Endeavour (TV series)

Endeavour
Endeavour Morse
Created by	Russell Lewis (as deviser)
Based on	Characters created by Colin Dexter
Starring	Shaun Evans Roger Allam
Composer	Barrington Pheloung
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	5 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Michelle Buck Damien Timmer (Mammoth) Rebecca Eaton (Masterpiece)
Producer	Dan McCulloch
Production locations	Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK
Cinematography	Gavin Struthers (pilot) Stephan Perhrsson Zac Nicholson
Running time	98 minutes (pilot) 89 minutes (Series 1)
Production companies	Mammoth Screen and Masterpiece co-production for ITV Studios
Original release
Network	ITV, STV, UTV
Release	2 January 2012 (2012-01-02) – present
Related
Lewis

Endeavour is a television detective series which is a prequel to the long-running adaptation of Colin Dexter's Inspector Morse novels. Endeavour is produced by Mammoth Screen and Masterpiece for ITV Studios.

Production

ITV broadcast a pilot episode in the United Kingdom on 2 January 2012; in the United States, PBS showed it on 1 July 2012. It starred Shaun Evans as the eponymous police detective in his early career. John Thaw's daughter Abigail played the part of Dorothea Frazil in a scene at the Oxford Mail newspaper.

ITV commissioned four new episodes, filmed during summer 2012, and aired them from 14 April to 5 May 2013.

It was announced on 5 June 2013 that due to the success of Series 1, including consistently high ratings, ITV had commissioned a second series of four episodes ofEndeavour. Filming is due to commence in Oxford later in 2013

Plot

Set in 1965, the series centres around the early career of Endeavour Morse (Shaun Evans) after leaving his Oxford college without taking a degree, spending a short time in the Royal Corps of Signals as a cipher clerk, and then joining the police. Soon disillusioned with law enforcement, he begins writing a resignation letter but is sent with other detectives from Carshall Newtown Police to the Oxford City Police to assist in investigating the case of a missing fifteen-year-old schoolgirl.

Having studied at Oxford University gives Morse advantages and disadvantages when dealing with Oxford's 'town and gown' divide. During the pilot episode, he tenders his resignation but Detective Inspector Fred Thursday (Roger Allam), his superior operating in a station over-run with corrupt officers, sees in him an unblemished detective he can trust and takes him under his wing.

Cast

• Shaun Evans as Detective Constable Endeavour Morse
• Roger Allam as Detective Inspector Fred Thursday
• Jack Laskey as Detective Sergeant Peter Jakes
• James Bradshaw as Dr Max DeBryn, pathologist
• Sean Rigby as Police Constable Jim Strange
• Anton Lesser as Chief Superintendent Reginald Bright
• Abigail Thaw as Dorothea Frazil
• Sara Vickers as Joan Thursday
• Jack Bannon as Sam Thursday
• Caroline O'Neil as Win Thursday

Reception

Noting that upwards of 6½ million viewers were received, Mark Sweeny writing in The Guardian stated that any decision to commission a subsequent series should be easy. Upon its American premiere, Los Angeles Times critic Robert Lloyd called it a "suitably complicated and pictorially engaging work of period suburban mystery."

Episode guide

Pilot: 2012

No. overall	No. for series	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original Airdate	Viewing Figures (millions) Sourced by BARB; includes ITV1 HD and ITV1 +1
1	1	"Endeavour"	Colm McCarthy	Russell Lewis	2 January 2012	8.21
The murder of a 15-year-old schoolgirl and the apparent suicide of her boyfriend lead the investigation to the discovery of sex parties where under-age girls are procured for politicians, businessmen, Oxford dons and policemen which in particular make the sifting of evidence very difficult. Endeavour's superior, Detective Inspector Fred Thursday, recognising he is a detective he can trust, takes him under his wing and Thursday is determined to break the case and bring it to a successful conclusion together with Morse.

