by David Bishop
THE VERDICT: ‘The Remorseful Day’ is a mournful story by its very nature. The imminent death of the lead character gives the episode a powerful weight of emotion, utterly overshadowing the murder mystery. John Thaw gives a sterling performance as the dying inspector, a man haunted by his own mortality and the failings of his life. Kevin Whately returns as Lewis, looking haggard and harassed. Regular viewers may long for a scene where Lewis gets to express how much Morse meant to him, but the farewell in the morgue speaks volumes with just a few words. The series ends as it began, 13 years earlier, with a shot of the dreaming spires of Oxford.
ENDEAVOUR
Executive Producers: Michele Buck, Damien Timmer
Executive Producer: Rebecca Eaton (for WGBH Boston)
UK TV: Early 2012
SCREENPLAY: Russell Lewis, inspired by the Inspector Morse novels of Colin Dexter
DIRECTOR: Colm McCarthy
CAST: Shaun Evans (Endeavour Morse)
STORYLINE: The year is 1965. The hunt for a missing schoolgirl draws Morse to the place which will ultimately shape and define his destiny – Oxford. But Endeavour finds himself side-lined from the murder enquiry led by Detective Inspector Fred Thursday. Discredited and at a dead end, Morse must face his demons and risk everything in a hunt for the truth. But his quest for justice will uncover revelations that will haunt Morse for the rest of his days...
BEHIND THE CRIME SCENES: This one-off drama was commissioned to celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of Morse’s first television appearance. News about the prequel first leaked in April 2011, and was confirmed a month later by Colin Dexter. He said the idea of looking back at a young Morse was inspired by his 2008 short story ‘Mr E. Morse, BA Oxon (Failed)’.
In August 2011 the casting of Shaun Evans was announced, confirming the TV prequel was going ahead. Early speculation the story would be set during Morse’s undergraduate days proved false. Evans told reporters he was very excited by his new role. ‘Morse as a young man is a wonderful character. My hope is that we can compliment what’s come before, by telling a great story and telling it well.’
Executive producer Damien Timmer enthused about the storyline: ‘Russell [Lewis] has written this brilliant one-off drama. It’s a sharp and revealing script which gives us a new perspective on this legendary detective.’ Morse creator Colin Dexter also gave the anniversary special his endorsement.
IDENTITY PARADE: Shaun Evans has featured in TV series Teachers, Inspector George Gently, Ashes To Ashes and The Take.
THE VERDICT: The idea of a Morse prequel may be anathema to some, but the Lewis spin-off series has been hugely successful worldwide, proving there’s an enduring audience for Dexter’s creations. The period setting offers fresh dramatic opportunities, far from realities of modern policing like DNA forensics and mobile phones. It remains to be seen whether Endeavour can step into Morse’s shoes. For now, the jury is out...
LEWIS (2006 -)
The idea for a Morse spin-off focusing on Detective Inspector Lewis was mooted before John Thaw’s death from cancer in 2002. But Kevin Whately was busy with other projects and had little wish to rush into a spin-off. He talked about his fears in a 2006 interview: ‘I was terrified of doing it, concerned about all kinds of things. Lewis was always set up as a sounding board, and the films were very much motivated by Morse himself. That was the biggest change, I had to motor the film.’
The actor only took the idea seriously when approached by executive producers Ted Childs (with whom he worked on Inspector Morse), and Michele Buck and Damien Timmer (with whom he worked on Peak Practice). ‘I said yes because I knew everybody involved,’ Whately explained. ‘Everybody assured me it would have the same production values as a Morse film, so that was the difference.’ The producers already had author Colin Dexter on board, and sought the approval of John Thaw’s widow, Sheila Hancock. Whately’s involvement got the project a green light.
In July 2004 ITV announced it was developing a Morse spin-off, and described the project as a two-parter to be written by Russell Lewis (who had previously adapted Colin Dexter’s novel The Way Through the Woods). Head of drama Nick Elliott told the Guardian newspaper his network would be foolish not to use established brands like Morse. ‘Time has now passed and it’s appropriate and everyone’s happy about doing it. Kevin will be Lewis, getting on with his life after his friend’s death.’
Filming began a year later in July 2005, with Laurence Fox becoming Whately’s new onscreen partner in crime solving. Among the story’s working titles were After Morse and Lewis: Reputation. Screenwriter Russell Lewis had moved on to another project, so Stephen Churchett – who had previously adapted the final Morse novel for TV – came on board to write the screenplay from the story developed by Russell Lewis.
