@genplant29 said:

Before I forget, anyone who liked the actress, Stephanie Leonidas, who portrayed Violetta, she'll also be in the next series, Van der Valk, that PBS Masterpiece will be airing; she'll be in just one episode (I think with short hair), portraying a character named Eva Meisner.

Incidentally, she's London born and raised, therefore the accent she did in Endeavour was acting. I caught a couple brief glimpses of someone I thought looked like her in the Van der Valk promo, so checked and, indeed, it's her. (I gather that series begins next weekend on PBS.)

Another series with only three episodes! Boo!

Also, I wonder why they didn't use a Dutch actor for the lead role instead of Warren (considering it takes place in Amsterdam)?

I couldn't figure out why that upcoming series' lead looks so familiar - and must be going senile as - duh! - he's none other than the actor who portrayed slimy Samuel Parker in Beecham House!

I have to say he does look Dutch.

@genplant29 said:

I couldn't figure out why that upcoming series' lead looks so familiar - and must be going senile as - duh! - he's none other than the actor who portrayed slimy Samuel Parker in Beecham House!

I have to say he does look Dutch.

I thought it was odd that you hadn't mentioned that.

Yeah, I immediately thought of you bratface when I saw him in the preview, and your remark that he usually portrays sleazebags LOL!!! I presume (maybe wrongly) Mark Warren's going to be a good guy in the upcoming series though.

Some other interesting factoids about casting: in Ep. 2 "Raga", the nationalist kid Gary Rogers was played by Roger Allam's real-life son William! And Gary's mother is Roger's real-life wife Rebecca Saire! She portrayed the same character, IIRC a hair salon owner who had civil rights demonstrators (including Joan Thursday) protesting her business, in Season 5, Ep. 4 "Colours".

That's neat trivia, merry! I'd never have guessed either of those cast members are his family members!

@merryapril said:

Yeah, I immediately thought of you bratface when I saw him in the preview and your remark that he usually portrays sleazebags LOL!!! I presume (maybe wrongly) Mark Warren's going to be a good guy in the upcoming series though.

Some other interesting factoids about casting: in Ep. 2 "Raga", the nationalist kid Gary Rogers was played by Roger Allam's real-life son William! And Gary's mother is Roger's real-life wife Rebecca Saire! She portrayed the same character, IIRC a hair salon owner who had civil rights demonstrators (including Joan Thursday) protesting her business, in Season 5, Ep. 4 "Colours".

I remember Thursday saying hairdressers but she corrected him saying it was a salon!

I hate to complain again (!) but I really didn't like it in "Raga" when she walked up to the politician near the end of the episode and slapped him in the face. It just didn't ring true, and seemed theatrical. Besides, I think she was likely as responsible for her son's attitudes as the candidate, since IIRC she had a sign in her salon window in "Colours" that said something like "no blacks" or "no coloreds" or something of the sort -- and that's why there was a protest.

@merryapril said:

I hate to complain again (!) but I really didn't like it in "Raga" when she walked up to the politician near the end of the episode and slapped him in the face. It just didn't ring true, and seemed theatrical. Besides, I think she was likely as responsible for her son's attitudes as the candidate, since IIRC she had a sign in her salon window in "Colours" that said something like "no blacks" or "no coloreds" or something of the sort -- and that's why there was a protest.

Funny, I applauded her hitting him. I thought that she had finally come to her senses & realized what she had done to her child. But we have to remember we live in an entirely different time & our mindset is so different. I'm a boomer, so I came of age during the turmoil of the 60's & 70's & remember what it was like. I grew up mostly in a large city & racial tension wasn't as bad as in the UK or in smaller towns around the US during that time. It was there just not as bad as in other places.

Well bratface, I grew up in a fairly large city with a significant minority population, and during my girlhood widespread rioting occurred in major US cities including my own, not so much in smaller towns, during the late 1960s. The riots coincided with the civil rights movement led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Back then, blacks were striving to overcome segregation policies which discriminated against them when it came to education, housing, employment and commerce, commerce like in the show's example of the hair salon owner who was able to get away with denying service to blacks. IIRC, in "Colours", she denied being a racist in spite of the sign in her window, and placed the blame on her customers who she claimed wouldn't like it if blacks were served by her salon! So when she slapped the politician in "Raga" I thought there she goes again, blaming someone else, which I'll admit rings true in the sense that some parents refuse to accept responsibility for their children's bad behavior but instead blame others. What didn't ring true to me was the theatrical slap.

When I re-watched Ep. 1, focusing on the faith healer scene, Ludo wasn't obvious among the group of men - his back was turned to the camera so there's no way we could've known he was there. Were the 3 other "faith healers" partners in crime besides Violetta??? Perhaps one or some of those men were the ones who sabotaged the glazier's pulleys or did something to cause the man (whose house Carl Sturgis moved into) to fall off the roof. I'm still clueless about the reason for the focus on the elevator shoe one of the faith healers wore. But after re-watching Ep. 3, details made it clear to me that Ludo himself was "Robin", the "nice young man" who caused Mrs. Bright's death.

Also bratface, I think the months-long jumps in time were necessary at least in the sense of making it more plausible that young women would dare to use the towpath in spite of the murders that occurred there earlier. Just guessing. And after all, without them Endeavour wouldn't have been able to catch Violetta at her annual opera "pilgrimage" at the end of the finale.

