The ‘Inspector Morse’ prequel ‘Endeavour’ has returned to American TV screens with its fifth season (having previously been televised in the UK beginning back in February.) With two episodes now viewed, I figured it was the perfect opportunity for a “Two For Tuesday” tribute to the series which is in the running for bringing more crossovers into the greater Toobworld Dynamic than almost any other show. And I’m not just talking about other TV shows, but more importantly movies and literary sources. It’s the reason why the show’s driving force, Russell Lewis, has already been inducted into the Television Crossover Hall of Fame as a September entry for the Powers That Be behind the scenes.
In just this snippet of dialogue, we get at least four references to note….
'ENDEAVOUR'
"MUSE"
WCP SHIRLEY TREWLOVE:
We found this.
[Holds out rose.]
DR. ROBIN GREY:
But that's The Shadow's calling card, isn't it?
DS ENDEAVOUR MORSE:
The what?
DR. ROBIN GREY:
An international art thief.
He leaves a rose at the scene of his crimes.
DS ENDEAVOUR MORSE:
If he exists.
That's all a bit Simon Templar, don't you think?
DR. ROBIN GREY:
He's real enough to Interpol -
The Lugash Diamond, the Golden Dagger of Sultan Mahmud.
Let’s deal with the most notable reference in that batch – Simon Templar.
Templar, better known as “The Saint”, is a multiversal. He began life in BookWorld, created by Leslie Charteris. From there, he appeared in several movies, but is perhaps best known in Toobworld, thanks to a TV series starring the late Sir Roger Moore as Templar. His exploits were seen in Earth Prime-Time from 1962 to 1969, covering the time period for this episode of ‘Endeavour’ (beginning on the first of April until it ends on a dour note with the radio announcement about the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. – April 4th, 1968.)
During the course of ‘The Saint’, it was apparent that Simon Templar had an international reputation, known even by the likes of Italian cabbies in Rome. So it was not unlikely for Detective Sergeant Endeavour Morse to have known of him as well. As there was no mention of any source material for Templar in the quote – no references to movies, books, even the TV series, nor an allusion to Charteris, Toobworld Central accepts this as a reference to an actual citizen of Toobworld.
Next up, another character reference – “the Shadow”, which brings along with it the Lugash Diamond.
From Wikipedia:
The Shadow is the name of a collection of serialized dramas, originally in 1930s pulp novels, and then in a wide variety of media, and it is also used to refer to the character featured in The Shadow media. One of the most famous adventure heroes of the 20th century United States, the Shadow has been featured on the radio, in a long-running pulp magazine series, in American comic books, comic strips, television, serials, video games, and at least five films. The radio drama included episodes voiced by Orson Welles.
Two attempts were made to adapt the character to television. The first, in 1954, was titled 'The Shadow', and starred Tom Helmore as Lamont Cranston.
The second attempt in 1958 was titled 'The Invisible Avenger'; it never aired. The two episodes produced were compiled into a theatrical film and released with the same title. It was re-released with additional footage in 1962 as "Bourbon Street Shadows". Starring Richard Derr as The Shadow, the film depicts Lamont Cranston investigating the murder of a New Orleans bandleader. The film is notable as the second directorial effort of James Wong Howe, who directed only one of the two unaired episodes.
But this isn't that guy.
DOROTHEA FRAZIL:
So what was he after?
The Faberge?
DS MORSE:
Who?
DOROTHEA FRAZIL:
The Shadow!
DS MORSE:
I think, given the date, we're looking at something less criminal altogether.
DOROTHEA FRAZIL:
[Comprehending]
April Fool's.....
From the IMDb:
The legendary criminal "The Shadow" who leaves a red rose at the scene of the crime and is said to have stolen the Lugash Diamond refers to "The Phantom" from the Pink Panther films. But his calling card was a white glove.
The Lugash Diamond is the “Pink Panther” diamond, coming from the Middle Eastern Kingdom of Lugash in those movies. This does give those movies a connection to Toobworld, but they are still movies. However, the televersions of those movies are based on actual events and people in Toobworld. There would be a country of Lugash in the Tooobworld atlas and there would be a Lugash Diamond. That would be its official title, but everyone would know it by its nickname of the “Pink Panther” (especially because of the movie.)
As for the Shadow vs. the Phantom? “The Phantom” could be a name that was created for use in the movies to be used instead of “The Shadow.” And the real name of the Phantom in the movies – Sir Charles Lytton – could have been a substitution as well, since it was never proven in “real life” (that is, Toobworld) that Sir Charles was involved. (The inspiration for the surname of Lytton could have come from the screenwriter’s familiarity with the family who ran the Lytton Museum of antiquities.)
