Two characters, Alexander Reece and the pathologist Max de Bryn, also appear (played by older actors) in Inspector Morse (1987). Reece appears as the Master of a college in Inspector Morse: The Last Enemy (1989) and de Bryn appears in various episodes of Series 1 and Series 2.
DI Fred Thursday's surname is named after the Norse god Thor. This is a reference to John Thaw who played Morse in Inspector Morse (1987).
The comment by Mrs Crabbin, Morse's landlady, "This was Mr Bleaney's room. He stayed the whole time he was at the Bodleian" is a near-quote from Philip Larkin's poem "Mr Bleaney", apart from the substitution of "Bodleian" instead of "Bodies" (as in the car body plant at a car factory).
Morse creator Colin Dexter cameos as a fellow drinker in the pub where Morse has his first pint.
Patrick Malahide previously appeared in _"Inspector Morse" Driven to Distraction (1990)_. In both appearances he plays a suspect who though not guilty of the murder was having an affair with the victim.
"Carshall New Town", the town where Morse works until he is seconded to the murder enquiry in Oxford, is another literary reference: it is the name of the fictitious town in Angus Wilson's novel "Late Call".
There is a close-up of a Zenith radio - a reference to the original series of Inspector Morse (1987), which was produced by a company called Zenith.
DI Thursday's car is a black 1959 Jaguar Mark 1, registration UFF 325, uprated during later restoration from its original 2.4 engine to a 3.8 engine taken from an S-Type Jaguar.
Mrs Crabbin tells Morse that the other two lodgers are called Goldberg and McCann. These are the same names as the two sinister lodgers in Harold Pinter's play 'The Birthday Party'.
The bus we see driving in the rain at the start of the film is going to "Woodstock". This references the first novel that Colin Dexter wrote: "Last Bus To Woodstock". Here, it is the first bus to Woodstock.
The other policemen drafted into help the inquiry are named after writers and directors of the original Inspector Morse (1987) series - including Julian Mitchell, Daniel Boyle, John Madden, Alma Cullen, and Kenny McBain.
Dorothea Frazil asks "Have we met?", and when Morse replies "No, I don't think so", comments "Another life, then". This is a reference to Dorothea being played by Abigail Thaw, the daughter of John Thaw who made the character of Inspector Morse famous in Inspector Morse (1987). Her character name is also a reference to him, with "frazil" being a type of ice, and so D. Frazil = Thaw.
When Morse goes to interview Johnny Franks at the garage where he works, he admires a maroon Jaguar Mark II on the forecourt. This is the same car, registration 248 RPA, that Morse drives in Inspector Morse (1987).
Roger Allam who plays DI Thursday guest starred as Denis Cornford in Inspector Morse: Death Is Now My Neighbour (1997) the episode of Inspector Morse in which Morse's first name, Endeavour, was revealed for the first time.
Rosalind signs the album "Um Bel Di"; translated as One Beautiful Day.
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