What's all this? In disguise or hiding from someone? You don't look like you.
The Morse-in-uniform episode.
July 1969. Following the closure of Cowley police station, Morse is now a uniformed officer stationed in a rural area. When he discovers the dead body of missing schoolgirl Ann Kirby, it opens the quiet backwater to the attentions of Oxford's Castle Gate CID, staffed by Fred Thursday and his new superior, Ronnie Box. With Thursday's hands tied, Morse resolves to prove a teenager's innocence, and to uncover the truth behind the young girl's death and to solve the three-year-old case of missing schoolgirl Emily Bayard. When yet another schoolgirl, Rosie Johnson, disappears from a country fete, Morse thinks there is a connection.
This episodes contains examples of:
- Always Murder: A surprising aversion for this show; Ann Kirby's death is eventually found to have been accidental, although her body was hidden in the field in an attempt to cover up who was responsible for the accident.
- Brotherhood of Funny Hats: Strange is able to use his Masonic connections to ensure that Morse is transferred back to CID.
- The Bus Came Back: Ronnie Box, the DI from Robbery who rubbed everyone up the wrong way in "Passenger", is not only back, he has been promoted to DCI and is now the superior officer of the demoted Fred Thursday.
- Call-Back: When discussing Ronnie Box, Morse throws Thursday's dismissive words used against the man in "Passenger" right back at him.Morse: Is he up to it — Box?Thursday: A sergeant doesn't question a Detective Chief Inspector's fitness to lead an enquiry.Morse: "Robberies? I've shit 'em!" Wasn't that it?Thursday: [grimly] Things change.
- Cowboy Cop: Ronnie Box and Alan Jago. Fred, now part of their team and never averse to some Police Brutality if the situation demands it, is looking like he might be heading down this path.Morse: He's a fist with a warrant card!
- Determinator: For the moment, Jim Strange is the only ex-Cowley officer interested in pursuing the George Fancy investigation.Strange: He's still on the books.Morse: Only for us.Strange: Oh, there is an "us" still, then, is there?Morse: You're doing well. You've friends at the Lodge. You're going places. Just let it go.Strange: I can't. I can't.
- Drugs Are Bad: They certainly are if heroin is being mixed with quinine.
- Foreshadowing: Bright's public information film about crossing the road safely gives us an early hint of the actual circumstances in which Ann Kirby died. Believe it or not, that film, and the fact that Bright is now in charge of the Traffic Division, will prove to be important in more ways than one in later episodes.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: The registration of Morse's squad car - 264HZ - may strike viewers who know about this sort of thing as odd given that the use of two letters denotes a Northern Irish registration (the use of which would be extremely unlikely on a police car in England). However, it is actually an appropriate car registration for an opera buff like Morse, given that 264 hertz is the frequency to which piano tuning-forks are set.
- More fun with car registration numbers is had with a car sporting the plate GHK328B. At the same time as this episode was broadcast, BBC1 was showing Call the Midwife, in which Phyllis Crane drives a Morris Minor with the registration number GHK328.
- How We Got Here: A brief example. When confronted with the question of how he's ended up in uniform, Morse simply states that after the Cowley station was closed, he was posted to CID in Banbury, but the CID section there was closed a month later. After that, it was either a move to a uniform position (as there were no Detective Sergeant positions available), or nothing.
- Humble Hero: Thanks to the events of "Harvest", Morse is entitled to wear a George Medal ribbon on his uniform, but has seemingly chosen not to.
- Jerkass: Ronnie Box, of course. Also his Sergeant, Alan Jago.
- Moustache of Sorrow: Morse, revealed to have been turned down by Joan when he asked her out at the end of Series Five, has grown a moustache. It was quickly dubbed the Morsetache by fans.
- No Warrant? No Problem!: Morse uses some gentle persuasion to gain access to Stanley Clemence's room, despite the objections of Clemence's housemates on the grounds that he doesn't have a search warrant.Morse: You've got a couple skinning up on the mattress over there and the place reeks of Red Leb note . Now, do you want me to call the Drug Squad, or do you want to show me his room?
- Police Are Useless: The policeman guarding Stanley Clemence is secretly reading The Beano while pretending to read a newspaper.
- Ripped from the Headlines: A couple of actual events from 1969 are key plot points.
- Ann Kirby's disappearance happens on the day of Prince Charles's investiture as Prince of Wales (1st July 1969). This helps provide Dr Sheridan with an alibi as a college porter remembers having a conversation with him about the investiture at around the time when Ann went missing, meaning that Sheridan couldn't have abducted Ann.
- The pedestrian crossing that Bright is helping to publicise in the public information film is a "Pedestrian Light Controlled Crossing", known as a Pelican (originally spelled 'Pelicon') crossing for short. These were introduced in Britain in 1969.
- Shout-Out: Ronnie Box takes the mickey out of Bright's appearance in the public information film with an actual pelican by referring to him as "Johnny Morris" - the presenter of the 60s and 70s children's TV show Animal Magic.
- Story Arc: The ongoing investigation into the death of George Fancy by the old Cowley team, set up at the end of "Icarus", continues — although at this point Strange is the only one seriously pursuing it. Realising that he needs the help of Morse, he uses his desk job and his Masonic connections to arrange for him to be transferred back to CID. We also have the ongoing deterioration of Fred and Win Thursday's marriage, which goes hand in hand with Fred's deepening flirtation with the more corrupt side of police work which comes courtesy of Ronnie Box being his superior officer. On top of all that, the fact that Oxford's drug addicts are being sold adulterated heroin will rumble on during this series.
