Endeavour - Series 2

This review is spoiler-free.

Click here for my review of Series 1.

Series two of this fantastic, rich series has come and gone a long time now, and I write this review after my second viewing -- Endeavour always requires a second viewing you know, and, as far as I'm aware, a third. So it's convenient that there are only four episodes per season/series.

Endeavour Morse is a Detective Constable in Oxford, England in the sixties. He loves opera music and crossword puzzles. He's young but serious, good looking but not good at being social, quiet but passionate, highly educated but scorns academics, and extremely smart -- but no one thinks he is. He sees patterns and connections where anyone else would see only coincidences and unimportant details.

DI Thursday and DC Morse. Hero and sidekick. Or sidekick and hero...?

Endeavour is a slowly paced, intricate mystery show that you have to pay attention to in order to understand -- but -- I have never found it at all boring, and your patience and attention is always awarded a huge payoff. I could spend lots of time talking about great plot lines and writing, fantastic performances, and great production overall (and it would all be true) but the one thing that defines this show, and makes it amazing and worth watching -- no matter how many times you've re-watched Sherlock, or how many Agatha Christie adaptations, Foyle's War, or countless "Inspector" shows you've seen -- and that is Shaun Evans' Morse.

There's always a smart, unique and thoughtful mystery for your enjoyment, but really it's about character -- and Morse's character is just extraordinary. Britain has no shortage of great mystery shows, and neither does it have a shortage of tortured souls to inhabit them as their heroes, but none are written or portrayed quite so well as Endeavour. He never falls into his kind's typical rut of being constantly depressed, but is determinedly hopeful. He takes the trials and abuse life deals to him with more grace than required and selflessly concentrates on other people's plights instead of his own. And Shaun Evans plays the part magnificently, with detailed subtlety and honesty.

DC Endeavour Morse is high on my list of favorite detectives.

Episode 1 of the series, Trove, finds Morse just recovered from the gunshot wound and death of his father from the end of the last series. He passes his physical exam, and returns to his usual duties as DI Thursday's (Roger Allam) bagman, but that doesn't necessarily mean he's back to normal. He is anxious and determined to prove himself, so when he sees the possibility of a connection between a robbery, an apparent suicide, and a disappearance of a young lady he jumps blindly at the chance to win back a good work reputation and make up for lost time on becoming a Sergeant. But the cases are more complicated than he realizes and no one -- not even Thursday -- is impressed with his wild speculations.

Episode 2, Nocturne, is hands down my favorite of the four -- it's got a haunting mystery! And the style of the show is an ideal match for the creepy suspense added for the ghost story. It hardly had to try to be scary at all; it just naturally is whenever the story dictates. Investigating a death at a museum leads Morse to an all-girls summer boarding school where many years before a gruesome multiple homicide was committed, the perpetrator of which is sometimes still seen roaming the hallways of the huge house. Morse sees himself reflected in one of the girls there, an observant and smart, but picked-on girl, and becomes personally invested in her well-being. A sure formula for a great episode.

The longer you look, the creepier it gets...

Sway, the third episode, is the serial killer episode -- always a winner. (As Sherlock says, "there's always something to look forward to!") In the first series the serial killer ep was my favorite, but this time it doesn't quite have the same effect since nothing that happens to make the killings personal to Morse. He is a little distracted from the case when his growing romance with his neighbor hits a bump. The show focuses it character developing powers instead on Thursday, but in a way that I would have preferred they not meddled with. The serial killer mystery was the main highlight of this episode, with plenty of looking forward.

The last episode, Neverland gets personal again, and not just for Morse, when he discovers faint connections between a reporter's death, a runaway boy, and a escaped convict, that lead to a conspiracy the seems to come from within the police department itself. This episode heaps on the character growth, for Morse and Thursday, and for Morse's regular antagonist DS Jakes, (Jack Laskey) and good friend PC Strange (Sean Rigby). The episode itself is very complicated, and winds up sharp, but for a while in the middle it slows more than usual. It was saving up for the climax I suppose, because it is unexpectedly big and dramatic for a jarring contrast.

Strange, Morse, Jakes, Thursday, and Chief Superintendent Bright (Anton Lesser).

Much like its protagonist, this show mostly keeps to itself, does its job, does it well, and does it with heart. It may not get much attention, but it can easily keep up with the best of its genre, defying the expectations of unsuspecting viewers and seasoned fans alike.

Little Dorrit

This is a spoiler-free review.

Andrew Davies, adapter of many many classic period dramas writes yet another winning screenplay with only one little hiccup in the entire 8 hour run-time. I wish I could say I love how faithfully he adapted Charles Dickens' story -- and I'm thinking he probably did -- but since I haven't read it yet and can't critique any adapting choices, I can only say that the plot he wove was involving and interesting and flew by effortlessly, and was brimming with wonderfully complex and realistically flawed characters. Eight hours yet it never comes even close to tedious.

