Watch it at Amazon
Happy Families is a wonderful entry of the much-loved detective series, and actually one of my favourites. John Thaw and Kevin Whately maintain their usual standard of acting, which is nothing short of perfection, particularly Thaw. I know Thaw wasn't the typical Hollywood looker, but his amazing acting ability was what touched people most, and when he died, Britain did lose a great actor, and even that word doesn't do justice to the talent the man had. The script and the plot are excellent, full of complex issues, like Morse's persecution with the press. The camera-work is very slick, and the final solution, while not the most ingenious of the Morse episodes was still clever and entirely unpredictable. I also liked the supporting actors, especially Martin Clunes, in definitely one of his better and more understated performances, but the performances of Anna Massey, Allun Armstrong and Gwen Taylor also impress, and Rupert Graves seems to be enjoying himself as the ruthless newspaper man. All in all, a very complex mystery, developed into a very well-done and intelligent episode. 10/10 Bethany Cox.
You may report errors and omissions on this page to the IMDb database managers. They will be examined and if approved will be included in a future update. Clicking the 'Update' button will take you through a step-by-step process.
