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Ron Miller's DARK CORRIDORS VOL. 9, No. 23 |
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 Laurence Fox, left, as D.S. Hathaway, brilliant sidekick to Inspector Lewis (Kevin Whately), right. |
'Lewis' starts his series
in Morse's footsteps
of TheColumnists.com
Last year PBS' "Mystery!" series brought us a one-shot pilot called "Inspector Lewis," which returned actor Kevin Whately to the role of Robbie Lewis, who had served for so many seasons as the sidekick to the late Inspector Morse.
That pilot was so well-received in both America and the U.K. that Whatley now has his own series called "Inspector Lewis," which begins a three-story run on PBS Sunday, June 22.
These are all original mysteries that simply use the character created by Colin Dexter in his novels about Inspector Morse. If you recall from the pilot episode, Lewis finally was promoted to the rank of inspector to fill the gap created by the death of Morse (and actor John Thaw, who played him). Following in Morse's footsteps, Lewis now works the tougher homicide cases that occur in his jurisdiction, the Thames Valley district, which includes Oxford and its world-famed university.
Lewis is a fascinating character in these two-hour movie-length episodes because he's not only trying to settle into the role of lead investigator after years as a subordinate, but is also coping with many changes in his private life, including the death of his wife and the loss of his children, who are now grown up and living on their own.
As I pointed out in my review of the pilot, Lewis finds himself morphing into his own spinoff version of Morse. He used to disdain the frequent stops at pubs that Morse relished, but now has discovered he needs a glass or two from time to time. He's also showing a distinct interest in some women he meets in his line of work, something he never did when he was a happily married family man.
Morse always had a certain respect for Lewis, even though he seldom let Lewis see it. That respect was well-deserved because we now find Lewis has developed into a first-rate detective, no doubt from his close observation of Morse over so many years. And, like Morse, Lewis can be a little gruff to his own new subordinate, D. S. Hathaway (Laurence Fox), a bright and business-like younger man whose knowledge of everything from Latin to Shakespeare seems to be so deep that it boggles Lewis' mind.
In the three new episodes--"Whom the Gods Would Destroy" (June 22); "Old School Ties" (June 29 ) and "Expiation" (July 6)--we get a good chance to study Lewis closely. The first thing you have to notice is that his self-confidence has grown exponentially since his sidekick days and he speaks his own mind much more often than he ever did. This doesn't always work for him because he seems frequently to be on the wrong side of his bureaucratic female boss at the Thames Valley CID. Morse would be proud of Lewis, who is beginning to show the strain of leadership as the lines in his face grow deeper and the sacks under his eyes larger.
In "Old School Ties," Lewis is assigned to more or less "babysit" a controversial author with a prison record who has received death threats. He grumbles as nastily as Morse would have, saying this guy is, "Everything I hate--a celebrity criminal!"
In "Expiation," my favorite of the three, Lewis is all upset because he's been ordered to speak to the public on behalf of the force. Lewis hates being up in front of a crowd, but his boss reminds him these things are required of detective inspectors and he'd better get used to it.
Yes, the ghost of Morse seems to linger behind any number of scenes, but I say much of the fun here is seeing how the former Sergeant Lewis behaves when he has to do something Morse used to do.
It's obvious that Rebecca Eaton, executive producer of "Mystery!" is anxious to keep as many really familiar mystery shows on her lineup, now that PBS has changed the show's title--it's now called "Masterpiece Mystery"--and brought in a new program host--Alan Cumming, the Scottish actor best known in America for playing the evil "Nightcrawler" in the feature film "X2: X Men United"--to replace Diana Rigg, who handled the job ever since Vincent Price died. I'm sure she felt the show's loyal viewers would not want all their favorite detectives to go away, too.
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...new "Mystery!" host on PBS |
"Inspector Morse" was one of the most popular series in the long history of "Mystery!" and having his old No. 2 man take over the show was a brilliant idea. "Inspector Lewis" is a very good mystery show with the same rich look as the old Morse episodes and a likeable star in Kevin Whately.
Two of the other three mystery programs we'll be seeing this summer also are well-established hits: "Foyle's War," which will play its final episodes this summer, and "The Inspector Lynley Mysteries," based on the characters created by best-selling author Elizabeth George. Still in the wings, waiting to return next season, is David Suchet as Hercule Poirot, finally returning to PBS after an absence of many years.
Meanwhile, it's great to have Kevin Whately's "Inspector Lewis" back again to launch the new season of "Mystery!" no matter what they call it.
©2008 by Ron Miller. The photos are courtesy of PBS and WGBH Boston. This column first posted June 9, 2008.
Ron
Miller is a former nationally syndicated television columnist
and the author of "Mystery! A Celebration," the official
companion book to PBS' "Mystery!" series. He currently
writes about television mysteries for MYSTERY SCENE magazine.
You can comment on this column online. Please address your message to either "The Editors" or Ron Miller. To send an email, click here and don't forget to mention Ron's name: talkback@thecolumnists.com
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