Customer Reviews

Inspector Morse - The Wench Is Dead [VHS]

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

While recuperating, Morse is presented with a book of Victorian cases. He is intrigued by one particular case and analyzes the 150-year old evidence using modern forensic methods. His new assistant and an American author fill out the main cast. The case twists and turns and the ending is a surprise. The only down side to this episode is that Morse is considering retirement and no further episodes are planned.

As junior XXX pointed out in his/her review, this episode features no Sergeant Lewis. He's nowhere to be found for whatever reason. But even in the novel, the character of Lewis is less than integral to the plot.

While you (we) can only guess at the film adaptation's dumping of Lewis, I found this a most enjoyable episode of Inspector Morse, as we flashback to the year 1859, complete with haunting period music. It's an interesting combination of Morse and "period piece." It not only foreshadows "what's to come" in "The Remorseful Day", it virtually sets up the "last Morse."

Lastly, I have not read all of the Dexter novels, but of the few I have read, this film adaptation strays farthest from the original novel. It ain't just Sergeant Lewis missing. There are other fundamental plot and character changes. Once you get over the substantial changes, you may find, like me, that this is one of the more enjoyable episodes of Morse.

As others have pointed out, Sgt. Lewis does not appear in this, the penultimate Morse. Apparently, it was because of a contract dispute between the studio/producers and actor Kevin Whately. Despite his absence, and Morse being bound to a hospital bed for most of the program, it's a decent and entertaining episode.

My real complaint is with the quality of the DVD. As with others in this series, the makers of this disk have done a poor job packaging Morse. It's almost comical that this is the only disk in the series for which they've included a photo of Lewis, yet it's the only episode he's not in! I gave up on buying these Region 1 disks long ago. Instead, I bought the complete series from the UK (an elegant package of the whole set is available through Amazon.co.uk) and picked up a multi-regional DVD player on which to watch them. The series and the player together cost about the same as the series would cost if you bought all of the U.S. editions.

As others have pointed out, no lewis in this particular episode. But that's ok really, if you like the rest of the series. If you are a fan of the series, you are aware that the 33 total episodes are either loosely based on or slightly related to Colin Dexter's handful of novels, and are not meant to replace or represent fundamentally his work in anyway. Besides, in the book Lewis is an unimportant character, so his absence is no gaping a hole. At the time Kevin Whatley was working on other television programs and films. John Thaw was as well (Kavannagh QC) but you really really really can't have Morse without Morse. So, disregarding the absence of Lewis and the plot changes, this is still a great episode. Not the best, but its still better than watching Murder She Wrote or Diagnosis Murder.

Morse has some unexpected free time on his hands and uses it to investigate a murder that occurred 140 years earlier.

It shows a lot of historical information about law enforcement and the court system in Victorian times. I like the frequent flash backs to dramatizations of the capture and trial of the suspects.

Although not intended to apply to the real world, there is a frequent reference to Morse being two years from the mandatory retirement age. The actor who played Morse died two years later.

This episode is the 32nd of the 33 in the series, so we have moved along a few years - Morse is just two years from retirement. While attending a book lecture featuring detection methods in the Victorian era, given by the American author Dr. Millicent Van Buren, Morse has a rather serious medical emergency. The problem is with his digestive system and puts him in hospital where Dr. Van Buren visits and presents him with a copy of her Victorian book. He finds one particular case that intrigues him, so much so that he decides to re-visit the entire affair - in hospital and particularly after he is released. Using flashbacks coupled with current day forensic analysis we have a strong episode. Superintendent Strange receives more screen time than usual and Sergeant Lewis is replaced by Constable Kershaw for this episode, but it doesn't make much difference, Morse is the one that makes this series work. Our music is limited to snippets of Mozart's Clarinet Concerto K 622, chamber background, and Victorian era light fare. However there is a love interest - Adele Cecil; Morse refers to her at one point as his "significant other." Although they indicate they do not live together, it is clear they have a relationship. This one belongs among the group of Morse's best entries - of which there are a great many.

A wonderfull piece of work.His last ? Do not panic, do not fret,he's just gone down "The Trout" for a quick half. In England,we've already seen the next concocksion of murder,dry hummour,pubs and the ever present American tourists !!!!

In this unusual Morse episode, Inspector Lewis is away, Inspector Morse is on sick leave, and the murder has taken place more than one hundred forty years in the past. Morse has suffered an attack of bleeding ulcers (depicted in gory detail) and is in the hospital, where Dr. Millicent Van Buren, an American academic lecturing at Oxford, brings him her book about a murder from 1859 and the double hanging that followed the trial in 1860.

Morse reads only ten pages before he decides that a miscarriage of justice has occurred. While he is hospitalized, he conducts the research (with the aid of a young policeman) that shows the social conditions of the boatmen, the lives of the underclass, and the "justice" that is imposed by upperclass justices on poor defendants who are even not allowed to testify in their own defense.

Morse (John Thaw) is in weakened condition, but still gruff and cross, while is he is hospitalized, and once free, he brazenly ignores the conditions of his release, continuing his research, and his love of ale. Lisa Eichhorn, as Monica Van Buren, is stilted and awkward in her role as the author whose conclusions Morse challenges, but Matthew Finney as PC Adrian Kershaw, a new constable and an Oxford graduate in history, appointed by Chief Strange to assist Morse, is engaging and able to add to Morse's knowledge while exhibiting charm and intelligence. Judy Loe, as Morse's current girlfriend, adds warmth and interest, keeping Morse in line while providing support for him.

As the plot unfolds and becomes more complex with the discoveries that Kershaw makes in the archives and in the original trial manuscripts, the episode becomes more challenging and interesting. The emphasis on history engages the viewer on a level beyond that of mere plot, while the conditions under which the boatmen and their passengers existed elicits sympathy for them.

Many dramatic scenes occur here, and Morse's trip to western Ireland provides a change of scenery and a new focus. Morse's health becomes a major issue (which continues in the episodes at the very end of the series), and the viewer sees him in a new context. Fun to watch, and different in its focus from most other Morse mysteries, The Wench is Dead is an historical mystery with a modern touch. n Mary Whipple

Fascinating episode. I think if you like Inspector Morse at all, you will like this one.

All of these movies are well written and good movie watching

lovely scenery in England. John thaw and Kevin Wheatly were excellent actors

would recommend all of Morse's movies to be bought and watched

I have the whole collection oif these series movies/

chfancier