Dated or Delightful? Inspector Morse

Thirty years ago this week, television audiences were introduced to Inspector Morse. This popular mystery series spanned 13 years, 33 episodes and earned six British Academy TV awards in the process including a pair for the show’s revered star, John Thaw.

Despite the fact that I have been a fan of the Morse spin-off, Lewis, for years and have watched quite a few installments of the prequel Endeavour, I had never seen an episode of the original series before. So with the anniversary of the program’s 1987 debut approaching, I saw it as the perfect excuse to find out for myself what had made Inspector Morse a ratings phenomenon and a fan favorite for so long. And more importantly, with no nostalgia to color my judgement, would I find this classic show dated or delightful?

After watching the first two seasons, I must say that Inspector Morse is virtually timeless, in the most relevant ways anyhow. Sure there’s some decade defining fashion and hair, particularly in the case of some of the female characters. There are some cheesy scream close-ups and questionable American accents from time to time. No series that remains popular decades later can avoid such issues.