now the policewoman is a French speaking chess expert and has something to say about EVERYTHING
As someone regrettably proficient in moaning about the forced, meticulous insertion of 'modern sensibilities' now sadly rampant in period drama (of which often proves both distracting and detrimental to plot, characterisation et al) blighting such otherwise period-authentic looking programmes with a strangely anachronistic and revisionist tone, I begrudgingly concur.
Indeed, I can't help but lament the, say, forced inclusion of ethnic minority characters in mid-sixties, 99.9999999% white Oxford (foreign students admittedly excepted as they are obviously plausible in context) not to mention the female guest cast typically comprising of uniformly super intelligent, peerlessly resourceful characters of whom are usually the betters of all those nasty, sexist men et al.
However, one has to concede that WPC Trewlove would be a
very limited character with an even more limited role if she didn't get something a bit more to do than her diminutive rank and the expectations of the period might otherwise necessitate, nay allow. Her perhaps slightly contrived 'expanded' role therefore is at least understandable in the circumstances.
That said, Endeavour remains an excellent, masterfully made, written and produced series and the above 'niggles' are mercifully light, especially compared to some I could mention.
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lilactime2014
8 years ago
The other thing to note is that they are doing it to the character of Morse as well. When we saw Morse in 1987 he wasn't the enlightened feminist, revelling in a female put-down of a sexist male. See Shaun Evan's smirk when this happened as if to say "I'm with you". Morse would more likely have been the offender than the White Knight. As reference just see the way he treated Grayling Russell in the first few of her episodes and the first episode with Laura Hobson.
Morse wasn't above sticking the boot in, in the 1980s and 1990s so it's odd to see that they are playing him as "non-sexist" 20+ years previous. Most people become more of what they already are, so sexist 1980s Morse came from somewhere...
'tler
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GladysOver
8 years ago
The other thing to note is that they are doing it to the character of Morse as well. When we saw Morse in 1987 he wasn't the enlightened feminist, revelling in a female put-down of a sexist male. See Shaun Evan's smirk when this happened as if to say "I'm with you". Morse would more likely have been the offender than the White Knight. As reference just see the way he treated Grayling Russell in the first few of her episodes and the first episode with Laura Hobson.
I have to concede that perhaps one of the (few) tangible weaknesses of Endeavour is the difficulty in believing that Shaun Evans' Morse and John Thaw's iconic impersonation are actually the same character. Certainly a younger Morse would be considerably less cantankerous, cynical et al than his older self but the contemporary revisionism of the character you adroitly allude to makes the connection somewhat difficult to accept at times.
Nevertheless, perhaps Endeavour, despite its lineage, should be afforded some flexibility here in terms of purportedly uneven characterisation as it's ultimately its own show and should be regarded as such.
And as I alluded to earlier, in terms of 'PC pandering' Endeavour is only a minor offender compared to some notorious current/recent examples I could mention and of which comically spend a ton of money depicting an historical period as accurately and authentically as possible....only to have its cast of characters spouting 21st century rhetoric and indulge in laughably anachronistic behaviour!
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