Courtesy: itv/PBS Distribution/PBS
British television company itv’s hit crime drama Endeavour will have an eight season. Star Shaun Evans, who portrays the series’ eponymous character, confirmed the information late last month after the series’ seventh season officially wrapped on PBS and released domestically to DVD and Blu-ray. When Season Eight starts recording is anyone’s guess. While audiences await the premiere of Season Eight, they do have Season Seven to take in – as noted – on DVD and Blu-ray. The show’s seventh season was an interesting point in the series’ run. That is due in part to its writing. That item will be addressed shortly. The bonus content that accompanies Season Seven in its home release is just as important to note in examining the season as the writing, so it will be discussed a little later. Considering the content featured in this latest season, the set’s average price point is also of note. It will be examined later, too. Each item noted here is important in its own way to the whole of the set. All things considered, they make this latest season and its home release a key moment in the history of Endeavour.
The recently wrapped seventh season of itv’s hit crime drama Endeavour is an intriguing presentation. That is due in part to its writing. Unlike the series’ first six seasons, this season was presented in a serial fashion, according to Evans during a recent interview. He pointed out that (thankfully) it is an approach that will not be taken again in the series’ eighth season. The story opens and closes with Endeavour Morse attending the opera in Venice. It is there that he first meets his new love interest Violetta (Stephanie Leonidas – Killjoys, Defiance, American Gothic). Upon meeting Violetta, Morse becomes embroiled in what he thinks is an affair with a married woman, but is much more than that, as he eventually learns. This critic will not reveal the end result of the duo’s tryst, but that the writers thought this plot element was needed is troubling. Even his relationship issues in previous seasons with Joan Thursday (Sara Vickers – Watchmen, Privates, Shetland) were handled better than those with Violetta. This latest romance story is just so contrived and overly commonplace for stories. It felt so forced. The revelation made in the season finale – which also is left here for audiences to discover for themselves – feels just as contrived as the romance subplot itself. That revelation ties into the season’s overarching story about the homicides, which leads to even more contrivance because of how many people were involved in the crimes. One can’t help but do a face palm as Endeavour traces all of the clues, which lead back to the ringmaster.
While the writing in general clearly caused its own share of problems this season, it did not doom the season. Audiences will remain engaged throughout as they watch the working and personal relationship between Morse and Thursday become strained. That strain is caused by the duo’s own distinct personalities and the related fashion in which they investigate the cases. The only matter there is that considering how Season Seven ended, audiences were left wondering if Thursday and Morse had mended their proverbial fences. At one point, the pair clashed, with Morse stating that he would put in for a transfer once the cases were solved. However, it is unknown if that happened in the last scene of the season finale. Thursday did search out Morse in that final episodes closing minutes, and he did find him. However, audiences are still left hanging once Thursday locates Morse. So considering that, there is a clear need for an eighth season if only for the purpose of tying up that loose end.
The only real strong writing point in this season comes in the season’s second episode, “Raga.” It presents the rising tensions between the British community and Indian immigrants to Great Britain in the 1970s. Now whether this matter is historically accurate is worth investigating. That aside, it is a matter that echoes what is happening around the world today, with tensions rising everywhere against minority groups. That makes suspension of disbelief relatively easy, at least until the killer reveals his motivation for committing his crime. That revelation is a bit contrived in its own right. Between this matter, the issue raised by the loose end between Morse and Thursday’s relationship, and the forgettable story involving Morse and Violetta, the writing this season just suffered all the way around. One can only hope that the show’s writers will make up for those issues in the series’ eighth season.
