The Complete Inspector Morse
Page 37
PEOPLE JUST CALL ME MORSE: Trudi wonders what Morse’s first name was, saying he never mentioned it. ‘No, he wouldn’t have,’ Lewis replies, with a wry smile.
ONE FOR THE MORGUE: Regan Peverill is shot in the back of the head by Professor Ivor Denniston. He also murders Danny Griffon and Tom Pollock with a single shot each. Denniston kills his terminally ill wife with poison, before committing suicide by the same method. Johnny Griffon died in a fatal car crash five years earlier. Val Lewis was killed by a hit-and-run driver three years earlier, a case that remains unsolved.
MURDERS: four. BODY COUNT: seven.
THE GHOST OF MORSE: Lewis is nearly run down outside Heathrow Airport by a Jaguar almost identical to that of his late mentor. Lewis describes the cryptic crossword left by his mentor as ‘Typical bloody Morse! Why couldn’t he just say what he meant?’ Trudi says she was very close to Morse for a short while. She describes him as a very decent man who understood the important things about people. She trusted Morse enough to tell him about her relationship with Pollock. Lewis is close to tears as she recalls the chief inspector. Jessica Pollock competes for the Endeavour Award, a scholarship for young musicians funded by an anonymous bequest. The only stipulation the benefactor made was that the winner must give solace to the soul with their playing. This relates back to the terms of Morse’s will, as detailed in ‘The Remorseful Day’.
QUOTE-UNQUOTE: Dr Hobson is typically acerbic when she first encounters Lewis, who’s wearing a colourful Caribbean top: ‘Can you turn down the volume on that shirt?’
Lewis remains as prudish as ever when it comes to discusses sex: ‘You reckon Danny’s right, then – Rex and Trudi having... rumpy-pumpy?’
After Innocent brusquely asks if Lewis shaved this morning, Dr Hobson gets the last word when the chief superintendent is out of earshot: ‘She hasn’t.’
Lewis apologises for being snappy about God. ‘He won’t mind,’ Hathaway replies.
SOUNDTRACK: Jessica Pollock plays a trumpet concerto by Hummel when she competes for the Endeavour Award.
IDENTITY PARADE: Laurence Fox’s credits include appearing in the film Gosford Park, the 2005 series Colditz and starring as Prince Charles in the TV movie Whatever Love Means. He’s the son of actor James Fox. Rebecca Front is best known for her work in sitcoms and sketch shows, such as The Day Today, Nighty Night and The Thick of It, but she also featured in four episodes of Kavanagh QC with John Thaw. Jack Ellis starred as guard Jim Fenner in seven series of the prison drama Bad Girls.
RATINGS: 10.66 million. The first episode of Lewis was considered a ratings smash, despite drawing fewer viewers than most episodes of its progenitor. Why? When Inspector Morse was at its peak in 1993, there were only four terrestrial channels in Britain, ITV regularly drew 40 per cent of all viewers and satellite channels accounted for only six per cent of the total viewing public. By 2005, ITV’s average audience had shrunk to just 21.5 per cent while non-terrestrial channels had grown to nearly 30 per cent. But when Lewis was screened in January 2006, BARB estimated the show drew 46 per cent of all people watching television in Britain at the time – a massive audience share. The programme was ITV’s highest-rating non-soap drama in 18 months, peaking at 11.3 million viewers during the broadcast. By way of comparison, detective drama Foyle’s War had 7.3 million viewers when it screened in the same slot as Lewis a week earlier. Colin Dexter’s creations continue to be winners for ITV.
THE VERDICT: Creating a spin-off from such a well-loved programme as Inspector Morse was either brave or foolish. Fortunately for the viewers and everyone involved, Lewis is a triumph. The show contains enough references to the late, great detective to satisfy regular viewers of the old series, but also works on its own merits.
The central murder mystery is the least interesting element of this story, with endless red herrings deployed to distract the viewer from deducing the killer’s identity. The joy of Lewis comes from the central characters and how they interact. Hathaway seems hard to like at first, but by the end he and Lewis have a strong partnership.
The new chief superintendent makes a strong first impression, dragging the show far closer to the reality of modern day policing than Inspector Morse ever got. Dr Hobson provides a welcome link to the old show, as well as offering comic relief when the going gets grim. Lewis looks like a worthy successor to its illustrious predecessor...
THE SERIES
The success of the Lewis one-off made a regular series of the show all but inevitable. Five series have been broadcast at the time of this book going to press, totalling twenty episodes in all. Should the series continue for several more years, it will be in danger of overtaking Inspector Morse for number of episodes produced and broadcast...
