Hello fellow Endeavourists and welcome to a brand new post. As the title states this post will give you the chance to read five, yes five, articles in five British TV magazines.
The first set of articles is from the Radio Times. I will point out an error in this article. It states that there will be SIX episodes in the new series. There isn’t. Only four episodes for the sixth series.
The main things we learn from this article about the new series is that both Endeavour and Thursday have been demoted, hence the pictures of him in uniform.
There was some talk and speculation that the first episode might be about the Mary Lapsley case which was featured in the wonderful Morse episode, Second Time Around ( click HERE to read my review of that episode) due to it being about the death of a young girl. But the young girl is found in a cornfield while Mary Lapsley was found in a hut on the edge of a lake frequently used by local fisherman.
I’m also sadden to read that rock music, Led Zeppelin, will play a part in the Endeavour series. Don’t get me wrong I like rock music but I really don’t want to hear it in the Endeavour series. Anyway here is the first of the five articles.
Next up we have the TV Guide. So, we found out that Bright has also been demoted. Would Reginald Bright really take a demotion? We know from the previous series’ final episode that Endeavour, Bright, Thursday and Strange vowed to find Fancy’s killer. But would Chief Superintendent Bright really be happy at a demotion? Would retirement not be a better option for the straight laced, by the book, moralistic Bright. I suppose it is a sense of duty and morals that make him stay until they find Fancy’s killer.
Of course like the previous article it is mentioned how close they are to ending the series. My belief that there will only be 33 episodes is becoming close to reality. After this series that will be 27 episodes. So either a seventh series of six episodes or a seventh and eighth series of three episodes. Or of course they could do what happened in Morse and have one off specials each year. But I think that is less likely.
Anyway on to the second article.
Next we have the TV Times. Well there are a few things that disappoint me in regard to what is revealed in the article. Firstly, that there will be an appearance of Mrs Bright. Why? I like the idea of never seeing Mrs Bright. It carried on the tradition of wives or relatives that were talked about or mentioned but were never seen: Mrs Mainwaring in Dad’s Army, Norm Peterson’s wife in Cheers, Howard Wolowitz’s mother in The Big Bang Theory, Arthur Daley’s wife in Minder, Columbo’s wife (let’s not talk about the terrible series Mrs Columbo), Hyacinth Bucket’s son Sheridan and many others.
Secondly, what seems like a lame choice for guest stars in the new series; soap stars from shows like Eastenders, Benidorm and Coronation Street, AAARRRGGGGHHHHHHH Morse and the Lewis series both were able to attract huge names but Endeavour seems unable to. Worse of all is the continuing with they or won’t they between Endeavour and Joan. Again AAAAAARRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHH
Anyway on to the third article.
Next up we have What’s On TV. There is nothing in the article that hasn’t already been mentioned in the above magazines.
So, here is the fourth article.
Last and certainly least is TV Choice. All the above are light and frothy magazines but this one takes light and frothy to a new level. And not in a good way. But I bought the magazines to allow you to read it and decided if it was interesting or not. At least these magazines can be recycled. 😉
So on to the article, (if it can be called that).
So, that is all for now. It’s a shame that this is the best the TV magazines can do but something is better than nothing.
Click HERE to read an article I published from the British magazine Yours.
Click HERE to visit and subscribe to my Youtube channel.
Click HERE to visit my Twitter account.
Many thanks for posting these Chris – certainly saved me a few bob this morning! (Do people still say that?) Like you, I sincerely hope the Endeavour team make it to 33 episodes – would bring a nice sense of symmetry to the whole Morse universe. Evans is certainly dropping enough hints in these interviews to suggest that the end is nigh. And after that, give it a couple of years and who knows – a new series called “Hathaway”…?
I think people of a certain age, and I am one of those, still use the word ‘bob’. I would love to see a Hathaway spin off.
Thanks for the reviews Chris. I am looking forward to seeing how the series develops and as a ‘rocker’, looking foward to see how it incorporates Led Zep! Like you, I would like to see the Mary Lapsley case as it is a profound moment in the Morse story.
Steve,
PS, how is the college course going?
Some comments – first thanks Chris for the articles! I said it here when Series 5 finished that if they went back to the Joan/Morse cliffhanger and did nothing with it I might be done with the series.
I did want them to have a romance but if not leave it there at the end of series 5. I think to go back to the same thing is a big cheat. Also Shaun’s comments about one night and then moving on will be pretty tacky – especially to Thursday – that will be two Thursday girls he would have bedded for one night. And one of them his great mentors daughter.
I believe that Russell will give Shaun what he wants – which brings me to the other problem I see and have mentioned here is that he has way too much influence over the character and the series direction and I think that was part of the problem of series 5. The writer should be at arms length from is stars – whenever that starts not to happen the rot sets in – there are too many series to mention that has negatively impacted but The X-Files is one.
After series 5 I had such high hopes for Series Six but not sure I will even bother to watch rather night just re-watch series 1-3/4 ( oh and my Morse and Lewis eps)
Thank you for the articles
Thank you!
Hi Chris, thank you so much for posting these articles, especially for those living outside the UK, like me.
