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John Thaw feels a twinge of sadness whenever he realizes he’s closed the book on “Inspector Morse.” For 13 years and 64 episodes, the British actor starred as the cerebral, grumpy Oxford detective. Last summer, Thaw shot the finale, “The Remorseful Day,” which airs Thursday on PBS’ “Mystery!” series.
“People even now talk about the last ‘Morse,”’ says Thaw, whose haunting blue eyes and thick white hair have made him a sex symbol among female “Mystery!” fans.
“When I meet them in the street [in England], people stop me and say ‘That’s it? There’s definitely no more?’ Those parts come along once in blue moon. On the other hand, my professional life goes on.”
“Inspector Morse,” based on the novels by Colin Dexter, and the main character were quickly embraced by audiences worldwide (the series is seen in some 200 countries). But then, Morse and his distinctive traits were quite relatable: his endless failure at romance, his addiction to crossword puzzles, his obsession with Wagner and his love of a pint at the pub. Accompanying him on each case was his partner, Sgt. Lewis (Kevin Whately), while keeping the two in line was up to Chief Supt. Strange (James Grout).
“The Remorseful Day” finds a gravely ill Morse assigned to a case involving a 48-year-old nurse found battered to death and handcuffed naked to her bed. After a few anonymous tips, Strange sidelines Morse from the case because the chief suspects a personal link between Morse and the victim. Morse, though, keeps pursuing the case, which tragically proves to be his last.
According to Thaw, it was Dexter who wanted, literally, to kill off his own creation. “I thought that from a writer’s point of view it was very brave,” says Thaw. (Dexter appears in a cameo, a la Alfred Hitchcock, in each installment.) “Colin is aware of his own mortality because he is a diabetic ... and I know he once said if he suddenly popped off, he didn’t want other writers to come in and start writing the books. So the only way to stop that happening was to kill [Morse] off.”
Over the years, Dexter transformed the Morse in his books into Thaw’s likeness. “Colin suddenly started talking about [in the books] Morse’s piercing blue eyes and his white hair. When I would snarl a line in an episode, he’ll say in a book, ‘Morse snarled at somebody.’ It is almost like seeing an episode of me doing it.”
“Inspector Morse” was distinctively different than the usual whodunit fare that had aired on British TV, as well as “Mystery!” Most, says executive producer Ted Childs, were based on classic British mysteries like Sherlock Holmes and Miss Marple.
In England, Childs says, “Morse” initially was “thought of as a program that was fairly esoteric and featured the rarefied groves of academe that might be a turn-off for the punters [sports fans]. But it seemed to work. I think a lot of the appeal was John Thaw’s capacity to play the flawed hero.”
It was early in her tenure as executive producer of “Mystery!” when Rebecca Eaton, executive producer of “Mystery!” and “Masterpiece Theatre,” was offered “Inspector Morse” for the PBS showcase.
“We had just started doing contemporary detectives,” she says. At the time, “it wasn’t entirely clear if this is what the [U.S.] audience wanted. We had been doing the classics.” But just as in England, viewers here were receptive to a contemporary detective.
Eaton has always loved the fact that “Inspector Morse” concentrates more on the detective’s character and his relationship with Lewis than the actual crime. Each episode, she adds, unfolds like a novel.
Though Thaw was surprised by the show’s international success, he believes “there must be an element of the guy ..., warts and all, that people somehow relate to. He’s not a Superman-brilliant detective like Sherlock Holmes. He’s a flawed human being, first, and a policeman, second.”
Prior to the two-hour finale, “Mystery!” is airing an hourlong retrospective of the series, entitled “The Last Morse.”
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“Mystery!: The Last Morse” airs Thursday at 8 p.m. followed by “The Remorseful Day” at 9 p.m. on KCET and KVCR. The network has rated both shows TV-PG (may be unsuitable for young children).