SERIES ONE (2007)
WHOM THE GODS WOULD DESTROY
UK TX: 18 February 2007 • SCREENPLAY: Daniel Boyle
OLD SCHOOL TIES
UK TX: 25 February 2007 • SCREENPLAY: Alan Plater
EXPIATION
UK TX: 4 March 2007 • SCREENPLAY: Guy Andrews
SERIES TWO (2008)
AND THE MOONBEAMS KISS THE SEA
UK TX: 24 February 2008 • SCREENPLAY: Alan Plater
MUSIC TO DIE FOR
UK TX: 2 March 2008 • SCREENPLAY: Dusty Hughes
LIFE BORN OF FIRE
UK TX: 9 March 2008 • SCREENPLAY: Tom MacRae
THE GREAT AND THE GOOD
UK TX: 16 March 2008 • SCREENPLAY: Paul Rutman
SERIES THREE (2009)
ALLEGORY OF LOVE
UK TX: 22 March 2009 • STORY: David Pirie • SCREENPLAY: Stephen Churchett
THE QUALITY OF MERCY
UK TX: 29 March 2009 • SCREENPLAY: Alan Plater
THE POINT OF VANISHING
UK TX: 5 April 2009 • SCREENPLAY: Paul Rutman
COUNTER CULTURE BLUES
UK TX: 12 April 2009 • STORY: Nick Dear • SCREENPLAY: Guy Andrews
SERIES FOUR (2010)
THE DEAD OF WINTER
UK TX: 2 May 2010 • SCREENPLAY: Russell Lewis
DARK MATTER
UK TX: 9 May 2010 • SCREENPLAY: Stephen Churchett
YOUR SUDDEN DEATH QUESTION
UK TX: 16 May 2010 • SCREENPLAY: Alan Plater
FALLING DARKNESS
UK TX: 30 May 2010 • SCREENPLAY: Russell Lewis
SERIES FIVE (2011)
OLD, UNHAPPY, FAR OFF THINGS
UK TX: 3 April 2011 • SCREENPLAY: Russell Lewis
WILD JUSTICE
UK TX: 10 April 2011 • SCREENPLAY: Stephen Churchett
THE MIND HAS MOUNTAINS
UK TX: 17 April 2011 • SCREENPLAY: Patrick Harbinson
THE GIFT OF PROMISE
UK TX: 24 april 2011 • SCREENPLAY: Dusty Hughes, Stephen Churchett
ON STAGE
In December 2009 a news story revealed plans for Morse’s imminent return, but not in print or on screen. Instead Oxford’s most famous detective would be making his stage debut in an all-new theatrical production, with the full approval of Colin Dexter.
Five months later the first formal announcement was made. Former Doctor Who actor Colin Baker had been chosen to step into John Thaw’s shoes, while the script was being created by Alma Cullen, the screenwriter of four Morse TV tales – ‘The Secret of Bay 5B’, ‘The Infernal Serpent’, ‘Fat Chance’, and ‘The Death of the Self’.
The official press release said House of Ghosts was inspired by the Morse novels and had been written with guidance and support from Dexter. The show would be touring Britain from August 2010. ‘We’re keenly aware of our responsibility to the millions of fans of both the books and TV series,’ said producer Ed O’Driscoll. ‘We have tried to stay true to the spirit of Colin Dexter’s marvellous characters. At the same time we’re obviously very excited by this unique opportunity to bring Morse to the stage with a new mystery to solve.’
The play got its premiere at the Gordon Craig Theatre in Stevenage, before going on tour to Richmond, Oxfo
rd, York, Cardiff, Coventry, Malvern, Chelmsford, Eastbourne, Newcastle upon Tyne, Wolverhampton, Derby, Woking, Poole and Southend.
The details that follow are based on a matinee performance at Newcastle’s Theatre Royal on Saturday October 30, 2010...
HOUSE OF GHOSTS
‘There’s a lot of acting going on.’ Investigating the death of an actress during a performance of Hamlet, Morse clashes with an old enemy from his undergraduate days...
UK PREMIERE: 27 August 2010
SCREENPLAY: Alma Cullen, based on characters created by Colin Dexter
DIRECTOR: Robin Herford
CAST: Colin Baker (Chief Inspector Morse), David Acton (Lawrence Baxter), Andrew Bone (Detective Sergeant Lewis), Paul Clarkson (Paul Kincaid), Lynette Edwards (Ellen Underwood), Gregory Finnegan (Justin Harris), John Fleming (Philip Woolf), Caroline Harding (Harriet Baxter), Christopher Heyward (Freddie Malveno), Rachel Logan (Rebecca Downey), Judith Rae (Grace Friel), Gay Soper (Verity Carr), Glynn Sweet (Chief Superintendent Strange), Nicole Ashwood (Ruth Johnson), Richard Stirling (Daniel Granger)
STORYLINE: A new production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet opens in Oxford. During the performance a crazed Irish woman rants at the actors playing Hamlet and Ophelia, claiming God will punish them. Ophelia coughs up blood and collapses on stage – dead. Chief Inspector Morse emerges from the audience and forbids anyone leaving.
