Masterpiece Mystery: Inspector Lewis 4 - Original UK Edition

I'll go against the tide and say that I am not an 'Inspector Morse' fan. I just never warmed up to the character. But, I love "Inspector Lewis'! I like everything about Kevin Whately's portrayal of Inspector Lewis. I like the accent; I like his innate moral code; I like the romance with Laura Hobson that took 4 years to play out; I like the display and depth of mourning for his late wife, Val. I like the stories and the unexpected turns they take and his (Lewis') role in those turns, I like the guy. If he was real and I got the chance to meet him while visiting Oxford, I'd like him. And, I love the scenery since I and my husband came to know and love each other while in Oxford on a college trip.While I feel a warmness in my heart for Kevin Whately's "Inspector", I might just be a little obsessed with DS Hathaway. Laurence Fox is so subtle, so perfectly timed as Hathaway, that I often wonder if Fox isn't playing himself. I haven't found enough of his work available online to be able to tell, but Hathaway is one of those characters that leaves you wanting more. A 'copper', as Lewis would say, who left the seminary to become a cop! The dichotomy of Lewis and Hathaway works. Lewis who does not believe in God and Hathaway who does. Lewis' experience as opposed to Hathaway's inexperience; Lewis' cop brain vs. Hathaway's brilliant one; Lewis' love for the common in contrast to Hathaway's love of the sublime. I'd like a 3 part movie just on Hathaway and what makes him tick. Really, he's a fun character to try to get to know, to figure out; he's a puzzle just waiting to be solved.As a Christian, I'm not so full of myself that I can't and won't accept others unbelief. It's all about choices. What I hate is that American television mocks me, mocks my belief, and, worse, mocks God. This series explored many religious topics. Topics of doctrine, topics that divide and topics of faith were explored and not mocked. I disagreed with everything religious on the program, but because of the way the series was written and presented, there was no offense given and the show was excellent without the "bat" that American TV uses to club me with.The regular supporting characters are excellent. The supporting characters that moved in and out of the series were excellent, as well. Really, a who's who of British character actors. If you watch British TV series' at all, you'll see these same actors in other roles and I like that. You'll also see all three Fox brothers. Look them up on IMDB.com. Really talented family!For me, "Inspector Lewis" is a go to show. If I'm bored, I watch an episode of "Inspector Lewis". If I'm sewing and I want something on in the background, I watch "Inspector Lewis". I have my favorite episodes and there are some that I don't care for as much, but every episode is a winner against the dreck of American TV. If you find yourself turning off the TV more and more, well, ok, that is a good thing. Keep it up. But for times when you want to be entertained by the TV, this series is a sure thing.I just noticed that, for whatever reason, Amazon has me reviewing the HD format of "Inspector Lewis: Season 4". I don't own anything in HD format. I have DSL and live pretty remotely. I can't stream anything in HD format. I do own the digital season 4 of "Inspector Lewis" in SD format and this review reflects that. I won't review my streaming experience because I don't think my troubles with streaming stem from Amazon. So this review is about content only. If you need a review on the technical and visual superiority of HD over SD, this review isn't it.

This series actually does get better and better with its complex mysteries, its spectacular settings, its superb musical score, and its outstanding cast, both the continuing characters and the supporting players, which, in each episode, present us some of the luminaries of the London theatre as well as film and television (This set includes Juliet Stevenson, Sian Phillips, Ronald Pickup, and Anna Chancellor).The mysteries may be formulaic, but what a formula! They are elegant old-fashioned 'who-done-it?' puzzles that are nevertheless convoluted enough to keep us guessing, as we follow Robbie Lewis and James Hathaway gladly through the lanes of Oxford (and the camera focuses, for our benefit, on a carved gargoyle or gives us a closeup of one of the colleges' many gothic spires) to the gloriously picturesque scene of yet another ghastly crime in the hallowed university city that one might think to be the murder capital of the UK.An essential ingredient of the formula is the ensemble cast of continuing characters: Kevin Whately as Inspector Lewis, Laurence Fox as Sergeant Hathaway, Claire Holman as Dr Laura Hobson, and Rebecca Front as Chief Superintendent Jean Innocent (What an ironic choice of a surname for a hardbitten Chief Superintendent of Police!). Their interaction--their humorous exchanges, their misunderstandings and tensions, as well as their mutual respect as professionals--represents the 'sand' that the brilliant writers have thrown into our eyes to distract us from solving the mystery until the last 'aha!' [or 'oh no!'] moment. In fact, Lewis, Hathaway, Hobson, and Innocent interact so beautifully that one can easily believe that they have become longtime colleagues, about whom we, the viewers, have come to care, as we would care about old friends.I find myself laughing with Lewis and Hathaway at their little running jokes; hoping for the best as the romance between Robbie and Laura threatens to blossom; sympathising with both Lewis and Innocent, for different reasons, as each tries the other's patience; and even shedding a tear or two at some of the poignant moments that occur from time to time in the exchanges between Lewis and Hathaway.I attribute my feelings of empathy to the remarkable abilities of Whately, Fox, Holman, and Front. Considering that the majority of their dialogue is devoted to the questioning of sundry suspects (Lewis and Hathaway), the enumeration of gruesome details about the current corpse (Hobson), or the barking at her wayward detectives because of pressures from budget cuts, Whitehall or the Chief Constable (Innocent), we are actually glimpsing only fragments of their 'lives'--fragments that have progressed gradually from episode to episode, providing the bread, as it were, for dozens of delicious murder sandwiches (slathered with dollops of ketchup).To appreciate the subtlety of these performances, one must watch "Inspector Lewis" from the first episode. And the Inspector Lewis mysteries are so rich and complex that one can enjoy them again and again (PBS has thoughtfully provided closed captioning so we won't miss a word of Lewis's gruff Geordie--or Hathaway's silken Cambridge--accent).I'm sending out three hearty cheers: to ITV, for continuing this outstanding series; to PBS for sending us the original uncut UK edition, and to Amazon for bringing it to us at such a reasonable price.

I just bought a subscription in March 2023, and watch an episode every night. I am in the middle of Season 4 and discovered that the Title of each Episode, and the short Summary, have zero relationship to the content of the story.That is , the 90 mins episode is all about apples, while the preview is all about oranges!why the disconnect? who mixed up the cue cards which tell the viewer that they are about to watchAlice in Wonderland, while the actual Episode is all about the Three Bears. None of this distracts from the enjoyment of each Episode, which is always excellent. If they say "don't judge a book by its covers", then for this Series they ought to say 'don't judge an Episode by its promo'!

My only problem is that ALL the episodes are "mislabeled on the screen. So that if I want to view a particular episode, I have to open each one until I find the one I want. Poor job there PBS.

this series I watched a few years ago but missed some episodes due to working. Now I get to see the complete series with these videos. There is nothing better than a British Mystery.

Personal viewing

i love it Kevin Whatley and lawrence fox make the perfect pair an the plot takes so many twists that you dont know till the end who did it

Love this British Series.

I have all the series. I enjoy very much looking at it and more than once..