Last Bus to Woodstock

The best Morse episode to that point. Everything just gels so well here. There's none of the clumsiness of the first season, the pointless sub-plots that were also a feature of the early stuff or the ridiculously complex plot of the previous episode. It's as if the writers tinkered with the formula until they got it right and this is the one whre it happened.

There's a fair amount of intrigue: a young woman murdered in a parking lot, a cryptic note in her posession, a host of seemingly unconnected individuals living their lives. The seemingly unconnected individuals add another layer in that their mini-stories are quite interesting. The young English student was wonderfully enchanting with her intelligence and boundless energy.

Another great character was the old lady who witnessed the red car. Great value as she showed Morse and Lewis how to do policework.

All these interesting little sub-plots and colourful characters make for a very engaging episode.

My second favourite episode of this wonderful series - made so by the magnificent appearances of Ian Sears (so good in BBC's Johnny Jarvis; Autumn 1983); Perry Fenwick (the latter memorably addressing the former as a "tosser") and, best of all, the luminous, gorgeous and underused Jenny Jay. Almost inevitably, Morse takes out a crush on a witness - not knowing she is sexually involved with another witness; thus Morse is further established as a man of continuing romantic disappointment: in this case where his nemesis and his icon are inextricably linked. As with virtually all Morse actors, Anthony Bate couldn't turn in a duff performance to save his life; and he's ably abetted here by Peter Woodthorpe in his final appearance as pathologist Max, and the scrumptious Holly Aird with skirts billowing as she balletically swans around college; also on display is the marvellous Fabia Drake looking not a day older than she did in the opening episode of The Prisoner 20 years earlier; and the ever reliable Terrence Hardiman as a company executive doing obtuse as only he can. All told then 10/10 Mark James Burden

Definitely one of the best early episodes of Morse. I find pacing can be a slight issue with the earliest episodes, but that remark is not applicable here, this moves along very nicely, it asks the viewer a load of questions, and definitely tests your powers of observation. Complex relationships and a string sub plots that are all resolved in a very satisfying conclusion.

The scene where the girl is witnessed getting into an unknown car by Mrs Jarman is so strong, it's very clever, as a viewer you know something bad is going to happen, and an observer Mrs Jarman catches a glimpse, but it's staged in such a way that she only gets a glimpse. It's very very clever.

Beautifully acted, Morse and Lewis are up to the usual standard, but Anthony Bate and Fabia Drake are both excellent, two mature actors with lots of presence.

Very satisfying 9/10

Loved this one. Apart from a very silly plot point involving a coded letter found on the victim Last Bus To Woodstock is classic Morse. At this point it felt like the muder rate in Oxford was topping Los Angeles, but the scene where Morse visits the three female housemates is wonderful. He really should stop trying to get off with murder suspects, though!

Shame this was Peter Woodthorpe's last episode. As the gravelly but darkly humorous Max he was always a delight, Almost as fruity as he was in Evil of Frankenstein!

Other reviewers love this episode but I had to watch the first half twice just to get the characters straight. Morse only has two hours to solve the crime so I guess he's entitled to some miraculous guesses but he left me baffled at his technique. Then again, maybe I'm too dense to follow the train of logic he employs. One other irritating point: what happens to the confused characters Morse runs into during the show? The episode so thoroughly examines their lives--such as the two lovers at the victim's place of business--that I expected either some resolution of their problems or a showing of their continued despair. As it is, they were basically left on the cutting room floor. Despite my objections, I say watch the show and appreciate the moving depiction of the often depressing state of human relations that fascinate Morse and his fans.