Light On Dark Water

Inspector Lewis: Series VI

I just watched the first of a new Inspector Lewis series on PBS. Lewis, as you may know, was Chief Inspector Morse's sergeant in the old series based on the Colin Dexter novels. That much-loved series having ended some years ago, and John Thaw, the actor who played Morse, having died, the milieu has been recreated with Lewis, as played by Kevin Whatley, now holding the rank of inspector. 

The new episode, Down Among the Fearful, is quite good: well plotted, well acted, and engaging some series questions about belief and skepticism. I don't think it dealt with those questions all that well, but it was interesting, at least. Lewis's sergeant, Hathaway, is supposed to be a former seminarian–presumably Anglican, but it isn't clear–and is made to be at least a question-raiser for the religious view, although I have not seen any evidence that he has any very coherent belief. Still, like I said, interesting. 

I believe these will be available online at some point. And you might be able to catch the broadcast sometime in the next day or two, as they usually run them two or three times, often in the wee hours. Right now there are a few episodes from last season, and a preview of this season, available here. 

Maclin Horton

9 responses to “Inspector Lewis: Series VI”

  1. Rob G

    Mac, have you watched ‘Endeavour’ yet, the one with Morse as a young police inspector just starting out? It’s very good — lots of nods to the original Morse series, and very much in the same spirit, without falling at all into pastiche.
    I’m almost through watching the entire Morse series in order. I think I’ve got 3 left. I started in 2006 and have been watching about 4 a year. I saw most of them when they originally aired, but I missed a few, and in any case it’s been a dozen years since the last one was shown.

    Reply
  2. Mac

    Is there more than one Endeavour episode? I saw the first one and thought it was good, but have not seen the local PBS station airing any others, although I had read there were going to be more.
    That comes out to 30 or so Morse episodes. I didn’t realize there were so many. I don’t think I’ve seen one since the series ended. I’ll keep that in mind for times (fairly frequent) when I want to watch something good but not overly demanding.

    Reply
  3. Rob G

    Yes, there were 30-something Morse episodes. Don’t know the exact number.
    There have been some more Endeavour’s but I don’t think they’ve aired over here yet.
    I’ve seen several of the Lewis’s but they’ve been spotty. The one you mention sounds good, though.

    Reply
  4. Mac

    I like Lewis and Hathaway, the characters, and the other regulars, but the miscellaneous characters that enter and leave from one episode to the next are often a very distasteful lot–apart from the fact that one of them is a murderer, that is. It is a highly unflattering picture of Oxford, especially those associated directly with the university. I don’t remember feeling that way about the Morse stories, but then as noted it’s been many years since I saw one.

    Reply
  5. Rob G

    Off-subject, but I just saw that ‘To The Wonder’ comes out on DVD on Aug. 6.
    I’ve never noticed that about the Morse series. Seems like the Oxford people are pretty much a mixed bag.

    Reply
  6. Mac

    I wonder if it’s a change in the times. I think academic life and the culture in general have taken a nastier turn. Or maybe it’s nothing to do with the reality, just the way these particular writers work, but it really is kind of striking: the dons (or whatever the right generic term is) and students both seem to have a sort of cold ruthless competitive/careerist streak. And of course the students have the standard “hookup culture” personal lives, and are either successful and hard or unsuccessful and messed up.

    Reply
  7. Art Deco

    Ditto.
    I generally enjoy these imported detective serials, the various attempts to adapt Sherlock Holmes excepted. Kevin Whately and Laurence Fox have elected not to continue, so the series is concluded. I think lately the writers have been running on fumes. Nearly all detective serials are sociological nonsense, but, speaking impressionistically, I would say Lewis has incorporated resolutions that are increasingly outlandish as well as abandoning secondary plotlines in midstream.
    You are right about the portrayal of both students and faculty.

    Reply
  8. Art Deco

    They have also over the course of the series had trouble developing the secondary characters. They never attempted to do this IIRC with the Morse series.

    Reply
  9. Mac

    You didn’t like the Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes series of some years ago (1980s or early 90s, I guess)? I thought it was very fine. I don’t think JB’s Holmes will ever be surpassed.
    I was thinking, as I wrote the 2:07 yesterday comment, that there really aren’t very many regular secondary characters. There’s the pathologist, and the chief, and offhand I can’t think of any others. I would have agreed with your assessment that the series has declined until this most recent episode.
    I ran across something yesterday that said the series might be ending, but that the decision hadn’t been made. Didn’t notice the date, though, so maybe it wasn’t current news.

    Reply

Leave a comment

Instagram / TikTok / X

Designed with WordPress