Another one that deserves better than its 7.5 average, but the fact that this rating looks low compared to the other episodes shows the consistency and enduring quality of Morse. I guess it's been punished a bit for its deviations from formula: attending a convention on criminal justice history, Morse suddenly collapses and is hospitalized. He spends most of the episode in bed, attempting to solve a murder committed in 1859 for which believes several men were wrongly executed.
Did I mention Lewis is absent? Instead, Morse's boss Chief Supt. Strange (James Grout in amusing recurrent role) assigns a new constable to check in on the recovering Morse and cater to his whims. Strange probably just wants to keep P.C. Kershaw (Matthew Finney) from getting under his feet. Prior to this, Strange was apparently using Kershaw as a glorified errand boy ("Buy a bunch of grapes and a paperback novel!" he orders as he prepares to visit Morse's sickbed), so there must not have been enough to do around the office despite Strange's complaints of being shorthanded with Morse and Lewis off duty.
It's a contrivance, but the episode otherwise succeeds on its own merits. The departure(s) from formula are bold and intrinsic to the story. Indeed, Colin Dexter's original novel, "The Wench is Dead", was published almost a decade prior to the adaptation, at a time when the show had entered production only a few years prior. The series developers covered almost all the other Morse novels, and then devised something on the order of 20 original stories, before touching this one.
The initial decision to leave this story aside ultimately paid off. Although it would probably have been too great a gamble when the series was still building its following, the idea fits nicely with the theme later installments had been developing about Morse's deteriorating health. Besides which, period drama fans will appreciate the extensive and well-developed flashback sequences depicting the events and consequences of the historical murder. For these scenes in particular, design is impeccable and Barrington Pheloung contributes a beautiful new score to support the visuals. (Unfortunately, the incidental music for this and other later episodes doesn't seem to be covered on any of the several excellent soundtrack recordings I've found.)
Lewis is featured in the novel, and his absence here is an unhappy accident brought about by Kevin Whately being unavailable at the time. However, Finney's Kershaw is an affable and able one-time fill-in. Also appearing is Judy Loe as Adele, Morse's new lady friend established in a previous episode (at last, a stable relationship for Morse in his twilight years). Owing to the story's revised context within the TV series, screenwriter Malcolm Bradbury (in his only Morse script) takes somewhat of a free hand with the original plot. The murder mystery remains the same, however, and in fairness, Bradbury seems at times to labor in preserving various elements of the novel despite the changes.
Ably directed by Robert Knights (as with Bradbury, his only episode of Morse), "The Wench is Dead" engages via its fresh and very clever story and engrossing period production. It's not necessarily a good starting point for series newcomers, though, in that it strays so far from formula and relies heavily on audience investment in the character of Morse and his associates to frame the mystery plot.
Would it have worked better with Lewis in place? Quite possibly, but I'm really not sure it hurts the final product as much as you'd think. Certainly, any longer term absence of the character would have had a deleterious affect on the series, but this installment manages to find its feet admirably in spite the Kevin Whately-shaped hole. The irony is that its original DVD cover, which is the title image shown on IMDb, was one of the few (if not the only) to feature Lewis! An oopsie by the DVD producers, no doubt, but no more than a goofy footnote to this remarkably successful departure from the series formula.
Did I mention Lewis is absent? Instead, Morse's boss Chief Supt. Strange (James Grout in amusing recurrent role) assigns a new constable to check in on the recovering Morse and cater to his whims. Strange probably just wants to keep P.C. Kershaw (Matthew Finney) from getting under his feet. Prior to this, Strange was apparently using Kershaw as a glorified errand boy ("Buy a bunch of grapes and a paperback novel!" he orders as he prepares to visit Morse's sickbed), so there must not have been enough to do around the office despite Strange's complaints of being shorthanded with Morse and Lewis off duty.
It's a contrivance, but the episode otherwise succeeds on its own merits. The departure(s) from formula are bold and intrinsic to the story. Indeed, Colin Dexter's original novel, "The Wench is Dead", was published almost a decade prior to the adaptation, at a time when the show had entered production only a few years prior. The series developers covered almost all the other Morse novels, and then devised something on the order of 20 original stories, before touching this one.
The initial decision to leave this story aside ultimately paid off. Although it would probably have been too great a gamble when the series was still building its following, the idea fits nicely with the theme later installments had been developing about Morse's deteriorating health. Besides which, period drama fans will appreciate the extensive and well-developed flashback sequences depicting the events and consequences of the historical murder. For these scenes in particular, design is impeccable and Barrington Pheloung contributes a beautiful new score to support the visuals. (Unfortunately, the incidental music for this and other later episodes doesn't seem to be covered on any of the several excellent soundtrack recordings I've found.)
Lewis is featured in the novel, and his absence here is an unhappy accident brought about by Kevin Whately being unavailable at the time. However, Finney's Kershaw is an affable and able one-time fill-in. Also appearing is Judy Loe as Adele, Morse's new lady friend established in a previous episode (at last, a stable relationship for Morse in his twilight years). Owing to the story's revised context within the TV series, screenwriter Malcolm Bradbury (in his only Morse script) takes somewhat of a free hand with the original plot. The murder mystery remains the same, however, and in fairness, Bradbury seems at times to labor in preserving various elements of the novel despite the changes.
Ably directed by Robert Knights (as with Bradbury, his only episode of Morse), "The Wench is Dead" engages via its fresh and very clever story and engrossing period production. It's not necessarily a good starting point for series newcomers, though, in that it strays so far from formula and relies heavily on audience investment in the character of Morse and his associates to frame the mystery plot.
Would it have worked better with Lewis in place? Quite possibly, but I'm really not sure it hurts the final product as much as you'd think. Certainly, any longer term absence of the character would have had a deleterious affect on the series, but this installment manages to find its feet admirably in spite the Kevin Whately-shaped hole. The irony is that its original DVD cover, which is the title image shown on IMDb, was one of the few (if not the only) to feature Lewis! An oopsie by the DVD producers, no doubt, but no more than a goofy footnote to this remarkably successful departure from the series formula.