Absalom1991 I won't go on too long with my comments. Well, too long, perhaps, anyway. I already noted my big concerns about this series already. I'm going through the "Morse" and "Lewis" series in sequence, and here I am - mixing past and present tenses. I know it's all old news and that I'm writing this in an obscure corner of IMDb.Several of the reviewers here have it right. "Lewis" is weak compared to "Morse" in numerous ways. Times change, producers change, visions change.However, why do the changes of time, production and vision inevitably seem to move in the direction of laziness, cheap thrills, superficial glitter and decay of respect for characters as representatives of real humanity and human issues as they are actually lived?This episode was silly. The writing was cynically formulaic, although one wonders if the writer has the kidney to be consciously cynical. Apparently the intended audience became that impatient bunch who can't be bothered with anything requiring thought, but require the equivalent of an adolescent's screen saver (not that in 2015 any adolescent knows what that is). The images run, inexorably:Honeyed Stone of Oxford UnicornLovely Young FaceArrogant Old OxfordianPosh GatheringHoneyed Stone of OxfordHorrific MurderArrogant Old Oxfordian Lovely Young FaceA Chase/A Rush/A Threat/A CLIMAXHoneyed Stone of OxfordAll interspersed with shots of Old Increasingly Wise Lewis/Younger Tortured Hathaway."Inspector Lewis" is entropic television. It is an colorful, oily puddle made successful because of its positioning to reflect something better - and real.The worst of it is that the actors and their characters are wasted and caught in the drift. The regulars are marvelous performers.

DreamOfDreamsForgotten Call me an Anglophile, I don't care--it's probably true. This is a program for dedicated Anglophiles and those aspiring to be one. (LOL) The continuing adventures of Detective Inspector Lewis and his trusted sidekick Detective Sergeant Hathaway stand out for the strength of production values, acting, writing, and direction that are credits to the Masterpiece: Mystery! series tradition here in the States and television anywhere. Unlike most reviewers, I've never seen the Inspector Morse series which gave this one its genesis, but be assured I will be checking those discs out on Netflix shortly. Just know that this series stands completely on its own and is without peer, at least in my experience. The principals all acquit themselves with increasing wit and flair as the series progresses, creating a palpable matrix of living relationships which provide the sort of ongoing back story that insists you return, like that finish at the end of a wee dram of single malt, for more. The cinematography (this is shot on film, not video), score (it is far too high quality to call it simply "music"), sharp pace of direction, and of course the acting, by both regulars and guests, is more than first-rate--it is better than we have any right to expect. Oxford is a very photogenic backdrop for the stories which manage rather niftily to send up the upper class snobbery of England at the same time that it celebrates the hallowed tradition of academia and culture with which it is inextricably entwined. The squarely middle-class education and perspective of the older Lewis is also projected against the Cambridge-educated Hathaway, a lapsed theologian who is at once intellectually on par with these Oxford denizens while yet at the same time apart, due to the inter-school rivalry as well as his own lineage, which we learn more of as the series progresses. The subtle windups Lewis and Hathaway deliver each other are to be savored, for they are the real mark of affection and respect each develops over time for the other.That each episode fills in certain intriguing details of our regulars' back stories at the same time it guides us, with red herrings aplenty, through the solution of some very puzzling cases is also part of the magic of Inspector Lewis. I find myself at moments ignoring the developments of certain cases, not because they are dull, but because I am so consumed by disclosure of personal details and the repercussions amongst series regulars. Their lives matter to us, greatly, and their relationships are not completely static.Never dull, frequently witty, and almost always a step ahead of us, Inspector Lewis is a series that entertains at all times, often plumbs surprising emotional depths, and occasionally achieves the elusive grace of art.

Tony_J61 *** POSSIBLE SPOILERS *** Finally saw this new series on Channel 7, Australia this week.I enjoyed the nods to John Thaw (Inspector Morse). Lewis' fall in front of the Jaguar when he leaves the airport with his new sidekick and the use of a character's name, 'Regan' (The Sweeney) were nice tributes to Thaw's most well known shows. Not to mention the instrumentals, played by a support actor during the show. Very nice touch for nostalgics like myself. :-) Will Lewis get to the magic 7 years? Yes, but only if Whately is given a new love and a new lease on life. The sad sack persona worked in Morse, against Thaw's crusty, upper class character, but as a standalone, it will soon become tiresome from a viewers perspective.It would be nice to not see a repetition of David Jason's down trodden 'Frost'. Surely not all British Police Superintendents belittle their case solving Detective Inspectors?! Kevin Whately has a chance to better Frost, Inspector Lynley Mysteries and others, but he needs a new approach, or his long faced approach may not see him through.

pawebster The film was made to a high standard, in just the same way as the Morse films, with lots of attractive shots of Oxford. The story is a bit convoluted and not terribly credible - just as was often the case with Morse.The two leads still have some way to go. Lewis is older, wiser and sadder, which unfortunately means that he is less fun to watch. He also, obviously, lacks Morse to react to, which was one of the most entertaining things about the earlier series.Instead he has his sidekick played by Laurence Fox. He is OK and has potential, but he is not yet firing on all cylinders by any means. In fact, he seems a bit sleepy and is too deadpan. However, I fully intend to keep watching, and am optimistic that there will be good things in the future.