Dead on Time (26 Feb. 1992)

A respected, dying Oxford don, husband of Morse's former fiancée, apparently shoots himself, but his doctor asserts that he was not capable of firing a gun.

Director:

John Madden

Writers:

Daniel Boyle, Colin Dexter (characters created by),

Stars:

John Thaw, Kevin Whately, Brendan O'Hea

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
John Thaw	...	Chief Inspector Morse
Kevin Whately	...	Detective Sergeant Lewis / Detective Sgt. Lewis
Brendan O'Hea	...	Telecom Engineer
David Haig	...	Peter Rhodes
Susan Jane Tanner	...	Nurse Rogers (as Susan-Jane Tanner)
James Walker	...	Henry Fallon
Martyn Waites	...	Duty Constable
Thomas Craig	...	Desk Sergeant
Roger Frost	...	Photographer
James Grant	...	McGregor
Richard Pasco	...	William Bryce-Morgan
Joanna David	...	Susan Fallon
Lesley Vickerage	...	WPC
Christopher Owen	...	Solicitor
Richard Hampton	...	Coroner

Storyline

Henry Fallon, who is wheelchair bound and is suffering from a neurological disorder, apparently commits suicide and Morse has mixed feelings working on this case as he was once engaged to the dead man's wife, Susan Fallon. The body was found by his son-in-law Peter Rhodes, a local antiques dealer and the victim's wife was in London. When Fallon's doctor advises Morse that Henry didn't have the physical capability to hold a gun to his head, the police realize they may have a murder on their hands. When the police are told that the business arrangement between Fallon and Rhodes had fallen apart, they also have a suspect. Lewis is concerned that Morse is too close to Mrs. Fallon to be objective but in the end, the perpetrators are identified.

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Plot Keywords:

doctor | hand | oxford | antique dealer | son in law | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 February 1992 (UK)

Filming Locations:

Deer Park, Magdalen College, High Street, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Zenith Entertainment, Central Independent Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min 103 min (dvd release)

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Quotes

Chief Inspector Morse: Curiosity becomes something of a habit with policeman.

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Soundtracks

"String Quintet in C major (D. 956, opus posthumous 163)"
by Franz Schubert

User Reviews

Actually one of the more poignant Morse episodes!

Dead On Time is beautiful, and very sad towards the end. One thing that stood out was the beautiful music by Schubert playing over the first five minutes or so. It perfectly matched what was on screen, and somehow made the scene very poignant. The plot is fairly complex, with the apparent suicide of an elderly don, and we learn that the victim's wife, played by a sympathetic Joanna David, and Morse some 30 years previously were engaged to be married. The plot then reveals a car crash, resulting in the death of the victim's daughter and grandson, but this unfolds after the son-in-law is implicated for the murder of his father-in-law. I thought the ending was extremely sad, with Susan killing herself, and Morse refuses to accept that he is wrong, as he thinks the family doctor did it, in a conspiracy between him and the victim to implicate the son-in-law, but Lewis learns that Susan did it to fulfil her husband's promise. The writers quite sensibly made Morse more sensitive here, but I did find him very scary in the interview room scene, that is all thanks to the outstanding performance of John Thaw. Kevin Whately matches him perfectly as his loyal sergeant Lewis, even more so when he can't bring himself to tell Morse the truth, and James Grout, Joanna David, Adrian Dunbar and Samantha Bond provide able support. All in all, an episode that is most likely to tug at your heart-strings. 10/10 Bethany Cox.