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SPOILERS AHEAD!
Where’s Colin?
This may be the Colin Dexter reference in the Raga episode. It reads OUR LOST FRIEND and then something unreadable then TOWN HALL. Part of Colin’s memorial service was held at Oxford Town Hall. It’s near the beginning of the episode as Win and Bridget walk past a notice board. Click HERE to read about my day as a guest at Colin Dexter’s memorial service.
Directed by Zam Salim. No other connection to the Morse Universe.
Written by Colin Dexter (characters), Russell Lewis (written and devised by). Russell has written all the Endeavour episodes. He also wrote;
Lewis (TV Series) (screenplay – 4 episodes, 2010 – 2012) (story – 1 episode, 2006)
– Fearful Symmetry (2012) … (screenplay)
– Old, Unhappy, Far Off Things (2011) … (screenplay)
– Falling Darkness (2010) … (screenplay)
– The Dead of Winter (2010) … (screenplay)
– Reputation (2006) … (story)
He also wrote the Morse episode, ‘The Way Through the Woods’.
SYNOPSIS
Raga is also a melodic framework for improvisation akin to a melodic mode in Indian classical music.
It’s June 1970 and Professor Blish has been charged with the deaths of Molly Andrews and Dr Benford. However, Thursday doesn’t believe Blish killed Molly Andrews, neither do I, and is still convinced she was killed by her boyfriend Carl Sturgis. For that reason he has started to ‘stalk’ Sturgis.
Meanwhile there is racial tension in Oxford on the run up to a general election. This tension is exacerbated by the stabbing of a young Asian man. These tensions are heightened by a ‘make Britain white again’ political group who have their leader, Gorman, standing for parliament in the election.
Meanwhile, Ludo and Violetta show up again with Violetta wanting to continue her love affair with Endeavour.
REVIEW.
(warning, this review will contain some spoilers)
I apologise that again my review is a little disjointed but I am very busy with other matters. I also wish I had been able to create a video review but again time is at a premium.
I will state this upfront in my review so you can move on if you do not wish to read my justifications of why this episode was turgid, boring, tired and tonally flat.
This episode felt that Russell Lewis is trying to stretch one slim story line, Ludo, Morse, Violetta, over three episodes and adds a few other murders in for good measure. Speaking of murders that is now eight, if Bridget is dead, in six months. If you include the six ‘accidental’ deaths that’s fourteen. Eight deaths in six months? That is truly excessive.
It would seem that Russell and the producers are imitating every other drama on television by having story lines stretch over numerous episodes rather than keeping with what worked in earlier Endeavour episodes, the original Morse series and the Lewis series; stand alone episodes. Russell is stretching the slim story lines so much he is having to introduce a plethora of coincidences to make it work.: Win’s friend (who we only met last episode) meets Fred on the towpath and becomes a victim; (Surely once people knew of the two killings on the towpath the last thing they would do is walk that towpath alone); Fred finds Uqbah Sardar on the very same towpath; Uqbah Sardar becomes lucid enough to tell Fred about Mr Aziz stealing money; five Asians meet five thugs. I was waiting for a dance off. There are too many coincidences to mention.
As you know I have been impressed by Matthew Slater’s music but I believe he ‘overcooked’ a scene. That scene was the finding of Oberon Prince’s body by the children
It is possible it was the director who asked Matthew to place music over the scene. If he did then he has no belief in his own ability. Once that scene started with the overly dramatic music any tension was broken. Music should be there to enhance a scene not detract from it.
As to often happens in so many TV and film dramas of today the director feels the need to signal what is about to happen with the use of overly dramatic music and this can result in the scene being less tense and dramatic. What is being said by the film-makers is, the audience are too stupid to realise that this is a dramatic scene so we must spell it out to them in any way possible. The director and the music director are ‘overcooking’ the scene. On top of that you have the nervous children approaching the suitcase. Now you have two signals that something dramatic is about to happen. Three if you count the slow moving camera as it nears the wardrobe where the suitcase is. Four if you count the children holding their noses because of the obnoxious smell.
In film, the idiom, less is more, can be a truism. The quick cuts during the scene also detracted from the forthcoming revelation. So with these four signals it became obvious what was about to happen and destroyed any tension in the scene. The four signals especially the children holding their nose made us the viewer more than aware what was in the suitcase.
I believe the shot could have been better if shot in this way: The camera moves in slowly toward the children in one shot, there is no music. The children play happily. The camera gets closer to the children giving the impression that the children are in danger. As the camera moves closer, still all in one shot, it looks to focus on one child making it appear he or she is the target of whatever is about to happen. In the background is the wardrobe. Just as the camera reaches the child one of the children kicks the ball, it hits the wardrobe, opens the door the suitcase falls to the ground. Quick cut to the suitcase and an arm or leg protruding from the upturned suitcase. The camera moves back through the children who are frozen to the spot holding their noses. Cut.
Now I am going to ‘overcook’ my criticism of the scene. However, this is not the first time a scene from an Endeavour episode has been ‘overcooked’ and that is why I am going to make an example of this one.
Great directors like David Lean, Alfred Hitchcock etc have shown that music is not necessary to make a scene dramatic or full of tension. In Hitchcock’s film, The Birds’ there is no music in the entire film. Hitchcock used natural sounds to rack up the tension. Here is a scene from the film.
Even out of context the scene still has drama and tension.
Next up we have a film by one of the greatest directors who ever lived, David Lean. (Click on his name to see his IMDB. I’ll wager you have seen at least one of his films). This scene involves a couple being told their son, Reg, and his best friend have been killed in a car accident. The music is playing from a radio that was bought by Reg for his parents. The music is of a diegetic nature it has not not been transplanted onto the scene. The music is incongruous in light of what is happening BUT still the scene is full of tension and drama. Not only that but David Lean’s camera doesn’t follow Vi out to the garden where Frank and Ethel Gibbons are pottering about. ( Frank and Ethel are played by the wonderful Celia Johnson and Robert Newton). The camera slowly pans as if afraid to intrude on the parents grief. I will repeat myself in writing that today the director and writer would feel the need to have a camera follow Vi’s character and get a big close of the grieving couple’s face. Today’s writers and directors feel the need to spell out everything to their audience either because they believe the audience are stupid or that the audience are getting dumber.
Again, out of context from the rest of the film, the scene above still has tension and drama.
You can find many such scenes in films by the likes of, Tarantino, Kubrick, Wim Wenders, Kurosawa, Coen Brothers, (Click HERE to see a clip from the Coen Brothers film No Country for Old Men. No music but palpable tension), François Truffaut, Ingmar Bergman, Martin Scorsese, Christopher Nolan to name but a few.
Why is Fred ‘stalking’ Sturgis in such an obvious way? I understand that he believes that Sturgis killed Molly Andrews but how is following him going to help. Surely watching Sturgis in a more surreptitious way would make more sense. Then he could hope to see Sturgis doing something that shows he is involved in Molly’s death.
Another cliche was the death of Bridget. This type of scene has been used since 1930s horror films. Person, usually a woman, keeps looking behind her and then something jumps out in front. No one would jump at this type of scene unless this was their first time watching a drama or horror film. It’s such a cliched, boring, cheap over used type of scene. The director should be ashamed using this. You the viewer should feel insulted that such a technique was used.
