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Lewis - Series 1 [2006] | ![Lewis - Series 1 [2006]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51NtfNvV8gL._SL160_.jpg)
 enlarge | Director: Bill Anderson (iii)
Actors: Kevin Whately, Sophie Winkleman, Colin Starkey, Charlie Cox, Jemma Redgrave
Studio: itv DVD
Category: DVD
List Price: £24.99
Buy New: £11.98
You Save: £13.01 (52%)
New (6) from £11.98
Rating:  19 reviews
Format: Box Set, Pal
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
Region: 2
Number Of Discs: 4
Running Time: 372 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.4 x 1.3
EAN: 5037115211330
ASIN: B000EES15S
Theatrical Release Date: January 29, 2006
Release Date: March 12, 2007
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk Review
It's taken a long time for Kevin Whately to take centre stage in a detective drama, but Lewis proves it's been time well spent. Lewis, of course, was previously the sidekick to Inspector Morse, and that raised fair suspicions that this spin-off drama was a fairly unnecessary cash-in of sorts. But those suspicions have proven unfounded, and Lewis has emerged as one of the best new programmes to hit ITV in recent years.The format's not moved on a great deal since the heights of Inspector Morse, but in this case, that's no bad thing. The episodes in this set on the whole build slowly, and build up intelligently and with diligence. Occasionally there are moments where the pace slips a little too much, but that's more than overcome by the fact that the drama on offer here is so absorbing. It's all anchored, of course, by Whately's excellent portrayal of the lead character. Eminently watchable, and clearly wearing the clothes of a character that he knows completely, it's a smashing performance, and with the aid of an excellent supporting cast, Lewis develops into a real treat. Is it better than Morse? Well, that's far too early too call. But on this basis of this debut, Lewis certainly has the potential for as enduring a legacy. --Jon Foster
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| Customer Reviews:
 Unbelievably, lives up to its legacy April 9, 2007
David Bryan (Germany/Oxfordshire)
64 out of 66 found this review helpful
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.
 The King is Dead ..... Long Live the Usurper March 24, 2007
Terry Smith (Burntwood England)
45 out of 46 found this review helpful
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
Not quite Morse. March 15, 2007
woody_tng (Chelmsford, Essex)
27 out of 32 found this review helpful
This spin off of Inspector Morse was always going to be a possibility following the success of yhe late John Thaw's character. The producers have tried to make this series stand up on its own. The result is very good. The whole Morse/Lewis relationship has been reversed, with the Morse style character actualy answering to Lewis. This makes the whole series very enjoyable and I highly recomend it. The only reason I have marked it down a star is it is trying to live up to Morse, and I can't see that happening.
"People do just die, every day, for no good reason." June 29, 2007
Mary Whipple (New England)
27 out of 28 found this review helpful
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
An intelligent, interesting and well acted mystery with a fine performance by Kevin Whately as Inspector Lewis July 10, 2007
C. O. DeRiemer (San Antonio, Texas, USA)
18 out of 19 found this review helpful
"People do just die, every day, for no good reason. It's never fair," says Inspector Robert Lewis (Kevin Whately) to a young man whose father was killed in a car accident five years previously. Lewis had been Inspector's Morse's long-time sergeant. Morse died, Lewis passed his exams and himself became a police inspector. Then two years ago his wife was killed in a London hit-and-run. Lewis left Oxford and took a police post in the British Virgin Islands. Now he's returned, unhappy and sad to the bone. Almost by accident he picks up a murder case when the inspector who was to be in charge had to prepare to give testimony.
Regan Peverill was a brilliant mathematics student at Oxford. She was taking part in a research project on sleep disorders. One night, as she lay asleep hooked up to recorders and monitors in a small lab room at the research center, someone walked in and shot her in the neck. It turns out that Regan was not only brilliant and beautiful, but arrogant, heartless and who loved power plays involving others. As Lewis and the sergeant who has been temporarily assigned to him, James Hathaway (Lawrence Fox), try to puzzle out motives, they begin to encounter not only several suspects, but several more murders. At the heart of the mystery is not just Regan's activities, but the wealthy Griffon family, of Griffon Cars fame. There's young Danny Griffon (Charlie Cox), another Oxford student and math whiz who was a friend of Regan but who turns out not to be as brilliant as she was; Danny's mother, Trudi Griffon (Gemma Redgrave) and his late father's brother, Rex (Jack Ellis), who manages Griffon Cars. They all live together in the huge family mansion together with the company's financial advisor, Tom Pollack, and Pollack's daughter, who is almost Danny's age and thinks she loves him. It was Danny's father who died in that car crash five years ago. As his heir, Danny will take a controlling interest in Griffon Cars when he reaches 21. His uncle, who Danny believes is sleeping with his mother and killed his father, will be out. It's not long before people begin to die.
The wonderful thing about a well-constructed mystery is that complicated motives and involved relationships are fun to follow if we pay attention. Here we have a number of characters with possible motives that range from academic jealousy, intimate and buried personal dealings, love and imagined love, inheritances, primogeniture and crucial high-level business deals. We may not know what's going on -- it is, after all, a mystery -- but we can be surprised and feel clever along with Inspector Lewis and Sergeant Hathaway as they put the pieces together. There are no irritatingly false red herrings, no attempt to create artificial acting moments to demonstrate a character's angst, and no melodramatic moments on the mean streets. Inspector Lewis, the program, is a worthy successor to the intelligence and style of the Inspector Morse series. The story is satisfying and intricate. In a nice bit of homage, what seems like an indecipherable crossword clue Morse scribbled down, after encountering the family shortly before he died, turns out to hold the key. "It's typical bloody Morse," Lewis says with exasperation. "Why couldn't he just say what he meant!"
Kevin Whately was 36 when he appeared as Sergeant Lewis in the first Inspector Morse episode. Now, he's 56. He not only is a strong, straight-forward actor, but his face has aged into that well-worn, tired look that commands respect. As Hathaway, Lawrence Fox makes a great pairing with Whately. Fox is a tall, lanky 28-year-old man who knows what he's doing, both for his character and as an actor. He's the son of James Fox and nephew of Edward Fox. The two actors create interesting and likable characters. They work well together, especially as we see Lewis trying to deal with his anger over his wife's death and Hathaway, respectful, smart and sympathetic, but who is not willing to be a doormat for Lewis' emotional struggles. At one point, when Lewis has barked back once too often at him, Hathaway simply says, "It's not my fault your wife died, sir," and then goes back to discussing the case.
The DVD picture is excellent. The program runs 95 minutes. There are no significant extras. With luck, we'll be seeing more of Inspector Lewis and Sergeant Hathaway. Two more of the mysteries have been filmed.
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