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The Best Episodes of Inspector Morse

Every episode of Inspector Morse ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Inspector Morse!

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Inspector Morse is a detective drama based on Colin Dexter's series of Chief Inspector Morse novels. The series starred John Thaw as Chief Inspector Morse and Kevin Whately as Sergeant Lewis, as well as a

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
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    Inspector Morse Season 3 Episode 1 - The Ghost in the Machine
    8.1/10(9 votes)

    #1 - The Ghost in the Machine

    S3:E1

    Morse investigates the reported theft of erotic paintings belonging to Sir Julius Hanbury, a local baronet who is one of those standing for election as the new Master of Courtney College, Oxford. As well as the pictures, Sir Julius himself has also disappeared. Morse finds Sir Julius's dead body, and at first it looks like murder, but the new police pathologist, Dr Grayling Russell, believes he killed himself. Then there is another death which is undoubtedly a murder - but how is it connected with the late Sir Julius Hanbury?

    Director:Herbert Wise
    Writer:Julian Mitchell

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  2. Inspector Morse Season 5 Episode 1 - Second Time Around
    8.1/10(8 votes)

    #2 - Second Time Around

    S5:E1

    The mysterious death of a former deputy police commissioner brings Morse into reluctant contact with an old rival, Ch Insp Dawson. Morse and Lewis, in uneasy tandem with Dawson, spot a link with the unsolved murder of a young girl 18 years earlier. To find the latest killer they have to unravel the first case again.

    Director:Adrian Shergold
    Writer:Daniel Boyle

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  3. Inspector Morse Season 4 Episode 3 - Driven to Distraction
    8.0/10(8 votes)

    #3 - Driven to Distraction

    S4:E3

    The apparently motiveless murder of two young women points to a psychotic killer. Morse's speculations on what they might have in common leads him to a local garage owner, Jeremy Boynton, who knew them both, and who arouses his suspicions and dislike. Convinced that Boynton holds the key to the crime, Morse begins to hound him, despite having no firm evidence. Morse is also faced with the possible oss of his beloved red Mk II Jaguar.

    Director:Sandy Johnson
    Writers:Anthony Minghella, Kenny McBain

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  4. Inspector Morse Season 4 Episode 4 - Masonic Mysteries
    8.0/10(8 votes)

    #4 - Masonic Mysteries

    S4:E4

    Morse finds himself at the top of the suspect list when his lady friend, Beryl Newsome, is stabbed at a dress rehearsal for the local amateur dramatic society's production of The Magic Flute. Then Lewis starts uncovering more incriminating evidence, and Morse becomes the target of direct attacks. Who is it that wants to get at Morse so badly?

    Director:Danny Boyle
    Writer:Julian Mitchell

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  5. Inspector Morse Season 7 Episode 1 - Deadly Slumber
    8.0/10(9 votes)

    #5 - Deadly Slumber

    S7:E1

    The owner of a private hospital is found murdered in his car, after a series of anonymous threatening letters. Suspicion falls on a retired book-maker whose daughter suffered severe brain damage as a result of negligence during an operation some years before. Morse spends a lot of effort in investigating the possibility that the dead man was criminally negligent, and concludes that he was. While he does his best to bring the killer to justice, Morse does not seem very troubled that at the end of the day he is unable to nail him.

    Director:Stuart Orme
    Writer:Daniel Boyle

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  6. Inspector Morse Season 7 Episode 2 - The Day of the Devil
    7.9/10(9 votes)

    #6 - The Day of the Devil

    S7:E2

    Morse and Lewis hunt a violent rapist who has escaped from prison. They find themselves drawn into an under-world of satanists, and some of them seem more respectable than others.

    Director:Stephen Whittaker
    Writer:Daniel Boyle

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    The 20 WORST Episodes of Inspector Morse

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  7. Inspector Morse Season 1 Episode 2 - The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn
    7.8/10(9 votes)

    #7 - The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn

    S1:E2

    Someone at Oxford's Foreign Examination Syndicate is selling exam secrets. Nicholas Quinn, a member of the board, overhears something he shouldn't know about and is soon found dead at his cottage, poisoned with cyanide - but Nicholas was deaf. Then crossword compiler Philip Ogleby has his skull smashed in. During his investigations, Morse is attracted to Monica Height. She works for the Syndicate and may be mixed up in the corruption which led to Quinn's murder, and perhaps to Ogleby's as well.

