The Last Enemy

Maybe I was just in the wrong mood but I found the tone of this episode quite flat and dry. While reasonably interesting everything seems rather join-the-dots-like. Even the usual Morse-Lewis banter is lacking or just doesn't hit the mark.

The plot is intriguing enough though not brilliant. The fact that the initial victim can't be identified provides a good layer of mystery, as a start.

On the plus side, I enjoyed the addition of Dr Grayling Russell (played by Amanda Hillwood) the previous episode and the producers in their wisdom have decided to keep her around. She really does add a spark and vitality to the show. She also might just bring out a more positive and softer side to Morse.

2024 is the year I started watching this remarkable series. Over the years, Ive heard my father talking about it and watching it but nit until recently did I begin ti watch it chronologically. My father has always been a huge Inspector Morse admirer. John Thaw is brilliant as the somewhat acerbic, sharp and immensely likeable Morse.

The Last Enemy does not disappoint at all. From the twisted and over the top plot it always manages to be tempered by Oxford's grayish hues and solid setting and backdrop. I love English humour and dry hued exchanges between characters. The last scene had me feeling poignant for Morse. Buying drinks for others who are more selfish and self-serving than grateful. The pathologists loss. Morse is great company even when he's brooding. He's an original. That's what makes this series wonderful to witness.

Maha.

Very very dated and so so poor. Such a tired script around tedious Oxford academic rivalries that lead to such unbelievable outcomes. Terminally ill, infirm old boys dealing in gruesome murder. It really is too pathetic for words. More and more the overly intricate plots defy any enjoyment by those who have the most rudimentary of their human reasoning capabilities left. There is also the questionable practice of clearly signalling the plot twists in the early stages, so plain to foresee that one wonders how a man so brilliant as Morse cannot see them immediately: one imagines that all who watch it must see them immediately. That does puzzle me, perhaps the only mystery here: it is quite unexplained how some seem to find these tales entertaining. It's so obvious what is going on that as has been mentioned in the summary, it's just tedious in the extreme.

This is a reworking of Colin Dexter's novel - "The Riddle of the Third Mile".The plot line keeps well with the book though character names are changed and the other alterations were principally to remove a London Strip Club.Visually with a canal plenty of Oxford scenery and an exceptionally strong supporting cast in particular involving Tenniel Evans,Michael Aldridge and Barry Foster.Morse's conversations with Sian Thomas and Amanda Hillwood in their way show how much he seems to miss a possible opportunity for happiness and with Beatie Edney the female support whilst less experienced is no less strong.I must wonder if Oxford University can approve of academics being portrayed as double crossers and jealous schemers but then it makes life more interesting.

Once more, I have to check my files to see if I graduated from college. This episode of Morse, like so many others, convinces me that I lack the intelligence to follow a plot that millions of other people seem to follow with ease. From the start, the story is murkier than the canal where the headless body is found. The body launches an investigation that meanders from Oxford to London to someplace near South Bend, Indiana (I think). Evil professors, haughty civil servants, and rugged policemen fill the story with memorable characters but little logic to tie them together. At the end, someone in a hospital bed spills the beans to Morse in a scene that should be dubbed into Croatian to make it all clearer. On the positive side, it's a treat to watch the fabulous Barry Foster and the rest of the impressive supporting cast as well as the totally reliable main leads. The Oxford scenery doesn't hurt either. All in all, a worthwhile if exasperating show, especially for Americans who are sick unto death of the simplistic and violent trash on American TV.