Inspector Morse (TV Series) Second Time Around (1991) User Reviews

Fantastic episode.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 9/10 · 10 June 2018]

Following on from the sheer brilliance of Masonic Mysteries is Second Time Around, Series five's opener, and a definite classic. This boasts a deep, harrowing, and sad story, a first rate cast, sublime music, and some of the most beautiful filming seen on the show.

The story is certainly a deep one, it manages to see Morse locked in conflict with a colleague, who holds different values, and sees him dealing with the tragedy of a little girl's death from some years back. Superbly acted, Kenneth Colley, Ann Bell, Oliver Ford Davies and a young Christopher Eccleston are all brilliant. The music is just incredible, that version of Puccini's Senza Mamma is sublime. The filming left me speechless, at times it's glorious, one scene in particular sees Morse and Lewis look out at a fishing boat, it's almost picture postcard material.

Brilliant.

Morse and the murder of the Deputy Police Commissioner

[bethwilliam · 8/10 · 14 September 2006]

Brilliant episode of Morse. The policeman who solves murders the way we do a crossword puzzle.

Morse is called in to investigate the murder of a retired Deputy Police Commissioner. Police spot a car leaving the scene of the crime. A search of the number plates lead them to Mr Frederick Redpath.

After interviewing a publisher it turns out that a key chapter is missing from the victim's memoirs. This leads them back to Redpath who was the key suspect in the murder of a child 18 years previous. A murder that both Morse and the victim worked on.

Christopher Eccleston features in this episode. He went on to star in "The second coming" and "Dr Who." Kenneth Colley and Oliver Ford Davies are also quite brilliant.

This episode is deeply satisfying. Morse never leaves you wanting more. It does not rip you off. They just don't make TV like this any more.

Do as you would be done by.

[llawrance1972 · 9/10 · 10 May 2020]

"Perhaps she was", is one of the final lines in this sublime and beautifully crafted episode of Inspector Morse. I was crying by the time it was said, as were my mum and dad (he had been a policeman in from the 1950's to the 1970's) and it sums up the poignancy of the episode which deals as much with justice as it does familial love. Not only does this wonderful piece of drama focus on a mystery needing to be solved, it looks deeply into the depths of a parent's love for a child and the desire there is to be there, to protect and to care. All of the performances are excellent and you want all the characters, even the killer, to be heard and understood. If you never see any other Inspector Morse episode, see this one.

Beautiful in every aspect!

[TheLittleSongbird · 10/10 · 6 July 2009]

Second Time Around, I found a truly beautiful episode, that was somewhat nostalgic and even poignant at times. The camera-work is gorgeous, and the episode is further appealed by an intelligent script and superlative performances from the late great John Thaw and Kevin Whately. The cast also boasts fine performances from Kenneth Colley as Dawson, James Grout as Strange, Oliver Ford-Davies as Redpath and Ann Bell as Mrs Dawson. But for me, the star of the show is Christopher Eccelston as Terrence Mitchell, this is possibly the first time in a Morse episode I felt sorry for the murderer. The fact that he didn't mean to kill either of his victims, as he was mainly traumatised by his father's disappearance, made it even sadder and Eccelston captured that perfectly. Adding weight to the more emotional scenes is the beautiful music, especially Puccini's Suor Angelica sung by Janis Kelly, that was wholly appropriate for an overall moving episode. Just beautiful in every aspect, 10/10. Bethany Cox.

30 years later and it remains one of the best

[garywhalen · 10/10 · 12 July 2021]

I saw this episode when it first aired in the U. S. nearly 30 years ago ('92, I think it was on PBS Mystery). It stuck with me. I saw it again recently and the memory of it held true. The acting here is as good as any you'll see in any TV production. The plot is convoluted but it's intended to be since, after all, it's about an unsolved murder in the long ago and one just committed. As Morse works his way through the maze every step, every twist, and the final denouement are all fair, all reasonable.

maybe the greatest Morse

[daniel-abondolo · 10/10 · 4 October 2008]

This episode seems to have everything that made the series great: the unbearable weight of society's hierarchies, embodied here by -- of all things! -- the politics of the police. But there's also Morse's curmudgeonly lovability, Strange's predictable difficulties with protocol, Lewis's wanting-to-believe-yet-almost-bailing. It is probably the most noir of the lot: everyone loses, even Morse's debating team. But it is the chemistry between Thaw, Davies, and Colley that is the most mesmerising. Listen to how Kenneth Colley pronounces the initial sibilant of the word 'slab' in his final scene: terrifyingly competent. And of course the signature tune, Puccini's Senza Mamma, nails it.

Quite Possibly The Best Ever Morse

[dolphinfish · 10/10 · 11 February 2020]

Inspector Morse could, at times, be somewhat Gothic and perhaps a bit too murderous. This one, however, was just about perfect. A twenty year old unsolved mystery reopens with the murder of a retiring senior detective, on the verge of publishing his memoirs. Did he know the killer's identity? Was he about to to reveal all? Morse investigates and follows the trail back to the early seventies, and then forward again to a successful conclusion. Along the way, he has to deal with the misjudgements of colleagues and a slew of red herrings, but the important thing is that for once in a detective mystery, the unfolded story is not just logical, but eminently human. There are no unnecessary killings just to up the body count. Everything that happens follows in a logical sequence from what went before and all that went before grows out of simple, human vulnerability. It's not just a detective story, it's a drama. Enjoy this one.