Lewis got a positive response when screened for the media in December 2005. Whately admitted his fears about the project only abated after he watched a rough cut of the new show: ‘Having seen the finished product, I’m quite happy with it. I like the relationship Lewis has with Hathaway and I like Laurence, so I’m happy to play him [Lewis] again. But we’ll have to see what ITV thinks.’ The decision as to whether Lewis would become an ongoing series of films for television depended on the success of the one-off when it was broadcast on 29 January 2006.
With Lewis marking a new beginning for Colin Dexter’s creation, new categories are added to those used for analysing Morse’s televised tales:
MYSTERIOUS WAYS: Hathaway’s beliefs mean religion is more prominent than ever before. Witness the many discussions about faith.
DECODING HATHAWAY: The sergeant had an event-filled life before joining the force. Piece together the story of this intriguing character, including his virtues and vices.
21ST CENTURY POLICING: Law enforcement is now a business as well as a career, thanks to performance tables and fast track promotion policies. See how much things have changed since Morse’s day.
THE GHOST OF MORSE: The chief inspector may be gone, but he’s not forgotten. Manifestations of the great detective are noted and analysed.
LEWIS
Produced by Chris Burt
Executive Producers: Michele Buck, Ted Childs, Damien Timmer
Executive Producer: Rebecca Eaton (for WGBH Boston)
‘It’s not my fault you lost your wife, sir.’ Lewis returns to Oxford, a detective inspector at last – but much has changed in the five years since his mentor died...
UK TX: 29 January 2006
STORY: Russell Lewis, inspired by the Inspector Morse novels of Colin Dexter
SCREENPLAY: Stephen Churchett
DIRECTOR: Bill Anderson
CAST: Kevin Whately (Detective Inspector Lewis), Laurence Fox (Detective Sergeant Hathaway), Clare Holman (Dr Laura Hobson), Rebecca Front (Chief Superintendent Innocent), Charlie Cox (Danny Griffon), Jack Ellis (Rex Griffon), Michael Maloney (Ivor Denniston), Lizzy McInnerny (Kate Jekyll), Danny Webb (Tom Pollock), Jemma Redgrave (Trudi Griffon), Sophie Winkleman (Regan Peverill), Colin Starkey (Bernard Beech), Dennis Matsuki (Mr Tanigaki), Flora Spencer-Longhurst (Jessica Pollock), Rosalyn Wright (air stewardess), Alex Knight (DI Knox), Marc Elliott (Hal Bose), Michael Hobbs (club secretary), Adam Smethurst (locksmith), Mark Small (uniformed PC), Janet Maw (secretary)
STORYLINE: University student Danny Griffon works feverishly on a mathematics problem in his rooms at college. He frequently wears a hooded top. Another student, Regan Peverill, tries to send Danny a document by email, but the college server is down. Regan sends the message anyway, which the system says will be delivered later. She goes to the Pretorius Laing Institute’s Sleep Research Laboratory, where she’s one of the student volunteers having their sleep disorders studied.
Griffon Cars is celebrating its centenary with an outdoor function at the family estate. Chief executive Rex Griffon pays tribute to his late brother Johnny, crediting him with the firm’s success. Danny makes a spectacular entrance, almost driving his car into the marquee. Japanese investors are nego
tiating to buy a stake in Griffon Cars, but Rex fears his nephew’s erratic behaviour will scupper the deal.
That night a figure in a hooded top enters the sleep research laboratory and kills Regan with a single shot to the back of the head.
Detective Sergeant James Hathaway waits at Heathrow Airport for Detective Inspector Lewis, who is returning from two years on attachment in the British Virgin Islands. On his way to see Chief Superintendent Innocent, Lewis visits a graveyard to put wild orchids from the Caribbean on his wife’s grave. Hathaway is called to Regan’s shooting and takes Lewis with him. The sergeant usually works with DI Knox, but his boss is suspended after being stopped for driving under the influence. At the laboratory the detectives discover the killer needed a unique code to enter the building. The laboratory’s director, Professor Kate Jekyll, helps them identify whom the password belongs to: Danny Griffon. As Regan was, he’s a volunteer at the laboratory. Kate says Regan and Danny had slept together, but weren’t in a relationship.