The affair with Violetta has already become as tiring as the one with Joan. The actress who plays Violetta has a limited range and the love affair doesn’t come across as passionate. The whole thing feels forced and unnatural. However, if the affair is one where Endeavour is being set up by Violetta, then bravo to Stephanie Leonidas for exuding those emotions perfectly. The last episode in series three will hopefully answer that question.
The whistling motif has been done before and to better effect in the film, Twisted Nerve.
This whistling motif from Twisted Nerve has been used many times in other films most famously in Quentin Tarantino’s, Kill Bill. Click the title to go to Youtube and hear the Kill Bill version.
Hands up all those who knew poor Bridget was going to be a victim of the mysterious whistler. Fred saying to her, “You want to be careful, it’s not safe” was the kiss of death.
Lumpen and far from subtle conversation between the doctor and Mr Bright to highlight that because the doctor appears Pakistani it doesn’t mean he was born there.
Why did we not see Oberon’s second wife? Endeavour talks about Rosemary Oberon to Fred and says, “Well, his first wife.” So that implies there is a second wife. Is this her?
When Ludo visits Endeavour at his house he says that he has been looking for donations for his charitable foundations. This puts Ludo a little closer to being Hugo DeVries. His girlfriend, Marion Brooke, in the Morse episode Masonic Mysteries, worked for the charity Amnox. A bit tenuous but…
What needs to be cleared up in the third episode.
- Who is the whistler/killer?
- Who has been skinning cats as mentioned by Ms Frazil in the first episode?
- Are the six accidental deaths in six months, accidental?
- Whose blood is on Endeavour’s shirt as seen in the first scene of the episode Oracle.
- Is Ludo, Hugo DeVries?
- What are the names of the Canaries?
- Will Fred and Endeavour ever have a drink again together?
Episode Jag Rating – out of 10.
MUSIC.
At around four minutes Shaun is in his office and he is listening to music. I don’t recognise the music. I think it may be a composition written specifically for the episode by Matthew Slater.
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As Strange is tasting his food we can hear Spanish Eyes by Engelbert Humperdinck.
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When Ludo visits Endeavour he asks what the music is that’s playing. Endeavour replies, “la cura per l’amore. Tregola.” Which translates as, ‘caring for love.’ I don’t know any composer called Tregola. I have to assume that the piece is one of Matthew Slater’s own compositions. Linda has corrected my poor attempt to translate Italian. The song title means either ‘cure for love’ or ‘healing for love’.
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When Gorman faces his daughter in her flat we hear what I think is Tom Jones singing ‘Without Love’
I am happy that classical music has once again returned to Endeavour as the main musical thrust. So far no annoying period modern music crow-barred in to let us know we are in the 1970s.
LITERARY REFERENCES.
Ludo visits Endeavour at his house. he says;
“A man needs to keep his friendships in good repair.”
Samuel Johnson said “If a man does not make new acquaintances as he advances through life, he will soon find himself left alone. A man, sir, should keep his friendship in a constant repair.”
Samuel Johnson (1709 – 1784), often referred to as Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor, and lexicographer.
ART.
Thank you to Gene who noticed the following. At the around the one hour and 13 minute mark we can see a print on the wall.
This print is a variation on the painting, Self-portrait in a Straw Hat by Elisabeth-Louise Vigée-Lebrun.
LOCATIONS.
One of the first scenes is Win and Bridget walking arm in arm. This is Merton Grove Walk that enters onto Merton Street.
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The Asian group meet the racist thugs.
Above photo copyright David Lloyd-Roach.
This is Oriel Street, Oxford.
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The Asian group running away from the thugs.
This is St Helen’s passage that goes from New College Lane to the Turf Tavern pub.
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Tiffin Court is in West London.
This location is Welsby Court ,Eaton Rise, Ealing. Thank you once again to Coco.
Below is an article in the Radio Times about filming at the above house.
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Next up we have Win and Fred’s house.
The address is 10 Ramsey Road, Headington.
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The Jolly Rajah is funnily enough a former Indian take away.
This is located on The High Street in the Old Town of Hemel Hempstead.
‘Old Tom’s’ with the misplaced possessive apostrophe, hated by James Hathaway and I, is seen as Ann’s City Cafe (with the correctly placed possessive apostrophe).
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After the visit from Endeavour, Strange and Thursday to Tiffin Court we get a lovely view over Oxford.
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Thursday is following Carl Sturgis.
This is South Street, Oxford. The pub on Thursday’s left is called The Punter.
They turn the corner and walk along the canal path.
As you can see the The Punter Pub and South Street are not far from the city centre.
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Mrs. Radowicz’s home.
Once again Coco has come up trumps on finding this location. 15 Belham Road,Kings Langley. WD48BX.
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Fred walks with Bridget along the canal path on East Street, Oxford.
The building in the background is an old power station, now closed down. Arthur Street runs behind it.
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Endeavour drives up to Ludo’s house. Location unknown.
The location of this house was located by Coco. Wonderful find Coco. Marsh Close London NW7.
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Under the Bridge of Sighs. Morse and Fred talking to Gorman.
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After talking to Gorman, Fred and Morse are seen walking along Merton Street.
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Gary Rogers is attacked by Asians.
This is Oriel Street again. The same place the thugs chased the Asians.
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The team find out two calls were made from this location.
Location unknown.
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David Rees very kindly sent me photos which were taken during filming in 2019.
They are all in Merton Street and we also see Magpie Lane. Thank you David.
PUB LOCATIONS.
Sadly, no pubs used.
Actors who appeared in the Endeavour Series , Episode 2 ‘RAGA’ and/or Morse or Lewis.
Emma Cunniffe as Rosemary Prince.
She appeared in the Lewis episode One for Sorrow as Bryony Willet.
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Rebecca Saire as Mrs. Radowicz.
She also appeared in the Endeavour episode, Colours as the same character.
CONNECTIONS OTHER THAN ACTORS TO THE LEWIS, ORIGINAL MORSE SERIES AND PREVIOUS ENDEAVOUR EPISODES.
Is this a red Jag seen in Roger’s bedroom?
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When Gorman is talking to Morse and Fred under the Bridge of sighs, he says that Oberon was a heavy roller and would bet on anything, anywhere, anytime. He will bet on two flies crawling up a wall. This last line is very similar to a line spoken by Caroline O’Neill in the Lewis episode, ‘And the Moonbeams Kiss the Sea’.
When I heard the name Uqbah I couldn’t help but think of the name written out in blood on a piece of paper next to a dead body in the Lewis episode, Allegory of Love. The name in blood, however, was Uqbar. Half a reference 🙂
James in the comments section mentioned two possible connections. I had noted them but I thought they were rather overly tenuous but I decided to post James’ comment and let the readers decide if they are truly connections.
“…this Endeavour episode centred around the murder of two people with links to an Indian restaurant. This brought to mind the Morse episode, “Greek Bearing Gifts”, which concerned, if memory serves me right, the death of a chef in a Greek restaurant, that Mr and Mrs. Lewis had previously attended.
My other connection for this week’s Endeavour episode, would be the suitcase that contained a torso and other dismembered body parts, although there was no head. This sounded similar to the mutilated body parts found in the canal, during the Morse episode, “The Last Enemy”. It is also interesting that one of the overarching storylines in this year’s series, includes the mysterious deaths by the canal, therefore, this is perhaps another connection to that original Morse episode.”
