Inspector Morse

This is one of the truly great British mystery series. Colin Dexter's novels for me are a bit like Shakespeare's plays - better to see them played out in a dramatic fashion than try to wade through all the details on the pages. Dexter obviously likes words, so naturally his famous detective will be a lover of crosswords and puzzles. A cultured, educated man who none the less loves fast cars (his trademark red Jaguar is as well-known an icon as Magnum's red Ferrari), whisky, women (although he doesn't seem very lucky with them), and of course, a good pint of REAL beer.

While a bit too old to do something along the lines of Regan in "The Sweeney", Thaw still brought enormous energy and presence to the Morse role.

His "sidekick", Sgt Lewis, is the perfect counterpart to Morse's sometimes-overly-intellectual approach to policing. In the books, Lewis comes off as rather thick, and at times a bit servile, and Morse seems to treat him accordingly; Kevin Whatley transformed Lewis into more of a sort of "everyman's genius", someone with whom Morse could actually collaborate. "Promised Land", in which the pair travel to Australia, is one of the better ones for seeing how the two relate to each other. The series sometimes amused the real-life police of the Thames Valley, for it raised Oxford's murder rate to ridiculously high levels. Some of the earlier shows moved at the pace of the books... a little sluggish, which when combined with odd camera angles - e.g. through distorting glass objects - sometimes made the viewer feel drowsy. Always a mistake to nod off, though. Morse is usually so overconfident in his suspicions that the real killer goes uncaught, and where Morse goes, murder almost certainly follows.

My favorite episode? "Masonic Mysteries", a real spine-tingler where a man Morse put away years ago comes back to haunt him, and lands the detective in jail for murder. Ian McDiarmid (Star Wars' Emperor) is simply... spooky.

A fantastic series. If you have doubts, watch that episode.

I have all 33 episodes and all the books, and I think this crime drama is without question the best show that ever came on our screens. Each episode has a reason for watching it. They did change the character of Morse completely, but I don't care. I prefer John Thaw's Morse, he is somewhat more likable. The late John Thaw was an outstanding actor, and Inspector Morse is his best role. He is just phenomenal, as is Kevin Whately as Lewis. Morse is a sensitive character here, when he is listening to his classical music with the camera looking into these mysterious blue eyes, it is just extraordinary. The music is just amazing with that clever haunting theme tune, and the recurring excerpts of Mozart and Wagner. Inspector Morse also benefits from consistently superb camera work and exceptionally written scripts. It has also boasted stars such as Clive Swift, Roger Lloyd Pack, Zoe Wannamaker and Paul Freeman. Favourite episode? Has to be Masonic Mysteries, the victim's scream actually made my heart go in my mouth. The final episode is heart-rending, and I couldn't bear to finish the book, because it was so sad. Great stuff! 10/10. Bethany Cox

Not since the great team of Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce (in the early film Sherlock Holmes series) have there been such a happy combination as John Thaw and Kevin Whately as Morse and Lewis, in "Inspector Morse". Based on the rather academic crime novels of Colin Dexter this is surely one of the best TV whodunit series. Thaw is much at home playing the cantankerous, cultured, clever, and egocentric Police Inspector who enjoys a drink, while Whately does well as his obedient sidekick. Clever plots and intelligent scripting make this a thought provoking and interesting series. Which has lead to other quirky British Police Inspectors such as Barnaby in The Midsomers Murders, and Frost in A Touch of Frost. One might argue that Oxford, and for that matter in the other series small English country villages seem alive with serial killers, rather not conducive to tourism, but allowing for poetic license these stories capture the interest more than most.

John Thaw will never have a better part than that of the crusty copper , Morse. Fans of the crime genre will love this as it usually is a great whodunnit every time with no car chases or fights and as such is always refreshingly different from the usual cop show. Just add in that Morse is a total loser with the ladies, likes a drink, enjoys listening to recordings of tragic operas. Great way to solve murders, sitting in the pub downing a beer in the middle of the day. It beats chasing armed assailants up back alleys or staking out clubs hiding in garbage cans any day.The only criticism of the show is that Oxford is portrayed as the murder capital of Europe when in real life it is probably one of the least criminal places in the world with parking offences probably being its most common crime.

I think most people would agree, whether British or not, that Inspector Morse represents everything that is good about British television. In January 1987, the first television episode of Colin Dexter's intelligent series of novels was broadcast. Inspector Morse was perfect - the beautiful scenery of Oxford, the classic red Jaguar, the classical music and a superb, and at times moving, central performance by the man his co-star Kevin Whately would later describe, after his untimely death in 2002, as Britain's finest screen actor.

Until it finished in 2000, Inspector Morse captivated large audiences, intrigued by its complex plots, the towering performance of John Thaw and its amazing roll call of quality guest actors. The series oozed class from every pore, and will always be the greatest jewel in the magnificent career of the late John Thaw. I really cannot find enough words to explain just how good I think Thaw was in so many of his television and film roles, but Morse was the character in which he proved to television viewers that he was not only versatile but had a rare depth.

The early episodes are certainly my favourites, as they were adapting the existing stories. Later, as they ran out of Dexter's stories, they began writing stories to keep the popular series going. But throughout, we learn more and more about the mysterious, emotionally repressed and rather sad Inspector. Without doubt, this is the greatest modern murder mystery franchise, and the series so many have tried, and failed, to emulate since.