The Young Inspector Morse - Season 5 -DVD

Content: Finally! After more than two years of waiting, the investigations of the "young Inspector Morse" enter the fifth round. There are a lot of changes coming in the new episodes. Endeavour Morse (Shaun Evans) has been promoted to sergeant, which brings him a new partner in recruit Fancy (Lewis Peek). What's more, a major restructure means it's not yet clear what the future holds for Cowley Police Station. And life isn't the same for Thursday (Roger Allam) either. His relationship with his daughter Joan (Sara Vickers) is more complicated than ever and his wife convinces him that it might be time to take a well-deserved retirement. But the cops have little time to attend to their personal and professional problems, as murder blithely continues in Oxford. So it comes around the auction of a valuable Faberge ice cream at Lonsdale College to mysterious murder cases. Another case leads the investigators to the cinema, where reality seems to be more gruesome than in the films that run across the screen there. An old case also has to be rehashed when clear parallels are revealed with the previously unsolved murder of a teenager.

Suspenseful criminal cases, interesting character developments, a little humor, some romance and plenty of '60s atmosphere - these are some of the ingredients that make this fifth season of "The Young Inspector Morse" so worth watching. The focus of the individual episodes are again rather classic criminal cases, but again very exciting and atmospheric implemented. The atmospheric filming locations and the very carefully selected set contribute to this, as do the well-written scripts. In episode 2, for example, you actually feel transported back to the days of grand movie palaces - which, especially in light of many impending cinema closures, not only has a nostalgic but also bittersweet aftertaste.

What works really well, however, is the blending of police work with the personal stories of the main and supporting characters. Again, Joan takes an important role in this. With her, both Endeavour and Thursday have an extremely complicated relationship. The former in a romantic view and the latter as a somewhat estranged father. Joan, who is in the process of finding her place in life, doesn't want to jeopardize her friendship with Endeavour - even though they both sense there is more between them. She even sets him up with another woman, who actually brings something like lightness and joy into Endeavour's life for once.

So again, there's a lot of drama - but also some comedy. Like when Endeavour and Strange move in together, and worlds collide. But also when rookie Fancy's easy-going manner keeps Endeavour, who has just been promoted, shaking his head. Here the series manages very well to lighten up the gritty murder cases and dramatic developments for the characters' personal lives with some dry humour.

"Young Inspector Morse" is one of the few cases where the spin-off of another series is almost better than the original. While the older Morse was already solidified as a character, his teenage years continue to evolve from season to season into the man fans know from the original series. It's exciting, involving, and again, excellently directed. Clear case of: Absolutely worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: New season, old impression: picture and sound of the DVD are again on a good to very good TV level. The sharpness of the picture, the coloration and the contrast matching result in a convincing overall picture on a visual level. The 5.1 mix with the well intelligible mixed dialogues, a few small sound effects and the appropriately tuned music is also absolutely convincing. Good!

Extras: On the first DVD there is the first part of interviews with cast & crew (about 8:24 min.). The second part of interviews is on the second disc (approx. 12:22 mins). Finally, DVD 3 has short clips on, for example, the relationship between Endeavour and Joan (approx. 9:47 mins in total), as well as a look behind the scenes, with costumes, sets and favourite scenes of the cast taking centre stage here (approx. 3:51 mins). Good!

Conclusion: The fifth season of the successful crime series "The Young Inspector Morse" offers six new, again very exciting cases that score with original ideas and atmospheric locations. What makes this series special, however, is the consistent development of the characters, who have to face some significant changes in season 5. The six episodes are spread over 3 DVDs, which also include a few extras worth watching. Also the audiovisual realization can convince again. For this there is a very clear: Absolutely recommendable - hopefully fans do not have to wait for the sixth season again two years!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp