Inspector Lewis Series 1 (2006)

Inspector Robert Lewis (Kevin Whately), protégé of the legendary Inspector Morse (John Thaw), and his brilliant new partner, Detective Sergeant James Hathaway (Laurence Fox, Island At War) return to the streets of Cambridge and the halls of Oxford University with three brand new mysteries to unravel.

Whom the Gods Would Destroy: When Oxford graduate Dean Greely is found dead near his run-down house-boat, detectives Lewis and Hathaway are thrown into a delicate murder case which implicates one of the University s most prominent figures college Principal Sefton Linn.

But as Lewis and Hathaway soon discover, Linn was not always so respectable. As an undergraduate, he was a member of The Sons of the Twice Born, a hedonistic group that aspired to the principals of Dionysus, and who once killed in an attempt to experience the ultimate drug: Adrenochrome, found in the human adrenal gland. Dean Greely was also a member. But just a Lewis is preparing to make an arrest, his prime suspect Linn is also murdered, forcing the team to consider that Greely was not killed to keep past secrets buried, but to fulfill someone s clever and intricately planned revenge fantasy. Now Lewis and Hathaway are in a race to discover the identity of the group s victim twenty years ago before the remaining Sons are killed.

Old School Ties: When bright young Jo Gilchrist is found murdered in a hotel room, detectives Lewis and Hathaway are drawn into a case driven by celebrity, scheming and dangerous sexual politics that brings Lewis face to face with his past.

The murdered girl is one of three ambitious Oxford students who have invited Nicky Turnbull, a convicted computer hacker turned best-selling celebrity author, to give a lecture at the University Student s Union. But when Turnbull is also killed, Lewis and Hathaway believe Gilchrist s death may have been a mistake. Turning their attention away from the machinations of a loose alliance of driven students, they begin to look at the numerous enemies Turnbull made those he stole money from, those he stole information from, the fellow prisoners whose stories he stole in order to make his book a best seller, and perhaps even his wife Lewis old flame. Product Description

Will make a popular addition to any community library DVD collection

A spin off from the enormously popular Inspector Morse BBC mystery series, "Inspector Lewis" chronicles the adventures of British police inspector Robert Lewis (flawlessly portrayed by Keven Whately) and his new partner Detective Sergeant James Hathaway (Laurence Fox) where they confront complicated and devious crimes from the streets of Cambridge to the halls of Oxford University in three new mysteries. With sophisticated plots, populated with memorable characters, and characterized by superb attention to set designs and backgrounds, the three featured mysteries include 'Whom The Gods Would Destroy'; 'Old School Ties'; and 'Expiation'. The DVD format allows for the additional features of scene selection, closed captions, and access to the Masterpiece Theatre website. "Inspector Lewis Series I" will make a popular addition to any community library DVD collection, and should be considered a 'must see' by the legions of Inspector Morse fans.
November 14, 2008

The Detective Duo Is Appealing, but the Mysteries Tend Toward the Ridiculous.

The "Inspector Lewis" pilot recaptured some of the appeal of the "Inspector Morse" mysteries, from which it was spun off, by pairing the world-weary working-class Detective Inspector Robbie Lewis (Kevin Whately) with younger partner Detective Sergeant James Hathaway (Laurence Fox), an introverted Cambridge-educated former seminarian. Series 1 unfortunately gives these characters short shrift and relies heavily on far-fetched plotting. While the episodes are entertaining enough to hold my attention, that's the extent of their interest. They are self-consciously sordid and dependent upon inexplicable, over-the-top behavior, conspicuously contrived conflict with Detective Chief Superintendent Innocent (Rebecca Front), and dubious motives. In fact, the murderers' motives aren't convincing at all. The quality of the episodes varies, but all left me wishing for better writers. All three somehow involve colleges at the University of Oxford.

