"The Mind has Mountains" is a conceptual avenue that has not been tried before on Lewis. Drugs, although a rare but regular feature on Morse, rarely appear, and indeed the previous episode "Wild Justice", featured Lewis' first ever poisoning (as I remember).
Patrick Harbison, a reasonably experienced writer, makes his debut here after working principally on American television. This similarity shows, as "...Mountains" is a very Americanised programme. There is one primary point of interest throughout the serial, Dr. Alex Gansa. Douglas Henshall puts in one of the best efforts of the series so far here, with his character had an uneasy edge which in turn made the view feel the same way. His depiction of a man trapped in his present which he scrabbled and worked to gain is nothing short of masterly, and he rates with Pip Carter and David Hayman as the most jarring performance in the series.
However, this episode has its failings, chief among which is Harbison's screenplay. After a fairly typical Lewis setup, and even a fairly interesting and separate group of characters (although worryingly similar to Your Sudden Death Question), the plot tails off almost completely, especially after the murder of Adam Douglas (the normally excellent Thomas Brodie - Sangster failing to make much of an impression). Most of the participants in the trial disappear after this point, which is a shame, especially in the case of the always entertaining Alex MacQueen and Sylvestra Le Touzel. Sam Hazeldine is also to be commended, as the scenes within his static caravan are marvellously eerie. The regulars are a little tenuous at times, with Holman failing particularly, with a portrayal that would, at times, be considered downright wooden. Front is, however, better than average, and Fox's improvement from previous series is noticeable here. Whateley, however, reflects the audience's mood, that of sheer confusion.
The second half is Harbison's big failing here. The plot tails off, and it is as if Harbison, who has only written for feature - length television twice before to my awareness, in Sharpe's Justice and The Duchess and the Devil (Hornblower), is tacking the second half on. First Gansa, then Bethan Vickery, (Lucy Liemann, trying hard but limited by Harbison's peculiar dialogue for her), then Gansa, then Bethan Vickery, and so ad infinitum, committed the murders, which themselves pale into insignificance. And then, when Patrick Harbison is starting to run out of time, he carries on the psychological theme by wheeling out the old psychological excuse, De Clerambault's Syndrome. This syndrome manages to neatly explain everything, and makes the entire serial look like a bad copy of Fatal Attraction, combined with the bad elements (and there are few good elements), of Ian McEwan's novel and film "Enduring Love". Harbison probably owes the cast an apology, as the dialogue and plot get worse and worse, and what was the point of the bike accident? All in all, the screenplay rivals "And the Moonbeams Kiss the Sea" as the series' all time clanger.
In the same manner as "Moonbeams ..." , it would have been all to easy to make the production an absolutely terrible one. There are many reasons why it is not, mostly Henshall (imagine if Neal Pearson played Dr. Gansa!), and the remainder of the cast. However, final credit must go to the director, another débutant to the series, Charles Palmer. Given Palmer's previous work (a few particularly iffy episodes of Doctor Who and Lark Rise to Candleford), seeing his name in the opening credits did not fill me with hope. However, my illusions were quickly shattered. The use of high and low shots of the balcony, and the rapid pan around to direct the murder scene were magnificently eerie, and the montage of Hathaway interviewing the suspects was nothing short of outstanding. The pace of his direction does not let up, and the movements of the actors manage to stay above board, and the production values are universally high. It was almost entirely due to Palmer that the production did not go to pieces towards the end.
It is entirely possible that this story could have been worse. However, it could have also been much better. It is a baffling story and, without Charles Palmer and Douglas Henshall, could have been terrible. As it is, it's merely a bit flat.
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