After the surprisingly well handled one-off prequel, Shaun Evans is back as the young detective Endeavour Morse. Just like the original series with John Thaw, its success hinges on the charisma and personality of the lead character. Here Evans excels and carries the whole thing off handsomely. His performance portrays obvious knowledge and classical moral values but also an eager curiosity, drive and a naive humility which reminds us throughout this episode that he is a new recruit of sorts. The only issue I could find to quibble with is the almost Sherlockian mythology that has been added. In the original he was a knowledgeable and sharp police detective whereas here he is very much the deductive crime-fighter. As a Conan Doyle fan I do approve a little of the mythologizing but it needs to keep its roots with the original and down to earth.
Review of Endeavour
