Lewis [2006] [DVD]

I write this review as a former resident of Oxford, but more importantly as a total devotee of Morse.

I was keen to see just how this new "spin off" (I hate that term!) of the Morse series would bear up to its predecessor. I was surprised then when all my feelings of cynicism dissapeared immediately after the first episode. I had suspected that ITV would attempt to cash in on the Morse franchise without attempting to give new life to that great legacy. But i was totally wrong. Obviously, avid fans of Morse will see the sometimes obviously deliberate attempts to give credibility to Lewis's new role with the occaisional and slightly contrived references by some of the plot character's references to past dealings with an inspector called "Morse", but these are nothing but affectionate references to Lewis's heritage when all is said and done.

the total reversal of the original formula, with a still solid and conciencious Lewis as the now Detective Inspector and his brilliantly created Detective Sargeant character "Hathaway", the scholarly academic, is absolutely brilliant.

I love it, the classic formula remains, despite a the sad loss of one of the most gifted actors that Television drama has created in this country to date.

The beautiful backdrop of University views remain, the academic setting with its back stabbing politics, the steadfast sometimes confused detective duo and the new musical score seems to just grow on you.

In summary, ITV seem to have made a genuine attempt to breathe an original new life into a well proven formula, rather than attempting to cash in on a "logo".

The only reason i have not given Lewis 5 stars is because pure sentimentality will not allow me to even slightly degrade the memory of "Morse".

A brilliant buy and well worth the money, to even the most diehard Morse fan. I hope to see another series.

Comparisions with the Morse TV Series are to be expected. However, for those of us that thought that Morse was the best thing since sliced bread (or real ale), the emergence of Kevin Whately as Lewis now promoted to Detective Inspector and back in Oxford following a temporary overseas posting, is the next, next best thing to sliced bread. The formula and format is reassuringly familiar, same high quality script writing (including Daniel Boyle and Alan Plater), direction, production and acting - and, the same great location with action taking in and around the academia and architecture of the Colleges collectively known as Oxford University. Somethings are of course different, there is a new female Detective Superintendent but Clare Holman reappears in the Dr Hobson (Pathologist) role. Lewis is older and wiser though perhaps feeling more like a square peg in a round hole given the way in now which the Thames Valley is now policed. There has been an excellent piece of casting with Lawrence Fox as DS Hathaway who assumes the academic niche vacated from the original partnership by Morse's character, although in this case, Hathaway is a graduate of Cambridge - how will he survive in Oxford? Morse fans should love this new series if they take it for what it is i.e. Lewis

Inspector Robbie Lewis arrives at the Oxford Police Department to a whole new regime when he returns to Oxford after three years in the Caribbean. He has been trying to come to grips with the death of his mentor, Inspector Endeavor Morse (whose series, including specials, ran from 1987 - 2000), and of his wife Valerie, in a London hit-and-run accident. The Chief Superintendent is now Jean Innocent, an abrupt woman who immediately assigns Lewis to a senior training post, though he wants to get back into action. Reluctantly, she allows him to manage a new murder case, but only for three days.

A young math student has been shot in the head at close range while at an Oxford sleep lab to which only a few people have access. The suspect is Danny Griffon, a disturbed but brilliant fellow-student, and the heir to a sports car company which the Japanese are in the process of buying. Lewis (Kevin Whately) and his partner, James Hathaway (Laurence Fox), a former seminarian, investigate this death and several others which occur within the next few days.

Those who loved the Inspector Morse series and who mourned not only the death of Morse, in the final episode, but also of actor John Thaw, in 2002, will be delighted by this spin-off, which gives Morse's sidekick his own series. Actor Kevin Whately continues his self-effacing role, but he also conveys a sense of competence, and his relationship with Hathaway reminds one of Morse as Lewis's mentor. Whately has obviously aged in the seven years since the end of the Morse series, and this serves him in good stead here, providing a sense of gravitas.

The wonderfully intricate plot to this pilot show, as good as the best of the Morse series, keeps the viewer totally involved, and the occasional references to Morse, including a poignant visual reminder via a crossword puzzle which retains the outline of his coffee cup, add to the sense of continuity. The photography is outstanding, though not as dramatic here as it was in the Morse series, and Barrington Pheloung, who did the brilliant music for the Morse series, returns for this series. In England, this pilot was followed by three more episodes in February and March, 2007, and one can only hope these will be made available soon to those of us in the US who long for more of the clever mysteries and wonderful characters we enjoyed with the Morse series. Mary Whipple