Lewis

               Also sometimes referred to as Inspector Lewis, I found the show Lewis on PBS one night.  I only saw a piece of one episode, but the storyline intrigued me enough (it was about Lewis’s sergeant) that I decided to give the show a try.               

                Detective Inspector Robert Lewis (Kevin Whately) is returning to England and the police force after being away following the hit and run death of his wife.  He must work with the very deadpan Detective Sergeant James Hathaway (Laurence Fox), as well as near constant references to his former boss, Detective Inspector Endeavour Morse (Lewis is a spinoff of the show Inspector Morse).  Working in Oxford, Lewis continuously encounters the educated elite who like to hold over him that they are extremely educated and he is not.  In fact, Lewis does not have much formal education at all, which does not bother him in the least.  The more that people try to hold this over his head, the more Lewis is proud of his lack of education.  It is who he is, and if there is any time where he does need the knowledge that those educated have, he’s able to turn to Hathaway.  Far more than once, Hathaway’s extensive knowledge has been there to clear up any misunderstandings.

                To be honest, there are a lot of misunderstandings.  That’s because very often many of the interviews and clues of the murder cases involve some sort of educational reference.  Usually it is either history or literature.  That is rarely the reason for the murder (or murders), though.  The motives behind those are much more human.         

                Solving the murders is not the only thing going on in Lewis’s life.  He must also deal with the unknown killer of his wife and his feelings for Dr. Laura Hobson (Clare Holman), the forensic pathologist.  Then there is Lewis’s odd friendship with Hathaway.  At first, I don’t think Lewis knows what to do with the man.  Not one to say much, Hathaway starts out as pretty much a mystery.  In many ways he stays that way too.  Even halfway through the series there are a lot of Hathaway’s secrets that have yet to be revealed.  One of the biggest ones is why he stopped his studies to be a priest.  These unknown things about Hathaway are a sharp contrast to Lewis, who for the most part is very open about his life.  Pretty much all you have to do is ask him.            

                It’s interesting to see that very quickly this show has become, in many ways, more Hathaway’s than Lewis’s.  Hathaway is the one with the great one-liners, and he says them with such a straight face.  His compassion and willingness to listen to those who need it is often featured, and we frequently see the protectiveness he has for Lewis himself.  Probably neither Lewis nor Hathaway would like to see Hathaway’s actions as being protective, but they are.  This is especially true when it comes to Dr. Hobson.  While Hathaway likes Dr. Hobson, he is concerned about their getting together.  He may say his concerns in a joking manner, but his eye is always on the two of them to see if things are truly going smoothly.             

                Since I’m only about halfway through the series, there are a bunch of episodes left for me to watch.  I am curious to see if there will be a leadup to another series.  Perhaps one involving Hathaway, just as what happened with Lewis after Inspector Morse.  The thing is, I don’t know how much time there was between the end of Inspector Morse and Lewis.  There may not have been a lead up to this spinoff at all.  That may happen this time as well.  Or maybe things with Lewis will end satisfactorily and there will never be a need for further stories.  I won’t know until I watch the other episodes.  Either way, I know that once I finish the series, I will miss these characters and how they are together.