List of Inspector Morse episodes

This is a list of episodes of the Inspector Morse British television series produced between 1987 and 2000.

Series 1: 1987

# Title Writer(s) Director Original airdate
1 (1-01)"The Dead of Jericho"Anthony MinghellaAlastair Reid6 January 1987
Anne Stavely, a friend of Morse's, ostensibly commits suicide at her home in Jericho, though Morse isn't convinced. Morse works with Sergeant Lewis for the first time. Based on the novel The Dead of Jericho. Cast includes Gemma Jones.
2 (1-02)"The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn"Julian MitchellBrian Parker13 January 1987
The murder of a deaf university entrance examiner leads Morse and Lewis into a possible college cheating scandal. Based on the novel The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn.
3 (1-03)"Service of All the Dead"Julian MitchellPeter Hammond20 January 1987
A church warden is found with a knife in his chest; more bodies pile up as Morse and Lewis try to catch a dangerous psychopath. Based on the novel Service of All the Dead.

Series 2: 1987–1988

# Title Writer(s) Director Original airdate
4 (2-01)"The Wolvercote Tongue"Julian MitchellAlastair Reid25 December 1987
This was subsequently novelised as The Jewel That Was Ours, although the resolution is quite different. An American tourist is found dead in a hotel room at The Randolph Hotel, apparently from a heart attack. Morse suspects foul play and a jewel belonging to the victim goes missing.
5 (2-02)"Last Seen Wearing"Thomas ElliceEdward Bennett8 March 1988
A school girl has been missing for six months and Morse is convinced she is dead. However he and Lewis discover some disturbing facts about one of the schools she attended. But before he can solve the mystery, another murder happens. Based on the novel Last Seen Wearing.
6 (2-03)"The Settling of the Sun"Charles WoodPeter Hammond15 March 1988
Morse is called on to solve the murder of a Japanese student, one of a group of foreign students attending a dinner with Morse.
7 (2-04)"Last Bus to Woodstock"Michael WilcoxPeter Duffell22 March 1988
Morse investigates the murder of an 18 year old woman found dead in a pub car park. Based on the novel Last Bus to Woodstock.

Series 3: 1989

# Title Writer(s) Director Original airdate
8 (3-01)"Ghost in the Machine"Julian MitchellHerbert Wise4 January 1989
Valuable paintings are stolen from a stately home, Hanbury House, and Sir Julius Hanbury, the owner, is missing. After Morse finds Sir Julius's body in his private chapel, Lewis notices that a fatal car accident is caused when the brake line has been cut, and the driver of the car has a reply on him in response to a blackmail threat.
9 (3-02)"The Last Enemy"Peter BuckmanJames Scott11 January 1989
The torso of a man (missing the head, lower legs, and forearms), is found floating in a canal at Thrupp. An old university friend of Morse's, and now the Master of the Oxford college Beaumont, Sir Alexander Reece, asks Morse to investigate the disappearance of the Deputy Master. Based on the novel The Riddle of the Third Mile.
10 (3-03)"Deceived by Flight"Anthony MinghellaAnthony Simmons18 January 1989

An old college roommate of Morse's, Anthony Donn (Daniel Massey), comes to Oxford for a cricket match and calls Morse after 20 years and wants to get together and talk. Morse soon gets distracted by a case where three people are killed in a hate crime in the fire bombing of a very liberal bookstore. Donn, who obviously had something on his mind to talk about with Morse, then turns up dead in his college lodging. Lewis replaces Donn on the cricket team, the Clarets, to go undercover. A cricket match between the Clarets and the Hearties, organized by another former college companion of Morse's, Roly Marshall (Norman Rodway), is disrupted when Peter Foster (Geoffrey Beevers) is found murdered in the changing rooms, stabbed in the chest with a pair of scissors.

Nathaniel Parker appears in a minor part as Jamie, Roly's nephew (credited as "Nat Parker" in the episode's closing credits).
11 (3-04)"The Secret of Bay 5B"Alma CullenJim Goddard25 January 1989
A murder at a multi-storey car park uncovers a crime of passion involving a jealous husband, his wife, and her lover. Inspired by the novel The Secret of Annexe 3.

Series 4: 1990

# Title Writer(s) Director Original airdate
12 (4-01)"The Infernal Serpent"Alma CullenJohn Madden3 January 1990
The death of a senior fellow outside his Oxford college of Beaufort, during an apparent mugging, while on the way to give a controversial speech, leads Morse to suspect the prominent environmentalist was killed because of his beliefs. The death appears to have been a heart attack and Morse is just about to give up on the case, which is what his superior wants him to do, but feels that Master Matthew Copley-Barnes (Geoffrey Palmer) and his family, including a well known reporter, Sylvie Maxton (Cheryl Campbell) who lived with the family when she was young, are not telling him everything about some mysterious packages the Master is receiving. (The title is from Paradise Lost by John Milton.)
13 (4-02)"The Sins of the Fathers"Jeremy BurnhamPeter Hammond10 January 1990
Morse and Lewis investigate whether two murders at a family brewery are linked to a proposed takeover bid.
14 (4-03)"Driven to Distraction"Anthony MinghellaSandy Johnson17 January 1990
Morse is convinced a local car dealer, Jeremy Boynton (Patrick Malahide), is a killer after two women are murdered. Lewis brings in a specialist in crimes against women, Detective Sergeant Siobhan Maitland (Mary Jo Randle), to help out with the case. Since a driving school is located just behind the dealership, Morse decides to take some driving lessons to irritate and intimidate Boynton by leaving his car parked at the dealership.
15 (4-04)"Masonic Mysteries"Julian MitchellDanny Boyle24 January 1990
Morse becomes the prime suspect when his lady friend is murdered at a dress rehearsal of Mozart's The Magic Flute, and he is found holding her with a knife in his hand. It soon becomes apparent that one of his old adversaries, Hugo De Vries (Ian McDiarmid), is trying to implicate and "torture" him.

