Masterpiece's Endeavour {Sundays @ 9/8c on PBS}

[hagios]

Endeavour: Series 1 Blu-ray



Endeavour is a cracking good classy tv show. I'm enjoying Endeavour immensely on Masterpiece!

Before his signature red Jaguar, before Inspector Morse, there was the cerebral and solitary Detective Constable Endeavour Morse (Shaun Evans). In Endeavour: Series I's four riveting new mysteries, young Morse conducts his dogged, incorruptible pursuit of justice from the shadows of Oxford and the fringes of the police force in an unlikely partnership with DI Fred Thursday (Roger Allum).

British network ITV took a big risk when they decided to make the Morse prequel Endeavour. If the young Morse was too like the man we knew and loved then people would say he was a caricature. If they went the other way and the younger version of the detective was a brash, jack-the-lad type of character then they would alienate the show’s fans. Somehow, they avoided both these traps and in Shaun Evans they found an actor who was just as you thought the young Morse would have been.

Endeavour featured plenty of the elements that were regular features of Morse. The whole story revolved around an opera singer, there were some nice shots of Oxford and the young policeman (ever the outsider) found himself at odds with the establishment. In the absence of John Thaw, it was a near as you are ever going to get to Morse.



While the ITV chiefs were unashamedly trying to cater to the Morse crowd, they must be delighted that the end result of their labors was an intriguing drama that would appeal to anyone regardless of their past TV watching habits. Charlied Creed-Miles was excellent as the slimy weasel Teddy Samuels and Roger Allam (Ashes to Ashes) was superb as the young cops’ mentor. The show received rave reviews in the UK and ITV have already announced plans for a full blown season. Hopefully, fans stateside (including the chiefs at PBS Masterpiece) were equally impressed by the show. Let’s hope we don’t have to wait too long to see Endeavour back on our TV screens.

Shaun Evans (The Take, The Last Weekend, Silk), who won over critics and viewers alike with his portrayal of young Inspector Morse in the 2012's Endeavour, returns with four riveting new mysteries written by Inspector Lewis creator and Inspector Morse writer Russell Lewis.

In Girl (July 7), Fugue (July 14), Rocket (July 21), and Home (July 28), the cerebral and solitary Detective Constable Morse conducts his dogged, incorruptible pursuit of justice from the shadows of Oxford and the fringes of the police force. Roger Allum costars as Detective Inspector Fred Thursday, and Abigail Thaw, daughter of Inspector Morse star John Thaw, makes special guest appearances as Dorothea Frazil

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/...eavour-i-girl/
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/...avour-i-fugue/