    Director:Brian Parker
    Writer:Julian Mitchell

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  8. Inspector Morse Season 6 Episode 2 - Happy Families
    7.7/10(7 votes)

    #8 - Happy Families

    S6:E2

    Business tycoon Sir John Balcombe is found murdered at his country house, Balcombe Castle, with no signs of a break-in. As a result, the dead man's wife and sons come under suspicion. Morse finds that the family is strangely untroubled, and several of his prime suspects have flawed characters and dark secrets - and then the Balcombe family suffers another killing. Meanwhile, Morse has to cope with journalists who try to turn his own personality into a story - and he also suffers from an unhelpful Chief Superintendant, covering for the station's usual boss, who puts pressure on him to crack the case in a hurry. In the end, though, Morse is vindicated and his various tormentors get their comeuppance.

    Director:Adrian Shergold
    Writer:Daniel Boyle

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  9. Inspector Morse Season 2 Episode 2 - Last Seen Wearing
    7.6/10(8 votes)

    #9 - Last Seen Wearing

    S2:E2

    The schoolgirl daughter of rich parents has been missing for six months. Morse believes she has been killed, and his investigations show curious goings on at the missing girl's school. But before Morse can unravel the mystery, he finds another.

    Director:Edward Bennett
    Writer:Thomas Ellice

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  10. Inspector Morse Season 5 Episode 5 - Promised Land
    7.6/10(7 votes)

    #10 - Promised Land

    S5:E5

    The search for a retired 'supergrass' takes Morse and Lewis from Oxford to the Australian outback. Strangely, Lewis is less at home down under than Morse himself is.

    Director:John Madden
    Writer:Julian Mitchell

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  11. Inspector Morse Season 6 Episode 3 - The Death of the Self
    7.6/10(7 votes)

    #11 - The Death of the Self

    S6:E3

    The strange death of an Englishwoman abroad takes Morse and Lewis to the city of Verona in northern Italy. Morse takes delight in open-air opera in the Roman amphitheatre and falls under the spell of Nicole Burgess, a glamorous opera singer. But Lewis is home-sick.

    Director:Colin Gregg
    Writer:Alma Cullen

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  12. Inspector Morse Season 2 Episode 1 - The Wolvercote Tongue
    7.5/10(8 votes)

    #12 - The Wolvercote Tongue

    S2:E1

    Laura Poindexter, a rich American tourist, dies in the Randolph Hotel, Oxford, apparently from a heart attack, but Morse suspects foul play. Laura was due to return a historic jewel to an Oxford museum, and it has gone missing. Then Dr Kemp, who is a womanizing historian, dies of a fall, Lucy Downes is crushed to death in a telephone box, and Dr Kemp's widow appears to take a fatal overdose of Paracetomol.Morse believes the deaths are all linked.

    Director:Alastair Reid
    Writer:Julian Mitchell

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  13. Inspector Morse Season 2 Episode 3 - The Settling of the Sun
    7.5/10(8 votes)

    #13 - The Settling of the Sun

    S2:E3

    Oxford is shocked when a a Japanese student dies in what seems to be a brutal ritual killing. Then Morse finds he has unwittingly given all his suspects a watertight alibi.

    Director:Peter Hammond
    Writer:Charles Wood

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  14. Inspector Morse Season 6 Episode 1 - Dead on Time
    7.5/10(8 votes)

    #14 - Dead on Time

    S6:E1

    Morse investigates the apparent suicide of a terminally ill Oxford don and finds he has a personal connection with the family. As the case develops, Lewis worries that Morse's professionalism is being undermined.

    Director:John Madden
    Writers:Daniel Boyle, Kenny McBain

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  15. Inspector Morse Season 2 Episode 4 - Last Bus to Woodstock
    7.4/10(8 votes)

    #15 - Last Bus to Woodstock

    S2:E4

    A young secretary is found dead in a pub car park. Morse suspects murder and uncovers a complex web of relationships - passion and corruption, lies and unhappiness.

    Director:Peter Duffell
    Writer:Michael Wilcox

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  16. Inspector Morse Season 4 Episode 2 - The Sins of the Fathers
    7.4/10(8 votes)

    #16 - The Sins of the Fathers

    S4:E2

    Morse investigates the murder of Trevor Radford, managing director of the family-owned Radford's Brewery, who was attacked and killed while working late. Morse becomes immersed in the implications of a hostile take-over bid by another company. Then Helen Radford goes to the brewery to look for her missing husband Stephen and finds him also murdered.

    Director:Peter Hammond
    Writer:Jeremy Burnham

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  17. Inspector Morse Season 5 Episode 3 - Who Killed Harry Field?
    7.4/10(7 votes)

    #17 - Who Killed Harry Field?

