by David Bishop
IDENTITY PARADE: Geoffrey Palmer is best known for appearing in sitcoms, including The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, Butterflies and As Time Goes By. Tom Wilkinson won a best supporting actor BAFTA for his role as an uptight unemployed executive in The Full Monty and was Oscar-nominated as best actor for In the Bedroom. New director John Madden would supervise three more Morse stories before moving into films, where his credits include Mrs Brown, Captain Corelli’s Mandolin and the Oscar-winning Shakespeare in Love.
RATINGS: 14.60 million. A strong start for the new series, screened opposite Dallas again.
THE VERDICT: ‘The Infernal Serpent’ is the first wholly original television story for Morse and Lewis. For the first three seasons the writers adapted Colin Dexter’s novels, or worked from story ideas he supplied. But the author was feeling burnt out after 11 episodes and gave permission for writers to create their own stories. Alma Cullen crafts a haunting tale of sexual abuse, conspiracies and family secrets. The subject matter makes for a gripping and disturbing tale, but there’s time for some humour amid the misery. Geoffrey Palmer gives a chilling performance as the predatory Master.
THE SINS OF THE FATHERS
‘Accidents will happen, even in the best-regulated families.’ Dark secrets from the 19th century lead to three murders and the destruction of a rich family in this taut tale of multiple deceptions.
UK TX: 10 January 1990
SCREENPLAY: Jeremy Burnham, based on characters created by Colin Dexter
DIRECTOR: Peter Hammond
CAST: John Bird (George Linacre), Isabel Dean (Isobel Radford), Lisa Harrow (Thelma Radford), Lionel Jeffries (Charles Radford), Alex Jennings (Victor Preece), Betty Marsden (Cynthia Preece), Paul Shelley (Stephen Radford), Kim Thomson (Helen Radford), Andy Bradford (Trevor Radford), Trevor Martin (Alan Sowden), Paul Mooney (pathologist), Simon Slater (Norman Weeks), Kamilla Blanche (Gail), Jean Ainslie (cleaning lady), Noel Johnson (butler), John Golightly (Alfred Nelson), Bernard Brown (Wheatley), San Lee (maid), Maggie Wilkinson (Shirley), Liz Kettle (WPC)
STORYLINE: Late at night Trevor Radford types a letter in his office at Radford’s Brewery. He burns the top copy and bins the carbon paper, but puts the carbon copy into the office safe. Radford is attacked while leaving the brewery.
Next morning, his body is discovered at the bottom of a fermenting vat by brewery staff. Radford was managing director of the brewery. Police pathologist Dr Halliday estimates time of death as 10.00 pm. Marketing director Norman Weeks says a rival brewery, Farmers of Banbury, was trying to take over the family firm. Radford was preparing a defence document for shareholders. The brewery has been owned and run by the Radford family for nearly 150 years.
Lewis finds the carbon paper. The letter is back-dated three years and addressed to the company surveyor, Wheatley. Morse visits the dead man’s widow, Helen Radford. She’d taken a sleeping pill the previous night and didn’t know that Trevor never came home. The inspector drives Helen to see Trevor’s parents, Charles and Isobel Radford.
Brewery staff members say Trevor frequently clashed with his brother, Stephen. The latter didn’t believe Trevor was capable of managing the business. Lewis interviews Victor Preece, the brewery’s chemist. He was at home working on his model railway at the time of the murder. His mother confirms the alibi.
Charles suggests Preece or Weeks would probably succeed Trevor as managing director, if the deal with Farmers does not go through. Farmers’ managing director, George Linacre, says Radford’s is a sick company that will go bust without outside capital.
Stephen volunteers to run the brewery until the next board meeting. He wants to know why Farmers’ offer was so low – it does not reflect the official asset value of the business. His father warns him not to rock the boat.
The detectives consider the back-dated letter. It states the surveyor’s valuation for the brewery was far too high. Wheatley says Trevor didn’t dispute the valuation at the time. Nor has the surveyor been asked to revise his figures. The brewery has been running at a loss for several years.
Stephen is having an affair with his sister-in-law, Helen. Stephen’s wife, Thelma, cannot confirm when her husband got home on the night of the murder. The detectives interview Stephen at his business. He was meeting someone when Trevor was killed, but will not say whom.
Preece thinks he will have to look for another job. He doesn’t want to move; it’s too much of an upheaval for his mother. She brought them to Oxford three years ago. The Preece family prospered generations ago in Oxford.
Stephen discovers Trevor was cooking the books at the brewery. He calls his father, who already knows about the fraud. Helen goes looking for her lover at the brewery. She discovers Stephen’s dead body in a vat. Thelma has an alibi for the time of Stephen’s murder.
Morse discovers Trevor took out a million-pound bank loan three years ago and didn’t pay it back. This is news to Isobel. Her husband guaranteed the loan by mortgaging their home. Lewis visits Preece’s mother to check the chemist’s alibi for the time of Stephen’s murder. As the sergeant arrives, a solicitor called Alfred Nelson is leaving.
Next day, Nelson is found dead, murdered in a frenzied attack. Morse thinks there are two different killers. Lewis recognises Nelson, but can’t recall from where. The solicitor has a file labelled Knox on his desk. Nelson’s secretary remembers a woman phoned, asking the solicitor to stay late. Morse sends Lewis to the county records office to discover what Nelson was investigating. The sergeant learns that Ebenezer Knox and Timothy Radford bought a piece of Oxford land in 1841. They started the brewery together. There’s no evidence Knox ever sold his half-share.
The inspector questions Charles Radford, who produces a letter from Knox dated 1850. In it Knox agreed to leave Oxford in exchange for £100 a year for life. Knox fathered a child by a prostitute and left to avoid a scandal. Lewis learns Knox went to Sunderland and sired a girl, who later married a man called Preece. The sergeant realises he saw Nelson coming out of Mrs Preece’s home. Morse believes Timothy Radford blackmailed Knox into leaving Oxford. Half the brewery still belongs to Knox’s heirs.
The detectives visit the Preeces. Mrs Preece says her mother told Victor about the family claim on the brewery. They hired Nelson to investigate but the solicitor was a crook. He tried to blackmail them when the murders started. Mrs Preece admits providing a false alibi for her son. Both the Preeces are arrested.
Charles says Trevor got Wheatley to overstate the value of the brewery’s assets, increasing the share value so Trevor could borrow against them. When it became obvious the fraud would be exposed, Trevor created the back-dated letter.
The inspector realises Isobel killed Nelson. The crooked solicitor had been blackmailing her, knowing the Preeces were the rightful heirs to half the brewery. She admits the murder.
DRINK UP, LEWIS: Morse has remarkably little alcohol in this story, despite spending much of it inside breweries. The detectives sup beer at a pub called Ye Olde Fighting Cocks, where Morse has a pint while Lewis drinks a half.
When the inspector learns of a third murder, he hopes it’s the landlord of the Cock and Bullfinch pub – it might teach him to keep his beer properly.
The sergeant has a bottle of beer at Morse’s home after spending long hours searching county records. Morse is drinking whisky.
As the story concludes, Lewis asks if the inspector fancies a pint. Morse replies he’s not absolutely sure he does.
UNLUCKY IN LOVE: Thelma flirts with Morse, just minutes after learning of her husband’s murder. The inspector dreams about Thelma swimming while listening to La Traviata.
LEWIS’ KITH AND KIN: The sergeant remembers Bible quotations from Sunday School. Lewis has an old mate in the history department of Newcastle University, who helps the sergeant find out what happened to Knox after leaving Oxford in 1850.
SOPHOCLES DID DO IT: Morse believes Mrs Preece murdered Nelson to protect her son. She does not deny it.
ONE FOR THE MORGUE: Trevor Ri
chards drowns in a fermenting vat after being struck on the head with a hammer by Victor Preece. Preece also murders Stephen Richards, throwing his body into a different vat at the brewery. Alfred Nelson is beaten to death in a frenzied attack by Isobel Radford.
MURDERS: three. BODY COUNT: three.
CRYPTIC CROSSWORDS: Morse works on the Times crossword in spare moments during the investigation.
YOU’VE DONE IT AGAIN, LEWIS: The sergeant’s uncultured English usage makes Morse realise it was Isobel who called Nelson and asked him to remain late for a meeting. ‘That’s it, Lewis. You’re a genius. You’ve cracked it!’ the inspector exclaims.