Ah -- those costumes! If I didn't know better I might think that's the only reason I like these sorts of movies.

But I mentioned a tiny hiccup.

There were seven and a half hours of pleasant, easy-going pacing, and then a rushed last half hour, resulting with very little anticlimax, and a few story lines left hanging. Since this happened at the end it is what stuck in my mind most, but is the only flaw I can remember noticing, and it's a relatively small one, and a relatively common one as well. It hindered my enjoyment only in the tiniest degree, and with a second viewing, I doubt it'll hinder at all, but an extra half-hour of run-time or some better time management wouldn't have gone amiss.

Also, it's partly my own fault, but the mystery's reveal took some work to understand. I usually pride myself on being able to understand those wordy sentences and accents, but this plot was so easy to follow at first I wasn't expecting to have to concentrate, and the result was more than a moment's confusion near the end. The scene probably could have been written more clearly, but it is something that will disappear completely upon a second view, so it's hardly a problem.

I even like the men's costumes.

The filming style felt perfectly like Dickens, with the gorgeous, dark and gritty look, and an ominous, mysterious undertone. I loved how the camera would roll to subtle angles sometimes, amplifying some of the more uncomfortable and creepier scenes. The writing and filming styles were very complementary together, giving out silent, intriguing hints to the plot and characters.

Our heroine and title character is little Amy Dorrit, played by Claire Foy. I have never seen or even heard of Foy before, and it made her embodiment of the character even more complete. She made an ideal main character for the story -- perfectly sweet, kind and gentle, but produced spirit and determination when she needed. Like a Disney Princess of Dickens' world.

And very pretty too.

You may know that I do not at all like Matthew Macfadyen's version of Mr. Darcy in the '05 Pride & Prejudice. I have, however, always disliked it to his credit, assuming that he is such a talented actor that the dull, unsavory performance was only exactly what the director wanted it to be, and that he had obliged him. I hold that opinion even more firmly after seeing his delightful performance as Mr. Clennam -- a worthy actor for a worthy hero.

I still don't think he's Mr. Darcy material, but does he need to be? Absolutely not!

In stark contrast to Amy is the rest of her family. Her father William Dorrit (Tom Courtenay) is a sad older man, more than a little touched in the head, and annoyingly pompous in spite of his situation, but besides his stupid ideas he's a mostly kind and loving father. Her sister Fanny (Emma Pierson) is stuck-up, affected and selfish, and wears the perfect makeup to match her personality -- it's awful, but I love it, and in the one scene when it's off, she seems actually human and I liked her. And Amy's brother, equal to Fanny in selfishness, plus rude and lazy to boot is Edward, played awesomely by Arthur Darvill, and is the complete opposite of Rory -- no noticeable redeeming qualities.

"Rory and the china doll."

Now the villain, Andy Serkis. Whoah-ho-ho, Andy Serkis! He's no stranger to villainous characters, but this one is uniquely impressive, firstly because it's not a motion capture job, (ha) and seriously because this villain has such a slithery dramatic flair. Rotten to the core, and a Frenchman too -- Serkis' looks are perfect, as is his accent, and the creepy factor is off the scale. It bothers me that he is often type-cast as the villain (my family can't even recall his non-sinister roles) but it doesn't help his case when he's this good.

Voila, bad guy.

This was quite the show for a game of "Name That British Actor." I gleefully recognized too many more faces to even mention them all, but they most interestingly include:

Russell Tovey -- of Sherlock and Doctor Who, and from which I could tell he's a likably intense actor, but I was still impressed with his performance of poor love-struck John. I recognized supporting man Eddie Marsan first as Lestrade in Sherlock Holmes (you may recognize his from many other assorted films) but henceforth I'll be remembering him as Mr. Pancks, because as Pancks he finally stood out, and demanded attention. Still technically a supporting character, but a memorable, finely tuned one. Freema Agyeman (yet another from Doctor Who) was a little too odd and annoying with her character; and Anton Lesser was of course, very, very good.

I'd know those ears anywhere -- Russell Tovey.

I wonder why it took me six years to finally get around to watching this fantastic "little" gem.

Now if you'll excuse me, there's a certain, rather thick book sitting next to me that is long overdue in its wait for someone to begin reading it.

Endeavour - Series 1

I am a fan of BBC's Sherlock. I live in the US, so I watch it on PBS Masterpiece Theatre. Since there are only three episodes of Sherlock each season, with year-long breaks in between, there is a lot of time spent waiting for it to come back. During that time, other British crime dramas have to fill the void. Detective Inspectors, Agatha Christie adaptations and mystery TV movies like Page Eight or The 39 Steps would keep me from going crazy while waiting, but recently, I realized: I'm doing it wrong! I should be really enjoying all these shows I use to "get by." I opened up to them, and they flooded in. Through Inspector Lewis, I was introduced to Endeavour from its beginning.

