Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2919 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-02-21
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Number of discs: 33
• Formats: Box set, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 33
• Running time: 3473 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
When Inspector Morse first appeared on television in 1987, nobody could have predicted that it would run into the next century, maintaining throughout a quality of scripts and storylines that raised the genre of the detective series to a new level. Much of its success can be attributed to John Thaw's total immersion in the role. Morse is a prickly character and not obviously easy to like. As a detective in Oxford with unfulfilled academic propensities, he is permanently excluded from a world of which he would dearly love to be a part. He is at odds with that world--and with his colleagues in the police force--most of the time. Passionate about opera and "proper beer", he is a cultural snob for whom vulgarity causes almost physical pain. As a result, he lives from one disillusionment to another. And he is scarred--more deeply than he would ever admit--by past relationships. But he also has a naïve streak and, deep down, sensitivity, which makes him a fascinating challenge for women.

At the heart of Morse's professional life is his awkward partnership with Detective Sergeant Lewis, the resolutely ordinary, worldly sidekick who manages to keep his boss in an almost permanent state of exasperation while retaining his grudging respect. It's a testament to Kevin Whately's consistently excellent performance that from such unpromising material, Lewis becomes as indispensable to the series as Barrington Pheloung's hypnotic, classic theme music. Morse's investigations do occasionally take him abroad to more exotic locations, but throughout 14 successful years of often gruesome murders, the city of Oxford itself became a central character in these brooding two-hour dramas: creator Colin Dexter said he finally had to kill Morse off because he was giving Oxford a bad reputation as a dangerous place! --Piers Ford

DVD Description
Contains the following 33 episodes:

• The Dead of Jericho
  
• The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn
  
• Service Of All the Dead
  
• The Wolver Tongue
  
• Last Seen Wearing
  
• The Settling of the Sun
  
• The Last Bus to Woodstock
  
• The Ghost in the Machine
  
• The Last Enemy
  
• Deceived By Flight
  
• The Secret of Bay 5b
  
• The Infernal Serpent
  
• The Sins of the Fathers
  
• Driven to Distraction
  
• Masonic Mysteries
  
• Second Time Around
  
• Fat Chance
  
• Who Killed Harry Field?
  
• Greeks Bearing Gifts
  
• Promised Land
  
• Dead on Time
  
• Happy Families
  
• The Death of the Self
  
• Absolute Conviction
  
• Cherubim and Seraphim
  
• Deadly Slumber
  
• The Day of the Devil
  
• Twilight of the Gods
  
• The Way Through the Woods
  
• The Daughters of Cain
  
• Death is Now My Neighbour
  
• The Wench is Dead
  
• The Remorseful Day

Customer Reviews

John Thaw at his best!
I have never read the books but like most of you who are considering buying this set - I have seen many episodes of the televised series. If you have come to this point by the same route as myself what are you waiting for?

The choice of actors; the characters; the plots: the settings; the music; the filming - are all superb. I feel privileged to own this set in the knowledge that it will not be bettered and may not always be available.

Expensive set, and worth every penny
With all due respect to Colin Dexter, the Inspector Morse TV series is one of those rarities, where the film is genuinely better than the book. It's a lot of money to pay all at once, but think of it as £5 per episode and it's not so bad. One reviewer complains of dodgy quality, and this almost put me off. But my set arrived with one episode per disc and the quality is excellent. I found a few episodes I had not seen, and I enjoyed seeing some of my favourites again. One of the nice things about having the entire series is seeing how the characters of Morse and Lewis, and later Strange, develop, both as actors and as parts. It was also fun finding all the big-name stars who had bit parts earlier in their careers. Did you know Liz Hurley appears as a schoolgirl? And Michael Kitchen, Martin Clunes, Julia Sawalha, and just about every British character actor of the past twenty years have supporting roles. Such a shame he's dead, and also that nobody seems to be making quality drama like this any more.

Great Package - A Bargain for the £69.97 I paid !
Do not be dissuaded by previous reviewers as they are either wrong or Amazon has combined reviews for alternative 'Morse' boxsets being sold.

If you buy the declared 33 disc set (it may previously have been issued with fewer discs) each disc contains only 1 episode !

The packaging is fine (each series is in a cardboard sleeve with 1 disc per 'page' in the 'book' style housing for each series) with lots of photos of Morse and the picture/sound quality good for what is now a dated archive recording.

(I have added 2 photos to the item page showing an example of the packaging for the case of each Series within the boxset)

HOH subtitles are available and each disc has a picture gallery. All other features are as per the Amazon listing. Well worth buying if you enjoy, like me, the caustic nature of the working relationship between Morse and Lewis.