stuart-p1960

All the actors play their parts well but there are some rather irritating plot lines that go through most episodes. Peggy constantly going on about being a yellow coat does grate after a while, especially when she does get the opportunity she is useless and Fred keep talking about getting his jockey licence back! He is too old and too big to be a jockey but no-one bothers to tell him. Running gags can be funny but they need to be realistic, which neither of there are. Spike can also be annoying with his ridiculous speeches which just upset more people and his 'holier than thou' attitude is meant to be a counter to Ted's scams but you just feel like saying 'report it or shut up'!! Simon Cadell and Ruth Madoc are the stars of this sitcom.

The worst Morse episode I have seen. Poorly scripted, poorly photographed, poorly lit and irritating performances. You will be lucky to last beyond the first 10 minutes of this dire story. Morse is lecherous, Jane is annoying, Sir Wilfred a creep and Lewis hardly appears!! Episodes before and since have been much better than this one. Even the appearances of Derek Fowlds cannot lift this beyond poor. Most of the characters are half-lit, the camera is usually focused on theor feet or up their nostrils and half the time there is silence, even in the middle of dialogue. Some characters (eg Supt Dewar) appear that any reason why.

This is such easy viewing but the highlight is some of the best one-liners on TV. There are downsides too. Compo is a very annoying character with little to engraciate him to the audience but the other characters more than make up for the lack of comedy where Compo is concerned. The later series without Compo are the best and the introduction of Alvin and Entwhistle lifts the series to new heights. Robert Fyfe as Howard is superb.