I too was shocked to read that there will be “lots of Led Zeppelin”. I personally hate that noise (to me it has nothing to do with music) but that’s not the point, there is no arguing about taste. It’s just very unfitting for Endeavour; using any kind of modern music in the score of Endeavour would be totally out of character.
Endeavour listening and half appreciating Trewlove’s jazz records in “Icarus” is the maximum to be expected of him ever wanting to have anything to do with modern music.The “I get along without you very well” in Lazaretto, when he was in the Jag on his way to find Joan had me grind my teeth, it was totally wrong, that music would not be in his head in a million years. As if there isn’t any opera music fitting a scene like that at least as well.
I hope and pray they won’t do the same now. It’s fine to have modern music in a scene, when it’s relevant. But it should not be used in the score. Morse would turn around in his grave. Let’s hope it’s just in scenes, and not in the score.
Hi Josephine. Firstly apologies for your comment not getting published immediately. For some reason it was held for moderation. The first couple of series of Endeavour followed the Morse series by including some brilliant classical music. It seems Russell Lewis decided to include modern music to give the scenes a sense of time. The original Morse didn’t need to do this unless it was necessary for the story i.e. Cherubim and Serapbim. The Lewis series was the same in regard to including wonderful classical music. We can only hope the ‘modern’ music doesn’t overwhelm the epidsodes.
This is great. I’ve been looking forward to the new episodes. Thanks for all of this info. [California]
Thanks so much for the articles, Chris, but…Blast! They do blow some of my theories for the new season out of the water! For instance, I had thought the images of Endeavor in uniform might be because he had just left Bright’s funeral. I was working on the assumption that Bright, who obviously takes (took?) such pride in his uniform, would have a “dress” funeral, where members of the department are expected to wear their “blues.” I couldn’t imagine Endeavour being demoted, but I could imagine Bright, at his age and after all the stresses he’s been under over the last year, dying in harness.
I did think the Endeavour/Joan “romance” had run its course, though, and more than that, I thought the writers and actors telegraphed they thought it had, too, in the last episode last year, so I do feel better about that. I’ve always seen affection, and even love, between the two of them, but never any passion, but at the same time, if there’s one thing that seems to drive Endeavour in his romances, it’s been passion. I don’t know that he actually realized that about himself, though, until the huge high and great crash of his relationship with Claudine. It wasn’t until that offer of coffee, and in particular his acceptance of it, that I saw him realize that maybe what he felt for Joan wasn’t quite what he wanted in a romantic relationship. It could well be love, which is what confused him, but maybe of a more fraternal sort. Which doesn’t mean his ego isn’t bruised, especially once he realizes Joan got that about him before he did!
But I want to take this chance to make a comment about the character of Morse more generally, not knowing when I’ll have a better opportunity. I used the off-season to binge-watch ALL of the original Morse series (except for “The Remorseful Day,” which I couldn’t bring myself to watch) and ALL of “Inspector Lewis,” and I came away with a rather different impression of the character of Morse than I gathered from the cumulative reviews and comments here. There was a general air of melancholy about Morse, both the character and the series, but I was surprised to find that, on the whole, he was a much more functional and I guess you could say mentally healthy person that I expected. For instance, from reading about his niece’s death in “Cherubim and Seraphim,” I assumed he and Joyce were estranged and Joyce came to him for help completely out of the blue; instead, I saw that he had sustained a healthy and happy relationship with her and her family over the years and had even come to terms with Gwen, voluntarily contributing to her care. I thought he was lonely and friendless, but while he may have been a bit lonely, I was also introduced to a number of long-time friends when he got their help on cases, and saw him engaged in regular social activities, such as his membership in choral groups. He never married and we saw a lot of his brief encounters, but there were a number of other relationships that were left open-ended at the close of the episode, meaning it was possible that they continued, at least for a little while, and by the end of the series, Adele Cecil has become something of a fixture in his life. He had the obvious respect of his co-workers, of all ranks, some of whom held him in obvious affection, and I would argue that his relationship with Strange was downright fraternal, though not from perhaps the most functional of families. All in all, not the sad-sack I was expecting and, when you add it up, a well-rounded life well lived! Somewhat melancholy, yes, because he was a bruised romantic in any number of ways, but bruised, not broken, which is what I had rather come to expect.
I couldn’t wait for series 6 to come to the US so I bought the DVD’s on line a couple of months ago. Along with watching Morse (have those DVD’s as well) over and over, I can now watch Endeavour over and over, as I bought the pilot and all the series from Amazon Video. The pilot was never shown in the US, at least not on PBS here, but Amazon had it. It was outstanding. Even though I have seen the series, I am so enjoying the articles. Thanks, Chris.
Hi Kathleen. Have you read my reviews of the four episodes of series six?
Yes I have and I do agree with most of your reviews but I don’t agree the interactions between Thursday and Win, Bright and his wife are distractions. I think it is very important to be involved and invested in characters’ personal lives. If the focus is only on the crime then it turns into just another detective story but when you get to know the characters, you care what happens to them and then you are a part of the show, part of their lives. The crime is solved but you keep watching to see what happens to the them. I liked episode 4 more than you did but then I like a heroic ending. I do agree that series 6 is not up to the caliber of the previous series but even at their worst, I still love them. I always enjoy all of your posts. They are wonderful!