It’s 1965 and a teenage schoolgirl from Oxford has disappeared and is presumed dead. A very young Constable Endeavour Morse, who dropped out of Oxford, is temporarily assigned to the Oxford branch to support the investigation.
The story opens with Morse typing up is resignation letter, ready to leave law enforcement. But he soon discovers that police work is what he’s made for. Though he’s not readily accepted by the more experienced police officers on the case (he ends up working alone for the most part), they soon discover that he knows what he’s talking about. His superior, Detective Inspector Fred Thursday, recognizes Morse’s talents and takes Endeavour under his wing.
Unfortunately, I have yet to see any episodes of Inspector Morse, the series of feature-length TV shows produced from 1987 to 2000 starring John Thaw. Not that I don’t want to, it’s just that there are so many British TV shows to write about, I just haven’t gotten to it yet. But after watching this prequel, I’m certainly interested in checking them out.
This show apparently contains a lot of references to Endeavour’s future self, including his love of opera and passion for crossword puzzles, both of which help him solve this case.
Since I had no preconceived ideas about the character of Endeavour Morse, I was able to watch this without comparing Shaun Evans’ portrayal to John Thaw’s. Although, even if you are a fan, the early Morse would be and should be very different from his older self anyway.
MAIN CAST:
Shaun Evans – Endeavour Morse
Roger Allam – Fred Thursday
James Bradshaw – Max DeBryn
Abigail Thaw – Dorothea Frazil
Total Seasons: 1 episode (90 minutes)
Seasons Available on US Formatted DVD: 1
In Production: 2012
Viewer Discretion: Violence
Detective Inspector Edmund Reid is in charge of H Division. He’s a man with a troubled marriage, due to the disappearance, and possible death, of his young daughter. He blames himself for this situation and it has taken a toll on his wife, Emily, and their relationship. Reid is joined by Detective Sergeant Bennet Drake and an American, Homer Jackson. Jackson is a former US Army surgeon, a man who seems to know his way around dead bodies. Together they police the Whitechapel district, trying to keep some semblance of 
law and order.
Believing East London to have a Jack the Ripper copycat on its hands, Chandler and his team of detectives, accompanied by Ripperologist, Edward Buchan, seek out the killer using the clues from the original 1888 case, along with modern technology and investigative techniques. If this killer is copying Jack the Ripper, they should be able to predict his every move and stop him before he kills again. At first, newbie Chandler receives little or no support 
from his squad of veteran coppers. But they soon learn that Chandler’s ideas seem to be spot on, leading them to the killer.
Janine and her team of homicide detectives investigate the most gruesome crimes in Manchester. But even though the stories are dark and gritty, the show still has a touch of humor in it. The characters really click with each other and Janine’s team seems like a second family to her. She’s sometimes like a mother hen, keeping everyone in line and on task, while averting 
conflicts between the detectives.
interviewing the lead detective on the case, George Bennett. Back in 1963, this was young Bennett’s first major case, a chance to prove himself and possibly launch his career. But at the time of Alison’s disappearance, did Bennett follow protocol or did he do whatever it took to find out what happened to Alison? Did Bennett’s obsession with the case lead him to make some tragic mistakes? And what secrets is Catherine uncovering as she researches her documentary? What is the village of Scardale hiding? There are many more questions than answers surrounding
the missing girl’s case.
I like to watch good crime dramas, not just British ones, American ones as well. And I tend to like to try and solve the crime along with the characters in the show. About a third of the time I’m spot on. But I tend to enjoy the shows more when I’m wrong, when the outcome is a complete surprise to me. That’s the case with several of the UK crime dramas I like, including Vera.
title character, Detective Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope, is an obsessed investigator working in Northumberland, in Northern England, bordering Scotland. Vera is a feisty little woman who, as she says, sometimes “gets lost in the chase.” She doesn’t tiptoe around situations. She asks the hard questions to get the answers she needs to solve these crimes.
Vera is probably not the most likeable character. Some viewers might be put off by her unorthodox methods, bluntness and disheveled, frumpy appearance. She’s been compared to Columbo. But she’s a woman doing what’s considered a man’s job and her methods get results. Vera has no family. Her father just died. And she tends to spend her off hours, of which there are very few, with a whiskey bottle.
The Hour has been compared to Mad Men, but only because it’s a period drama – The Hour takes place in 1956, Mad Men in the mid-1960s. And they do a lot of smoking and drinking on both shows. But The Hour is not about advertising, it’s a behind-the-scenes look at the BBC’s new investigative TV news programme called, naturally, The Hour.
the brink of World War III. But in addition to portraying the delicate political environment of the time, you’ve also got conspiracies, romance and a murder mystery all rolled into one.
His name is Zen, Aurelio Zen, a Venetian police detective working in Rome. He’s got a reputation as being an “honest detective,” but he can break the rules when he deems it necessary to solve his cases. Zen is almost 40, yet lives with his mamma. In between dealing with local politicians who have him under their thumbs and solving various crimes, he’s trying to have an affair with his boss’s secretary, Tania. As presenter Alan Cumming says in the show’s introduction, “Zen’s life is like a plate of pasta, tangled and full of loose ends.”
comic outlook. I thought this is an opportunity to do something that is real and believable but comic.” So, he tried to bring out the humor and personality of the novel version of Zen and put it into his performance on TV.
It’s too bad only 3 episodes were produced. By the end of the third episode, it had started to gain some momentum and it would have been interesting to see how the characters would have developed, where it would all have headed. BBC One canceled the series stating that there were already too many male crime-fighters on TV. I would have thought that the exotic location and the subtle performance by Sewell would have differentiated it from the rest.
involves the blackmailing of a minor member of British royalty and a beautiful dominatrix. “The Hounds of Baskerville” is about the genetic engineering of animals at a military base, and yes, there’s a large canine lurking about. And Sherlock’s nemesis, Moriarty, returns for the season finale in “The Reichenbach Fall.” This absolutely psychotic version of Moriarty, who we saw for the first time at the end of Series I, is even more evil at the end of Series II.
three episodes. Since there are only three shows per series, I didn’t want to watch them all at once, leaving me with nothing. So, I “rationed” my viewing. But after watching the third show, “The Reichenbach Fall,” I wish I had waited longer to view it. This was a cliffhanger to end all cliffhangers. AAAAAAHHHHH!
A lot of people blogged about Episode One of Series II, “A Scandal in Belgravia,” saying it was the best episode of the six so far produced. I found Episode Three much better, even though I was totally frustrated with the ending! The way the story was crafted and produced, shot and edited was top-notch.
