Second Time Around (20 Feb. 1991)

Morse links the killing of a police lieutenant on the night of his retirement to the 18 year old cold case murder of an 8 year old girl.

Director:

Adrian Shergold

Writers:

Colin Dexter (characters), Daniel Boyle

Stars:

John Thaw, Kevin Whately, Jenny Laird

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
John Thaw	...	Chief Inspector Morse
Kevin Whately	...	Detective Sergeant Lewis
Jenny Laird	...	Mrs. Keelan
Oliver Ford Davies	...	Frederick Redpath
Kenneth Colley	...	Detective Chief Inspector Patrick Dawson
James Grout	...	Chief Superintendent Strange
Maurice Bush	...	Charlie Hillian
Ann Bell	...	Catherine Dawson
Mark Draper	...	Angry Policeman
Simon Adams	...	Incontinent Policeman
Pat Heywood	...	Mrs. Mitchell
Christopher Eccleston	...	Terrence Mitchell
Peter Waddington	...	Pathologist
Liz Kettle	...	WPC
David Baukham	...	Desk Sergeant (as David Bauckham)

Storyline

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Charlie Hillian is killed on the night of his retirement party. Hillian was at one time a senior officer in Oxford and was in fact Morse's boss. He was also writing a book about his most memorable cases, including one about the unsolved death of an 8-year-old girl some 18 years ago. The suspect in that case, Frederick Redpath, was at Hillian's house the day he died and that chapter from the manuscript is missing. There are other suspects however, including Hillian's ghost writer who will now receive all of the book's royalties; a handyman who was working on the property; and Redpath's daughter, who knew the little girl who was killed all those years before. Morse comes into conflict with with a colleague DCI Dawson, who was one of Hillian's protégés, as they again look into the little girl's death.

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Plot Keywords:

oxford | cold case | detective chief inspector | alcoholic | detective series | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 February 1991 (UK)

Filming Locations:

Goldcrest Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Zenith Entertainment, Central Independent Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The operatic aria heard at points throughout this episode is "Senza Mamma", sung by Janis Kelly, from 'Suor Angelica' by Giacomo Puccini

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Quotes

[the pathologist has just given Morse a post-mortem report including some rather glib descriptions]
Chief Inspector Morse: [sarcastically] "Lights-out"? "Whammo"? Are those medical terms, doctor?
Pathologist: I prefer to keep things simple, Chief Inspector. Especially when dealing with policemen.

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Connections

References An Inspector Calls (1954)

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Soundtracks

"Senza Mama"
from "Suor Angelics" (uncredited
Composed by Giacomo Puccini (1918)
Recording played by Morse several times.

User Reviews

maybe the greatest Morse

This episode seems to have everything that made the series great: the unbearable weight of society's hierarchies, embodied here by -- of all things! -- the politics of the police. But there's also Morse's curmudgeonly lovability, Strange's predictable difficulties with protocol, Lewis's wanting-to-believe-yet-almost-bailing. It is probably the most noir of the lot: everyone loses, even Morse's debating team. But it is the chemistry between Thaw, Davies, and Colley that is the most mesmerising. Listen to how Kenneth Colley pronounces the initial sibilant of the word 'slab' in his final scene: terrifyingly competent. And of course the signature tune, Puccini's Senza Mamma, nails it.