Inspector Lewis: Series 2

I originally saw Series 2 in London 2 years ago and, given some of the pithy reviews regarding the editing of the US version, felt compelled to put my two cents in.First of all, Lewis isn't Morse and I suspect much of the criticism is centered in this undeniable fact. I also own all the Morse episodes and periodically replay them for pleasure and to see how they age in light of the twenty plus years since the series started. Truth be told, there's more than a couple clunkers in the lot that get by, not on the story line but, on the intense character study that John Thaw brought to the role. There's never going to be another Morse.Lewis is a much different character, schooled by Morse but certainly not a protege. His forte is more dogged than sheer brilliance. His sergeant (Laurence Fox) likewise is no Lewis; much more complex and less conventional. In fact the roles of the two series are somewhat reversed in many respects. His Sergeant Hathaway seems to be the brilliant, but troubled police detective while Lewis remains somewhat more centered in convention. It's almost like Hathaway is a younger less experienced Morse, though his Cambridge education will never get him invited to "high table" the way Morse often was. The main difference between the two series, aside from the absence of John Thaw, is the Lewis episodes are much tighter written and clearly scripted for the screen rather than being adapted from books (not too many of these actually, most of the Morse episodes were credited to "ideas" of Colin Dexter).Series 2 is superior to Series 1 in character development and story line and includes 7 full (minus the 10 minutes) episodes to the screen. They're all good to very good and the editing is generally tasteful and not germain to the story line, though I could do without the obsequious PBS host sneering his way through the intos. While still not at the exalted level of the Morse series, Lewis shows promise and provides good entertainment and some nice Morse recollections to boot.

The long running Inspector Morse series was not only a critical success but became a pop icon. So it is tempting to view the upstart Inspector Lewis series as an entertaining spin-off unlikely to equal the excellence of the original. I have viewed series one and two and like how the relationship between Lewis and his Sargeant Hathaway is being slowly developed with each episode revealing a bit more. The Morse series settled the Morse/Lewis relationship in just the first few episodes then settled into the fondly remembered abuse and affection, supporting and conflicting relationship. Because the relationship was settled so quickly,after the first few morse episodes, the viewer can watch the Morse episodes out of sequence and lose nothing. The Lewis episodes should be watched in sequence to get the full effect of the series. The Lewis episodes are more complex in that multiple nastiness in being perpetrated by multiple characters in each episode. In the first two series, I thought every episode was as entertaining as the best Morse episode. Don't be put off by Morse snobs. Give this series a try. I beleive it is actually better than the Morse series.

Inspector Lewis 2 is even better than Inspector Lewis 1 (the pilot plus a couple of episodes) I didn't know if I would like Lewis alone in his own show after the death of the wonderful British actor John Thal, but they've kept the same production values and Lewis along with his new partner make an interesting team. If you like British television, you'll most likely enjoy Inspercto Lewis. Check out his sidekick Hathaway, he's quite different from Lewis and the two make a great pair.

Put off buying Series 2 due to the comments. Finally decided to give it a try and it's excellent. The stories are fascinating, well written and it was fun seeing Laurence Fox's dad, James Fox, in one of the episodes. You also find out who was driving the car that killed Inspector Lewis' wife, Valerie, in one of the episodes. It gives Robbie Lewis some closure. Highly recommend Series 2.

As a fan of the Morse series, I expected Inspector Lewis to be a derivative imitation of the Morse stories. I was wrong. The settings are the same, the acting is just as good, but Lewis' character is in some ways more interesting than Morse's. At least he's more upbeat. I am working my way through the Morse series again, and am struck by how depressed he seemed and how depressing the stories were. Lewis is a different man, and despite the loss of his wife, he has a more positive outlook. His humanity is closer to the surface than in Morse's case. All in all, a fine series on it's own, even without having seen the original Morse shows.

Now we have all 7 Seasons and look forward to the final 8th season. We watch the entire series about twice a year! Subtitles really help us decipher some of the dialog we have difficulty with. We have enjoyed Inspector Morse, Inspector Lewis and Endeavour immensely and are very pleased that Amazon has such a fine British DVD selection!

The series 2 dvds are every bit as good as the first season. I think it took a few tries to get this series going, and the improvement in series 2 is obvious. We have already watched series 6, and the improvement seems to carry through all of the series. Time will tell as we progress through them. Overall, they're a lot more understandable than the inspector Morse series.

Don't miss this series. If you liked the Inspector Morse series set in Oxford, this, in many ways, is even better. The scripts are interesting, the relationship between Lewis and his junior is many-faceted and complex, the camera work is well done and the stories take far more advantage of the Oxford setting than did the Morse series. I own or have seen most of the British mystery productions and this ranks with the best.