Thank you James.
Miscellaneous.
The episode opens with the kind of advert that was seen at the cinema of the 1970s usually created by Pearl and Dean.
Part of the ‘advert’ is the name and place of the restaurant.
Cawnpore was a key episode in the Indian rebellion of 1857. It was an uprising against The East India Company.
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There was a general election in the UK in 1970. It was a surprise victory for the Conservative Party under leader Edward Heath. This general election was the first in which people could vote from the age of 18, after passage of the Representation of the People Act the previous year.
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The Oxford election was won by Christopher Montague Woodhouse, 5th Baron Terrington, DSO, OBE (11 May 1917 – 13 February 2001) was a Conservative politician and Member of Parliament for Oxford from 1959 to 1966 and again from 1970 to 1974.
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The National Front party a far-right, fascist political party in the United Kingdom in the 1970 local elections, fielding 10 candidates: almost all received under 5% of the vote. Led by A. K. Chesterton at the time. No NF candidates stood in Oxford.
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Of course the the restaurant name, The Jolly Rajah is a play on the Jolly Roger. Jolly Roger is the traditional English name for the flags flown to identify a pirate ship.
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The name of the building where Oberon Prince lived was Tiffin Court. Probably chosen with its sub continent references because of Carry on up the Khyber a film of 1968. I think there is a scene where they discuss Tiffen during a seige. Tiffin is an Indian English word for a type of meal. It refers to a light tea-time meal at about 3pm.
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Oberon is a king of the fairies in medieval and Renaissance literature. He is best known as a character in William Shakespeare’s play A Midsummer Night’s Dream, in which he is King of the Fairies and spouse of Titania, Queen of the Fairies.
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Ms Frazil mentions a farmer drowned in pig swill. The sixth freak accident in six months. So that’s skinned cats mentioned in Oracle and now freak accidents.
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Rosemary Prince tells Endeavour that she and Oberon on their TV show Et Viola, “I was his Johnnie to his Fanny. This is a reference to the famous Fanny Cradock and her husband Johnnie. They were stalwarts of the small screen for many years during the 1960s and 1970s.
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Why is it when we visit Endeavour’s house he is always doing a crossword? Why isn’t he seen reading a book?
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Thursday mentions the phrase, ‘Faces and heels’ in regard to American wrestling. In professional wrestling, a face (babyface) is a heroic or a “good guy” n professional wrestling, a heel is a wrestler who portrays a villain or a “bad guy”
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Thank you to Amber who pointed out that Ludovic ‘Ludo’ Bagman is a character in the Harry Potter books who became head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports.
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When talking of Oberon Prince, Ludo says he was ‘no Robert Danvers.’ Not sure who this is referring to. Thank you to Polly who told me that Danvers is a Peter Sellers character from the 1970s film, There’s a Girl in my Soup.
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The episode is something of a family affair. We get Roger Allam as Fred Thursday, his wife Rebecca Saire as Hazel Radowicz and Roger and Rebecca’s son William Allam as Gary Rogers.
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Sheldon kindly pointed out that there appears to be references to the Matt Damon film The Talented Mr Ripley. This seems to be emphasised by the reveal of Ludo’s surname as ‘Talenti.’
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Bright tells the Doctor Sardar that he spent time in India. He mentions ‘Pankot’ and ‘Chandrapore’. Pankot, which was also mentioned by Bright in the Endeavour episode ‘Prey’, was the name of the village “Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom”. In the E.M. Forster novel ‘A Passage to India’ Chandrapore is the name of the city featured in the novel. Mr Aziz, the delivery driver for the Jolly Rajah, is the main character in Forster’s novel, a “Dr. Aziz”.
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Kathy Aubrey, one of my subscribers, believes the tune being whistled is Oh,Oh Antonio. the lyrics for the song are;
In quaint native dress an Italian maid
Was deep in distress as the streets she strayed
Searching in every part
For her false sweetheart
And his ice-cream cart
Her English was bad it cannot be denied
And so to herself in Italian she cried,
Oh Oh Antonio he’s gone away
Left me alonio, all on my ownio
I want to meet him with his new sweetheart
Then up will go Antonio and his ice-cream cart.
So sad grew the plight of this fair, young lass
She’d faint at the sight of an ice-cream glass
She’d dream nigh every day
He’d come back to stay
But he’d fade away
Her old hurdy-gurdy all day she’d parade
And this she would sing to each tune that it played.
She sought in despair for Antonio
And looked everywhere that she thought he would go
Soon she to pine began
As each face she’d scan
For her ice-cream man
She faded away, but they say in the streets
The ghost of that girl in Italian repeats.
Thank you Kathy.
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When Fred and Endeavour visit Gorman in his HQ is it a coincidence that Gorman’s bodyguard is called Nigel. Surely not a reference to Nigel Farage.
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Angie on Twitter made a good point in writing that Endeavour in his all black outfit looked not unlike Steve McQueen in the excellent film, Bullitt. However, Steve’s turtleneck is blue.
FRED THURSDAY’S WORDS OF WISDOM.
After interviewing Gary Rogers, Fred and Thursday discuss the case. Fred is annoyed at the way organisations such the one Gary was part of never get the blame. He says,
“Nothing ever sticks to those bastards. British movement. He’s a movement alright.”
THE MURDERED, THEIR MURDERER/S AND THEIR METHODS.
One of the five Asian men is stabbed to death.
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Mr Aziz killed with a meat cleaver. Killed by Rafiq Sardar.
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Oberon Prince killed by Rafiq Sardar using a meat cleaver I believe.
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Gary Rogers is killed by Asian thugs.
Bridget is killed by the mysterious whistler. Or was she? She is shown to be in the credits for the third episode, Zenana. Of course, it could be a flashback or a re showing of what happened to her.
CAST
Caroline O’Neill as Win Thursday
Flora London as Bridget Mulcahy
Jason Merrells as Martin Gorman
Harki Bhambra as Bobby Singh
Buom Tihngang as Johnny Simba
Ted Robbins as Stanley Nayle
Roger Allam as DCI Fred Thursday
Carol Royle as Mrs. Bright
Sia Alipour as Dr. Farook Sardar
Anton Lesser as Chief Superintendent Reginald Bright
William Allam as Gary Rogers
Madhav Sharma as Uqbah Sardar
Pal Aron as Rafiq Sardar
Sean Rigby as DS Jim Strange
Neil Roberts as Oberon Prince
Shaun Evans as DS Endeavour Morse
Stephanie Leonidas as Violetta Talenti
Ryan Gage as Ludo Talenti
Shane Zaza as Salim Sardar
Sam Ferriday as Carl Sturgis
Rebecca Saire as Mrs. Radowicz
Hiftu Quasem as Nuha Sardar
James Bradshaw as Dr. Max DeBryn
Deva Wareing as Ilsa Trent
Abigail Thaw as Dorothea Frazil
Emma Cunniffe as Rosemary Prince
Graeme Stevely … Adrian Sloane (as Graeme ‘Grado’ Stevely)
Did anyone feel Mr Aziz might have been a reference to a ‘Passage to India’ where the central character was a Dr Aziz?
Hi Toni. I mentioned that reference in my post under the Miscellaneous section.
I thought the episode ruined as often happens, when a word used today and not used in 1970 cropped up. ‘Indigenous’ wasn’t used widely in my recollection.