Lewis meets with his new boss. Innocent commends his works in the Virgin Islands, and tells Lewis there’s a senior training post coming up. She plans to give the Peverill shooting to DI Grainger, but Lewis points out that his colleague is giving evidence in court for the next three days. The chief superintendent reluctantly lets Lewis lead the investigation until Grainger can take over.
Lewis and Hathaway interview Danny at his rooms. He claims to have been meeting with his tutor, Professor Ivor Denniston, at the time of Regan’s murder. Danny admits owning an unlicensed .38 revolver that belonged to his father, but when the detectives search for the weapon it’s missing. Danny keeps a key above the door to his room, so anyone could have stolen the revolver.
Denniston confirms Danny’s alibi. Years ago the professor won the prestigious Fields Medal for his work on Goldbach’s Conjecture, one of the oldest unsolved problems in mathematics. Denniston hints that Danny’s mother and uncle are lovers. Hathaway discovers that Danny was cautioned for criminal damage five years earlier – a case handled by Morse. Lewis wonders why his late mentor would investigate such a minor incident.
Dr Hobson says Regan was shot between 8.00 and 10.00 pm, probably by a .38 revolver. Hathaway pulls the case file on Danny’s caution. The youth tampered with the brakes on his uncle’s car, because he believed Rex had done the same to Johnny’s car, causing the racing champion’s fatal crash. In the file is a cryptic clue, left by Morse: ‘Polo not king after all.’
Danny’s mother Trudi says her son was at the function until 8.15 pm. Griffon Cars’ financial director, Tom Pollock, lives on the estate with his teenage daughter, Jessica. Danny will have a controlling interest in Griffon Cars when he turns 21. Rex admits having once slept with Regan. Jessica calls Danny and tells him about Rex sleeping with Regan. Danny shares this information with his tutor. When the student finally returns to his room, he finds the delayed email from Regan in his inbox.
That night at the Griffon mansion, Trudi is woken by a gunshot. She finds a body in her shower, and sees someone in a hooded top fleeing the house. Next morning a horse rider discovers Danny’s body in a rowing boat by the river, a .38 revolver in his hand. He’s been shot once in the side of the head, suggesting suicide. Trudi is distraught when the detectives tell her. Jessica is just as upset, professing her love for Danny. Rex comforts them both; he’s got blood on one of his sleeves.
Hathaway notices that the oars on Danny’s boat are the wrong way round. The detectives learn the dead student favoured rowing with oars known as macons, when most people use cleavers. But the oars on the boat in which Danny’s body was found were cleavers.
Dr Hobson says Danny was killed between midnight and 3.00 am. Three bullets were left in the revolver, suggesting three had been fired. Forensic evidence confirms Lewis’ theory: Danny was killed elsewhere and put in the boat afterwards by someone who didn’t know much about rowing. The bullet that killed Regan came from Danny’s gun. Lewis questions Trudi and Rex, who claim to have been together at the time of Danny’s death. Hathaway likens the Griffon family situation to the plot of Hamlet.
Denniston asks the detectives to visit him at home in Summertown. The professor’s wife is crippled by motor neurone disease. He says they have an arrangement, suggesting he will assist her death when the time comes. Denniston tells the detectives that Danny visited him the previous night at ten, and stayed for an hour. Lewis notices the professor’s grandfather clock is running 45 minutes fast. This suggests Danny left Denniston’s home at 9.15 pm on the night Regan was murdered, discrediting the dead student’s alibi.
Jessica tries to commit suicide by filling her backpack with stones and walking into the river at the point where Danny’s body was found. Meanwhile, joy-riders steal her father’s BMW from a carpark. When they are stopped by the police, Pollock’s body is found in the boot. Dr Hobson says the financial director was shot with the same weapon used to kill Regan and Danny. Pollock died around the same time as Danny, but Dr Hobson can’t say which of them died first. Thanks to Morse’s cryptic clue, Lewis realises Trudi was sleeping with Pollock, not Rex. CCTV footage reveals it was Rex who left the BMW containing Pollock’s corpse at the carpark.
Rex says Trudi asked him to move the body, believing Danny had killed Pollock. Trudi reveals that Pollock was Danny’s biological father. Trudi told her husband Johnny the truth during an argument. He drove off in a rage and crashed. Jessica tried to kill herself because she discovered Danny – the boy she loved – was her half-brother.