The Best

[dmorris13 · 10/10 · 29 December 2019]

As previous reviewers have already said, this probably is the best of Morse. The writing, characterisation and acting are all aligned and it works to superb effect. The interplay between Morse and Dawson is some of the best tv acting I've yet seen, you genuinely believe the past they talk of was real, you can imagine them as colleagues years before. The acting deepens the characters meaning you feel the sadness at the denouement. You know Dawson, his faults, the reasons he took a different path, and despite not necessarily agreeing with him, you still feel sorry for him. The background theme of the rights and wrongs of capital punishment also give an insight into both characters and their motivations. Lewis is used to great effect between the two, trying to keep up but never fully aware of the subtle relationship underneath. Thaw has never been better - his eyes and his acting are a model of restraint. This is tv of the very highest order. Superb.

Remarkably Sustained Suspense

[Hitchcoc · 10/10 · 23 February 2018]

When a master detective dies in his living room, Morse feels his death intensely. It seems they were trained at the same place and had great respect for one another. In the process of investigation, an old case, involving the death of an eight year old girl, brings a bulldog investigator back on the prowl. This man is incredibly smug and resentful of Morse. He hates the laws restricting what one can do to a witness to get at the truth. Soon a list of people who could be helpful, including the man who was convicted outside of court by the public, are arranged and questioned. Well done piece to say the least.

A wonderful episode and final twist

[frukuk · 7/10 · 25 March 2023]

Perhaps it's the sadness around the unsolved murder of a young girl that makes this so special? The sense that, not only have "we" not been able to keep a child safe, but that "we" have not been able to bring the murderer to justice.

It also feels perfectly paced, giving the investigation the time it needs to work its way to a conclusion. (And the gentle and terse final exchange between Morse and Lewis, seems a perfect note on which to end the episode.)

There's some wonderful writing here and some wonderful performances. I especially enjoyed the performances of Kenneth Colley as Detective Chief Inspector Patrick Dawson and Helena McCarthy as Rose Lapsley (the grandmother of the murdered girl). (I didn't rate the performances of Christopher Eccleston and Pat Heywood, who played Terrence Mitchell and his mother. I thought they were a little too theatrical.)

Truly outstanding.

[kindofblue-78221 · 10/10 · 16 March 2022]

Inspector Morse is one of those policemen you wished existed in the real world. Maybe they do. Maybe they don't.

This story shows Morse and the whole series at its very best.

If you look through the mist of depravity, then It's a beautiful story in many ways. The acting is impeccable. The story is coherent and realistic.

John Thaw was better. That means Morse was never better.

Cativating from the start and never fails to bring a tear.

Morse Check Mates Colleague

[rmax304823 · 5/10 · 20 February 2011]

Well, as I slog my way through all the episodes in the boxed set, I've enjoyed the last few from Season Four. I ALWAYS enjoy the classy style of the program and find Sergeant Lewis engaging. Inspector Morse is interestingly quirky but his dyspeptic disposition, his cutting remarks, are a little tiresome after a while. I enjoy seeing him slouch through a case but I don't think anybody would really get along with him. No wonder he's single.

With this episode, I'm taken back to Square One. The plot is so intricate and the suspects so many and the outrageous incidents so outrageous that I lost the thread of the narrative over and over. There are multiple possibilities and one needs to understand stochastic processes or something in order to keep up with Morse's and Lewis's reasoning. It reminded me of classes in probability theory. I quit when I ran into stochastic chains.

Can anyone follow the goings on? Does EVERYONE know what's happening except me? Am I alone in the world in finding a plot like this so confusing that even the final explanation leaves me gaping at the screen? I'd like to give this a higher recommendation because I thrill at the sight of that blood red Jaguar crunching along the driveways, and it's always neat seeing Morse stretched out on his couch, listening to Maria Callas and boozing it up on single malt scotch. But they've got to do something about those plots.

Excellent episode

[grantss · 10/10 · 10 September 2022]

Excellent episode. Starts intriguingly enough and through solid police work we pretty soon have a suspect that ticks all the boxes. Things are never that easy in Morseworld though.

From then we get layers of plot, with a 14-year-old unsolved mystery becoming the focus of investigations. It's great how the investigations into the two murders overlap and it makes for enthralling watching.

On that note, this is one of the Morse episodes that is closest to good old-fashioned police work. Often Morse's mysteries are solved in the Poirot way: deduce what happens, accuse the murderer of the crime, they confess. Makes for intriguing viewing but it's not very realistic.

This is thus more realistic (though the final twist does involve the Poirot Method).

Questions actually

[halcyontandon · 8/10 · 10 November 2018]

One, why does Terence kill Mary? And two, who killed Charlie Hillian?

Or is there a fan club like forum where I might upload these questions?

Definitely the best episode so far

[dadgadian · 10/10 · 20 May 2023]

Definitely the best episode so far. Great story -sometimes this is the weakest element- and great acting. It seems it was written by Daniel Boyle. Well, he does a great job.

For me, and she is often not even mentioned on some pages, is Helen McCarthy as Rose Lapsley. Wonderful acting. She comes across as a lovely human being.

The only part I thought was a bit over the top is when Morse has an argy-bargy with his sergeant.

I knew who the murderer was pretty early on but it was interesting to see how they finally came to that conclusion. Morse was right, as usual, but so was his faithful sergeant.