Michael Wilcox

22^nd March 1988

A young woman is found dead in a pub car park, and seems to be the centre of a web of deceit and conspiracy

Morse seems very pleased to be on the case initially "Coded messages, murder...right up my street" and seems to take great delight in cutting through all the normal routes of politeness and office etiquette. However, his dark brown suit with fawn tie and overcoat are a big mistake.

When he thinks Lewis isn't paying attention "Struck dumb are you Lewis ? A coded letter, money, violence – too much for you ?" to which Lewis retorts " Haven't you forgotten something sir ? Sex !"

Looking for a suspect Lewis suggests covering the back door, to which he replies "I don't think Mrs Crowther's going to jump out of the kitchen window"

"If you want to kerb crawl, you don't go to the Woodstock road " to which Lewis adds a cheeky "Oh, really Sir ?"

"Is sex more trouble than its worth ? Keep wanting to find the answer"

Lewis is bemoaning his family life "When I get home, she's at the end of her tether. She's said to the kids you'll get a smack off your dad when he gets in. I'm like the public executioner in my house"

When Morse suggests a religious motivation for murder, he quips "A born-again murderer"

"See you in the morning"

Two artistes from the periphery of Who are all we can manage – Ian Sears was Brendon in K9 & Company, while Shirley Dixon would have been the voice of Skagra's ship in Shada, had it ever made it to the screen.

An episode where Morse does the soaps , so we get Perry "Billy Mitchell" Fenwick, Shirley "Edna" Stelfox and Ian "Casualty" Bleasdale. Julie Baker and Anthony Bate are old familiars from British TV drama, along with Terence "Demon Headmaster" Hardiman, while Ingrid Lacey is probably best known for Drop the Dead Donkey. A few surprises too – the youthful Holly Aird (as in the photo below) played the pathologist Frankie in the first few series of Waking the Dead, the receptionist Jo Unwin is apparently married to Chris Morris, and the gamekeeper is played by that famous DW misspelling Peter Davidson.

Mr Dexter is sitting behind Morse at Dr Crowther's public lecture.

Last Bus is the first Inspector Morse book, so we get quite a lot of introductory material about the characters. Other than a few name changes, partner swaps and surprisingly a few extra deaths, the rest is much the same.

Very little music this time – the Overture to Cosi Fan Tutte is the longest piece as Morse and Lewis discuss the case whilst driving. Given that the plot of the opera revolves around the unfaithfullness of women, it seems a bit rich. There's some nasty blues-style music that seems to follow John Sanders around as well.

Quite a good little story – it might seem a bit slow at times, but for once its nice to get to know the suspects as real people rather than just suspects with motives and opportunity. Its also the first Morse programme with a message – men are lecherous bastards, from John's poster to adultery all over the place. Even Morse muses on how men try to own everything. Unfortunately its laid on a bit thick .The whole show is stolen by Fabia Drake's Miss Jarman – in an Amelia Ducat way. The scene in the woods with the game keeper always makes me laugh too.

The rudest episode of the second series of Inspector Morse, with a multitude of swearwords on offer:

“Rude bugger.”
“Bloody useless, some of them.”
“Tosser!”
“Bloody angina.”
“Why can’t these bloody kids learn to behave?”
“Shit!”
“Tell me what the hell’s going on, for God’s sake.”
“There’s no-one in, dammit.”
“You…bitch.”

and, in case you didn’t get that last one, it is reprised shortly afterwards:

“That bitch of a wife.”

Do not show this episode to any elderly relatives or easily-offended vicars.