Endeavour takes place in the very early years of Inspector Morse's career. I've never actually seen any of Inspector Morse, but I know Lewis was his DS, and when the show ended, Lewis continued on with a promotion and his own show, and now with Endeavour, we're going back in time to see what shapes Morse into Morse.

The time is the mid-1960's, Oxford, England. Endeavour Morse is a young Detective Constable. He's introverted, sometimes awkward socially, and quite good at solving mysteries -- seeing connections where most see coincidence, and never cutting corners to close a case quickly. He is played by Shaun Evans, and I can tell you right now the majority of this review is going to be praise for this actor and the character he has inherited, which should be acceptable considering this show is just as much about the crime-solver as it is the crime.

Last year when the pilot movie aired on Masterpiece, I felt a little out of the loop not knowing the previously established characters, but I immediately liked Morse for one very particular reason; his countenance around a dead body. It's not wholly uncommon to see characters look away from a victim if it's particularly sad or gory; it lends the character sensitivity, but with Morse there's an obvious, but hard to pin-point difference. At a distance he stares intently, then turns sideways, no matter if it's gory or not -- and not in a "horrified, going to be sick" kind of way, but in a habitual way; sad and uncomfortable, but respectful. Instead of a gimmick to make us feel sympathy for the victim, it's a natural part of a character we're already identifying with, and the brief moment isn't wasted.

And that's just one of his many defining traits, but I think, my personal favorite. Morse is such a richly complex character, that when I watched series 1 over again to pick up any tidbits I'd missed, I instead was even more perplexed; not by the murder mystery, but in trying to fully understand the hero. His awkwardness bluntness and reserve make him easily misunderstood to some co-workers but the audience also sees his quality, romanticism, determination and loneliness and he becomes endearing. There are as many clues to his character as for the murder; no sideways glance or casual movement is meaningless. Even shot compositions complement the character; in group shots, he's sometimes out of place with everyone else synchronized; when he's featured, the composition is slightly too high or angled, or off center in the wrong direction... and it's perfect.

I couldn't find a picture to show my above point, so here's a picture of Morse and some coins. Just as good.

Since I haven't seen Inspector Morse, I judge these characters without prejudice, and little if any knowledge of their future incarnations, if they even have any. So I have no idea if Shaun Evan's Morse matches John Thaw's at all; all I know is that he does an incredible job with an incredibly complex character. Mannerisms and ticks and odd traits are wonderfully fleshed out and the entire character is set apart, but totally believable. Fred Thursday is the DI of the show though, and leads all the investigations. He's a goodhearted, knowledgeable leader, played by Roger Allam, and is one of few who actually likes Morse, but it's a tough love -- he gives good but sometimes difficult advice in Morse's best interest. We also see Thursday's family, which is a lovely touch. There's two regular antagonistic characters, Chief Superintendent Bright, (Anton Lesser) and DS Jakes. (Jack Laskey) CS Bright is a puny, cowardly authority with a temper, and a huge interest in wrapping up cases as quickly as possible, no matter if the right guy is arrested. Obviously, he doesn't care for Morse and his "find every speck of truth" attitude. Jakes' dislike of Morse stems more from envy, and he's not a wholly bad sort, just a bit of a self-absorbed grump. And PC Strange (Sean Rigby) is a nice chap, and a good, encouraging buddy for Morse.

Jakes, Morse, Bright and Thursday.

I still feel as though I'm new to British crime dramas because I still have to really pay attention to understand the plot. I like my American shows, but when my family watches them, we try to "call" the bad guy or plot twists as early as possible, and we're pretty good at it. Endeavour is so different though, that I don't even think to try and predict it. I spend all my mental efforts paying very close attention. The plots aren't too complicated; they keep you thinking, but by the end, you understand. Upon my second viewing though, I noticed there's usually enough clues to let someone possibly figure out the puzzle, not just guess it through predictability. (By the way, I look forward to a third viewing in the future.) I loved all four episodes, but I must say Fugue stands out as the best. I have a fondness for serial killer mysteries, but besides that, Fugue was exceptionally sharp and well made in general -- very intriguing, taut suspense, and even had some action.

So, in close, Endeavour is a rare high quality "triple threat" TV series; immaculately acted, cleverly and thoughtfully scripted, and artistically filmed, each complementary to the other two. At the complete opposite spectrum from a forty-five-minute drama flash-bang that has become the norm -- it's wonderfully refreshing, deep, and classy. I'm glad to have expanded my horizons to shows like this, but now I realize it doesn't solve my original waiting problem... in fact it doubles it. I guess I'll just have to learn to wait patiently. A hard task, but the payoff is always fully rewarding.

I'll leave off with my favorite quote of the series:
Morse: "I'm a good detective!" Thursday: "And a poor policeman! No one can teach you the first; any fool can learn the second."