Mystery!: Inspector Lewis

This show is extremely well-written and should not be missed by any fan of Morse. I put off watching this for a month because I thought it would be depressing - Morse dead, Inspector Lewis widowed, and now he's been promoted. Would he be turned into a brooding sort of person, or perhaps another Morse? Would the sidekick take on the personality of Lewis? Would they bumble along without leadership? Would it be a sad farce of the Morse series?Well, not to worry - it is WONDERFUL. They were true to the original characters, with a couple of new ones added that bring forth all sorts of future possibilities. The sidekick is absolutely perfect - intriguing, intelligent, subtle, and with a very understated but devastating wit. As for Lewis, even though he's mourning his departed wife, he never strays from the fundamentally optimistic character that we know and love. He's older, more mature, still wounded, but not bitter.The subtle references to Morse are delightful: the anonymuosly funded "Endeavor" scholarship, the comment about no one knowing the first name of Morse (ah, but Robbie Lewis actually does, and so do you, if you've watched the one Morse episode where Lewis overheard Morse reveal it), the old crossword filled in by Morse with cryptic comments, the references to Hamlet, the ring of stain from a Morse beer glass, and the sidekick banging on the window of Lewis' house to awaken him. The mystery part is well up to the Morse standard; the characters are very three-dimensional; and the scenery is as gorgeous as ever.I hope they make more like this one, and I hope they keep the same great combination of writers, actors, and all the rest. You can really tell that this is a winning team, right out of the gate.

Kevin Whately, formerly of the "Inspector Morse" series, returns to Oxford as Inspector Robbie Lewis, just back from a tour in the British Virgin Islands and still mourning the death of his wife in a hit and run incident, in the pilot episode of "Inspector Lewis". This Brit mystery is now into its second season but the pilot sets the tone for a highly enjoyable show.Lewis is just off the plane and still in a colorful islands shirt when he is pulled into the investigation of the murder of an American student. Paired off with young Detective Sergeant James Hathaway (Laurence Fox), Lewis tracks the clues to another student, heir to an automobile family with far too many secrets. As the bodies stack up, Lewis is under the additional pressure of avoiding an unwanted school-house assignment from his new and skeptical boss, Chief Superintendent Jean Innocent.Lewis and Hathaway will solve the case through a combination of high tech and old-fashioned sleuthing, with an intriguing assist, a clue left by Lewis' mentor Inspector Morse. In the process, the rough and ready Lewis will begin to build a dynamic partnership with the well-educated Hathaway, a former seminarian. "Inspector Lewis: The Pilot" is very highly recommended to fans of Masterpiece Mystery and the Inspector Lewis series.

I would like to give this series a chance before I decide what I think of it. I was never that impressed with Inspector Morris (sorry!) but I kinda got into this. Here's my problem: There were 4 episodes in the 1st season and only the 1st episode was released in the U.S. which hardly gives it a fair chance. Release the full season, or, really go out on a limb and release the 2nd season too. "Inspector Morris" had 33 episodes is it asking too much to see a meager 4 of "Inspector Lewis"?

I am a British television police mystery genre junkie. One of the most legendary was the "Inspector Morse" series starring the late, great John Thaw. Morse (remember no first name) was the Oxford educated Detective Chief Inspector who did not fit nicely into the workaday world of policing. His intellectual approach to crime solution and love of good ale and beer did not always set well with his superiors. Morse could be compared to Don Quixote...tilting, in his idealistic way, at the windmills of crime in Oxford. Enter Detective Sergeant Lewis (played impeccably by Kevin Whatley) the working class, ethical family man who was often the foil (Sancho Panza) for the single, unlucky at love, Morse. Sadly, Morse dies and Lewis is promoted to Inspector. The subject of my comments is the production entitled "Inspector Lewis," where the protaganist is joined returning to the Thames Valley Police (responsible for policing Oxford) from an overseas posting. In my opinion, this production does portray the reality of policing. Inspector Lewis is not a super sleuth, but a fallible police officer undertaking a difficult investigation. Added to this is the political meddling of superior officers with their own agenda...how real. Kevin Whatley is a fine British actor portraying a likeable copper. He is again paired up with an OxBridge type to assist him with his inquiries. I wish more "Inspector Lewis" episodes were forthcoming.