Another point was that Jim Strange ordered a curry over the phone, was his the address that was ‘confused’ or a red herring?
The cleaver’s owner was not picked up on, something a professional chef would use, especially in a curry house. Easily missed perhaps.
It would not surprise me if the too obvious Ludo is playing Morse, distracting him with his wife whilst the ‘bored’ Ludo perhaps kills? It could have something to do with the last war.
I think that Strange referred to it being tasty, so not his address.
Watching Strange cooking made me wonder whether he was having a special visitor over. One thing we’ve not had retconned yet is that Strange refers in ‘Last Seen wearing’ (1988) that he has daughters (‘Thank God my daughters went red brick’). Of course, he could have adopted them later, or they could be child geniuses, but that aspect of the character was something I would have thought to have been developed, in contrast to Morse’s bachelor-ness (and Strange’s progression up the ranks).
Jim Strange said that Mr Aziz was the man who delivered his curry, so his curry had arrived earlier.
The murders took place at Oberon’s property – he was a celebrity chef, so no-one would probably question where the cleaver came from, they would assume it was his.
I was at a Lancashire grammar school in the 1970s. ‘Indigenous’ was a word commonly used in such an environment, and particularly in geography classes.
Thanks again for your interesting thoughts once again, Chris.
The two things that struck me in this episode. Firstly the plot device where Aziz is sent to an erroneous address is based on the case of William Herbert Wallace (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Herbert_Wallace), whose wife was murdered while he had been sent on an errand to a fictitious address in Liverpool: Menlove Gardens West. The name is also very similar to that where Aziz was sent.
The second thing which struck me was that the shots of the Sardar family home, where they are all wearing shoes indoors. As they are from (East?) Pakistan, and based on this and the names, presumably Muslims, this would be strange as it counters Islamic conventions on cleanliness. Every Muslim household I’ve ever visited leave their shoes at the door. A minor thing, perhaps, but once noticed becomes hard to ignore.
We’ve also not had any reference to the 1970 football world cup, which strikes me as unusual. Before my time, however.
As noted, Mendip Gardens West is similar to Menlove Gardens West in Liverpool (where there was a murder). Menlove Gardens West leads onto Menlove Avenue, and 251 Menlove Avenue is known as Mendips – the childhood home of John Lennon.
There is no Menlove Gardens West. But East, North and South are real. West was the fictitious address where the insurance salesman, Wallace, was sent after receiving a phone call. The murder of his wife took place at their home, several miles away, the same evening. He was accused and convicted and sentenced to death but the conviction was overturned on appeal and he was freed. The case remains unsolved.
Are you sure? All maps show that Menlove Gardens East is the missing one.
My mistake. It is East that was the false address given. But there was no murder at that location which is what I wanted to point out. The murder was at the Wallace home, in the Anfield area, several miles away. My apologies. But Menlove Gardens West ccmes off Menlove Avenue, rather than leading to it.
Beg pardon. Raga and raja are two different things.
Thank you Karen i have corrected my mistake.
Robert Danvers appears to be a character in the 1970 film A Girl In My Soup
“A Girl in My Soup is set in the posh London flat of fortysomething Robert Danvers, a self-satisfied epicure and celebrity chef who fancies himself as a playboy.”
In a strange coincidence, the film just started on TV as I was looking it up! The character is played by Peter Sellers.
Thank you Polly. It’s been a long time since I have watched that film. Not one of Peter Sellers best films. A film of its time. I will up date my post with that info.
Not sure if it’s a coincidence but rewatching Trove and noticed Robert Danvers is one of the judges at the beauty pageant
Not sure if it’s a coincidence but just rewatching Trove and Robert Danvers is a judge at the beauty pageant. I think he’s described as a gourmet.
Hi Angela. I will take a look at Trove to see thia and then add it to the post info.
Excellent work, as always, Chris. Thx for the deep dive.
You’re welcome Karen. I just wished I didn’t need to be so negative. I’m hoping the third episode will pull it all together and end the series on a high note.
I think I heard a serious anachronism near the beginning. In the restaurant when the son is asked how his father is he replies “Confused dot com”. This would not have been a joke in 1970.
A lot of people have been writing on Twitter, FB etc about this but he says, ‘confused uncle.’
Martin Gorman may well be a conflation of Martin Bormann and Martin Webster. The latter was expelled from the National Friont for homosexuality.
An excellent summary, as ever.
I’m curious however. Is the incorrect direct object deliberate in the following…
“Old Tom’s’ with the misplaced possessive apostrophe, hated by James Hathaway and I, is seen as Ann’s City Cafe (with the correctly placed possessive apostrophe).”…?
I noticed that. Along with the incorrect apostrophe in “it’s” in the Tiffin paragraph.
Andy and Stuart, I am going to be very blunt here and will not apologise for what I am about to write. It takes me over 12 hours to create these reviews with no financial gain other than the occasional kind donation. Apart from the reviews, I am also always working toward what to do next on my website, like organising live streams on Twitch. I am studying full time for a master’s degree. I am attempting to write a novel. I try to find time to visit my mother in a nursing home three times a week. I try to find time to see my adult children. And all that does not cover everything I do. So, I am not going to apologise for the occasional grammatical error. But I have rectified the aberrant apostrophe just for you.
Great, detailed review as always.
I’m amazed no-one can identify Ludo’s house, it seems so distinctive.
I hate unnecessary coincidence, and Fred finding Sardar on the towpath, AND spotting Morse having his assignation with Violetta, were just too much to bear.
I agree that the music was intrusive in parts, going on for scene after scene without purpose.
A further literary reference; Strange mentions the Greek island of Vrakonisi. This is the fictional setting of Robert Markham’s James Bond novel Colonel Sun.
Have we pointed out that Roger Allam’s wife and son appear in the episode, playing mother and son?
Chris, wonderful analysis again so thank you.
I have to say I don’t believe you are being too negative at all in criticising this episode. I too found nothing particularly stretching about Raga, or indeed Oracle for that matter. Every plot turn and device became so heralded as to reduce some scenes to the standard dross I can find on any one of a hundred other freeview TV channels.
I remember only too well the days when Morse and Endeavour were very much ‘brain on’ television not the ‘brain off’ stuff of this episode and I really miss that. It’s meant to be a cerebrally engaging watch not Coronation Street for goodness sake.
I knew Rebecca Saire was married to someone on the main cast but couldn’t remember who. Thank you for that.
Fingers tightly crossed for the third episode, however, there does seem to be an awful lot to try to pull together to make it all work.
Am I the only one disturbed by the several repetitions in this episode? How many times do we see Castle Gate’s stairs? How many times has Jim Strange some news to announce exactly when Morse and Thursday are together? How many times do we see Morse/Thursday stepping in/out the Jag? How many overall views of Oxford’s roofs in this episode? All of these useless repetitions make the whole film more conventional, slow and as if it was filled with patch images between the “useful” scenes. It’s far away of the delight of a Harvest, Colours or Canticle. But, in my opinion, I find Morse’s romance is giving tense to the episode and depth to the character, we see him struggling with himself, going beyond his own decision/principles. And that’s good.
