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janellcole
Reviews
Inspector Morse: The Death of the Self (1992)
Ramblng, pointless mess
This rambling, pointless mess of a plot never comes together to tie up and explain how two murders have anything to do with the ending, which, after all that flotsam, only boils down to a piece of forged artwork. Most of the characters's involvements are mere distractions. Morse's constant skirt-chasing finally garners him two kisses, one of which is willing and passionate. The protests and outbursts of the insecure Italian detective add nothing to the episode and the coincidences of so many scenes all happening conveniently within walking distance of Morse and Lewis' hotel is really ridiculous. And what professional detective would travel with a witness to lollygag around her country hilltop mansion waiting for her to tell him, at her leisure, what she had to divulge about the night of the first murder. All in all, utter shambles.
Inspector Morse (1987)
No, Morse is not "loveable"
What a slog-very disappointing after "Endeavor"
I'm watching this series because I so enjoyed the recent very excellent PBS Masterpiece prequel series, "ENDEAVOR," about this same detective.
I had never seen this original Inspector Morse series (1987-2000). Reviews mention the "beloved" Morse and so on, and the series had a long run, so it seemed like a worthwhile plan to view this series
I am now on Disc 11 (of 17) and intend to finish the series, but it is nowhere near as riveting and enjoyable as Endeavor. Each episode of Morse is an hour and 45 minutes and the plots just drag along ponderously and confusedly, with many times only the merest intrigue. And this older Morse is an unsympathetic, skirt-chasing drinking-on-the-job curmudgeon with no particular investigative talent or charm.
The younger Morse in Endeavor is a cool, brilliant guy-though a bit troubled. I'm so disappointed in the Morse character of this original series.
If you liked Endeavor and are really curious about the original Inspector Morse, you might invest in this series, but I can't give it an enthusiastic recommendation.
If you haven't seen the Endeavor series, I do highly recommend that.
Nolly (2023)
Pointless and uninteresting
I looked forward to this series after seeing months of promotions for it on PBS. I enjoy many of the PBS Sunday night shows. In actuality it turned out to be very disappointing. The plodding, confused pace and lack of real drama caused me to lose interest after sitting through the first episode. This story should have been handled in one episode, with her death at the end listed on the screen as an epilogue-type statement. I did turn it on for all 3 nights. But the end, this was a pointless and uninteresting series. Too bad PBS sucked me into something that turned out to be just a complete waste of time. Can't recommend.
Ridley (2022)
Not a singer!
Overall, not a bad cops/crime series.
BUT - Who in the heck decided to have this guy sing? God, he's awful! Saw review where this was pitched as some kind of bonus feature for the series. It was actually a turn-off. I learned to grab the remote & mute when he took the mic at the club.
The crimes and solving them were OK. I think it's really a stretch for us to believe they would beg him to come back from retirement as a consultant and then let him run rampant through these cases.
The lesbian detective was a refreshing addition, although the tension surrounding whether she and her wife should have another child seemed forced and distracting.