Post by Patcat on Sept 14, 2009 8:59:00 GMT -5
This British series is currently airing on PBS' MASTERPIECE/MYSTERY. The umbrella series is a combination of MASTERPIECE THEATRE and MYSTERY, and while I'm not happy about the pairing, I'm glad of the opportunity to continue to have British television somewhere on free TV. Not everyone has access to the BBC and other cable channels.
INSPECTOR LEWIS is a sequel, of sorts, to the Inspector Morse series based on the novels of Colin Dexter. Dexter killed off Morse several years ago, and the actor who portrayed him, John Thaw, also passed away. I understand the Morse series was terribly popular in Great Britain, and I know a lot of people who feel as passionately about Morse as many of us do about Goren. I liked Morse, and thought Thaw's portrayal of him terrific, but was never terribly attached to the series. I liked seeing Oxford and the fine acting, but never found Morse as appealing as some people. He seemed to stumble into solutions as much as investigate crimes and often seemed to go from misanthropy to cruelty, especially in his treatment of his sergeant, Robert Lewis.
Lewis is now an Inspector solving his own cases. He's also a widower, and one of the things I've liked about the episodes I've seen is that they deal subtly with how he's trying to deal with the loss of his beloved wife. Lewis has his own sergeant now, and he treats him much better than Morse ever treated him, perhaps because Lewis remembers how he was treated, perhaps because Lewis is a kinder man than Morse.
I've been surprised by how much I've been enjoying this series. I always liked Lewis and Kevin Whateley's performance of him as a decent, good man who'd rather be a good man than a genius. This series shows that, whether Lewis wants it or not, some of Morse's intelligence and idiosycrancies have rubbed off on him. It's the genius as everyman, and Whately is very good. His sergeant Hathaway is an ongoing mystery and is very well played by Laurence Fox. Mr. Fox is the son of the British actor James Fox and has the sort of gaunt, skeletal face and blonde hair that might condemn him to playing Nazis and horror parts, but he's remarkably sensitive and has a quirky, terrific comic timing. There's a wonderful chemistry between Mr. Fox and Mr. Whately.
The mysteries aren't quite in the league of the performances, but Oxford is still beautiful and the nooks and crannies of its magnificant old buildings and the rivalries and politics of its academics make great settings for murder.
Patcat
INSPECTOR LEWIS is a sequel, of sorts, to the Inspector Morse series based on the novels of Colin Dexter. Dexter killed off Morse several years ago, and the actor who portrayed him, John Thaw, also passed away. I understand the Morse series was terribly popular in Great Britain, and I know a lot of people who feel as passionately about Morse as many of us do about Goren. I liked Morse, and thought Thaw's portrayal of him terrific, but was never terribly attached to the series. I liked seeing Oxford and the fine acting, but never found Morse as appealing as some people. He seemed to stumble into solutions as much as investigate crimes and often seemed to go from misanthropy to cruelty, especially in his treatment of his sergeant, Robert Lewis.
Lewis is now an Inspector solving his own cases. He's also a widower, and one of the things I've liked about the episodes I've seen is that they deal subtly with how he's trying to deal with the loss of his beloved wife. Lewis has his own sergeant now, and he treats him much better than Morse ever treated him, perhaps because Lewis remembers how he was treated, perhaps because Lewis is a kinder man than Morse.
I've been surprised by how much I've been enjoying this series. I always liked Lewis and Kevin Whateley's performance of him as a decent, good man who'd rather be a good man than a genius. This series shows that, whether Lewis wants it or not, some of Morse's intelligence and idiosycrancies have rubbed off on him. It's the genius as everyman, and Whately is very good. His sergeant Hathaway is an ongoing mystery and is very well played by Laurence Fox. Mr. Fox is the son of the British actor James Fox and has the sort of gaunt, skeletal face and blonde hair that might condemn him to playing Nazis and horror parts, but he's remarkably sensitive and has a quirky, terrific comic timing. There's a wonderful chemistry between Mr. Fox and Mr. Whately.
The mysteries aren't quite in the league of the performances, but Oxford is still beautiful and the nooks and crannies of its magnificant old buildings and the rivalries and politics of its academics make great settings for murder.
Patcat
