The show hasn't aged well.

[deleted]

stuck in the 1980s is bound to fair badly

Very much a matter of opinion. One of our digital channels is showing Morse once a week, and apart from the 4:3 format I feel it stands up well. I would agree that production values for Lewis and Endeavour are higher, that's down to money and technology, but dramatically they are of similar standard.

I used to enjoy Porridge when it came out, but unlike lilactime2014 when it came back on the other month I couldn't get past the first ad break. And Ronnie Barker was such a talent, why didn't it work for me any more?

In some of the later episodes, you can catch Lewis looking and acting more like Inspector Lewis, especially those episodes after the one in Australia.

Movie girl: Me too. I loved Morse and Lewis and the camraderie or repartee between them. There were many special episodes. To be honest I have not tried Endeavor or any of the Lewis series. My husband and I watch old Sherlock Holmes but just don't watch Morse without Morse. I guess I still feel grieved about our loss of John THaw. From what I have heard the original is still the best! Many of the stories were unique. The titles are so profound too! Sometimes a title will have a double meaning - Setting of the Sun, Service of all the Dead, etc.

I read somewhere that Colin Dexter the writer was one of John's best friends. He just couldn't write about Morse anymore when his friend was gone.

Morse is most definitely not set in the past.
It was made in the 1980s and 90s and set in the 1980s and 90s.
And indeed, some of the older episodes look and feel dated - for example in the use of electronic music.

Thanks, Cherubim1 for responding in such an insightful manner. I'm so tired of people trying to compare apples and oranges. As I age, I realize increasingly people either like or dislike projects, regardless of age, based upon individual tastes. Quite often, we must agree to disagree.

As the quality of productions continues to fluctuate, I find myself drawn to the old "friends" of my youth. Consequently, I continue to collect classic British (and a few American) series on DVD. I watch them repeatedly and still laugh, cry and cringe, even if I know each line by heart. I have about 100 at this point, from the original Forsyte Saga to The Elizabeth Gaskell collection.

I just finally ordered the complete Inspector Morse and look forward to spending many thrilling hours with Thaw, Whately, et. al. Morse was also a favorite of my late mother and grandmother, so watching these episodes will help me honor their memories. I don't find this series "dated" at all, other than in the sense it took place in a specific time. My heritage is British, so I have been drawn to UK series since I was a toddler. Cherubim1's comment about the timelessness of Morse's Oxford setting seems spot on.

Unlike so many others, I keep my interest in Lewis and Endeavour separate from my love of Morse. I never have liked the American fascination with having to compare everything. Even when shows are related, they still fundamentally differ from each other. I adore Lewis, but I treat it as its own entity and dramatic world. I have no interest in comparing Lewis and Hathaway's interaction with Lewis and Morse's interaction. After feeling captivated by Shaun Evans' Endeavour, I have been in withdrawal enduring the long wait for the next series. Though this series is a prequel, I don't feel any need to compare it to Inspector Morse.

I consider all three of these series a gift from the "Mystery" gods, especially given the paucity of Masterpiece Mystery offerings this past summer. When I watch each one, I feel as though I were back in my beloved UK, while also enjoying the cat/mouse struggle between some of my favorite detectives and some intriguing murderers.

Put puppy mills out of business: never buy dogs from pet shops! 

This exactly. I used to watch this when I was young, only a few episodes a year, spaced a week apart, and time helped blur the awfulness of Morse. Upon watching on Netflix....the shoddiness of Morse's abilities as a detective and LUCK become clear, not to mention his disgusting behavior towards women, and inability to separate himself from cases/suspects when a pretty woman is involved.

If anyone boos you off stage, that is simply applause from ghosts. ~Sharon Needles

Was it Strange or Thursday that said Morse was a good detective but a bad policeman? Watch too much and the first judgment is cast in doubt.

Yes, maybe start watching in season three and then go back and catch seasons 1 and 2 later. I just finished watching the entire series in this way, and watching it for the first time by the way, so I don't find it has aged.

Absolutely! Very young or older but failed to have ever learned that all things must be viewed in in the context of their times.