Endeavour; Faking Hitler

“This episode, entitled Prelude, is like being happily trapped for an hour and half with escapees from an Iris Murdoch novel. Everybody, not just the violinists, is highly strung, has a silly name, and expresses themselves with rococo hubris or self-contempt. Not that I’m complaining. There’s a satisfyingly puzzling new corpse before pretty much every ad break. Roger Allam’s DCI Fred Thursday steals every scene he’s in. And the murder weapon is nuts.”
Stuart Jeffries, The Guardian

“The show’s writer, Russell Lewis, has used music to stunning effect throughout this Inspector Morse prequel and this episode, called Prelude, was a mournful introit to what promises to be an exquisite three-act opus.”
Ben Dowell, The Times

“The final series opened with a beautifully crafted musical mystery, set among the artistes of a symphony orchestra. I won’t spoil it for you, but it brought a whole new meaning to the phrase ‘playing second fiddle’.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

“This character-based core of the episode was stronger than the murder investigation itself, which seemed to forget about the predatory conductor in favour of a slightly flimsy female jealousy plot (although the method of murder has to be up there with the more ingenious). It all made for a slightly sprawling instalment but one that still ticked the required boxes of a classy and comforting Sunday night watch.”
Rachel Sigee, The i

“The murder cases in Endeavour have never been the point. Sometimes you’ll get a memorable one, and enjoy putting all the clues together, but others are just going through the motions. No, the appeal of Endeavour is in the central performances of Shaun Evans as Morse and Roger Allam as Thursday, plus regular supporting players such as Anton Lesser as their chief superintendent. That, and the period detail: the clothes and the furnishings; the department store where sales are logged by hand in a ledger; the sandwiches wrapped in greaseproof paper.”
Anita Singh, The Telegraph

“Against all my expectations, it turned out to be tremendous fun. It’s all done with a lightness of touch and a loving attention to the 1980s period detail. At times, you may wonder if the tone is a bit too affectionate but the real-life story undeniably tipped into farce.”
Anita Singh, The Telegraph