The Dead of Jericho
- Episode aired Jan 6, 1987
- TV-14
- 1h 44m
Anne Stavely, a friend of Morse's, ostensibly commits suicide at her home in Jericho, though Morse isn't convinced this is what happened.Anne Stavely, a friend of Morse's, ostensibly commits suicide at her home in Jericho, though Morse isn't convinced this is what happened.Anne Stavely, a friend of Morse's, ostensibly commits suicide at her home in Jericho, though Morse isn't convinced this is what happened.
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Did you know
- TriviaColin Dexter: Author of the Inspector Morse book series appears when Morse visits the rooms of Ned Murdoch at College. Morse walks past Colin Dexter walking the opposite direction, and after they pass each other, Morse turns around and looks back at Dexter as he is walking away.
- GoofsIn the 2000s, ITV created new end-credit sequences for repeat showings of many of their successful programmes of previous years, including Inspector Morse (1987). In the new credits at the end of The Dead of Jericho, they have erroneously credited James Laurenson with the part of Colin, in addition to the Richards brother whom he did actually play.
- Quotes
Chief Superintendent Strange: Well, I've got some good and bad news for you Morse. We're not going to give you the Super's job.
Chief Inspector Morse: Right.
Chief Superintendent Strange: You're a clever sod, but you don't say the right things to the right people. You never will. It doesn't bother me, but it doesn't do you any good.
[pauses]
Chief Superintendent Strange: You didn't want it anyway, did you?
Chief Superintendent Strange: I mean the point is, you're unorthodox. Look at you. It's not exactly... well, anyway, fine. I like that. It doesn't bother me.
Chief Inspector Morse: Was that the good or the bad news?
Chief Superintendent Strange: We're giving Bell the job. He's not exactly a brain merchant, but he does... well, you know, I don't have to tell you. He's, erm, he... he fills in the forms, he always says the right thing.
- ConnectionsEdited into Inspector Morse: Rest in Peace (2000)
John Thaw went from The Sweeney where he played the two fisted Jack Regan catching villains trying to get away with a sawn off shotgun in a Jaguar; to a genteel, real ale drinking, classical music loving detective driving a vintage Jaguar.
I never watched the early episodes when it aired on ITV only catching the repeats on Channel 4. It was then I became a fan of the series.
Anthony Minghella who would later win an Oscar for The English Patient adapted this story. Inspector Morse is late for choir practice as his Jag was involved in a prang as he tried to disrupt a dodgy garage.
Morse is attracted to Anne Staveley, who is a member of the choir, he even walks her home. She teaches piano, she has a student living with her who is a bit weird. He composes music but is a law student who scrounges money from her. The neighbour opposite is a peeping Tom who spies on her.
However there is tragedy for Morse as Anne is found hanging, it looks like suicide but Morse thinks there is more to it and even has a Oedipus Rex theory.
This is the story where Morse is partnered with Sgt Lewis who until now was under the command of another Inspector who has since been promoted. We learn that Morse went for the same promotion but he rubs some of his superiors up the wrong way or does not quiet say the right things to get ahead.
Luckily the younger Lewis gets on well with the older Morse despite not into drinking ale in pubs or classical literature or music. Lewis also provides some humour which helps.
The story is well paced, there are plenty of red herrings, blind alleys and the two hours fly by. Colin Dexter who wrote the original books also compiled crosswords and he treated his mysteries the same way. You have to look for little clues and some of them would be visual.
A few things we learn from the opening episode that continues throughout the rest of the run. Morse is always unlucky in love, in fact he should had just become a monk. Any lady he has an interest in either ends up dead or is a wrong un. Early on in this episode Morse is asked for his first name which he declines to reveal. This will continue until much later on in the series.
Morse seems to bring his own car to work, why he chooses to do this I have no idea, as it gets banged into twice in this episode.
I watched this episode again three decades after its first broadcast and it still stands up well. It is disconcerting to note that I am now several years older than John Thaw was when he first played Morse, he was 44 years old when the first series was made but he really looks much older.
- Prismark10
- May 1, 2018
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