Charles Wood

15^th March 1988

A summer school teaching English to foreign students suffers a sequence of violent deaths

Morse has a strange mood for most of the story – there are some very uncomfortable personal moments which just get in the way, rather than enhancing the story. John Thaw does an excellent job of appearing uncomfortable during his after dinner speech.

"I'm all for education – broadening the minds of foreigners"

"He's given me a crash course in Geordie for foreigners"

When the subject of drugs comes up "I am not happy when drugs are involved" but then implies that drinking is OK because "Beer is food"

On realising an important point "Know what a doppelganger is ? Tell Chief Superintendent Dewar; he doesn't "

Lewis contributes very little, other than acting as a sounding board

Think about the terrible clichés that are peppered throughout the story – even then, it probably won't help.

Michael Goldie makes a second appearance as a tramp (type-casting ?). Tim "Harold V" Baker is noticeable with his completely unrecognisable accent. Surprisingly, IMDB tells me that Anna Calder-Marshall played the old woman Matilda in Scream of the Shalka – listening again, its impossible to recognise her.

The cast list is one of the few saving graces for the story. Chief amongst them are Derek "Bernard" Fowlds and Philip 'Des Barnes' Middlemiss. There are bit parts for Amanda Burton, Gordon Kennedy and Llewellyn "JR Hartley" Rees (will he ever been known for anything else ?), both Robert Stephens and Robert Lang are regular faces on British TV, and even Eiji Kusuhara had a regular role in Tenko.

Mr Dexter makes a last minute appearance as a doctor in the hospital where Jane is.

No book for this one

The main composer featured in this episode is Edward Elgar – we start with The Dream of Gerontius and get a short burst from the Enigma Variations when Morse changes tape in the car. Probably the best known English romantic composer, and probably best known for his cello concerto and the Pomp and Circumstance marches, one of which I've had the pleasure of playing at the Northern Last Night of the Proms.

We also get the odd burst of JS Bach's St John Passion, and the slow movement from a Beethoven String Quartet while Morse is musing at home.

One of my least favourite Morse stories, probably because of a combination of poor plotting (even when you know what's happened, you don't really care) and lousy direction (stand up Peter Hammond again). It's not helped by some astonishingly poor performances from the guest artists, particularly Anna Calder-Marshall in the pivotal role of Jane. I can never decide whether she's a great actress playing a completely unbelievable character or vice versa – not an ideal situation for such a crucial part of the story.

Another swearword-lite episode, with "This is boring the arse off me." and "Poor sod” the only brief ventures into the world of profanity. Thankfully, “The Settling of The Sun” is saved by the hilariously meaningless phrase, "He'd been around all day getting pissed on orange juice.”