Endeavour, Series 9
by Russell Lewis (ITV, 2023)
A decent ending to a long-running programme. While much of the emotional impact stems from Matthew Slater’s score, Roger Allam (Thursday) and Anton Lesser (Superintendent Bright) have sublime moments conveying, respectively, the jaded and melancholic feelings of characters being overtaken by time.
Endeavour, Series 5
by Russell Lewis (ITV, 2018)
Six feature-length episodes, each self-contained but contributing also to a melancholic series arc. (Anton Lesser has some nice moments as Chief Superintendent Bright.) Morse comes across as antsy rather than preternaturally gifted, but the mysteries are well-crafted to capture the late-60s zeitgeist.
The Ruby in the Smoke
by Philip Pullman (Oxford University Press, 1985); audiobook read by Anton Lesser (Bolinda, 2015)
Pullman captures the essence of Victorian London (without belabouring the setting), and his characters all stand out, especially in Lesser’s audiobook reading. The story, however, gains little from these virtues, its omniscient third-person narrative frittering away most of the tension and mystery.