Thanks once again Chris, for a thought-provoking and fascinating review of this latest Endeavour episode. You have certainly become a trenchant critic of the writing by Russell Lewis. However, with your knowledge of the Morse universe and the detective genre in fiction, TV and film, as well as the evidence you provide to back up your argument, you make a compelling case for this negative review. You appear to be able to spot a potential plot hole, quicker than Russell Lewis decides to write and include, yet another murder or unexplained death, into his script!
Nevertheless, your rating for this episode does leave me feeling a little deflated. Perhaps, given the changing nature of the series, that like you, I don’t agree with, it has slowly transformed from portraying stand alone episodes, to stretching storylines over multiple episodes, this actually makes reviewing an episode, and giving it a rating out of 10, all the more difficult. It is almost as if, you need to wait for the final episode of the series, before you can accurately judge, what came before. In reference to last year’s series, episodes 2 and 3 appeared to be mere filler, before the explosive finale of Deguello, which I and many others enjoyed. Hopefully this year’s final episode will also be successful, and go someway to explain the various subplots, that are so far unresolved.
As far as finding any connections to the Morse or Lewis series, this Endeavour episode centred around the murder of two people with links to an Indian restaurant. This brought to mind the Morse episode, “Greek Bearing Gifts”, which concerned, if memory serves me right, the death of a chef in a Greek restaurant, that Mr and Mrs. Lewis had previously attended.
My other connection for this week’s Endeavour episode, would be the suitcase that contained a torso and other dismembered body parts, although there was no head. This sounded similar to the mutilated body parts found in the canal, during the Morse episode, “The Last Enemy”. It is also interesting that one of the overarching storylines in this year’s series, includes the mysterious deaths by the canal, therefore, this is perhaps another connection to that original Morse episode.
Finally, with reference to the first episode of this year’s series, “Oracle”, Morse discovered the pivotal clue behind the murder of Dr. Naomi Benford through a pen, that was found under her body. This possibly provides a connection to the Morse episode, “Happy Families”, where a pen, made in Montreal, if I remember rightly, was found on the body of the first victim. Morse later comes across a book at the police fair, that tells him the important information about who had spent time in Canada, and thus enables him to deduce the identity of the killer.
James, strange as it might seem but I hate having to write a negative view. However, when I started my website I promised myself that I would be honest in regard to episode reviews. I do hope the last episode is a good one especially in light of the fact that it is not only the last of the series but the fourth last episode of the complete series.
I did pick up those references to Morse episodes, apart from the Happy Families connection (good catch by the way) but I thought they were a rather tenuous. But maybe they should be included so I will do put them into the post. People can then decide for themselves if the references/connections are tenuous or not. Thanks James.
Interesting points James.
Particularly your thought that we may indeed need to wait until the end of the series before giving each episode an individual rating.Ummm!
Thank you for sharing a lot with us.
May I ask you possibly a literature-related question? What does the doctor mean by mentioning that ‘old geographers joke’ from around 01:06:11 to 01:06:34? What’s the relation between ‘a cockney wristies’ and ‘ His andies’ ? Many thanks!
Hi Sylvie. It’s a very old joke and not a very good one. It’s a play on words. The hands (andies) are connected to the wrists (wristies). The geograghical part of the joke is that for ‘andies’ read Andes. Hope that helps.
Thanks for replying so quickly Chris, and updating both your recent reviews, it is much appreciated. While watching an Endeavour episode, perhaps because it is a prequel, it does make you think of possible connections to the Morse and Lewis series. It can also sometimes, if one can find the time, make you want to watch an old episode of Morse or Lewis, to see, if you can connect links from both series together.
Did you notice Morse used the Americanism ‘loaned’ during one of his station interviews instead of the British ‘lent’? It is creeping in to modern usage but, I think, would not have been used in the 60s.
Good work Chris.
As a miscellaneous point, I was wondering if this episode is the first time we see Morse smoking on television? Morse is a smoker in the novels but never in the original Morse series (although John Thaw was apparently a heavy smoker). And I can’t recall offhand ever having having seen him smoke in Endeavour either, but perhaps I’m wrong?
Hi Michael. Endeavour smoked in series 5 when he was romancing Claudine the french photographer.
Hi
This is my 1st post though I have followed the website for a number of years.
Probably the most dark dismal endeavour ever . No sandwiches,no banter,
Fred losing it ,Brights wife dying and a superior morse, not even Joan,s pretty
Face to cheer things.Your synopsis of the story summed it up, especially the
Huge coincidences.Didn,t see any other copper,s at Castlegate except our heroes
Had they all left.Wonder how he managed to pull the beautiful and sophisticated
Violetta who had a handsom and immensely rich husband
There have been laughable scenes before such as Joan reading a travel brochure
To Israel in the middle of the 6day war,and Morse prefering to illegally break
Into a factory bristling with security devices,than have a coffee with Joan who
He,s had the hots for ,for years.Finally Morse letting Joan disappear when she,s
Just witnessed a murder, attempted murder ,and a bank raid plus giving marlock
Information.At least these episodes were entertaining,more than could be said
For this
Hi John and thank you for following my site for so long. I’m glad you have decided to comment. Let’s hope the series ends on a high.
Well done to Coco for identifying Ludo’s house!!
Is it ok to post a (probably obvious observation) about tomorrow’s episode?
Of course, that’s what the comment’s section is for.
The final episode is called ‘Zenana’ which means ‘of the women’ or ‘pertaining to the women’ and generally refers to the part of the house where female members of the family live in (some) Hindu and Muslim families in India.
Lady Matilda’s College, real name Lady Margaret Hall, is featured in this episode afaik, and was one of the original women’s only colleges at Oxford until the late 1970’s. LMH was named after Lady Margaret Beaufort and Ludo says he went to Beaufort College.
As I watched the final episode my mouth couldn’t open wide enough in disbelief. Sorry, but most of it was a load of tosh.
Another cracking episode. Honestly, there’s so much negativity here I don’t know why you lot bother watching it.
I take it this is meant to be ironic…?!
We live in hope Robert, we live in hope.
I wondered whether the farmer drowning in pigswill was a nod to the 70’s public information film “Apaches” about the dangers of farms, including of drowing in slurry, especially given the Indian theme of the episode. The wrong sort of “Indian” obviously, but perhaps meant ironically.
Odd thing Andy but I had already figured Russell was a bit of an early Genesis fan (bear with me here!) from the episode (2/2) Nocturne, where croquet mallets are murder weapons and he parodies the cover of the 1971 album Nursery Cryme, and the plot of the first track Musical Box. I was used to his Kate Bush and Beatles references but he confirmed this was a reference to a track called Carry On Up The Vicarage on the 1978 Please Don’t Touch album by the ex-Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett. Hackett songs often show a quite bizarre parody-driven sense of humour and it’s worth a listen as is the whole album. Russell is also a fan. It’s a real niche reference and I had to contact him just so he knew that someone had got it! Dx
Chris, thanks for the chockful of easter eggs, notes, references, asides, etc. I’m new to this Blog, and although an ex-pat, I’ve lived most of my life in the former US colonies in Hollywood, actually. So, saw some of the Inspector Lewis series first, then a few of Morse, and finally all of the Endeavour series. Must admit the “Prey” episode stood out for me, not only appearance of Ms. Martini who appeared as lead character in Prime Suspect 1973, but also Bright’s story on killing the man-eater. Our late dad was sent out to India/Pakistan to work as an auditor for an American oil company, and came back with stories about man-eaters, especially Col. Jim Corbett’s Man-eaters of Kumaon. Corbett’s bravery almost bordered in foolhardiness, but the stories were so engrossing—one about holding fresh bird’s eggs in his left hand while moving his rifle slowly around with his right arm to aim at the tiger crouched ready to spring behind him. So, when Bright explained his story, it took me back to reading those amazing stories. PS I ran into the lovely Jodie Comer in the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills last year, and was surprised to learn she was a Scouser like Shaun Evans. PPS Keep up great work, why only 3 episodes this season?