Middle-aged Oxford grad Dean Greely is found murdered in "Whom the Gods Would Destroy". The trail leads to a group of Oxford alumni who formed a hedonistic circle of friends called "The Sons of the Twice Born" in their student days. Now they are prominent university man Sefton Linn (Richard Lintern), dysfunctional bicycle repairman Harry Bundrick (Adrian Rawlins), and rich, disabled, angry Theodore Platt (Richard Dillane). A mystery woman calling herself "Fury" is terrorizing the three surviving men with threatening phone calls, taunting them with a scandal that they thought buried long ago. This episode stretches credibility from the get-go, spends very little time on the detectives, and features a generous portion of over-acting. 3 stars.

"Old School Ties" has DI Lewis and DS Hathaway reluctantly assigned to protect the glib jail-bird-turned-celebrity-author Nicky Turnbull (Owen Teale), who has received some death threats. Turnbull was invited by some enterprising students to speak at the Oxford Union. Union President Caroline Morton (Emma Campbell Webster) and muckraking student journalist Jo Gilchrist (Frances Albery) show him a night on the town. But when one of the ladies is murdered, the detectives have a real case on their hands, with suspects in the student Union, faculty, and Turnbull's agent and wife, Diane (Gina McKee), an old school friend of Lewis'. Turnbull is a likable rake, and there is a nice mix of generations, even if we must ignore the fact that Diane is obviously ten years younger than Lewis. 4 stars.

In "Expiation", the wife of Hathaway's optometrist dies of an apparent suicide after receiving a visit from an embittered woman from her past, leaving behind two young children and a complicated relationship with her husband Hugh (James Whilby) and the couple's best friends Louise (Lucy Robinson) and David Malory (Vincent Regan). DI Lewis believes the woman was murdered, and insists on investigating in spite of DCS Innocent's admonitions. A dying Oxford professor, Dr. La Plassiter (John Wood), offers to exchange information about the alleged murder for the opportunity to meet with a former student whom he wronged. This one goes off the rails toward the end and is too dependent on inexplicable behavior and contrived conflict. 3 stars. October 1, 2008

not john thaw

I saw the pilot show and it was not at all bad. Series one however does not even come close to being a good English cop/mystery. Whatley tries to hard to be like inspector morse and he is not the actor John Thaw was. September 30, 2008

Lewis is still Lewis

I liked this series. I liked Inspector Morse series as well. I was afraid that Lewis would become, or try to become Morse. He doesnt, he is still the same Lewis, except he is now Inpsector Lewis and his sargent is more like Morse in his education and tastes. The roles are somewhat reversed here. Unike Morse, Lewis does not try to sideline his dectective sargent but listens to him, then delegates what he is to do, without making him look stupid, as Morse sometimes did to Lewis. Lewis was always under Morses thumb, so to speak. Lewis was a sargent for so long he remebers what it was like and treats his sargent at least like a human and also like a professional.

The stories were good an kept me involved. So far there was nothing that made me groan, like the times the murdered would be pulled out and introduced to us in the last 5 mintues. The story line is good as is the back story about Lewis's family life. How his wife died, his kids are grown and he spent 2 years as a detective in the Bahamas. Lonely, like Morse, but not as morose as Morse, he moves on with his life. September 26, 2008

Fascinating interplays of characters

Why are the British so good at creating fine entertaining murder mysteries with memorable characters, while the pale American imitations have cured more insomnia than all the OTC concoctions of your local druggist? Perhaps it's the lack of commercial interruption at every possible turn. Or paying the actors so much that the producers can't afford decent scriptwriters, directors or editors . . .

No matter - this is another of those must-see series for fans of Poirot, Foyle, Allen, Marple, Holmes, or Midsomer. The characters are fleshed out, the tensions palpable, the cinematography top-rate if a bit touristy, the editing taut and the direction invisibly determined. And the writing! These scripts actually titillate the intellect, challenge assumptions, venture into the darker corners we all know are there, awaiting a torch to illuminate their terrors.

Of course, there are a few minor rough spots, but I'd put any one of these four little gems up against anything bearing the imprimatur of "Murder She Wrote" or that caricature in San Francisco with the dirty mac and stump cigar, or his bumbling co-resident clean freak detective. I guess they sell a lot of soap powder, though. Bully.

This is a worthy investment - you'll no doubt revisit them several if not many times before you fall victim to whatever it is hiding in that furthest corner of your world. September 12, 2008

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