The Final Season of ENDEAVOUR Begins on PBS on June 18, 2023
“Every story has a beginning. Before the gates of Troy. In a certain house at Ithaca. Upon the road to Thebes. But no matter where it starts, every story has its hero, as often as not, a young man on a journey from innocence to experience.”
–An Oxford Professor to his students in an early episode of ENDEAVOUR
For a decade, Oxford copper (and father figure) DCI Fred Thursday often reminds his protégé and bagman DS Endeavour Morse to “mind how you go.” And now Morse will permanently go as the show wraps after nine seasons on Masterpiece Mystery! on PBS. There are three movie length episodes in the ninth season and I was invited to watch the first half hour of the first one, “Prelude,” on a Zoom screening hosted by PBS, followed by a half hour interview with Shaun Evans who plays Morse and directed “Prelude.”
ENDEAVOUR, a British police show set in Oxford in the Thames Valley region of England in the 1960s, has been the prequel TV series that was created and devised by Russell Lewis based on characters created by author Colin Dexter in his Inspector Morse books (that was followed by another TV series, INSPECTOR LEWIS). Morse (who never uses his first name, given to him by his Quaker mother) had attended (but never graduated from) the University of Oxford, served in the military, and as the series started was just beginning his policing career.
As Season Eight ended (spoilers for someone who has not watched), Morse’s drinking was out of control and he was given an ultimatum to get help. Thursday’s son, Sam, has gone missing from his military service in Ireland. As “Prelude” begins, Morse is back from some months in rehab. Will his sobriety hold? Will Sam be found? The first half hour plunks us into the world of classical music, a theme that has been part of ENDEAVOUR (especially opera) since the beginning.
After thirty-six episodes, we know and care deeply about these people. There has been time to develop characters and that is why we watch. The plotlines have run from the slightly ridiculous (the Great Gatsby-ish episode, Morse’s Season Six mustache) to the sublime (those beautiful Oxford settings, the great ensemble acting). As Shaun Evans said during the interview portion of the event, everyone involved with the show wanted to bring it to a conclusion before their welcome was worn out, and they worked hard to bring the show to a satisfying end. When asked to describe the final season in one word, his response was “magnificent,” and I believe him. I think we will know the fate and future of Morse, Thursday and his family, Mr. Bright, DS Strange, Dr. DeBryn and Dorothea Frazil.
Mind how you go, Morse. And thanks for taking on the journey from innocence to experience. It’s been an honor and a privilege.