The writing featured in the seventh season of Endeavour presents quite the quandary for the series, as it does something that has never been done. Hopefully it will not be repeated in Season Eight, either. It is just one of the concerns raised in this season, too. The bonus features, or really lack thereof, poses its own problems. Accompanying the episodes in this season is a series of vignettes in which various topics, such as the costuming and makeup, Morse’s relationship with Thursday, and Evans once again taking on a directorial role in the series are discussed. Each discussion is very brief, running no more than a couple of minutes at best. Little is really mentioned in the extra focus on Morse and Thursday that was not already known from the season’s writing. Even the opening discussion about Morse’s evolution as a character offers little extra for viewers. The most insightful of the bonus discussions come in the form of Evans’ discussion on directing and that of the costuming and makeup. The other discussions are in reality, extraneous. Viewers will be glad to see Evans’ own appreciation for what it takes to get the right angles, the impact of lighting for a scene’s mood, and other related topics. His work behind the lens pays off, too, as is seen in the noted areas, as well as in the acting in the key episode. The discussion on the costuming and makeup shows the lengths to which those behind the lens went to make sure that the series’ costumes and backdrops looked the part for the 1970s. The mention of the effort to make Leonidas look like famed actress Sophia Loren in terms of her fashion shows even more, the attempts to maintain the look of the times. It is just too bad that the discussion on making the show reflect the look of the times was not more in-depth. For that matter, it’s too bad that none of the bonus content was more in-depth. It would have been nice to have had some discussion on who made the decision to make Season Seven a serial season, why the writers decided to make that romance story between Violetta and Morse the center of the show, as well as where things will go between Morse and Thursday. Sadly, that lack of extra information detracts from the show’s presentation in its recent home release even more. Considering everything noted about the content featured in the seventh season of Endeavour, the set’s average point for its DVD and Blu-ray presentation makes for its own interest.
The average price point for Endeavour’s DVD presentation is $28.11 and its Blu-ray presentation, $33.25. The DVD was not listed at Target, but the Blu-ray platform was. Keeping all of that in mind, the DVD price point was obtained by averaging price listings at Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Books-A-Million, and PBS’ online store. The Blu-ray price point was reached by averaging prices at the noted retailers as well as at Target. Amazon presents the least expensive listing at $22.99. Best Buy and Barnes & Noble Booksellers offer prices below that average at $22.99 and $24.99 respectively. Walmart’s listing of $28.23 is just above the average, while Books-A-Million far exceeds that number at $44.99. PBS’ regular listing of $34.99 also far exceeds the average, as does its sale price of $29.99. Books-A-Million also far exceeds the average price point for the season’s Blu-ray presentation, at $44.99 along with PBS’ listing of $39.99. Amazon and Walmart, which each list the season’s Blu-ray set at $27.64 offer the least expensive pricing while Target and Best Buy offer a slightly higher price at $27.99. Barnes & Noble Booksellers reaches the high end with a listing of $31.49. Noting the set’s average and separate price listings here is important, again, because of the content featured (and not featured) in the set. The DVD price listing would have been more attractive at maybe $25 and the Blu-ray $30 if not maybe a little less considering, again, how little bonus content is featured in the set, and how largely forgettable this season’s stories are in whole. That is in comparison to the show’s first six seasons, each of which are so much more enjoyable in their own right. Keeping everything noted here in mind, the seventh season of Endeavour is the series’ lowest point. Thankfully there is at least one more season left, and hopefully it will make up for everything wrong with this season.
The seventh season of itv’s Endeavour is the least of the show’s seasons so far. That is due in part to the season’s writing. The writing presents a season-long story that feels so forced and contrived from beginning to end. It also leaves at least one major question unanswered. That question is whether Morse and Thursday’s professional and personal relationship will heal following the season’s events. The very limited bonus content poses its own problem for the set’s presentation, too. They give viewers a glimpse behind the writing and lenses, but little more than that. Considering everything noted here, the average price points for the season’s DVD and Blu-ray sets seem a bit high, as do the separate listings. Each item noted here is important in its own way to the whole of the season’s set. All things considered, they make this season a presentation that hopefully will not be repeated in the series’ eighth season, whenever it launches.
More information on Endeavour is available online now at:
Website: http://www.pbs.org/masterpiece
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/masterpiecepbs
Twitter: http://twitter.com/masterpiecepbs
To keep up with the latest entertainment news and reviews, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it. Fans can always keep up with the latest entertainment reviews and news in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.
philspicks 