MovieChat Forums > Inspector Morse (1988) Discussion > Is any other Detective series as good as...

Is any other Detective series as good as Morse ?

posted 17 years ago by andy_1976
41 replies | jump to latest

In my opinion, Morse is the best detective series ever made. It has superlative production values, intriguing stories and an excellent cast. Nothing can match it.

The others I think that have come closest are :
Foyle's War
Midsomer Murders
Poirot
Miss Marple
Taggart
Cracker
Prime Suspect
Wycliffe
The Inspector Lynley Mysteries
Dalziel and Pascoe
A Touch of Frost
The Ruth Rendell Mysteries
PD James Mysteries
Sherlock Holmes

They are all good series, but for me Morse is still the best.

What does everyone else think ?

[–] Giulietta_degli_spiriti 17 years ago

I would say "Prime Suspect", but you already put it on your list. Jane Tennison is the female version of Inspector Morse, I love it, too, but, for me, Inspector Morse is the best, there's no comparison to it!

Morse: "The secret of life is to know when to stop, and then go that little bit further."

[–] joonas1038 17 years ago

I SAY THERE IS SERIES LIKE DALGLIESH < ROY MARSDEN AND GEORGE BAKERS INSPECTOR I DONT REMBER WHO I LIKE MOSTLY WATCH ON TV

[–] dwsherman 17 years ago

Morse is one of a kind, but there are other very good detective shows, many of which have been mentioned in the earlier post. We especially like Foyle's War, Touch of Frost, Dalgliesh, Miss Marple, and Midsomer. But add to this list Maigret, which starred Michael Gambon--wonderful! Also there are the the very fine Inspector Alleyn mysteries, and Campion. Heat of the Sun was another good, but sadly short, series. The Nero Wolfe series from A&E is also excellent. Also Lord Peter Wimsey--especially the series in which he teams up with Harriet Vane, although all the Wimseys are good.

I'm not sure the question has a good answer. I love Morse every time I watch him, and we always go back to Oxford and Morse every so often when the mood hits. But then we like these other shows for their special qualities as well and go back to them!

[–] mullitover2 15 years ago

Sorry to be so late to the party,but this thread struck a cord with me.Since I am a fan of Morse and Jane Tennison,I have always hoped the two of them may have found comfort with one another; at a police convention perhaps...? We will never know.

[–] Spleurker 17 years ago

Morse is not only the greatest detective series, it is probably the greatest tv drama series too.
I have never enjoyed any drama made for tv as much as Morse.

[–] Giulietta_degli_spiriti 17 years ago

me, too, Spleuker. I agree. Inspector Morse is pure art.

[–] wpeeters 17 years ago

None of the series you mention are up though the usual Morse standards, although some of them are pretty good. The one that comes surprisingly close with regards to intricateness of storylines, production values and acting is the follow-up to Morse, about Inspector Lewis. As it is made by the same team (minus of course the late John Thaw, may he rest in peace) it's not really a surprise that it applies the same high standards.

[–] jjulian1009 16 years ago

I totally agree that the only series in the same league with Best-ever-series "Morse" is the recent "Lewis" sequel. Unfortunately, we've only seen the first year of it here in Australia, and I missed a couple of episodes, so I hope to get the DVD's soon.

"Lewis" has an added poignancy in relation to "Morse" because not only is Lewis now the wise older inspector with a young Sgt., but also Lewis's wife had been killed in the meantime, turning him into another middle-age, single policeman whose work has come to consume his whole life as nearly as obsessively as did with Morse.

"The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity." W.B. Yeats

[–] Thorsten-Krings 16 years ago

There is of course Jericho, Between the Lines and Blue Murder.

[–] Backlot_Manager 16 years ago

The Sweeney (also a John Thaw series).

[–] Thorsten-Krings 16 years ago

True. Probably the best ever!

[–] Backlot_Manager 16 years ago

Season 1 of The Sweeney is out on Region 1 DVD now! Most of the original Season 1 anyway. Been out since last year, only 31 bucks or so:

http://www.amazon.com/Sweeney-Complete-First/dp/B000OCXNPI/

[–] morleys 16 years ago

Wexford is excellent. English country town setting, first rate plots with rounded characters, irascible detective, relationship between the two men who have different approaches to their work, police station and staff prominent and top class actors. You certainly won't be disappointed. And it's not always about murder.

[–] jane-180 16 years ago

Compared with those Morse was the best those were more pedestrian than Morse was-and I find Prime Suspect too violent.

[–] realdealblues 16 years ago

This is a fairly old post but I'll add my thoughts because I love British Mysteries/Dramas.

Out of the shows mentioned there are a few I haven't seen yet such as Foyle's War (which I hear is really good but haven't had the chance to see yet) and Prime Suspect so I can't comment on them, but for me Inspector Morse is my 3rd favorite.

My #2 is Poirot and my #1 is Granada's Sherlock Holmes. I have seen each episode of Sherlock a minimum of 6 times I think. I love the time period, the clothes, the houses, the trains, the way the whole production was put together and I watch the complete series every 2 or 3 months. I love Jeremy Brett's portrayal and there's just something about it that touches a chord with me.

Twice a year I go through the Poirot series (those that are on DVD anyway) and I can wait for the new ones to come out. Probably once a year I go through the Inspector Morse series. So those are my top 3 British Mystery Detective Shows. I also like Cracker, Touch Of Frost and Midsomer Murders a lot too.

[–] JimGraham 16 years ago

I'm with you realdealblues... Brett's Sherlock Holmes is a great series. I think Morse just edges it though, probably because I identify with him as a character more, and the setting is more modern. I could watch both series over and over again, so many classic moments.

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[–] samosamo 15 years ago

I am a big fan of doyle's sherlock holmes and think jeremy brett is or was the best holmes until I had seen all the episodes enough to quite well decide that as each episode was filmed brett became noticeably sicker and sicker looking and having read doyle's s.h. stories and realizing that the book character was still a relatively spry character up until 'His Last Bow', then the later episodes lost a lot of the luster of book to film.

I feel they should have replaced brett and kept filming and with all of the stories being short stories, except for the 4 novelettes, trying to produce 1 hour shows lent a lot of 'artistic freedom' that was and was not at times not quite on par, and I cannot understand why no one has tried to pick this back up and started filming the rest of the stories, especially since there were 2 more of the novelettes that could be filmed.

But, Inspector Morse is better; I still lack the last 12 episodes and hope to get them soon.

[–] lousvr 16 years ago

Get real.
Jeremy's S Holmes is last ???
And what about Barry Goldwater?

[–] 16 years ago

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