem: there isn’t enough of it. I am eking it out and trying not to watch it every evening, because I don’t have anything lined up to follow it. I have dipped into one or two other things – I tried Kavanagh QC, but found it a bit creaky – and nothing is quite right. Where am I going to find something of the sheer quality of Endeavour? Suggestions, please!

4 Comments

  1. Margot Kinberg
    August 21, 2020

    I know exactly what you mean, Christine, about a series that’s so good that it feels too short. I’ve had that experience, too. I’m so glad you’ve been enjoying this as much as you have. I wonder, though, whether a series like this, that’s very good, would lose steam if it were a lot longer. Perhaps some series are so excellent because they’re finite?

    Reply
    • Christine Poulson
      August 21, 2020

      Yes, I think you are quite right, Margot. Some series do go for too long and the law of diminishing returns begins to apply. Much as I love Endeavour, I wouldn’t want that to happen, so I hope that when they do out, it is on a high. Series 8 is coming up.

      Reply
  2. Christophe Van den Bulte
    September 20, 2020

    I like Endeavour a lot, but feel that–like much of current British crime drama–it sometimes lingers too much on (sex) crimes against minors, making it darker than I would like. As to suggestions, have you looked into the series about George Gently? I have seen only two episodes, but enjoyed them both.

    Reply
    • Christine Poulson
      September 21, 2020

      Thank you! Yes, I’ve seen a lot of the George Gently and enjoyed them for the most part.

      Reply

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