Driven to Distraction

I've enjoyed quite a few Morse episodes but this one fell flat in every way for me. The pacing was uneven and annoying. The chemistry with the visiting woman detective was completely absent. The plot was uninteresting and derivative. The writing with regards to Morse breaking the rules of investigation was distracting and not believable.

Morse and Lewis are called in to investigate the murders of two beautiful women. The killer seems to choose his victims very purposefully, following them, whilst listening to Cole Porter.

I'd have to say this is perhaps one of my top three Morse episodes, I love the conflict between Morse and Lewis, Lewis was more charged, more willing to challenge Morse. Mary Jo Randle's character DS Maitland was a very interesting character, she had a deeper side story then was sometimes the norm.

Incredibly well acted, Patrick Malahyde is so good as Boynton, he's always a good guy, it's nice to see him play someone more villainous, he really makes Boynton very dis-likable. I've mentioned my hugely positive view on Mary Jo Randle, but I must also comment on how brilliant David Ryall was, boy he was good.

This Morse felt very different somehow, the ending is a huge high point, not often Morse has action scenes. It really is a chilling scene, Ryall is excellent. Brilliant. 10/10

Recommended for the utterly ludicrous climax, which has an attempted stabbing at high-speed, followed by a supporting actor stalling his car as he scrambles to the rescue, and a Hallowe'en-fake knife.

The music in the computer scene is Mozart's horn concerto no.4. Thank you.

I agree with people's comments about Morse's over the top breaking the law in pursuit of his despised number one suspect but ignoring that there are some good moments of humour (what do you call a group of pathologists?) and Patrick Malahyde is superb as the slimy car salesman/suspect.

Driven To Distraction is a somewhat haunting episode. What makes it so is the song playing before a murder happens, the song itself is quite haunting, and I always think it as the murderer's motif. The plot consists of a murdered woman in her flat, and the connection seems to be with a car dealer. It is certainly an intriguing entry into the wonderful series of Inspector Morse, and has so much to recommend it. When Morse tells Lewis of a dying friend and his car, this is a tribute to the original producer Kenny McBain, who sadly died in 1989, and may I say it was a very thoughtful one. The writing is unusually reflective here, and it works to an advantage. As usual Thaw and Whately shine as Morse and Lewis, as does James Grout as Strange, I loved the scene when Strange finds Morse lying on the bed and starts questioning his judgement. The supporting actors are also impressive, with Patrick Malahide deliciously seedy as Jeremy Boynton, and Mary Jo Randle nicely restrained yet humorous at times as Sergeant Maitland. In this episode, Morse and Lewis differentiate in opinion once again, and I liked the fact that Lewis solves the crime instead of Morse, it shows different sides to the characters, and the climax was what I'd call tyre-screeching. All in all, a thoughtful and well done episode, with a 10/10. Bethany Cox