The reason for Ludo's "useful idiot" remark still escapes me though!!! I suppose, since he and Violetta were so worldly and their wealth so great, their insurance scam operation was likely conducted all over the place and Violetta was meant to distract Endeavour while they were operating in the UK, or something of the sort. But then again it would seem a risky business for her to use one of their victim's apartment as a love nest. Plus, when Ludo saw the suspicious accidents evidence in Endeavour's house, one would think he'd Get Out Of Dodge at that point, if keeping an eye on the detective and any investigation that touched on their scam was the "usefulness" to which he alluded. YET he boldly dared to proceed with his plan to kill Mrs. Bright! Cheeky. And in the follow up documentary after the finale when the actors and crew offered remarks about the show, the actor Ryan Gage talked about Ludo's and Endeavour's common interests which included a passion for music. If so, then why didn't Ludo accompany Violetta to the opera performance at the end of the finale??? If her hooking up with Morse the year before was indeed a set up I can understand why he didn't go then, but... questions questions questions!!!

Some other thoughts after re-watching the finale have to do with Bright and Thursday. Bright made some comments about Endeavour that covered the scope of their relationship and which seemed to me to to indicate closure, and maybe not only because Endeavour was transferring out of his jurisdiction. Could this mean we won't see Bright in Season 8? Likewise, there was some degree of closure in Thursday's relationship with Endeavour in that after a season of acrimony between the two, Endeavour eventually showed contrition for his pissy behavior towards his mentor in the note he wrote to Joan (sent to her along with the suspicious accident files). And then of course Thursday's rescue in Venice showed a tremendous amount of concern for - and no hard feelings towards - his protege. Since Morse is moving on, will Thursday be a character in Season 8???

Hathaway from Inspector Lewis is the natural heir apparent, and a good one since like Morse he doesn't suffer fools gladly, but since the actor Laurence Fox may be blackballed for his un-PC opinions, how about a spin-off featuring Thursday?!?!?! One big reason why the writer Russell Lewis deserves credit and appreciation is for his creation of the Thursday character, which along with Roger Allam's portrayal is responsible for much of Endeavour's success IMO. Seeing Fred and Win chatting in their cozy home will be sorely missed when they're no longer in the picture!!!

Another trivia:

Endeavour went to meet Dr. Naomi Benford at the Ruskin College where the first ever National Women's Liberation Conference was held.

There was really a gathering at the college on 27 February 1970 . One of the organisers was student Sally Alexander, who was John Thaw's first wife. Their daughter is Abigail Thaw (Dorothea Frazil).

In the episode "Oracle", Abigail - as Dorothy - meets a young version of her mother, Sally Alexander, played by Molly-Mae Whitmey (Abigail's daughter).

Abigail Thaw: "I get to meet my mother played by my daughter. How confusing is that. It’s three generations in one but we are all the wrong age."

• Sally, Naomi and Dorothy - twitter photo

I'm just starting to check out other family connections so there may be more, maybe not. Anyway, here's another: Anton Lesser's daughter Lily Lesser appeared in Season 5, Ep. 6 "Icarus".

Another trivia:

Jenny Tate: "Cousin Kevin would have us all play hide and seek."

Who is cousin Kevin?

In 1969 the English rockband The Who released the album "Tommy". There is even a movie - "Tommy (1975)" based upon the album. One of the characters is named Cousin Kevin.

"Cousin Kevin" - videoclip song

Lyrics:

"Do you think it is allright
to leave the boy with cousin Kevin?
Do you think it is allright?
Something about him
I don't really like.
Do you think it is allright?
I think it is allright
I think it is allright."

"Were on our own cousin,
all alone cousin.
Let's think of a game to play
Now the grownups have all gone away.
You won't be much fun
being blind deaf and dumb
But I've no one to play with today.
Do you know how to play hide and seek?
To find me it would take you a week,
But tied to that chair you won't go anywhere
There's a lot I can do to a freak.
How would you feel if I turned on the bath,
Ducked your head under and started to laugh.
What would you do if I shut you outside,
To stand in the rain
and catch cold so you died?"

"I'm the school bully !
The classroom cheat.
The nastiest playfriend,
You ever could meet.
I'll stick pins in your fingers
And tread on your feet..."

"Maybe a cigarette burn on your arm
Would change your expression to one of alarm,
I'll drag you around by a lock of your hair
Or give you a push at the top of the stairs..."

"I'm the school bully !
The classroom cheat.
The nastiest playfriend,
You ever could meet.
I'll put glass in your dinner
And spikes in your seat..."

Cousin Kevin!!! SO, does that mean Jenny Tate and Carl Sturgis are also cousins of the deaf, dumb and blind kid Tommy???

Okay, here's another bit of trivia, but going back to Season 3, Ep. 3 "Prey": one of the characters is a young man, Phillip Hathaway, who's a groundskeeper at a large Oxford estate. Guess who Phillip Hathaway's son is??? Yep, Sgt. James Hathaway of Inspector Lewis fame. "Prey" is I think (w2w will know if I'm wrong) the episode that features the tiger that Chief Bright confronts, and his wife's nickname for him, "Puli", is a Hindu name for a tiger.

That's neat trivia, wonder and merry!