MORSE DECODED: Morse knows Linacre from their days at Oxford, when Linacre ran a small club called SPARTA – the Society for the Promotion of Traditional Real Ale.
QUOTE-UNQUOTE: Lewis happily tells the inspector where the first murder took place: ‘You’ll never believe this, sir – we have to visit a brewery!’
Isobel Radford orders Morse about in her drawing room: ‘You’re looming, Inspector. Do sit down. I can’t bear people looming at me.’
Linacre explains why he expected the inspector to be on this case: ‘Murder inquiry. Beer involved. They’ll give it to Morse, I thought.’
The sergeant says Morse will be dead by the time Preece gets out of jail, so threats of revenge are meaningless. The inspector is unimpressed: ‘You’re wasted as a copper, Lewis. You should have joined the diplomatic service.’
SOUNDTRACK: Thelma is listening to Verdi’s opera La Traviata when Morse tells her Stephen is dead. She sings a line from the show tune ‘A Bachelor Gay’, hinting the inspector might be homosexual. Morse listens to Schubert’s Quartet for Strings in E flat major while getting a few hours rest in his office. The inspector listens to La Traviata while servicing his car, then again that night at home.
BEHIND THE CRIME SCENES: Kenny McBain’s name can be seen on Lewis’ warrant card when he first visits Mrs Preece at home. This was a tribute to McBain, who had died as work was beginning on the fourth series.
IDENTITY PARADE: Writer and actor John Bird is best known for his involvement with British satire since the 1960s. Lisa Harrow later appeared with John Thaw in the seven episodes of Kavanagh QC as his wife, Lizzie.
RATINGS: 15.15 million. The series continues to attract new viewers.
THE VERDICT: This is a solid but unspectacular revenge story that never quite comes to life. Perhaps the problem lies with the central characters. The Radfords are so unsympathetic, austere and selfish, it’s hard to care when members of the family start dying. Despite this, Jeremy Burnham’s script is peppered with great lines, and Morse is pugnacious as always when confronting the rich and powerful. Victor Preece makes an unlikely killer, but real suspects are few and far between in this tale. Director Peter Hammond restrains the baroque excesses seen in his previous episodes, but he can’t resist including mirrors and other reflective surfaces at every possible opportunity. By comparison to the rest of series four, The Sins of the Fathers is runt of the litter.
DRIVEN TO DISTRACTION
‘It sounds stupid but I can’t get my hands off the wheel.’ A serial killer is stalking and slaying women in Oxford. Morse almost hounds the wrong man to death while trying to catch the murderer.
UK TX: 17 January 1990
SCREENPLAY: Anthony Minghella, based on characters created by Colin Dexter
DIRECTOR: Sandy Johnson
CAST: Patrick Malahide (Jeremy Boynton), David Ryall (Derek Whittaker), Christopher Fulford (Tim Ablett), Mary Jo Randle (Detective Sergeant Maitland), Julia Lane (Jackie Thorn), Tariq Yunus (George), Tessa Wojtczak (Angie Howe), Al Ashton (detective), Will Brenton (detective), Chris Jenkinson (detective), David Lonsdale (detective), Carolyn Choa (Philippa Lau), Ken Nazarin (Whyting Lau), Murray Ewan (security officer), Cheryl Maiker (Paula Steadman), Malcolm Raeburn (Martin Kass), Kate Doherty (driving instructor), Jake Wood (Jimmy), Lynne Morgan (Sandra), Steve Shill (deaf salesman), Richard Vanstone (Gerry Firth), James Duggan (prison officer)
STORYLINE: Nurse Jackie Thorn is followed home by a man wearing black leather gloves. She lets him into her flat. The man attacks her, binding her wrists with brown parcel tape and stabbing her to death. Jackie’s upstairs neighbour, Angie Howe, calls the police when Jackie doesn’t answer the door.
Morse arrives at the crime scene. The case is a carbon copy of the Maureen Thompson murder. The police set up an incident room in the vacant ground-floor flat beneath Jackie Thorn’s home. The victim lived alone in the first floor flat. There are no fingerprints and no murder weapon.
When Morse makes a joke and the other detectives in the room chuckle, Jackie’s distraught boyfriend Tim Ablett bursts in and berates them for laughing. He says Jackie was pregnant with his baby. She called him with the news three days previously. Tim thought she was going away for the weekend. But Jackie had brought home shopping, including a cigar – and Tim doesn’t smoke.
