Young Inspector Morse - Season 8 -DVD

Content: 1971: Endeavour Morse (Shaun Evans) is still struggling with the tragic events in Venice. He repeatedly calls in sick, drinks too much and retreats into his grief and guilt. But crime never sleeps. When a bomb detonates at Lonsdale College, killing a secretary, Morse must again demonstrate his investigative skills. But then he is assigned to protect a soccer star after he is anonymously threatened. When the athlete is found dead a short time later, a connection between this murder and the bombing seems to crystallize. Also in the case of the murder of a cab driver and that of a professor who is found dead in a cemetery, Morse should actually live up to his reputation as a master sleuth. But he lets himself go more and more. When this even leads to his unwitting involvement in one of the cases, Thursday (Roger Allam) finally bursts. But Thursday must first take care of family problems that

It looked for some time that the eighth season of the successful crime series "The Young Inspector Morse" could be the series finale. Because the other two series from the "Morse" universe - "Inspector Morse - Oxford Homicide" and its spin-off "Lewis" - each ended after 33 episodes. This number has now also reached the popular prequel and it actually looked like the three new films would be the last missions of Shaun Evans. But now, fortunately, season 9 has been confirmed. After the end of the third episode of this 8th season, however, it would have been really bitter if this had been the end of the series.

Because the development that Endeavour Morse goes through in the three episodes - triggered by the events in season 7 - still hold a lot of potential for further developments that the investigator must go through, until he finally becomes the Morse that you know from the original series. He becomes more and more of a tragic figure, while the people who were once so close to him become more and more distant from him. This is especially evident with his once great love Joan Thursday, who reappears this season. You can tell that she has now found her place in life and is ready to let SOMEONE into her heart. As much as everyone hoped this would be Endeavour, he now gets in his own way - making way for someone you definitely wouldn't have expected that from just a few seasons ago.

Of the three episodes, the last two in particular stand out. Episode 2, because it expertly manages to spice up drama and suspense with delightful humor (Jim Strange being interrogated at a nudist camp is truly delicious). And Episode 3 because it was very clearly inspired in places by the works of Agatha Christie. It's worth checking out the extras here, where you can learn how the blizzard was staged in summer temperatures.

Once again, it's the character development that makes these new episodes so worth watching. Among all the crime series currently coming out of the UK, "The Young Inspector Morse" is undoubtedly one of the best - so it's all the nicer that it will continue (even if we will probably have to wait another year for new episodes). For season 8 is therefore quite clear again: Absolutely worth watching!

Picture + Sound: At the audiovisual implementation of the series for home theater has changed little compared to the past seasons. The picture pleases with a good image sharpness and an atmospheric color scheme. Minor weaknesses can only be seen in darker scenes. All in all, absolutely satisfactory for a TV series. The same applies to the sound: The 5.1 mix leaves with the well understandable mixed dialogues, a few small sound effects and the appropriately matched music a thoroughly positive overall impression. Good!

Extras: On the second DVD, in addition to the third episode of the season, there is also about 25 minutes of bonus material. On display are interviews (09:18 min.) and featurettes (11:50 min.) on various aspects of the three films of this season. Particularly interesting are the insights into the production, which this time had to take place under strict Covid conditions. A look behind the scenes of episode 3 (4:41 min.) rounds off the not particularly extensive, but worth seeing additional material.

Conclusion: "The young Inspector Morse" offers in three new films exciting entertainment, rousing character developments and a very engaging atmosphere. All this carried by a strong ensemble around Shaun Evans, which has really grown on you after eight seasons. The technical realization of the new episodes is as good as usual. As a bonus, there are some short but worth seeing additional features. All in all, again quite clearly: Absolutely recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp