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Inspector Morse

  • TV Series
  • 1987–2000
  • TV-14
  • 1h 40m
IMDb RATING
8.2/10
13K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
643
3
John Thaw and Kevin Whately in Inspector Morse (1987)
CrimeDramaMystery

Chief Inspector Morse has an ear for Western classical music, a taste for beer, and a nose for crime. He and Detective Sergeant Robert Lewis solve intriguing cases in and around the Oxford a... Read allChief Inspector Morse has an ear for Western classical music, a taste for beer, and a nose for crime. He and Detective Sergeant Robert Lewis solve intriguing cases in and around the Oxford area.Chief Inspector Morse has an ear for Western classical music, a taste for beer, and a nose for crime. He and Detective Sergeant Robert Lewis solve intriguing cases in and around the Oxford area.

  • Stars
    • John Thaw
    • Kevin Whately
    • James Grout
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    8.2/10
    13K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    643
    3
    • Stars
      • John Thaw
      • Kevin Whately
      • James Grout
    • 53User reviews
    • 19Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Won 6 BAFTA Awards
      • 9 wins & 12 nominations total

    Episodes33

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    Photos421

    Bernard Brown in Inspector Morse (1987)
    Inspector Morse (1987)
    Inspector Morse (1987)
    Kevin Whately in Inspector Morse (1987)
    Angela Morant in Inspector Morse (1987)
    Inspector Morse (1987)
    Madelaine Newton and Celestine Randall in Inspector Morse (1987)
    Gemma Jones in Inspector Morse (1987)
    Sian Thomas in Inspector Morse (1987)
    Peter Waddington in Inspector Morse (1987)
    Georges Corraface in Inspector Morse (1987)
    Inspector Morse (1987)

    Top cast

    Edit
    John Thaw
    John Thaw
    • Chief Inspector Morse
    Kevin Whately
    Kevin Whately
    • Detective Sergeant Lewis
    James Grout
    James Grout
    • Chief Superintendent Strange
    Peter Woodthorpe
    Peter Woodthorpe
    • Max
    Clare Holman
    Clare Holman
    • Dr. Laura Hobson
    Liz Kettle
    • WPC…
    Amanda Hillwood
    • Dr. Grayling Russell…
    Maureen Bennett
    • Val Lewis…
    David Baukham
    • Desk Sergeant…
    Judy Loe
    Judy Loe
    • Adele Cecil
    Norman Jones
    Norman Jones
    • Chief Inspector Bell…
    Richard Huw
    • Detective Constable Dearden
    Mark Draper
    • Angry Policeman…
    Bernard Brown
    Bernard Brown
    • Dr. Felix McClure…
    Trevor Martin
    • Alan Sowden…
    Gary Powell
    • Constable…
    John Bleasdale
    • Constable…
    Philip Voss
    Philip Voss
    • Coroner
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      John Thaw was forty-four when he began playing Inspector Morse, but because of his prematurely white hair, many viewers thought he was about a decade older. Thaw was an alcoholic until 1994, and he often smoked up to three packs of cigarettes a day.
    • Quotes

      Morse: I always drink at lunchtime. It helps my imagination.

    • Crazy credits
      The opening notes of the theme music are based on the word "Morse" in Morse code, altered for musical purposes. The same notes are also included at the end and in places within the theme music. In the 1995 documentary "The Mystery of Morse: The Making of Morse", the composer stated that the theme sometimes spells the name of the murderer, a cryptic version of the name, or, as a red herring, an innocent character. However, there is nothing documented on the Internet for any specific name or episode. Morse code experts say that, aside from the code for "Morse", any other Morse code-like notes in the theme are complete gibberish, probably because the code was modified greatly for musical purposes.
    • Connections
      Edited into Inspector Morse: Rest in Peace (2000)

    User reviews53

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    Thaw brought greatness to a pretty good cop character
    This is one of the truly great British mystery series. Colin Dexter's novels for me are a bit like Shakespeare's plays - better to see them played out in a dramatic fashion than try to wade through all the details on the pages. Dexter obviously likes words, so naturally his famous detective will be a lover of crosswords and puzzles. A cultured, educated man who none the less loves fast cars (his trademark red Jaguar is as well-known an icon as Magnum's red Ferrari), whisky, women (although he doesn't seem very lucky with them), and of course, a good pint of REAL beer.

    While a bit too old to do something along the lines of Regan in "The Sweeney", Thaw still brought enormous energy and presence to the Morse role.

    His "sidekick", Sgt Lewis, is the perfect counterpart to Morse's sometimes-overly-intellectual approach to policing. In the books, Lewis comes off as rather thick, and at times a bit servile, and Morse seems to treat him accordingly; Kevin Whatley transformed Lewis into more of a sort of "everyman's genius", someone with whom Morse could actually collaborate. "Promised Land", in which the pair travel to Australia, is one of the better ones for seeing how the two relate to each other. The series sometimes amused the real-life police of the Thames Valley, for it raised Oxford's murder rate to ridiculously high levels. Some of the earlier shows moved at the pace of the books... a little sluggish, which when combined with odd camera angles - e.g. through distorting glass objects - sometimes made the viewer feel drowsy. Always a mistake to nod off, though. Morse is usually so overconfident in his suspicions that the real killer goes uncaught, and where Morse goes, murder almost certainly follows.

    My favorite episode? "Masonic Mysteries", a real spine-tingler where a man Morse put away years ago comes back to haunt him, and lands the detective in jail for murder. Ian McDiarmid (Star Wars' Emperor) is simply... spooky.

    A fantastic series. If you have doubts, watch that episode.
    helpful•52
    6
    • clab
    • Jul 11, 2004

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    Details

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    • Release date
      • February 4, 1988 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Kommissarie Morse
    • Filming locations
      • Bray Studios, Down Place, Oakley Green, Berkshire, England, UK(Studio)
    • Production companies
      • Zenith Entertainment
      • Central Independent Television
      • Carlton UK Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Runtime
      1 hour 40 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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