Hi Ashley and welcome to my website. Killing Eve is a very good series. The story Bright tells in the Prey episode is the highlight of the episode in my opinion. In regard to the three episodes this series here is my theory which many Morse fans agree with. Russell Lewis the creator and writer of the Endeavour series is probably planning to create only 33 episodes, the same as the Lewis and original Morse series. So, before the seventh series 27 episodes had been made. Russell Lewis has, it seems, decided to split series seven and series eight into three episodes each. I hope that helps.
I find killing these magnificent animals very sad indeed. No one with an ounce of compassion in their hearts would get pleasure, let alone want to participle, in such a barbarous action such as this.
Thanks as always Chris. Same as some others, I also think this episode to be on the weak and dull side. One point I would like to make. Contrary to popular belief, the first skinhead movement in Britain (1969-1970) was not one associated with political Nationallist parties. The first wave of skinheads did not attend political meetings or carry union jacks. They were mainly associated with football clubs. Whereas there was some racism, the first skinheads associated with reggae/ska music and followed fashion trends heavily influenced by West Indian culture, which included short cropped hair. Colour of skin was not an issue. It was the second wave of skinheads that was linked to nationalism – this was around 1977-78.
This episode was very disappointing. Rushed. Too many sub-plots. And the ending was like something out of Midsomer Murders. The actors must have been exasperated at the quality of their skills being wasted on a ridiculous script.
There’s an explicitly repeated theme here of East and West. We have National Front racism directed at Pakistanis. There is a love affair between a British woman and a Pakistani man. And there’s a repeated mention of a non-existant address at Mendip Gardens West — with Thursday saying there isn’t a Mendip Gardens East either.
It’s worth remembering that in 1970 Pakistan consisted of two parts, East Pakistan and West Pakistan. Salim tells his brother Farook that he’s been talking to cousin Arik (“the nationalist”) about being part of something new in Bengal (East Pakistan). Genocide and a civil war began less than a year later, which after much pain resulted in the formation of modern Bangladesh and Pakistan.
Robert (Bob) Danvers Walker was the voice of Pathe News and the voice over of many early TV game shows
Thank you very much for your enlightening review. I have seen this episode recently in the Netherlands, where it has been made available by the public broadcaster. There is one thing in your review that particularly struck a chord with me, namely your remark about the ‘lumpen and far from subtle conversation between the doctor and Mr Bright’. I have the impression that Endeavour has lost much of its charm as a result of the apparent decision to make the series overtly political. One is looking forward to watching an intelligent and amusing detective series with beautiful classical music and references to art and literature, only to find that one is in fact watching a political sermon. Pray correct me if I am wrong, but it seems to me that the series has become much more political since Colin Dexter had sadly passed away. Is that a coincidence? Of course Dexter was not involved, as I understand, in the writing of the series, but it looks as if the actual writer is much less reluctant to make things political now than he was some years ago. The politics is starting to overshadow the actual mystery, which is quite disappointing. If the politics were to serve a particular purpose from the point of view of the mystery, then I would find it acceptable. However, the politics has started to obtain a certain autonomy within the series that is not beneficial to the mystery, I think.
Interesting observation, I´ve never thought of it in those terms. Can you give us any more examples and elaborate in what way it has become more political? Do you think it has anything to do with the political climate in UK during the late 60s and beginning of the 70s? A writer can always choose how he or she wants to present the story, but if your intention is to catch the spirit of the time I think you also must change the environment in which the characters work and live. And in doing so, some characters will also change. Otherwise your story will take place in a vacuum. I liked the first seasons of Endeavour very much and maybe the series would have stayed longer in that period. And for me the series has lost some of its charm due to the recent brawl between Endeavour and Thursday. Not sure if you agree, but I would say we still have an intelligent series with classical music.
I don’t see Ludo being DeVries mainly because of body type and facial structure. He is certainly devious enough but DeVries in the Morse episode is small and thin and almost frail looking. Ludo appears bulkier, taller, almost hefty, and generally more charming, granted in a phony way. I would not call DeVries charming in any way. Both are intelligent, polished and “classy” but there I think the similarities end. I am more inclined to see Kent Finn as DeVries. A wonderful line in My Fair Lady, “he oils his way across the floor.” That’s how I see Finn and DeVries. 🙂
About 47 minutes into this episode, Ludo says, “Life, death, rich, poor, it’s a role of the dice Morse.” (This is the scene where they’re outside Ludo’s mansion, shooting). In Masonic Mysteries, Hugo, holding a gun on Morse, says, “Life, death, darkness, light. None of it matters” (1hr., 31 min.). So, yeah, I watched “Masonic Mysteries” again, and I’m convinced Ludo = Hugo.
So why was Russell Lewis laying groundwork for a Kent Finn story? Because, Kathleen and Chris, I was also convinced Kent would show up again. Maybe it will happen yet.
On another note, did anyone else notice a Conservative party poster in the front window of the Sardars’ house? To keep them safe from attacks, maybe?
ROLL if the dice, not role! Sorry.
Hi Mary Anne, it will be very interesting to see if Finn shows up in series 8. I still think he, if anyone, is DeVries, if the writers intend to continue that storyline into the next series. I could be very wrong but I think Ludo is dead and gone.
Kathleen, ah, but if Ludo is Hugo, you never know if he’s really dead! Time will tell.
I LOVE this line of consideration! I felt very much like Ludo dropping into and under the water, not to be seen again, left the fact of his death by gunshot purposefully ambiguous. I am also VERY doubtful that Ludo Talenti was his real name. When he was sitting by that grave with the name of some supposed ancestor with the same name (and I do apologize but I did not see the dates on the stone), I had the distinct impression that Ludo has assumed his identity and that all of his business dealings were being done under that guise. I could be wrong about all of this. Nothing I’ve put forth has a shred of evidence and maybe I am being too much like Thursday and working on intuition instead of facts, but… who knows? Hopefully Season 8 will clarify things and wrap it all up. What is obvious to me is that he had researched Endeavour Morse meticulously before their “chance meeting”, which I do not believe for an instant was by chance. It seems clear that “Ludo” arranged that little pickpocketing incident just like he orchestrated Violetta being at the Opera in Venice and luring Morse into their affair. Doesn’t Morse ask “Ludo”, “why me?” ~ meaning why was he targeted? I didn’t care for “Ludo’s” answer. It HAS to be more personal than he let on. It just has to. Doesn’t it? Anyhow. I do love this family of fans. What a pleasure to ponder all things Morse with you all.
I was struck by the fact that Ludo pronounces his wife’s name “Veye-oletta” rather then the more likely “Veee-o-letta.” More evidence (as if we needed it) that he’s a fraud? Also, Violetta in Verdi’s La Traviata is a high-class prostitute who comes to a sad end.
