Amazon.com reviews for
"Inspector Morse" (1987)

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Inspector Morse - The Remorseful Day (dvd):

Amazon.com video review: An unsolved murder case is reopened after a suspect is released from jail, but when he and two of his associates are found dead, detectives Inspector Morse and Sergeant Lewis face one of their most difficult investigations, and Morse's involvement may be more personal than he is willing to admit.

The final case for British television's best-loved detective is suffused with melancholy. Years of stress and far too much beer have taken their toll, and Morse is a sick man. Popping pills, wincing with pain, and drinking in spite of doctor's orders, Morse keeps going because he is obsessed with bringing criminals to justice. It's impossible to imagine him in retirement, but his vocation has ruined his health and now threatens his life.

The complex relationship between Morse and his partner has always been at the heart of the show's success, and at the beginning of "The Remorseful Day," that relationship is even more strained than usual. Lewis is furious when Morse takes over his investigation into the multiple murders, and the ailing Morse is more irritable than ever. But in spite of all their differences the two men complement one another and they are soon working together again. When this final episode moves into its final act Kevin Whately's performance as the faithful, underappreciated Lewis is deeply moving, providing a fitting coda to their enduring partnership.

The accompanying documentary includes behind-the-scenes footage, interviews with many of the distinguished actors who have appeared in the show over the years, and comments from Morse's creator, Colin Dexter. --Simon Leake

Inspector Morse - The Dead of Jericho / The Mystery of Morse (dvd):

Amazon.com video review: John Thaw brought one of Britain's best-loved TV detectives to life in this telefilm that started the long-running Inspector Morse series, based on the novels by Colin Dexter. The brilliant, somewhat elitist police inspector who loves crosswords, classical music, and more than the occasional pint of ale clumsily romances a woman (Gemma Jones) from his choir. When he finds her hanged in her apartment on the eve of their big recital, he suspects murder and muscles his way in on the investigation. All the assigned investigators are convinced it's suicide except for the eager Sergeant Lewis (Kevin Whately), and Morse and Lewis reluctantly team up to sort out a mystery tangled in blackmail, adultery, peeping neighbors (former Doctor Who Patrick Troughton), and mistaken identities.

With his snooty temperament and lone-wolf lifestyle, the white-haired, Oxford educated bachelor is a wonderful mismatch with the younger Lewis, a married man with a family and a rather less classical background. There's a quiet undercurrent of affection and respect that builds with each continuing Inspector Morse mystery, as well as an air of melancholia and loneliness beautifully developed in the script by future Oscar®-winning writer-director Anthony Minghella (The English Patient). Morse's initial theories may be washouts (a series hallmark), but his relentless sleuthing, eye for clues, and mind for puzzles dredges up the answer in the end, even as he loses the girl.

The DVD also features the 50-minute documentary The Mystery of Morse, a kind of character study built around a tour of Morse series shooting locations. It features interviews with the stars, the producer, the composer, and author Colin Dexter. --Sean Axmaker

Inspector Morse: Last Seen Wearing (dvd):

Amazon.com video review: This 1988 British telefilm from the second series of the long-running mystery Inspector Morse sends Morse (John Thaw), that cultured curmudgeon of a police detective, on the six-month-old case of a missing schoolgirl. "She's dead," he proclaims, dismissing the case as a dead end and a waste of time, but true to form he investigates with his trademark relentlessness and uncovers something he didn't expect--a conspiracy at the girl's private school resulted in murder.

Still early in the series (it lasted until The Remorseful Day in 2000), we find Morse still getting comfortable with his young partner. Sergeant Lewis (Kevin Whately) is a family man who would rather head home at the end of the day than drink a pint with his partner. Morse is up to his old tricks, sneaking scotch in coffee mugs at crime scenes and taking beer breaks, and Thaw plays the loner detective without a hint of self-consciousness. And in the best tradition of British TV mysteries, this crime is solved not with shootouts or car chases, but by relentless investigation and sheer brainpower (helped along by a couple of pints of ale). Elizabeth Hurley (Austin Powers) and Julia Sawalha (Saffron from Absolutely Fabulous) have small parts as schoolgirls questioned by Morse and Lewis. --Sean Axmaker