Hi Endeavourists. With the recent news that series four of Endeavour will make references to the original Morse series as a nod to it being 30 years since the very first episode, (30 years???????? Scary), a blog reader asked me what characters or actors I would like to see in the new series. A difficult question as there are quite a few. But when pushed I would want the following characters/actors reappear in the new Endeavour series.
Firstly, I think we all agree that McNutt has to make an appearance as all Morse fans know that he becomes Morse’s mentor when he becomes a sergeant.
Iain Cuthbertson as McNutt
I will be very annoyed if they don’t use a Scottish actor to play the younger McNutt.
Secondly I would like to see Judy Loe who played Adele Cecil in the Morse episode, ‘Death is now my Neighbour’.
Judy Loe as Adele Cecil
I would be happy to see her playing another character or for the character of Adele Cecil to cross paths with Endeavour during an investigation.
Next up I would like to see the actor Ian McDiarmid who played Hugo De Vries in the Morse episode ‘Masonic Mysteries’. Again I would be happy for Ian to play a different character or for a passing mention of De Vries.
Ian McDiarmid as Hugo De Vries.
Next up would be a mention of Laura Hobson or Dr. Grayling Russell or Robbie Lewis. I know their characters are all too young in the 60s to be part of the series but it would be nice having some of the characters in the new series with the same or similar names.
Another character that would be nice to see in the new Endeavour series is Harry Field who appeared in the Morse episode, ‘Who Killed Harry Field?’
So, that is my wishlist for the new series. What is your wishlist? What characters or actors would you like to see in the new Endeavour series?
Let me know via the comments below this post or on the Facebook pages I am a member of; https://www.facebook.com/groups/2400957493/ or https://www.facebook.com/groups/chiefinspectormorse/
I hope you are well.
Chris
McNutt and De Vries, yes! I also love to see the background to the Mary Lapsley case (but “Second Time Around” is set in the ’70s, so I need to be patient). I wonder if the allusion to _Tannhäuser_ means that at least one episode is entirely Wagnerian, like “Twilight of the Gods” (hopefully, yes!).
PS Cuthbertson’s picture has just made me discover that it was he who played the title character of the terrific series _Sutherland’s Law_ 🙈 Thank, Chris, for these eye-opening pictures!
Having just watched Coda again, Im wondering about when Morse starts at Thames Valley, and when it is built…? there was a line in Coda from Max……..” Not going to be room at Cowley for two Sgnts .”.
Maybe it didn’t go back as far as Endeavour days but I’d like to see the letter Morse sent to East Germany referenced -when he doesn’t buy a stamp but uses the police stamp. It is the Lewis episode Music To Die For. Morse was referenced so much in that episode. I actually noted down all the times. No DeVries for me. I am in the minority but I really don’t like that episode. But yes to McNutt.
Some interesting ideas here to be honest I dont personally see much value in Lewis being referenced as he was a Geordie (Or Welsh originally I suppose).
Likewise Hobson and Grayling not sure they really need to play a part in Morse’s earlier life some twenty or 30 years prior to him coming across them.
Harry Field is a good shout. Is there anything that got referenced in the Morse series they could bring up in some way?
Hi Tom. Morse was the original series so there was nothing pre the show that could be referenced. A friend on Facebook mentioned a good idea regarding Morse characters appearing in Endeavour and that was Dawson from the episode Second Time Around.
It would be good to see a young Edward Le Plassiter (Expiation, Lewis) – after all, if I recall, Lewis said Morse “always rated him”,
But yes I’d like to see McNutt and Dawson as well.
I wasn’t sure if this was mentioned but the character: William Bryce-Morgan, played by Richard Pasco, from the Morse episode: Dead on Time and brother of Susan Fallon could show up. His character says in the episode he knew Morse back when and that he seemed liked he would be good in a crisis when he found out Morse became a cop.
Hi John. Bryce-Morgan knew Morse from when he was dating Susan and that event was preEndeavour series. However, it is still possible he could pop into the new series.
I’d like to see The Balcombes from Happy Families. Martin Clunes, Anna Massey, and Jonathan Coy created a wonderfully dysfunctional family, but we never met the father. Plenty of back story there to enlighten.
Hi David. Actually we did meet the father and he was the first murder victim.
Definitely McNutt. He is held in such high regard by Morse. Mary Lapsley case would be excellent. Also the case where Morse meets Charlie Bennett (absolute conviction).
Hi Chris I have some interesting info on McNutt. He was a housemaster at Christ’s Hospital school in Sussex and invented the cryptic crossword. I think he was called Derek McNutt. Could McNutt have been named after this one given that crossword connection?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derrick_Somerset_Macnutt
Took over Observer crossword in 1939
As Ximenes, Macnutt’s puzzles gained an enthusiastic following. His many fans organised dinners on the occasion of his puzzles number 100, 250, 500, 750 and 1000, with the 1968 dinner hosting nearly 400 solvers. His followers, known as Ximeneans, often sported a specially designed black tie covered in small white crosses.
Well-known Ximeneans include Stephen Sondheim, P. G. Wodehouse, and Leonard Bernstein. Colin Dexter, author of the Inspector Morse books, named his most famous characters after two prize-winning Ximeneans, Sir Jeremy Morse and Mrs D. W. Lewis,[6] and he named Morse’s old Inspector Macnutt.
Thank you Araminta for your excellent comments.
Yes, Ian McDairmid’s character Hugo de Vries is a wonderful part, played perfectly. ‘. . . I don’t recall inviting you to use my Christian name’. But the Bottomley character too, also perfectly played, by Richard Kane, makes this particular episode outstanding for me. It is a real shame all this is now in the irrevocably in the past.
A little off topic, but as we were re-watching Lewis, my wife and I noticed that one of the episodes mentioned a “Bright” character, female, in passing. I thought that was a tremendous coincidence! Could she have been a descendant of Reginald?
I think it would just be a coincidence. What episode of Lewis was the Bright character mentioned?