Endeavour's worthy sequel to Morse

Endeavour is one of ITV's most successful crime drama launches in recent times.

With the show's DVD riding high in the charts, here's my original review.... 

THIS is a Fergie-free column. There will, however, be frequent mentions of the words, “drama”, “murder” and “ITV”. Of course, if Sir Alex Ferguson wishes to pitch a murder-mystery set in and around Old Trafford in the Nineties, I’m certain ITV will bite off his hairdryer.

The channel, it seems, has gone completely bonkers for period detective dramas. Not ropey old repeats in grainy standard definition, but dramas set intentionally in the distant past, like 1985. That really was a long time ago.

Some of these new dramas are good, some splendid, but some should be turned into the authorities before the makers commit more crimes.

Let’s start with the splendid one. Endeavour (ITV, Sunday) ended its four-week run, set in the Sixties, with a thrilling, chilling episode. Many will have watched expectantly, waiting for a nice shoot-out at the end.

In short, it didn’t happen. Why then all this terribly interesting stuff about how Morse had been taught to shoot by his father, and how he had proved a crack shot on the shooting range? Inspector Thursday also looked a bit like a cowboy in that trilby. Bar room shoot-out next time, please.

The irony was that Morse himself was then shot and wounded, which was the cause of his limp all those years later. Apparently. We assume Colin Dexter approved. The writer turned out in this one, in a cameo, playing a don. Has he been given an honorary doctorate from Oxford yet? He deserves one.

The episode also looked quite different. There was snow in Oxford, and the featured college had red brick. Shocking. ITV going downmarket again.

For Morse aficionados, who had dragged themselves away from ITV3 repeats, you will also have noticed that Endeavour’s father looked uncannily like John Thaw.

Endeavour is now officially better than Lewis. Nine out of 10 cats agree. So ITV, you can now officially stand down Kevin Whately and Lawrence Fox. We’re happy with the replacement.

Indeed, it was such a good episode it made me think of The Remorseful Day, the final ever episode of Morse. I may well have recovered emotionally by the time the next series comes around. In the meantime, back to ITV3. The wonderful thing about repeats is that as you get older you’re never quite sure whether you’ve seen it before. Until it’s over.

And now the DVD is with us. Click here

Enjoy my interview with stars Shaun Evans and Roger Allam...

The great Frozen debate over Let It Go

Let It Go has of course been such a huge hit for Disney, not only in the cinema but in the DVD charts where it still resides at number one. My greatest surprise was not the film itself but the debate provoked over the posting of this video on youtube. Dozens of comments later we're no closer to settling the argument over who does the best version of this catchy tune. You too can enter the debate...

Buy the DVD from Amazon here

Lord of the Rings Extended Edition Blue Ray

I have spent the last few days of my holiday watching The Lord of the Rings Extended Edition, on Blue Ray. Yes, I've got nothing better to do with my time! Having watched the films the first time around, I was surprised not only by how much I'd forgotten, but just what a visual spectacle Peter Jackson, now Sir Peter, has created. It also struck me that we mightn't have had the fanfare over Games of Thrones had we not gone through the experiences of "destroying the one ring of power". Enjoy.

Peter Capaldi and his new Doctor Who

AS Peter Capaldi, the new Doctor Who puts it himself: “Well, here we go again.” Indeed. This is the fourth new Time Lord since the “reboot” and we have gone from the youngest Doctor, Matt Smith, to one as old as the first incarnation, William Hartnell. He is also, arguably, the most Scottish, teamed with writer Steven Moffat, a compatriot. There is a reference to the upcoming referendum. On learning he is Scottish, Capaldi says: “That’s good. I can complain about things!” Did Alex Salmond have a hand in this script? Capaldi plays the tartan time traveller as a serious thinker, an almost troubled being, with a burden. An independent soul, he is not ending his way in the world – he has already been there. The new Doctor is one of us; older, kindly, grumpy at times, and with regrets In short, the new Doctor is one of us; older, kindly, grumpy at times, and with regrets. “I’ve made mistakes,” he says solemnly. In some respects, the person who has the most issues with him is his assistant, Clara. “He looks old,” she says, sounding like a prodigal daughter back from a gap year. This also opens up the potential for comedy, which will lighten the load of centuries past that Capaldi is carrying around. Once he gets over his post-traumatic regeneration disorder, this worldly Doctor could become a classic but do not expect the scarf to make a return. He may be an avuncular Doctor in a frock coat but he will not be reaching for the pipe and slippers. He has already fallen through a tree, ridden a horse, hung from a service lift and jumped from a bridge. If we are also to get a new Doctor’s assistant, I hope she, or he, has a first aid certificate.

Frasier season one review

Just released on Amazon Prime Instant video is Frasier Season One. This is by some distance my favourite American comedy. Here you see from the start, as Frasier makes the trip from Cheers to Seattle, to his new life with his brother Niles and his father Marty. Each episode is finely crafted, not least because of the professionalims offered by lead actor Kelsey Grammer, who insisted throughout each recording that high standards of production, and comedy timing, were preserved. At least that's what co-star John Mahoney told me during an interview recently. Here we have the 24 episodes from season one, which will not disappoint, and are five-star comedies all the way.