Inspector Morse

Inspector Morse, played by John Thaw was one of the most popular detectives in popular culture, both on the television and in the written word, and was based on the books of Colin Dexter. According to one figure, that one billion people worldwide have watched an Inspector Morse episode, that’s one in every six people on Earth (this figure is from the magazine I am about to discuss). Morse the programme set the pattern for many other television detectives ...
...new publication of the magazine, Inspector Morse. The complete collection.

The magazine is published in conjunction with Carlton by DeAgostini and the collection will be available every two weeks. The format is the usual magazine, but it come with a complete episode of Morse, in DVD or VHS formats. The first one, The Dead of Jericho comes in the honey trap price of £2.99 for the DVD version, but after this, they will be £7.99/ 5.99 ... more

Inspector Morse, played by John Thaw was one of the most popular detectives in popular culture, both on the television and in the written word, and was based on the books of Colin Dexter. According to one figure, that one billion people worldwide have watched an Inspector Morse episode, that’s one in every six people on Earth (this figure is from the magazine I am about to discuss). Morse the programme set the pattern for many other television detectives that followed, including Jack Frost, (there a whole debate whom the better Morse or Frost). What I feel marked these new detectives from many of the 1970’s and 80’s cops like The Sweeny, were that they come over as police officer with a humane side, a throw back to programmes like Dixon of Dockgreen (no, I am not that old).

Morse as a currant programme as come to an end, for two reasons. The first was that the character of Morse died, and more recently, John Thaw passed away after losing his battle against cancer. Saying that in many ways Morse is very much alive, with the programmes and the books still being watch and read by people on a regular basis. Morse is big business, and that this can be seen in the new publication of the magazine, Inspector Morse. The complete collection.

The magazine is published in conjunction with Carlton by DeAgostini and the collection will be available every two weeks. The format is the usual magazine, but it come with a complete episode of Morse, in DVD or VHS formats. The first one, The Dead of Jericho comes in the honey trap price of £2.99 for the DVD version, but after this, they will be £7.99/ 5.99 for the DVD and VHS versions. For the review, I am going to look at the magazine and the DVD separately.

The magazine has 16 pages, and is divided into the following parts: Case file, Morse’s world, Behind the camera, and John Thaw the man. The Case file, looks at the case (I did not need to be a detective to work that one out), the actors involved and also the cryptic clues. The Case file, is really a synopsis of the episode, and does not offer the reader very much; to be honest you are better off just watching the episode.

Morse’s world was better in the sense it you an insight of makes Morse’s tick, his music for example. There an interesting bit about Morse’s famous red Jaguar, and the area where the episode was filmed, the suburb Oxford known as Jericho hence the title. For people new to Morse, there might be some new information, but I feel for many fans there probably nothing new.

Behind the camera, is about the making of Morse, from the books to the actual filming of the episodes. Again, there are some interesting facts, the one about viewing figures come from this part, and that Colin Dexter made cameo appearances in 30 of 33 Morse episodes, normally for a few seconds, something for fans to look out for, to see if they can spot him.

The final part is John Thaw the man, which is just a lightweight look at this life, starting with this birth in 1942. Again nothing new to fans I feel, better off reading a decent book on John Thaw if there is one.

Overall, I felt that the magazine was very lightweight, and while maybe offering something for casual fans of Morse, nothing new for harden fans. I felt that the magazine might have been a bit of a rush job on the back of John Thaw’s death, and I wonder if it was not for this, that the magazine would have not been published in the first place.

How to the DVD, for me the reason I brought the magazine, along with the price in the first place (not saying that I am a tight wad, lol). The DVD comes in a nice plastic case, and has one complete episode on the disc. On the back of the case, there is a short introduction to the episode and a list of actors, all to be welcome. Inside the case, there is nothing by the disc, and I felt that this was a disappointment. I felt that by making magazine a small format, they could have used the spare space inside the case, to store the magazine and keep it safe and clean; but then they would not be able to sell any binders that normally comes with this kind of collections.

The DVD itself seems to be a straight transfer from television to disc, and about 104 minutes long, after this the episodes were two hours long. The picture quality ok, the pictures ration is 4-3, standard television size. The sound is mono, again, this reflects the original recording, and comes with subtitles for the hard of hearing. There been no money spend on this disc to improve the picture or the sound, and the only extras you get are a picture gallery. To be this seems to be a waste of DVD space, and technology, maybe they could have put the magazine on the disc itself, or make it interactive. Again I feel that this seem to reflect that this could be a rush job, to tap into John Thaw’s death, or am I expecting too much for my money (again not being a tight wad).

Overall, I feel that the magazine were a good introduction into Morse, for the novice, but nothing else. I feel that most harden fans would already either have the tapes or disc, and be aware of the information in the magazine. To me the best way to get to know more about Morse, John Thaw is to read the books, watch the DVD, VHS which can be brought already from Amazon, for around £200 for the complete set, or £14.99 for a DVD which has two episodes on one disc, which works out cheaper in the long run. In addition to this, visit Oxford to see where the programmes were shot and visit some of the pubs in the area to taste the beer.

 

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