Second Time Around

I saw this episode when it first aired in the U. S. nearly 30 years ago ('92, I think it was on PBS Mystery). It stuck with me. I saw it again recently and the memory of it held true. The acting here is as good as any you'll see in any TV production. The plot is convoluted but it's intended to be since, after all, it's about an unsolved murder in the long ago and one just committed. As Morse works his way through the maze every step, every twist, and the final denouement are all fair, all reasonable.

Inspector Morse is one of those policemen you wished existed in the real world. Maybe they do. Maybe they don't.

This story shows Morse and the whole series at its very best.

If you look through the mist of depravity, then It's a beautiful story in many ways. The acting is impeccable. The story is coherent and realistic.

John Thaw was better. That means Morse was never better.

Cativating from the start and never fails to bring a tear.

Following on from the sheer brilliance of Masonic Mysteries is Second Time Around, Series five's opener, and a definite classic. This boasts a deep, harrowing, and sad story, a first rate cast, sublime music, and some of the most beautiful filming seen on the show.

The story is certainly a deep one, it manages to see Morse locked in conflict with a colleague, who holds different values, and sees him dealing with the tragedy of a little girl's death from some years back. Superbly acted, Kenneth Colley, Ann Bell, Oliver Ford Davies and a young Christopher Eccleston are all brilliant. The music is just incredible, that version of Puccini's Senza Mamma is sublime. The filming left me speechless, at times it's glorious, one scene in particular sees Morse and Lewis look out at a fishing boat, it's almost picture postcard material.

Brilliant.

Definitely the best episode so far. Great story -sometimes this is the weakest element- and great acting. It seems it was written by Daniel Boyle. Well, he does a great job.

For me, and she is often not even mentioned on some pages, is Helen McCarthy as Rose Lapsley. Wonderful acting. She comes across as a lovely human being.

The only part I thought was a bit over the top is when Morse has an argy-bargy with his sergeant.

I knew who the murderer was pretty early on but it was interesting to see how they finally came to that conclusion. Morse was right, as usual, but so was his faithful sergeant.

Perhaps it's the sadness around the unsolved murder of a young girl that makes this so special? The sense that, not only have "we" not been able to keep a child safe, but that "we" have not been able to bring the murderer to justice.

It also feels perfectly paced, giving the investigation the time it needs to work its way to a conclusion. (And the gentle and terse final exchange between Morse and Lewis, seems a perfect note on which to end the episode.)

There's some wonderful writing here and some wonderful performances. I especially enjoyed the performances of Kenneth Colley as Detective Chief Inspector Patrick Dawson and Helena McCarthy as Rose Lapsley (the grandmother of the murdered girl). (I didn't rate the performances of Christopher Eccleston and Pat Heywood, who played Terrence Mitchell and his mother. I thought they were a little too theatrical.)