#happy birthday to colin dexter and endeavour morse

[too-antigonish]

Update to "So this is the geekiest thing I've ever posted about Endeavour..."

So way back in February I wrote about the gunshot scene in Exeunt and some rather geeky symbolism that came out of the fact that the church was called "All Angels" in the script—short for "St. Michael and All Angels." You can go back and read about that here. 

But for a while now, I've been waiting for it to be September 29th so I can say:  Wait! There's more!

September 29th is the traditional feast day of St. Michael. It is also Colin Dexter's birthday. As it happens, it's also when the world was first introduced to Morse. The main narrative of the first Inspector Morse novel, Last Bus to Woodstock, opens with the words, "Wednesday, September 29th." 

So in a sense, Colin and Morse share a September 29th birthdate. Given Dexter's cryptic tendencies, I don't for a minute think this was accidental.

La fontaine Saint-Michel, Francisque-Joseph Duret

Now the fact that September 29th also the feast of St. Michael is something that Russell Lewis may or may not have chosen to intentionally build upon—but it's sure fun to think about--because it's another layer on top of what's already one heck of a layer cake. 

September 29th is Colin Dexter's birthday

September 29th is the date of Morse's first appearance in Last Bus to Woodstock.

The gunshot scene occurring at St. Michael's and All Angels gives it full Pagan-Endeavour-Morse symbolism (see Feb post). 

Michael is the patron saint of police officers. 

Finally, you can also throw in Michael's traditional role as guardian of the dead, a point raised by @te_angeli  on Twitter in response to the February post, where she said: 

"St Michael is, more generally, the warrior-protector of justice. He also happens to be the Christian angel of death - a psychopomp who not only walks the newly departed to their judgment, but stays to advocate for them. ...which, to think of it, had been a large part - perhaps the main part - of E.'s earthly function."

It's all more over-the-top geekiness but I find it hard to resist.

Of course I'd be negligent if I didn't include a disclaimer, courtesy of S4E1: Game:

THURSDAY: Right! Just don't go making something out of nothing, that's all. MORSE: That’s what we do, isn't it? THURSDAY: That’s what you do.

Well, it's certainly what I do. It's half the fun.

**Note: Author Mike Ripley's lovely tribute to Colin Dexter first drew my attention to the connection between Colin's birthday and the appearance of Inspector Morse.

[fanficrocks]

More birthday wishes for Colin Dexter from the Morseverse

Images from various sources including Damien Michael Barcroft's dmbarcroft.com for the James Grout/Colin Dexter photo, and Chris Sullivan's moreselewisandendeavour.com for the Rebecca Front/Colin Dexter photo.

[too-antigonish]

"He was also just about the only crime writer I know who has never bitched or complained about television adaptations of his work. He once told me that his philosophy was: “Books is books, telly is telly.” Only he probably put it more grammatically than that. Fame and fortune seemed not to have affect him. In short, he was a really good bloke."

--from Colin Dexter: Goodbye to an Old Friend by Mike Ripley

Happy Heavenly Birthday, Colin Dexter.

[fanficrocks]

Birthday wishes with bonus Jag photos!

Happy Birthday to these guys

(TY @too-antigonish for the reminder)

[fanficrocks]

Well done! This just upped the bar for geekdom within the Endeavour fandom 😊

Update to "So this is the geekiest thing I've ever posted about Endeavour..."

So way back in February I wrote about the gunshot scene in Exeunt and some rather geeky symbolism that came out of the fact that the church was called "All Angels" in the script—short for "St. Michael and All Angels." You can go back and read about that here. 

But for a while now, I've been waiting for it to be September 29th so I can say:  Wait! There's more!

September 29th is the traditional feast day of St. Michael. It is also Colin Dexter's birthday. As it happens, it's also when the world was first introduced to Morse. The main narrative of the first Inspector Morse novel, Last Bus to Woodstock, opens with the words, "Wednesday, September 29th." 

So in a sense, Colin and Morse share a September 29th birthdate. Given Dexter's cryptic tendencies, I don't for a minute think this was accidental.

