Review of Inspector Morse: Service Of All The Dead/Wolvercote Tongue

Introduction

I have never been much of a Morse fan, so when the discs plopped onto my doormat I decided to give it a go.

This DVD comprises of 2 different 105-minute episodes, Service of All The Dead, which is about a body found in a church vestry and the events that unfold, and the second episode is The Wolvercote Tongue, a story about a missing antique and the finding of a dead tourist`s body.

The main attraction to the Morse series is the late John Thaw, who plays the titular character. He acts with a flair, by playing it down-beat, keeping his cool throughout. He was one of Britain`s oldest and greatest dramatic actors.

Video

This is presented in Standard 1.33:1 form, which is a typical TV-DVD transfer.

The palette is OK, although the print is slightly grainy at times. There is the odd compression sign as well, but nothing too major. The episodes rely on their visuals, and they are presented quite well.

Audio

A DD 2.0 track is all we get, and it does its job. Since this is dialogue-driven, a 5.1 track isn`t a necessity, although surround use would add more to the ambience levels.

The dialogue is quite good, and any action sequences or music sequences are clear and crisp.

Features

Photo Gallery and interactive moving menus. The menus are presented nicely, with a moving animation and some music in the background. There are the mandatory chapter listings, but sadly the only extra is a rather boring and plain photo gallery. It is a small collection of random stills from the episodes.

Conclusion

Whilst Service of All The Dead is a good episode, with a sharp script and a good twist, The Wolvercote Tongue lacks flair, and to put it bluntly, it induces boredom.

Although the acting is solid throughout, this isn`t the kind of thing that you will want to re-watch again and again.

The visuals and audio need some work, although for a TV show it is adequate. The extras are crap to say the least, so overall this is a rent-only title, although die-hard Morse fans will no doubt want this.