Inspector Lewis: Series 7 (Masterpiece)

Inspector Lewis, Series 7, is a wonderful Blu-ray Disc box set. The acting on the three episodes is excellent. I happen to believe that Laurence Fox is a gifted actor and perhaps the best television actor in the world today. Kevin Whately is a terrific actor, also. We love the banter between the main two characters. Yes, the lines are written by the writers. However, it takes talented actors to give life to the words, and the actors in this television series deliver.The image quality is very good and certainly appears sharper than similar episodes of this TV series that we’ve watched over-the-air. The DTS-HD Master Stereo is exceptionally good. Dialog is easy to understand and made easier by the actors delivering their lines without mumbling, a scourge on other TV shows.The first story, “Entry Wounds,” is not our favorite and is scientifically mumbo-jumbo as to the ballistics evidence. The second story, “The Lions of Nemea,” is very complicated, well-written, and can hold one’s interest until the last second of the episode. The third story, “Beyond Good and Evil,” is terrific. Everything clicks on this one.My recommendation is that if you’re a fan of this show and love the characters, then buy this Blu-ray Disc box set. You won’t be sorry if you do.

I love Lewis...everything about this series is quality--from the writing to the acting to the City of Oxford itself. Whately is masterful as the moral, kind Everyman, Lewis, and Laurence Fox is his perfect foil as the enigmatic, slightly overly intellectual Hathaway. These two actors are effortless and completely believable filling their characters' shoes. Angela Griffin is a nice addition, too, and is carefully written so that she adds depth, but doesn't interfere with the Lewis/Hathaway long-term bromance. And I'm glad they finally got Lewis and Hobson together--although that relationship, while "old shoe" comfortable, seems unnaturally and unnecessarily superficial. Maybe that's just the famous British reserve.A great part of what makes this series work is relationship--Lewis with Hathaway, Lewis with Hobson, Lewis and Hathaway with Innocent (I was very sorry to hear they have ditched Rebecca Front in the upcoming new season) and Maddox--and the main characters' unflagging moral compass. Yet the series writers seem reluctant to lay bare much of what makes their main characters tick--their back stories and their feelings. They give all the depth to the characters and chaos du jour, rather than to those who drive the series.The Lewis plots are convoluted and byzantine, the backdrops, music and cinematography are always gorgeous and DI Lewis, DI Hathaway, Doctor Hobson, CS Innocent and DS Maddox are easy folks to like. Series 7 is more of the same good "who-dunit" genre in the style of "Morse" and its prequel, "Endeavour." Unlike many of the shoot-em up, car chase, blood-drenched American cop shows, "Inspector Lewis" is intelligent, engaging and a pleasant way to spend some down time. I'm always pleased to return to Oxford and visit again with my favorite peace-keepers--although given what must be an outrageous murder rate for a city Oxford's size, I'm not sure I'd live in that beautiful old university town.

I highly recommend this series to anyone who like detective stories. Since this is a take-off of the Inspector Morse series, I can see the influence. Throughout the Inspector Lewis series, he knows he has come into his own and he values the lessons he learned when Morse was his mentor. He now mentors his own sergeant (Hathaway) with that same care and respect. In series 7, Lewis made himself believe it was time to putter in his garden and make a life with the pathologist giving him an arms length existence from the world of detection. However, his old team realizes they need him and he finds that he is being pulled back into the arena of crime solving. He pretends to not really want to do it but he doesn’t do things by halves and it is obvious he is happy to be back. Gingerly he steps into the role of consultant and tries to be sensitive to Hathaway’s position. This is not an easy task and he does blunder a bit but as he said, the thing he likes most about that job is that you never stop learning. Hathaway has also been experiencing some growing pains. Do I recommend this series? Oh yes, You need to watch series 1-7. The characters draw you in and you feel you are part of what they are doing and thinking. They never let you know who the bad buy is until the end, even in the last episode, "Beyond Good and Evil", there is a twist. I was sad to hear that series 7 was the last it was like saying goodbye to an old friend. I'm hearing rumors of a new series, fingers crossed!