Episode Detail: The Wench Is Dead - Inspector Morse
A health crisis may force Chief Insp. Morse (John Thaw) to take an early retirement in "The Wench Is Dead." As it opens, Morse attends a lecture given by an American author (Lisa Eichhorn), who has written a book about a 140-year-old English murder. Suddenly, Morse takes ill and is rushed to the hospital, where doctors give him a battery of tests. While awaiting the results, he studies the book about what was considered an "open and shut" case and decides that it needs to be reopened.