As an ardent fan of Endeavour I have to admit that prejudice or bias toward the show will cloud my judgment somewhat. However, as a film historian and critic, I was somewhat taken aback last night when I found myself inside a Steven Spielberg movie, right down to the staging and dialogue. It's one thing to acknowledge such similarities with a credit line that should read: The producers wish to thank Steven Spielberg for being such an inspiration. Or some such nonsense. In this case, they did not and I'm almost wondering if there isn't a case for plagiarism. A girl flirts with a man around a campfire, runs away, stripping and dives into the water. That man, too drunk to follow, passes out on land. We see the woman drifting back and forth until she finally goes under. A man known as the chief, recalls his encounter with a "man eating" creature in a long emotional speech. A forensic pathologist disputes the findings of a local doctor about the cause of death that includes the lines: "This was no boating accident and it wasn't caused from a propeller..." aka, Richard Dreyfus speech. Even the title is the same number of letters and (spoiler) it is the chief, with his rifle, who takes the fatal shot! Those were the most obvious comparisons. I hoped at the end, they would at least say something about Spielberg. It was his direction that inspired those scenes. So I was more than a little puzzled when it didn't and wondered why? The episode is satisfying in that Anton Lesser who has played something of an antagonist gets to be the hero for once. Bravo for that. Yet, if I was Spielberg, I'd be on the phone to England and ask: Did you think Brexit involves absolution from the copyright laws?