But that this renowned cracksman used the alias of “The Shadow” leads me to believe that Lamont Cranston, the true Shadow, was already dead in Toobworld.
We come now to the mention of “the golden dagger of Sultan Mahmud”…..
This description of a newsworthy item stolen by the Shadow leads me to believe that Dr. Grey garbled the information. It was meant to be a reference to the Topkapi Emerald Dagger once owned by the Sutlan Mahmed.
Mahmud, Mahmed…. He almost got it right. And as for it being known more for its gold content rather than for the jewels which adorned it, maybe that was just the importance placed on it by Dr. Grey. He may have been influenced by the movie inspired by the theft – “Topkapi”, which had come out four years earlier in the real world and in Toobworld as well.
Stay tuned! We’ll have another post like this today, dealing with the next ‘Endeavour’ episode, “Cartouche”.
There were plenty of other Easter Eggs throughout the
episode, but those were the ones I wanted to highlight.
BCnU!
In just this snippet of dialogue, we get at least four references to note….
'ENDEAVOUR'
"MUSE"
WCP SHIRLEY TREWLOVE:
We found this.
[Holds out rose.]
DR. ROBIN GREY:
But that's The Shadow's calling card, isn't it?
DS ENDEAVOUR MORSE:
The what?
DR. ROBIN GREY:
An international art thief.
He leaves a rose at the scene of his crimes.
DS ENDEAVOUR MORSE:
If he exists.
That's all a bit Simon Templar, don't you think?
DR. ROBIN GREY:
He's real enough to Interpol -
The Lugash Diamond, the Golden Dagger of Sultan Mahmud.
Let’s deal with the most notable reference in that batch – Simon Templar.
During the course of ‘The Saint’, it was apparent that Simon Templar had an international reputation, known even by the likes of Italian cabbies in Rome. So it was not unlikely for Detective Sergeant Endeavour Morse to have known of him as well. As there was no mention of any source material for Templar in the quote – no references to movies, books, even the TV series, nor an allusion to Charteris, Toobworld Central accepts this as a reference to an actual citizen of Toobworld.
Next up, another character reference – “the Shadow”, which brings along with it the Lugash Diamond.
From Wikipedia:
The Shadow is the name of a collection of serialized dramas, originally in 1930s pulp novels, and then in a wide variety of media, and it is also used to refer to the character featured in The Shadow media. One of the most famous adventure heroes of the 20th century United States, the Shadow has been featured on the radio, in a long-running pulp magazine series, in American comic books, comic strips, television, serials, video games, and at least five films. The radio drama included episodes voiced by Orson Welles.
Two attempts were made to adapt the character to television. The first, in 1954, was titled 'The Shadow', and starred Tom Helmore as Lamont Cranston.
The second attempt in 1958 was titled 'The Invisible Avenger'; it never aired. The two episodes produced were compiled into a theatrical film and released with the same title. It was re-released with additional footage in 1962 as "Bourbon Street Shadows". Starring Richard Derr as The Shadow, the film depicts Lamont Cranston investigating the murder of a New Orleans bandleader. The film is notable as the second directorial effort of James Wong Howe, who directed only one of the two unaired episodes.
But this isn't that guy.
DOROTHEA FRAZIL:
So what was he after?
The Faberge?
DS MORSE:
Who?
DOROTHEA FRAZIL:
The Shadow!
DS MORSE:
I think, given the date, we're looking at something less criminal altogether.
DOROTHEA FRAZIL:
[Comprehending]
April Fool's.....
From the IMDb:
The legendary criminal "The Shadow" who leaves a red rose at the scene of the crime and is said to have stolen the Lugash Diamond refers to "The Phantom" from the Pink Panther films. But his calling card was a white glove.
As for the Shadow vs. the Phantom? “The Phantom” could be a name that was created for use in the movies to be used instead of “The Shadow.” And the real name of the Phantom in the movies – Sir Charles Lytton – could have been a substitution as well, since it was never proven in “real life” (that is, Toobworld) that Sir Charles was involved. (The inspiration for the surname of Lytton could have come from the screenwriter’s familiarity with the family who ran the Lytton Museum of antiquities.)
But that this renowned cracksman used the alias of “The Shadow” leads me to believe that Lamont Cranston, the true Shadow, was already dead in Toobworld.
We come now to the mention of “the golden dagger of Sultan Mahmud”…..
This description of a newsworthy item stolen by the Shadow leads me to believe that Dr. Grey garbled the information. It was meant to be a reference to the Topkapi Emerald Dagger once owned by the Sutlan Mahmed.
Stay tuned! We’ll have another post like this today, dealing with the next ‘Endeavour’ episode, “Cartouche”.
There were plenty of other Easter Eggs throughout the
episode, but those were the ones I wanted to highlight.
BCnU!
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