    S5:E3

    An artist, fun-loving drinker and raconteur, Harry Field seems like a man after Morse's own heart. But when Morse and Lewis investigate his mysterious death, they discover that he was not such a lovable rogue.

    Director:Colin Gregg
    Writer:Geoffrey Case

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  18. Inspector Morse Season 5 Episode 4 - Greeks Bearing Gifts
    7.4/10(7 votes)

    #18 - Greeks Bearing Gifts

    S5:E4

    When the chef at Lewis's favorite Greek restaurant is found murdered, and a baby goes missing, Oxford's close-knit Greek community closes ranks. Matters aren't helped when Morse has a bad-tempered exchange with the shipping millionaire who owns the restaurant.

    Director:Adrian Shergold
    Writer:Peter Nichols

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  19. Inspector Morse Season 6 Episode 5 - Cherubim and Seraphim
    7.4/10(9 votes)

    #19 - Cherubim and Seraphim

    S6:E5

    A new drug developed to combat senility is ironically being distributed to teens at all-night parties and driving some to suicide.

    Director:Danny Boyle
    Writer:Julian Mitchell

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  20. Inspector Morse Season 5 Episode 2 - Fat Chance
    7.3/10(7 votes)

    #20 - Fat Chance

    S5:E2

    Morse finds himself attracted to a female cleric when he is called upon to investigate the suspicious death of a woman deacon. St Saviour's College is about to appoint Oxford's first ever female chaplain, and emotions are running high among the more conservative clerics, but Morse & Lewis find it hard to believe such feelings could lead to murder.

    Director:Roy Battersby
    Writer:Alma Cullen

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  21. Inspector Morse Season 1 Episode 3 - Service of All the Dead
    7.2/10(10 votes)

    #21 - Service of All the Dead

    S1:E3

    Morse investigates murder on hallowed ground. A quiet country church is an unlikely setting for the killing, and a vicar and his voluntary helpers are the unlikely suspects. Among them is Ruth Rawlinson, whom Morse is attracted to. Then it appears that a serial killer is at work.

    Director:Peter Hammond
    Writer:Julian Mitchell

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  22. Inspector Morse Season 4 Episode 1 - The Infernal Serpent
    7.1/10(10 votes)

    #22 - The Infernal Serpent

    S4:E1

    Morse investigates a tangled web of university intrigue which surrounds the baffling murder of Dr Julian Dear, a college don and famous environmentalist who was killed just minutes before he was due to give a controversial lecture. It seems that the most respectable of academic families can have skeletons in the cupboard, and Morse has to put his job on the line to get at the truth.

    Director:John Madden
    Writer:Alma Cullen

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  23. Inspector Morse Season 7 Episode 3 - Twilight of the Gods
    7.0/10(10 votes)

    #23 - Twilight of the Gods

    S7:E3

    A nasty but very rich businessman and a world-famous opera singer are in Oxford to receive honorary degrees from the Chancellor of the University. However, the ceremony has to be abandoned when a sniper opens fire on the procession of dignitaries. The singer is seriously wounded, but was she the intended target?

    Director:Herbert Wise
    Writer:Julian Mitchell

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  24. Inspector Morse Season 1 Episode 1 - The Dead of Jericho
    6.9/10(13 votes)

    #24 - The Dead of Jericho

    S1:E1

    Morse is passed over for promotion and gets a new working partner in the shape of Lewis, who is not sure what to make of his new boss. Their first case together is a murder, when Anne Staveley, who was Morse's friend in a choral society, is found hanged in her house in the Jericho area of Oxford. The death looks like suicide, but Morse has his own reasons for treating the case as a murder investigation. A parking ticket and Oedipus the King, by Sophocles, come to his assistance.

    Director:Alastair Reid
    Writer:Anthony Minghella

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  25. Inspector Morse Season 3 Episode 2 - The Last Enemy
    6.9/10(9 votes)

    #25 - The Last Enemy

    S3:E2

    A body is found in the canal and the only clue to its identity points to a connection with one of the university's colleges. It happens that intense rivalry for one of the most prestigious posts in the university has led to murder. But which one of the highly respected contenders is the calculating killer?

    Director:James Scott
    Writer:Peter Buckman

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Best Episodes Summary

"The Ghost in the Machine" is the best rated episode of "Inspector Morse". It scored 8.1/10 based on 9 votes. Directed by Herbert Wise and written by Julian Mitchell, it aired on 1/4/1989. This episode scored 0.0 points higher than the second highest rated, "Second Time Around".