One day someone will do a study about the potent myth in England, of the good inspector (Morse/Frost/Dalgleish/Dalziel) and how it runs through our modern national psyche. Perhaps it stems back to JB Priestley (An Inspector Calls) and the idea that one day someone will turn up and expose all our moral weakness - and in that shining hour, the truth about life itself will somehow emerge.

Either way we have unrealistically high expectations about those who administer the laws of the land. Witness the gasps of astonishment, claims and counter claims on the Irish threads about the army - when its wearing policemen's boots.

There is a lot of pressure on cops to produce a resolution of our fears. Sadly, David Jason isn't always available for the gig.