Morse is watching the play with Lonsdale College professor Ellen Underwood, history advisor for the production. Both were involved with a 1962 student production of Hamlet directed by Lawrence Baxter, just like the new version. Morse regards Baxter as the only truly evil man he has ever met.
The inspector takes charge of the case, assisted by Sergeant Lewis. Morse’s investigation leads to Paul Kincaid, who played Hamlet in the 1962 production. He was destined for greatness but quit acting to join the priesthood. Kincaid gives sanctuary to the crazed Irish woman, Grace Friel, a former servant at Lonsdale College.
Morse learns the dead actress, Rebecca Downey, was having an affair with Baxter but she had broken off the liaison just before dying. The inspector believes Baxter was responsible for Rebecca’s death, one way or another. But by the time Morse and Lewis find enough proof to arrest Baxter, the director’s corpse is found in a stage coffin.
The investigation takes further twists and turns, with several members of the production lying or providing false alibis. Morse discovers Grace Friel had become pregnant by Baxter 25 years before – and that Rebecca was the result. Rebecca committed suicide after learning she was pregnant by her own father.
The detectives eventually deduce Ellen Underwood was responsible for killing Baxter. She claims his death was accidental, but Morse isn’t convinced...
DRINK UP, LEWIS: Twice during the play Morse and Lewis retire to The Crown to drink and think. The inspector has pints both times, while his sergeant is stuck with orange juice, as usual. Morse sups white burgundy with Ellen at her flat.
UNLUCKY IN LOVE: Morse woos Ellen without success before discovering she’s a killer. 25 years earlier he backed out of an opportunity to sleep with leading lady Verity Carr, a rendezvous arranged by Baxter.
ONE FOR THE MORGUE: Rebecca commits suicide by swallowing ground glass, after discovering she is pregnant by Baxter – her own father. Ellen kills Baxter but claims it was accidental. She hides his body in the stage coffin and concocts a false alibi.
MURDERS: one. BODY COUNT: two.
CRYPTIC CROSSWORDS: Stage manager Philip Woolf boasts he regularly completes the Times crossword. He gets caught out when Morse wants to discuss 13 across, to which the answer is calumny – the malicious utterance of false charges or misrepresentation.
MORSE DECODED: House of Ghosts is set in 1987. Morse and Lewis are already partners.
Morse had a walk-on part in the 1962 Hamlet production, also directed by Lawrence.
The inspector contemplates going back into academic life as a mature student. Ellen arranges a meeting for Morse to secure a scholarship, but at the end of the play he tears up an offer letter, deciding to stick with the Thames Valley Police.
QUOTE-UNQUOTE: When someone describes the 1962 cast of Hamlet as very glamorous, Morse replies, ‘I was never glamorous.’
Lawrence sums up his relationship with Rebecca: ‘Some episodes of casual but rather heated rutting.’
Morse on his attitude to drinking on duty: ‘In my job, the hours of duty tend to be rather—’ ‘Liquid?’ Lewis interjects.
The sergeant says a photo from 1962 makes young Morse look like pop star Adam Faith. ‘Who?’ Morse thunders.
SOUNDTRACK: Ellen plays a Schubert piano concerto when Morse pays a visit to her home. The famous Queen of the Night aria from Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute is used as background music for the play when Lawrence’s body rolls from the coffin.
IDENTITY PARADE: Colin Baker is best known for playing Paul Merroney in 1970s drama The Brothers, and for taking the title role in Doctor Who between 1983 and 1986.
SURVEILLANCE REPORT: House of Ghosts got mixed reviews from theatre critics. Many seemed unable to forget John Thaw’s seminal television performance, while others complained the play had too many short scenes requiring numerous changes of props and lighting. After the UK tour finished in December 2010, actor Colin Baker wrote on his website that Cullen was undertaking rewrites. He said plans to resume the tour in spring 2011 were cancelled when a continuous run of dates at theatres could not be secured. Baker suggested a new tour with the revised script was a possibility for late 2011 or early 2012, although there was no confirmation available as this book was going to press.
