Inspector Morse - The Remorseful Day / Rest in Peace

The long list of fictional detectives who have given pleasure to milliions include:- Sexton Blake, Sherlock Holmes, Perry Mason, Hercule Peirot, Jane Marples, one could go on forever. However heading the list must be Inspector 'Endeavour' Morse who will last into eternity.

John Thaw and Kevin Whately brought the characters to life, none more so than in 'The Remorseful Day' Thanks to all involved in this remarkable closure

And so, with great regret, we reach the end of the saga, with an excellent final episode. A middle-aged woman is battered to death during a bondage session in her own home, with other local villagers also meeting their deaths in curious circumstances. It falls to Lewis to piece together the connections - Morse however finds the case irresistible despite his failing health. Morse finally meets his death as the case is solved, but not before Lewis discovers an unexpected connection between Morse and the first murder victim.

Various medical people are involved in the plot, including a particularly oleaginous consultant surgeon (T.P. McKenna) who also takes a solo in a performance of Faure's Requiem (unfortunately poorly dubbed - and would a singer ever sing with his arms folded across his abdomen?). The music of the Requiem (especially the last item - In Paradisum) provides a poignant backdrop to Morse's final hours. Lewis's farewell to his old boss is a moving conclusion to a finely crafted and well acted finale.

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The DVD also contains a retrospective episode entitled 'Inspector Morse - Rest in Peace'. Here Chief Supt Strange (James Grout), seated on a park bench with the Radcliffe Camera in the background, narrates a sort of obituary, calling to mind various episodes from the series illustrating different aspects of Morse's character. This was a good opportunity to see again some particularly fine and well known actors who had contributed to the series, including Kenneth Cranham, Richard Briers, and John Gielgud (remember the Encaenia tea?) among many others. Juxtaposing these episodes also drew attention to the shocking increase in James Grout's girth as the series progressed ....

Its what I keep my telly for. I'm sorely tempted to start from the beginning again and watch the lot ... I know I missed some ....but which ones??

A glass of wine or 2 and a dvd of Morse - hard to beat. I used to live in Oxford too so its also a trip down memory lane........................

Hey ho

Sally

A classic Morse episode. Well worth watching.

Good, but be aware Rest in Peace is not a Morse, its more of a eulogy of Morse