Inspector Morse: Twilight Of The Gods on DVD

A customer from South Bucks, England , 06/12/2005

See if you can spot a genuine clue amongst all the cliches. Wagnerian opera with a Welsh diva, aerial shots of Oxford from a helicopter, a full academic procession round the Sheldonian and then a shot rings out. And of course, Morse and Lewis are on the spot.

I think this was one of the last Morse episodes and it has the feel of a swansong with the writer and director deciding on one last binge of Morse trademarks. How did they resist the temptation of Morse and Lewis in the red Jaguar chasing the villains round Oxford, darting through College quads 'Italian Job' style with the suspect plummeting off a bridge into the ISis? Obviously OTT but I bet it was on the ideas shortlist at the script meetings.

This is visual rather than visceral Morse. Easy on the eye and easy on the brain. Gielgud is wasted with a script making him such a bigoted and xenophobic Chancellor that he just couldn't have got the job in the first place unless Oxford really is as corrupt as the script implies. Hardy goes completely over the top (in keeping with the whole episode) as the millionaire Lithuanian Jew and some of the side characters such as the camp hair stylist and the gay voice coach making a pass at Lewis ensure that no cliche is left untouched - although Lewis manages to exit stage left before things reach that stage.

The episode is saved by the dialogue between Morse and Lewis (which introduced more humour as the series developed) and Oxford itself, so often the real star of the show. Thaw could give Hardy acting lessons in being bad tempered without becoming one dimensional and like so many of the later episodes a few plot twists don't turn it into the kind of complex and baffling plot that Dexter was so brilliant at writing. But to compare a really good story with genius is not fair and what this lacks in keeping the little grey cells baffled it makes up for in looking great.

  2 out of 2 people found this review helpful

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Ronald Gleeson from Buckingham , 21/06/2005

I always get a bit concerned when there are two murderers in the same story but, nonetheless, this is a decent edition of Morse - and a rare opportunity to see him in a lighter mood, if only for a while. Only Robert Hardy's traditional ham acting is a let down.

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mark leather from secret hideaway [Highly rated reviewer] , 25/08/2006

Another classic episode from Inspector Morse.

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loveday from Ceredigion , 20/05/2004

This time Lewis gets to the key clue before Morse. Morse smiles a good deal. They are very different people, but make a good team. Lewis does not let Morse get him down. A good plot, worked well.

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loveday from Ceredigion , 20/05/2004

This time Lewis gets to the key clue before Morse. Morse smiles a good deal. They are very different people, but make a good team. Lewis does not let Morse get him down. A good plot, worked well.

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Ronald Gleeson from Buckingham , 21/06/2005

I always get a bit concerned when there are two murderers in the same story but, nonetheless, this is a decent edition of Morse - and a rare opportunity to see him in a lighter mood, if only for a while. Only Robert Hardy's traditional ham acting is a let down.

Read all highest rated reviews