I’m not totally convinced Ludo is Hugo but there are a lot of reasons to believe it is. I still believe it’s Kent Finn but I don’t have as much evidence to back up my claim as there is to back up Ludo’s claim to be Hugo. Maybe Russell Lewis will clear all this up in series eighth series.
Mary Anne, yes that is what Morse wonders too! But unless Thursday is a very bad shot and missed Ludo altogether, being shot point blank in the chest and falling into the water would be pretty hard to come back from. But it is a bit cryptic that the history behind DeVries leads Morse to always question his ability to somehow escape death as we see throughout the episode Masonic Mysteries. How can we bear to wait for series 8!
And Adam, definitely a orchestrated meeting with Endeavour to reel him into his scheme and toy with him. While we may think his youth has made him gullible, the older Morse was taken in as well, albeit mostly by women, “ the fairer sex!” Poor Morse, always being used but he does admit in, I believe, The Promise Land that, “I don’t understand human nature.”
I guess we can all admit to that at times.
For 6 seasons Endeavour was my favorite show, possibly of all time. The last episode of season 6 was near perfection. These 2 episodes have been the greatest of letdowns. This show has run its course. There is no need for season 8. I agree w/ you concerning all the questions that need to be answered in episode 3. I’m just not going to bother. BTW, I just discovered your page last week. Very impressive.
Thank you Mike. Welcome to my website. Hopefully series 8 will get back to basics regarding the Morse world.
What did this mean?
Regarding the missing body part(s) in.the suitcase – ‘What one expects to find on the way to the mountain range, at the end of a Cockney’s whiskers’, or something like that.
And, who would be stupid enough to walk the toepath, at night, alone, after multiple murders there? Or kiss a friend’s wife in your OPEN doorway???? Very Disappointing.
Yes, who would continue to walk that towpath at night after a spate of killings? Also, why are there no police watching the towpath (except for Fred who is doing it on his own time)? Fred warns Bridget and she still walks the towpath at night? Hard to believe.
Everything about the towpath scenario was so flawed to the point of being ridiculous.
Just watched this, thanks for reposting the review. Two observations which nobody else here has mentioned::
(1) Oberon’s head was missing from the suitcase. So where is it? Did we ever find it? Did I miss something?
(2) There are several points in this episode where we see Morse alone in his almost-empty new house. At one point, the camera pans the front room for just a moment as he gets up to answer the phone or the door (I forget which), and there’s a TV SET THERE! Seriously? Can anybody imagine Morse sitting in front of a TV, let alone buying one when there’s practically nothing else in the house yet???
Very good point marie. I didn’t notice that. Especially troubling since the elder Morse often remarked how he never watches TV. So I can’t imagine he did when he was young but instead did crosswords and read.
Hi Maria. I have looked at the scenes when we see Endeavour’s home. I don’t see a television. I see a record player, a drop leaf table with sides down near the window, an armchair and another chair. Which scene are you referring to? The one where Ludo visits or the one where Violetta visits near the end? I think you may have mistaken the drop leaf table for a television.
In Fritz Lang’s early sound film (1931) M. Peter Lorre’s character of child killer Hans Beckert whistles Grieg’s “In the Hall of the Mountain King” whenever he is overcome with the urge to commit murder. Since Lorre could not whistle – it is Lang who is heard. Later in the film, the mere sound of the song signals that he is nearby, off-screen.In the 1932 Scarface, the main melody from the sextet from ‘Lucia di Lammermoor’ by Gaetano Donizetti is whistled by Paul Muni as Tony before he kills Costillo and Lovo.
Fritz Lang’s famous and terrifying film M [M Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder] of 1931 was the first thing I thought of when the whistling theme was mentioned. You can hear the melody of the child killer here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Hall_of_the_Mountain_King
I really appreciate your dissertation on soundtracks. Overdone music is a huge pet peeve of mine. Production values have grown more subtle & sophisticated, brilliant in so many ways, but musical usage seems to have remained static. It’s just lazy, and instantly lowers the quality of what might be excellent.
With the series ending next year there is a lot of ground to cover. I saw this as a transitional episode. Transitional within the present series and transitional toward the ultimate ending next year. After last year’s series, there were a lot of complaints, from viewers, about the lack of Oxford scenery and so I think we now see more shots of Oxford again because they were reunited in the new constabulary, after being separated to different assignments. I noticed that Ludo and Violetta are prominent in the first episode. Not so much in the second. Of course this is deliberate. First, the series needed to get back to the mysteries and murders. They also need to begin to make Morse less dependent on Thursday. And aside from a few brief scenes with Ludo and Violetta, they were less obvious in this episode as well, aside from Violetta’s damsel in distress routine and Morse dropping in on Ludo to shoot skeet. I’m always a little surprised when Endeavour seems to enjoy venturing into the “posh world.” As with his poor judgement in women, I see that that failing also translates into men. Ludo is a smarmy character. But for the purposes of this episode, they needed to be downplayed. Unfortunately, trying to do a series introducing a storyline threaded throughout three episodes, while still maintaining the relationships with the original main characters (solving murders, character development), is proving to be problematic because they’re just isn’t enough screen time to do it all. Under pressure to get it all in before next year when the series ends entirely. Something like this might have worked better in one of the earlier seasons. Now with the series coming to a close, it does seem very rushed and overdone. But over the years it is probably one of my favorite series and will continue to be.
Just finished watching Raga. What a mess. The decline in the quality of writing is appalling. In all of season 6, especially in the final episode, Deguello, the loyalty and camaraderie among the Fab Five was deep and stirring. That quality is completely missing from Oracle and Raga. And the plot is a threadbare patchwork. I look with nostalgia at some brilliant plots of just about any previous season. For example, compare Raga with Trove a sad decline. What the heck was Win doing at a wrestling match anyway?
This episode aired in the USA this past weekend. The unknown address theme of East, West, etc., actually happened in a very famous real murder. It was the murder of Julia Wallace in Liverpool in 1931. Her husband was an insurance salesman who had been called to 25, Menlove Gardens East. There were Menlove Gardens North, West and South, but no East. She was killed the same evening. He was tried for the murder and found guilty, because he was suspected of staging the alibi. However he escaped the noose because his conviction was overturned on appeal. The appeal court stated that the evidence was subject to reasonable doubt. It was a sensational case at the time and has been the subject of articles and movies.
Chris, thanks for re-posting, as they’re just airing these three episodes on terrestrial PBS here in the former Colonies—although I have previously viewed all of the “new” Endeavour series. You make some excellent, if perhaps persnickety points, in your critique. And, you are certainly entitled. But I have some general points from my perspective of someone who never saw the original Inspector Morse (until recently when they began airing on my network choices); in fact, I began viewing Inspector Lewis even before Morse. So, I don’t have that history with the actors, characters, late 1980s plotting, filming, etc—I’m coming to many of the original series episodes, over 30 years later. As a result, and not to denigrate anyone’s love of the original, I find the series dated, fuddy-duddy, and slow as molasses. Endeavour, and all its seasons, is how I came to the wonderful “Morse” storyline. I think we are all coloured by what appealed to us originally. Despite the flaws you point out about this Endeavour series, and your resultant low scores, I actually quite enjoy all of Endeavour. It just feels fresher, is shot better, and the regular actors are terrific. (BTW, WPC Trewlove plays Margaret Osborne in Beecham House). Because I have come 30 years late to Insp. Morse, I just get generally excited by the newer series. Keep up the great work. Thanks for the posts. But I’d take Endeavour over Morse any day, LOL!—Cheers, from the Left Coast of the Colonies. Ashley
Two quick comments:
About the song that is being whistled: It seemed to me to match exactly the opening notes of “Hail, hail, the gang’s all here.” I hadn’t heard of, or ever heard as far as I know, the song “Oh, Oh Antonio” suggested by someone else above, but perhaps its notes match the tune whistled also.