Series 5: 1991

# Title Writer(s) Director Original airdate
16 (5-01)"Second Time Around"Daniel BoyleAdrian Shergold20 February 1991
A highly thought-of and distinguished senior officer, Charlie Hillian, has just retired and is planning to write a book of his biggest cases. During the night after he received an OBE, Hillian is killed in a struggle in his rural Oxfordshire home. The notes for one chapter of his forthcoming book are missing, the only case in the book which Hillian and his then DS, Patrick Dawson (now a DCI), didn't solve. That case involved the murder of an eight-year-old girl, Mary Lapsley (Morse found her body), and it appears that somebody doesn't want that chapter to be published. (Snippets of Janis Kelly singing "Senza Mamma" from Suor Angelica by Giacomo Puccini play throughout this episode).
17 (5-02)"Fat Chance"Alma CullenRoy Battersby27 February 1991
The death of a promising feminist cleric highlights a furious Ecclesiastical battle of the sexes that is somehow connected with a weight-loss medication.
18 (5-03)"Who Killed Harry Field?"Geoffrey CaseColin Gregg13 March 1991
Local artist, restorer and bon viveur Harry Field is murdered but who would want to kill a mediocrity? Lewis considers applying for a promotion to Inspector, to the obvious dismay of Morse.
19 (5-04)"Greeks Bearing Gifts"Peter NicholsAdrian Shergold20 March 1991
A Greek restaurateur is murdered; his sister, accompanied by her baby, comes to Oxford for the funeral. The sister vanishes, and her baby is then kidnapped. Somehow, both are connected with a reconstructed Hellenic trireme.[nb 1]
20 (5-05)"Promised Land"Julian MitchellJohn Madden27 March 1991
Morse and Lewis travel to Australia to re-interview a man who has become a protected witness after he testified against a mobster. Questions about the validity of the case arose in England, and now the informant may be in danger.

Series 6: 1992

# Title Writer Director Original airdate
21 (6-01)"Dead on Time"Daniel BoyleJohn Madden26 February 1992
Henry Fallon, an Oxford don, commits suicide. Morse has a painful link with the man's widow, Susan (Joanna David). Starring Dominic Keating as local journalist Murray Stone.
22 (6-02)"Happy Families"Daniel BoyleAdrian Shergold11 March 1992
Morse becomes the victim of a hate campaign by the press as he investigates the death of a cruel, boorish industrialist.
23 (6-03)"The Death of the Self"Alma CullenColin Gregg25 March 1992
Morse and Lewis investigate the apparently accidental death of a wealthy tourist in Italy.
24 (6-04)"Absolute Conviction"John BrownAntonia Bird8 April 1992
Morse goes to prison to investigate the murder of an inmate sent down for a property swindle.
25 (6-05)"Cherubim and Seraphim"Julian MitchellDanny Boyle15 April 1992
The suicide of a young girl leads Morse and Lewis into contemporary rave culture. Morse shows unusual empathy with the young and ruminates on the impossibility of bridging the generation gap.

Series 7: 1993

# Title Writer(s) Director Original airdate
26 (7-01)"Deadly Slumber"Daniel BoyleStuart Orme6 January 1993
A botched operation leaves a woman severely brain-damaged. Is her father, a wealthy businessman, willing to kill in retribution?
27 (7-02)"The Day of the Devil"Daniel BoyleStephen Whittaker13 January 1993
A notorious rapist escapes from prison and tries to stay one step ahead of Morse and Lewis.
28 (7-03)"Twilight of the Gods"Julian MitchellHerbert Wise20 January 1993
An Oxford opera diva is shot by a sniper before a live performance, but was she the intended target?

Specials: 1995–2000

# Title Writer(s) Director Original airdate
29"The Way Through the Woods"Russell LewisJohn Madden29 November 1995
Morse becomes convinced that the murderer of a young woman is still at liberty and that the wrong man was prosecuted for her death. This episode has a different resolution from the novel, The Way Through the Woods.
30"The Daughters of Cain"Julian MitchellHerbert Wise27 November 1996
An Oxford University professor is found stabbed to death in his study. Based on the novel The Daughters of Cain.
31"Death Is Now My Neighbour"Julian MitchellCharles Beeson19 November 1997
The atmosphere surrounding the election of a college master turns poisonous after a young woman is shot as she prepares her breakfast. This episode is notable for its revelation that Morse's first name is Endeavour, after Captain Cook's ship HMS Endeavour. Based on the novel Death Is Now My Neighbour.
32"The Wench Is Dead"Malcolm BradburyRobert Knights11 November 1998
While laid up in the hospital, Morse becomes interested in the death of a young woman on the canals in the 19th century. Convinced that three men were wrongfully convicted (and two hanged) for rape and murder he investigates further. (Lewis does not make an appearance in the episode "The Wench Is Dead", as he is out of town on an inspector's course.) Based on the novel The Wench Is Dead.
33"The Remorseful Day"Stephen ChurchettJack Gold15 November 2000
In the last episode, Morse tries to solve the murder of Yvonne Harrison as his health deteriorates. Morse later suffers a massive heart attack and dies in hospital with his last words being 'Thank Lewis for me'. Based on the novel The Remorseful Day.

Notes

  1. ↑ This episode caused a question to be raised in Parliament by Lord Jenkins of Putney regarding the legality of employing a baby, and how it was induced to cry at the right moment.[1]

References

  1. ↑ http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/lords/1991/apr/25/inspector-morse-tv-programme

External links