Philippa Lau is distraught about the murder. She was attacked and left handicapped in a similar incident three years ago.
The police are trying to find links between the victims. Detective Sergeant Maitland is on attachment to the case; Lewis requested her help. She is an expert on crimes against women. Maitland suggests the killer is the common link between the victims. They both let him into their homes willingly.
Jeremy Boynton approaches Angie at her workplace. He blackmails Angie into keeping silent about his relationship with Jackie by mentioning the marijuana plants in her flat. The detectives discover Boynton’s car dealership and garage is a common link between the victims. It’s close to the Oxford Driving Centre. Boynton admires Morse’s Jaguar – he collects them. He denies knowing Jackie or Maureen.
Morse decides to visit the driving centre. He makes sure to leave his car outside Boynton’s showroom. The police send joy riders to the school to tame them; it’s run by Derek Whittaker. He says they get most of their cars from Boynton. Many students buy the same make and model they learnt to drive in.
Boynton phones Angie and threatens to make things very unpleasant if she tells the police about him. Next morning Angie takes her plants to the police and tells them Jackie was having an affair with Boynton. Morse interviews the car dealer but Boynton still denies knowing Jackie.
Strange catches Morse asleep on the job. He gives the inspector a bollocking and insists Boynton is released until there’s a watertight case. Morse enrols for driving lessons with Whittaker. This enables him to leave his car outside Boynton’s dealership on a regular basis.
Maitland tells Angie Boynton has been released. Tim overhears this and is outraged. Next day he goes to the car dealership, where a tanker is delivering petrol. Tim unhooks the petrol hose and sprays the highly flammable liquid round the forecourt. Boynton runs outside to stop him. Tim showers him with petrol and tries to set fire to Boynton – but his matches are soaked.
Morse returns from his first driving lesson in time to see the aftermath. Tim’s under arrest and Boynton is being taken away in an ambulance. The inspector summons Lewis, Maitland and Dearden. He plans to stay up all night searching Boynton’s business premises for clues – but he doesn’t have a warrant. Maitland agrees to help, but Lewis storms out, followed by a sheepish Dearden.
Morse and Maitland spend hours searching without result. She suggests they compare all the names in Boynton’s customer index with the victims of similar crimes. Several hours later Maitland finds a link. Philippa Lau survived a similar assault five years ago after buying a car from Boynton.
Lewis digs out the file. The man who attacked Philippa is in prison. The sergeant is disgusted with Morse and asks for a transfer; Morse refuses. The killer, meanwhile, claims his third victim.
The detectives interview Gerry Firth, the man who confessed to attacking Philippa. When they get back to Oxford, Maitland has been talking to Philippa. The killer called his only surviving victim, warning her to stay silent.
Strange is waiting for Morse. He wants
to take the inspector off the case. Morse says Firth confessed to attacking Lau for mitigation on other charges. Lewis tells them about the new murder. But Boynton is still in hospital under observation, so he can’t be the killer.
Morse goes for another driving lesson. Whittaker’s wife is in hospital after having a stroke two months ago. It happened before, several years ago, but she got better. The prognosis is not so positive this time, however.
Philippa says she bought her car through the driving school. It was the same make and model she used to pass her test. Morse sees a roll of brown parcel tape in the glove-box of Whittaker’s car. He starts asking questions about the murdered women. Whittaker realises the inspector knows his secret. He calls the victims whores. Whittaker attacks Morse with the knife. Lewis and Maitland rush to the driving school. They arrive as the car Morse is driving crashes into a pile of tyres.
The inspector sustains only minor wounds, but Whittaker is dead, the knife plunged into his chest. Morse apologises to Boynton. As a peace offering the inspector gives him the steering wheel from a car that won the Monte Carlo Rally in 1956.
THE MANY CAMEOS OF COLIN DEXTER: The author appears as a startled customer in a laundromat where Tim and Angie are discussing the case.
DRINK UP, LEWIS: Morse sits in his car with a bottle of Samuel Smith’s beer while reading through the case file.
Morse drinks two bottles of Samuel Smith’s Strong Pale Ale while digging through Boynton’s files.