The detectives find the document Regan sent to Danny. It was a mathematical proof about Goldbach’s Conjecture – the problem that won Denniston the Fields Medal. Lewis confronts the professor, who seems rattled. When Hathaway arrives, Denniston excuses himself for a few moments to check on his invalid wife. Lewis accuses the professor of killing Regan to claim her breakthrough as his own. When Danny came round with a copy of Regan’s work, the professor was forced to kill him too. The slaying of Pollock was a case of mistaken identity – Denniston meant to murder Rex, thinking it would look as though Danny had killed his uncle before committing suicide.
Denniston drinks a glass of whisky while making his confession. Regan had uncovered a critical flaw in Denniston’s work that would have destroyed his academic standing. The professor dies, having poisoned himself and his wife.
The chief superintendent congratulates Lewis on solving the case and indicates he can stay on in Oxford as a detective inspector. She offers Hathaway the chance to work with DI Grainger but the sergeant asks that Lewis be given first refusal.
THE MANY CAMEOS OF COLIN DEXTER: The author appears as a college porter in a bowler hat, pointing the way for Lewis and Hathaway when they go to Danny’s college room.
DRINK UP, LEWIS: Hathaway offers to buy the inspector a pint midway through the case, but the sergeant is called away. The pair visit a pub called the Trout Inn in the final scene. When Lewis offers to buy the drinks, his sergeant asks for a pint. The inspector says Hathaway is only getting orange juice, as he’ll be driving later.
MYSTERIOUS WAYS: Hathaway studied theology at Cambridge and planned to become a priest. Hathaway’s aunt lost her faith when she was dying from motor neurone disease. The sergeant claims becoming a copper instead of a priest was a career choice; policemen get paid more. Besides, he had to think of something to do after getting kicked out of the seminary. Hathaway says he was considered too frivolous for the priesthood. During his year at the seminary, he cooked a huge fish pie with mashed potatoes on the top, covered in decorative piping. A senior priest called Father Chisholm said it was too frivolous. The sergeant says his ejection from the seminary was related to a meditation he was required to perform about St Thomas Aquinas.
CRYPTIC CROSSWORDS: Lewis says it’s surprising what you pick up working with a crossword fanatic for 15 years. The case file from Danny’s juvenile crime includes a newspaper clipping with a crossword on the reverse. Lewis recognises the half-filled puzzle as being his late mentor�
��s handiwork. Next to it is a cryptic clue of Morse’s own devising: ‘Polo not king after all.’ Hathaway reveals himself to be a crossword enthusiast. He says king to a crossword mind suggests the word or name Rex. Later Lewis realises Polo is short for Polonius, the king’s right-hand man in Hamlet.
UNLUCKY IN LOVE: Lewis is still mourning his wife’s death, but there’s an attraction between him and Professor Jekyll. She helps him choose a new shirt in a supermarket. Later they walk and talk, eating ice creams. Lewis has to rush off, but tells Kate to call him; he likes her too.
LEWIS’ KITH AND KIN: The inspector’s wife, Valerie Susan Lewis, died in 2002 at the age of 44. The epitaph on her headstone describes her as ‘Loving Wife and Mother’. Dr Hobson asks if Lewis’ years away from Oxford helped him get over his wife’s death. He says it was a start. The Metropolitan Police are making no progress on solving the hit-and-run that killed his wife. She’d gone to London on a shopping trip. There were no witnesses to the incident.
Three years have passed since his wife’s death, but Lewis still wears his wedding ring. He says it’s more than just a habit. Lewis’ children have grown up and left home. His son moved to Australia after Mrs Lewis died, while his daughter is a nurse in Manchester, living with a boyfriend called Tim. She leaves a phone message, apologising for not being at the airport to pick her father up.
DECODING HATHAWAY: The sergeant is a furtive smoker. He was Cambridge’s number 7 in the 1998 Boat Race, helping them beat old rivals Oxford. Hathaway loves his Blackberry, using the hand-held device to make phone calls and send emails. Conversely, he also carries smelling salts, an oldfashioned remedy for fainting spells.
21ST CENTURY POLICING: Chief Superintendent Innocent allocates four minutes to her first meeting with Lewis. She doesn’t assign cases, she ‘tasks’ them to her staff. Innocent is reluctant to expend resources investigating Danny’s murder, and becomes furious after discovering that Hathaway ordered an expensive fast-track ballistics report, plus a special courier to deliver the results. The chief superintendent only lets her hair down – both literally and metaphorically – once Lewis has proven himself by solving the case.