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 6
by Russell Lewis (ITV, 2019)
A rather despondent series as the 1960s start to give way to the 1970s (hence Morse’s moustache) and the old crew find themselves scattered to the winds. Morse in particular has to start again. Chief Superintendent Bright has the best character moments.
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.