kathebaud "Lewis" Has become one of my favourite British dramas. The first 6 series have been very enjoyable. The plot, characters, ambiance, musical score, have been excellent and enjoyable.However, I believe that series 7 and 8 are not going to be as enjoyable, with dissonance and tension between the main protagonists becoming more obvious and overshadowing other aspects of the program. If the writers/producers/actors/the tea lady etc. want to end the program, just end it. Not explanations needed. On a high note. Leave us baying for the encore that never comes. Elvis or Lewis, has left the building.Alienating viewers from characters that have been developed for viewers to like/dislike/form a rapport with etc only to see the disintegration of their relationship with each other sounds like very unappealing viewing. I won't be watch series 7 & 8 for this reason. Very unimaginative way to deal with 25% of a series.

fastoutfield ...you'll like Lewis. It has the same virtues: excellent writing and production values, good stories, engaging characters portrayed by first-rate actors--and Oxford.I should note that I've only got as far as Series 3 to this point, so it's possible I'll change my mind later on, if the show doesn't maintain its quality. But Morse did, through more than 30 episodes of 90+ minutes each--so why shouldn't Lewis? Indeed it's at least possible that when all is said and done I might decide I like it even better than Morse, which I certainly didn't expect when I started watching the first episode of the first series.I add finally that my only access to this series is on DVD and I've bought the first seven series. I'll buy more if there are more. So I'm putting my money where my mouth is.

DreamOfDreamsForgotten Call me an Anglophile, I don't care--it's probably true. This is a program for dedicated Anglophiles and those aspiring to be one. (LOL) The continuing adventures of Detective Inspector Lewis and his trusted sidekick Detective Sergeant Hathaway stand out for the strength of production values, acting, writing, and direction that are credits to the Masterpiece: Mystery! series tradition here in the States and television anywhere. Unlike most reviewers, I've never seen the Inspector Morse series which gave this one its genesis, but be assured I will be checking those discs out on Netflix shortly. Just know that this series stands completely on its own and is without peer, at least in my experience. The principals all acquit themselves with increasing wit and flair as the series progresses, creating a palpable matrix of living relationships which provide the sort of ongoing back story that insists you return, like that finish at the end of a wee dram of single malt, for more. The cinematography (this is shot on film, not video), score (it is far too high quality to call it simply "music"), sharp pace of direction, and of course the acting, by both regulars and guests, is more than first-rate--it is better than we have any right to expect. Oxford is a very photogenic backdrop for the stories which manage rather niftily to send up the upper class snobbery of England at the same time that it celebrates the hallowed tradition of academia and culture with which it is inextricably entwined. The squarely middle-class education and perspective of the older Lewis is also projected against the Cambridge-educated Hathaway, a lapsed theologian who is at once intellectually on par with these Oxford denizens while yet at the same time apart, due to the inter-school rivalry as well as his own lineage, which we learn more of as the series progresses. The subtle windups Lewis and Hathaway deliver each other are to be savored, for they are the real mark of affection and respect each develops over time for the other.That each episode fills in certain intriguing details of our regulars' back stories at the same time it guides us, with red herrings aplenty, through the solution of some very puzzling cases is also part of the magic of Inspector Lewis. I find myself at moments ignoring the developments of certain cases, not because they are dull, but because I am so consumed by disclosure of personal details and the repercussions amongst series regulars. Their lives matter to us, greatly, and their relationships are not completely static.Never dull, frequently witty, and almost always a step ahead of us, Inspector Lewis is a series that entertains at all times, often plumbs surprising emotional depths, and occasionally achieves the elusive grace of art.

Rupert17 Lewis hits the spot for me. Great location shots of Oxford, typically unbelievably complicated plots where the destination seems less important than journey, and Kevin Whately's now rather world-weary Inspector Lewis trawling his way through police procedure to arrive at the right solution.I like Laurence Fox as Lewis' laconic and slightly acerbic assistant Hathaway. This is a working partnership not one of close camaraderie - and that works for me. At least in series one, the writers have refrained from throwing random romance in the way of Lewis - other series go a bit too far with distracting love interests - and this means our heroes can concentrate all their energies on cerebral outcomes rather than physical ones.All in all, a very competent and enjoyable series. 9/10