Series 1: 2013

No. overall	No. for series	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original Airdate	Viewing Figures (millions) Sourced by BARB; includes ITV HD and ITV +1
2	1	"Girl"	Ed Bazalgette	Russell Lewis	14 April 2013	7.43
The death of a secretarial student and the shooting of a doctor appear unconnected and Morse's theories fail to impress the new Chief Superintendent. Following the shooting of a vicar Morse is reduced to general duties for dismissing a beautiful girl as a suspect and has to continue his investigations alone.
3	2	"Fugue"	Tom Vaughan	Russell Lewis	21 April 2013	7.00
The murder of a married woman and the poisoning of an elderly lady with clues of an operatic connection lead Thursday to have Morse taken off general duties for his specialist knowledge to find a serial killer who has taken a personal interest in a battle of wits with Morse.
4	3	"Rocket"	Craig Viveiros	Russell Lewis	28 April 2013	7.07
An unpopular fitter is murdered during a royal visit at a family owned munitions factory. Thursday and Jakes lead the investigation while Morse is given the routine tasks and Chief Superintendent Bright fears for his position unless the case is solved quickly.
5	4	"Home"	Colm McCarthy	Russell Lewis	5 May 2013	6.62
Morse still on general duties studying for his forthcoming sergeant's exam investigates an apparent hit-and-run accident that has claimed the life of an Oxford don. The victim had been at odds with his peers over the sale of a piece of college-owned land. The case is complicated by the appearance in Oxford of an East London gangster from DI. Thursday's past which reignites a personal feud and Morse makes a trip back home to Lincolnshire to visit his dying father.

Links to Inspector Morse series

Main article: Inspector Morse (TV series)

A number of references to the Inspector Morse series were included in Endeavour, serving to introduce younger versions of characters who appeared in the original series or to place iconic series or character elements into the film. Among these are:

• In the first scene, Morse is seen listening to opera (specifically, "Un bel di" from Puccini's Madama Butterfly), and operatic themes were introduced into the score by Barrington Pheloung, who scored and conducted the music for both Inspector Morse and Lewis. Morse's taste in opera would later evolve into a preference for German composers, particularly Mozart and Wagner.

• Morse appears to use his forename, which is known by some of the people who work with him. The episode does not explore why his attitude to his name changes.

• The character Police Constable Jim Strange played by Sean Rigby in Endeavour appears as Chief Superintendent Strange played by James Grout in the Inspector Morse series.

• Max de Bryn, featured as the Home Office pathologist until his retirement in Inspector Morse is introduced when the body of the college student is found. In a later scene, Morse's horror at the sight of blood is shown and emphasised when he faints during a post mortem procedure.

• Early in the episode, Morse states that he abstains from alcohol. However, after he faints at the mortuary, Fred Thursday encourages him to drink a glass of real ale, after which Morse is shown drinking at several points before the close.

• The red Jaguar Mark 2 car with the registration 248 RPA is shown prominently at a car showroom, attracting interest from Morse; this is the car Morse drove in the original series.

• Christopher Brandon plays Alexander Reece, a college friend of Morse, later played by Barry Foster in the 1989 Inspector Morse episode, "The Last Enemy".

• In a flashback, we see a young woman with long blonde hair, draped only in a blanket and viewed from the back, staring out a window. Later, Morse and Alex Reece have a discussion of their competition over "Wendy", as Reece refers to her, reminding Morse that she preferred Morse to himself. Morse corrects him, saying she prefers "Susan". This is a reference to Susan Fallon (married name), in Morse Episode 21, "Dead on Time". Morse says he lost her to a prior relationship, which would have been Henry Fallon, whose death is investigated in this Morse episode. Susan is played by Joanna David, a blond woman of similar stature to the one shown in the flashback.

• In the closing moments, as Thursday asks where he sees himself in twenty years, Endeavour looks in the rear view mirror and sees the face of John Thaw. At the same time, the original series music begins, and plays through the credits.

• Red letters highlighted in names in the closing credits of the DVD version (but not the original ITV release) spell out "Lonsdale", Morse's (fictional) college. As in the original series and Lewis, Brasenose College, near the Radcliffe Camera, serves as Lonsdale.

• As was traditional in the original series, writer Colin Dexter who created Morse, makes a cameo appearance, reading the newspaper in the pub where Thursday takes Morse.

In addition to the face-in-the-mirror scene, Endeavour includes another recognition of John Thaw. His daughter, Abigail, appears as the crossword editor for the Oxford Mail, whom Morse questions. At the end of the scene she pauses for a moment, then asks if she's met him before, eventually noting it may have been "in another life."

DVD

A region 2 DVD of this drama at 89 minutes long was released on 9 January 2012, but, as reviewers on Amazon.co.uk have noted, does not contain the full show and many scenes aired on ITV have been cut out. A complete edition running at 98 minutes was released on 26 January 2012. Series one was released on 6 May 2013

External links

• Endeavour at Masterpiece
• Endeavour at IMDb