Secondly, I totally agree about the four signals that unmistakably indicate that something bad is about to happen, “overcooking” the discovery of the body. But for me, there were five signals, and in particular one that preceded the other four: namely, the group of children playing. No group of children had been previously seen in the episode; their presence bore no relation to any preceding plot point. That, coupled with the fact that “innocent” children coming upon a body during play happens sufficiently frequently in movies as to have become a cliché, signaled to me that the discovery of the body was imminent. I was actually surprised that the one cliché omitted from the scene was that no child, as far as I remember, emitted a piercing scream!
Rewatching on American PBS, I believe that I caught a piece of art you did not mention. One time when Mrs. Radowicz opens the door for Thursday and Morse you can see a print of a self-portrait of Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun on the wall. It looks something like this: https://d1lfxha3ugu3d4.cloudfront.net/images/opencollection/objects/size2/18.22_bw.jpg
Just did a re-watch and wanted to add my two cents.
Something that really bothered me was the inconsistent time frames in the middle of the episode. Morse refuses Thursday’s offer of a drink after work and Thursday asks if he has a date; then we see Morse driving to Ludo’s. Much later, when Morse is sitting on my his stairs and goes to meet Violetta after she calls, he’s wearing the same clothes he was wearing earlier shooting skeet, and so is Violetta, implying it’s the same day. He’s been to work, the Talenti’s, brooded at home, and them met Violetta on the towpath. It’s apparently the longest day ever, especially since there’s been a WHOLE NIGHT in between — when Thursday discovers Mr. Sardar! This kind of sloppy editing really gets my goat.
While they’re shooting, Ludo says Morse speaks like a ‘devil sick of sin.’ This sounded SO familiar to me, so I looked it up. It’s very similar to a line in the last stanza of Wilfred Owen’s ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’:
‘If in some smothering dreams, you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,—
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.’
Also, what happened to Oberon Prince’s head and hands? I mean, I guess they’ve been dumped elsewhere — a gruesome discovery for someone. Or they ended up in the curry vindaloo, gross!
Oh, and a stray observation I recently had (you probably realized this years ago!): each season of Endeavour has 1 episode title — and only 1 — that relates to music — Fugue, Nocturne, Coda, Canticle, Quartet, Degüello, Raga. Just a little tidbit.
Many thanks as always for your excellent and thorough post.
Great observations Laura – you are so right – but then the whole series seemed to jump around and the continuity dreadful – to a certain degree this has to be expected but there is a limit. unfortunately this whole series for me was pretty poorly written and edited.
There is a glaringly atrocious edit (or directional) mistake in episode 3 which I won’t detail here as Episode 3 is to air in the US – but not only is it incredibly sloppy but (for me) rather offensive to women as murder victims (but I feel I am more sensitive about this as where I live we have had a number of murders of young women around the same time I watched the episode) this error was noted by a number of fans it was that obvious – definitely not what I expect from this excellent series. The production values of this series have always been so high.
Good observations. I also noticed that More turns down the offer of a drink supposedly at the end of the day only to end up at Ludo’s while it’s still bright daylight, enough to shoot skeet. Hmmm…
Hello,
Just seen the episode and thought I’d leave what hopefully is an original observation.
“Tiffin” and “Aziz” are both names of excellent Oxford Indian Restaurants.- Is this deliberate or a coincidence I wonder? Trying to see if there are any more.
Just watched S7e2 on Amazon Prime and turned to your wonderful blog for all the period detail that’s only half-remembered (I was six in 1970) or lost in the heat of the moment. You do an outstanding job: thanks!
Anyway, I wanted to make a small point about Bright being stationed in “Pankot.” An earlier comment references Indiana Jones but I think a far more likely reference is to the (fictional) hill station that is an important location in Paul Scott’s outstanding “Raj Quartet” novels, as well as in his stand-alone novel “Staying On.”
The Raj Quartet was made into a superb TV series in the early 1980s and I highly recommend both the books and the series. Staying On won the Booker Prize in 1979, if memory serves, and was made into a stunningly good movie starring Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson, acting opposite each other for the first time since Brief Encounter in 1945. Again, both the book and the film are highly recommended.
Only a few years ago, I watched the entire miniseries, “The Jewel in the Crown” (named after the first of the four volumes of The Raj Quartet) again; it was magnificent, with marvelous acting and settings. I think you’re right about Pankot!
Watched RAGA last night and noticed a bottle of Kilorran whisky on the table at Martin Gorman’s card game.
I’m super-late to Season 7, but I have question a question that has yet to be asked or answered. Gary Rogers’ mom was in a racist fury after seeing the body. Next thing you know, she’s at the meeting, blaming the conservatives for Gary’s murder. That’s quite a change of heart.
P.S. I too would like to know where Oberon’s head is. Presumably they identified the body beause of the birthmark wife #1 told them about.
I can usually accept storylines based around a coincidence, but as mentioned there seems to be a surfeit of them in this episode.
1. Thursday finds Bridget on the towpath. Bridget is Win Thursday’s friend and colleague and soon to be towpath strangulation victim two. Also, it is unlikely any woman would walk alone at night in an unlit location where there was a recent strangulation.
2. Win and Bridget attend the boxing tournament, whose contestants feature in the investigation.
3. Same towpath, Thursday finds Mr Uqbah Sardar.
4. Thursday spots Morse rendezvous with Violetta, possibly near the well-worn towpath.
5. Tiffin Ct is home to victim, but also home of Ilsa Trent, daughter of British Movement candidate Martin Gorman, who runs a card game that includes Oberon Prince and Rafiq Sardar, while she is also dating Farook Sardar.
6. Strange took delivery of a takeaway from the victim on the night of his murder.
7. Morse doesn’t appear suspicious, when, after meeting Violetta in Venice, she is revealed as the wife of his ‘new bestie’ Ludo. Also very unlikely with Morse’s personality that he would accept Ludo, a stranger, so willingly into his life. Initially Ludo’s friendship appeared to be very much a gay pursuit, but by Raga’s end, they seemed as trusting childhood pals.
And finally, another point: The Wrestler Grado is very open about his homosexuality and picking up Oberon Prince at the Jolly Rajah. Very unlikely in 1970 when homosexuality was still outlawed.
Furthermore the time scale for Oberon Prince to leave the Jolly Rajah, following his arrangement to meet Grado at his home address, then arrive home in time to be murdered by you-know-who and start the dismemberment, and then be prepared for the arrival of Aziz, but not before Grado arrived…is pretty tight for a planned out murder.
Hello Shane and welcome to my website. Shane, you make many salient points about this underwhelming episode. There is only one point I I would argue against and that is your final one regarding Grado. The Sexual Offences Act came into law in 1967 . It legalised homosexual acts in England and Wales, on the condition that they were consensual, in private and between two men who had attained the age of 21.