La fontaine Saint-Michel, Francisque-Joseph Duret

Now the fact that September 29th also the feast of St. Michael is something that Russell Lewis may or may not have chosen to intentionally build upon—but it's sure fun to think about--because it's another layer on top of what's already one heck of a layer cake. 

September 29th is Colin Dexter's birthday

September 29th is the date of Morse's first appearance in Last Bus to Woodstock.

The gunshot scene occurring at St. Michael's and All Angels gives it full Pagan-Endeavour-Morse symbolism (see Feb post). 

Michael is the patron saint of police officers. 

Finally, you can also throw in Michael's traditional role as guardian of the dead, a point raised by @te_angeli  on Twitter in response to the February post, where she said: 

"St Michael is, more generally, the warrior-protector of justice. He also happens to be the Christian angel of death - a psychopomp who not only walks the newly departed to their judgment, but stays to advocate for them. ...which, to think of it, had been a large part - perhaps the main part - of E.'s earthly function."

It's all more over-the-top geekiness but I find it hard to resist.

Of course I'd be negligent if I didn't include a disclaimer, courtesy of S4E1: Game:

THURSDAY: Right! Just don't go making something out of nothing, that's all. MORSE: That’s what we do, isn't it? THURSDAY: That’s what you do.

Well, it's certainly what I do. It's half the fun.

**Note: Author Mike Ripley's lovely tribute to Colin Dexter first drew my attention to the connection between Colin's birthday and the appearance of Inspector Morse.

[season-77]

Thanks! @too-antigonish That's really intriguing! I love those little details, subtexts, and hidden meanings in Endeavour. I've always been curious how many of those secrets RL managed to pack into the script and whether we'll ever be able to uncover them all.

Update to "So this is the geekiest thing I've ever posted about Endeavour..."

So way back in February I wrote about the gunshot scene in Exeunt and some rather geeky symbolism that came out of the fact that the church was called "All Angels" in the script—short for "St. Michael and All Angels." You can go back and read about that here. 

But for a while now, I've been waiting for it to be September 29th so I can say:  Wait! There's more!

September 29th is the traditional feast day of St. Michael. It is also Colin Dexter's birthday. As it happens, it's also when the world was first introduced to Morse. The main narrative of the first Inspector Morse novel, Last Bus to Woodstock, opens with the words, "Wednesday, September 29th." 

So in a sense, Colin and Morse share a September 29th birthdate. Given Dexter's cryptic tendencies, I don't for a minute think this was accidental.

La fontaine Saint-Michel, Francisque-Joseph Duret

Now the fact that September 29th also the feast of St. Michael is something that Russell Lewis may or may not have chosen to intentionally build upon—but it's sure fun to think about--because it's another layer on top of what's already one heck of a layer cake. 

September 29th is Colin Dexter's birthday

September 29th is the date of Morse's first appearance in Last Bus to Woodstock.

The gunshot scene occurring at St. Michael's and All Angels gives it full Pagan-Endeavour-Morse symbolism (see Feb post). 

Michael is the patron saint of police officers. 

Finally, you can also throw in Michael's traditional role as guardian of the dead, a point raised by @te_angeli  on Twitter in response to the February post, where she said: 

"St Michael is, more generally, the warrior-protector of justice. He also happens to be the Christian angel of death - a psychopomp who not only walks the newly departed to their judgment, but stays to advocate for them. ...which, to think of it, had been a large part - perhaps the main part - of E.'s earthly function."

It's all more over-the-top geekiness but I find it hard to resist.

Of course I'd be negligent if I didn't include a disclaimer, courtesy of S4E1: Game:

THURSDAY: Right! Just don't go making something out of nothing, that's all. MORSE: That’s what we do, isn't it? THURSDAY: That’s what you do.

Well, it's certainly what I do. It's half the fun.

**Note: Author Mike Ripley's lovely tribute to Colin Dexter first drew my attention to the connection between Colin's birthday and the appearance of Inspector Morse.