THE VERDICT: House of Ghosts is a fascinating glimpse of how Morse might work on stage. The plot is full of twists and turns, with no shortage of red herrings to keep the audience guessing. Colin Baker puts his own spin on the central character, making the chief inspector more bombastic than Thaw’s interpretation – but that’s only to be expected when playing the role in massive theatres. He also captures the character’s sadness and melancholy well. Andrew Burt offers a warm, friendly Lewis. The drama is compelling, but a plethora of short scenes – particularly in the second act – mean too much time is spent watching minor cast members moving furniture and props. A brave, bold attempt to translate Morse into a new narrative medium, House of Ghosts doesn’t quite succeed. But with some rewrites and streamlining of the scene changes, this version of Morse could find a continuing audience.
ON RADIO
Morse has featured in more than one broadcast medium. In fact the first dramatisation of Oxford’s best-loved detective was actually on radio, not TV. In June 1985 BBC Radio 4 broadcast an adaptation of Dexter’s novel Last Bus to Woodstock in the Saturday Night Theatre slot, more than a year and a half before the character reached TV screens. Andrew Burt was the first actor to play the part of Morse, with Christopher Douglas bringing Lewis to life before Kevin Whately began his long association with the character.
Morse did not return to radio until the 1990s, when three further Dexter novels where adapted for Radio 4, each dramatisation running 90 minutes in duration. The station also broadcast a reading of the short story ‘The Burglar’ (duration 14 minutes 11 seconds) during this period. The radio incarnations of Morse have been repeated numerous times.
In the 1990s novel dramatisations the part of Morse was played by John Shrapnel. The actor told Radio Times he had never seen John Thaw’s portrayal of Morse. Ironically, Shrapnel later guest starred as Julian Storrs in the 1997 TV adaptation of Dexter’s novel Death Is Now My Neighbour. Wilfredo Acosta composed the music for all three novel dramatisations first broadcast during the 1990s.
LAST BUS TO WOODSTOCK
UK TX: 15 June 1985
DRAMATISED BY: Melville Jones, based on the novel by Colin Dexter
PRODUCER: Brian Miller
CAST: Andrew Burt (Inspector Morse), Christopher Douglas (Sergeant Lewis), John Hartoch (John Sanders), Deborah Appleby (Sylvia), Patricia Gibson (Mrs Jarman/ma
tron), Deborah Cranston (Jennifeer), Sarah Jane Bickerton (Sue), Alan Thompson (Bernard), Graham Blockey (Palmer/Peter), Maggie Tarver (Margaret).
THE WENCH IS DEAD
UK TX: 21 March 1992
DRAMATISED BY: Guy Meredith, based on the novel by Colin Dexter
DIRECTOR: Ned Chaillet
CAST: John Shrapnel (Inspector Morse), Robert Glenister (Sergeant Lewis), Garard Green (Colonel Deniston), Joanna Myers (Christine Greenaway), Peter Penry Jones (Waggie Greenaway), Kate Binchy (Sister Maclean), Siriol Jenkins (Nurse Fiona), John Church (consultant), Joe Dunlop (Inspector Mahoney), Ann Windsor (WPC), Peter Gunn (Houseman), John Samson (prosecuting counsel), Melinda Walker (Joanna Franks), Ken Cumberlidge (Donovan), Paul Copley (Oldfield), David Learner (Musson), Neil Roberts (Wooton), Melanie Hudson (Anna), Jonathan Adams (landlord).
LAST SEEN WEARING
UK TX: 28 May 1994
DRAMATISED BY: Guy Meredith, based on the novel by Colin Dexter
DIRECTOR: Ned Chaillet
CAST: John Shrapnel (Inspector Morse), Robert Glenister (Sergeant Lewis), John Hartley (Chief Superintendent Strange), Auriol Smith (Mrs Ainley), Miles Anderson (Donald Phillipson), Melinda Walker (Sheila Phillipson), Frances Jeater (Gwen Taylor), Donald Sumpter (George Taylor), Terence Edmond (Reginald Baines), Paul Panting (Johnny Maguire), Tamsin Greig (Mrs Acum), Lyndham Gregory (Sergeant Dickson), David Jarvis (David Acum), James Taylor (Joe), Emily Woof (Versatile Vera), Vivienne Rochester (supervisor), Don McCorkindale (surgeon), Michael Onslow (Sergeant Rogers), Catriona Young (Radio 3 announcer).
THE BURGLAR
UK TX: 25 September 1995
AUTHOR: Colin Dexter
READER: John Turner
PRODUCER: Sally Avens
THE SILENT WORLD OF NICHOLAS QUINN
UK TX: 10 February 1996
DRAMATISED BY: Guy Meredith, based on the novel by Colin Dexter