Picture from Radio Times.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast:  Kevin Whately, Laurence Fox, Clare Holman, Rebecca Front, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Beatie Edney, Emily Joyce, Tuppence Middleton, Neil Stuke, Edwin Thomas, Dominic Mafham.

There is one sure fire way to tell that the schedulers at I.T.V. know that Christmas is over, out come the murder mystery programmes in their droves and whilst the likes of Midsomer Murders is good fare and excellent escapism, there is something worthy of spending quality time when it comes to the Oxford detective Lewis.

Back for its sixth series, Lewis has taken on the grand status that the nation felt for John Thaw’s Morse and it is therefore surprising to see the action moved into two parts. What the programme didn’t suffer from though was the sense of gravitas in which the stars of the show, notably the excellent Kevin Whatley and ever reliable Laurence Fox, are joined by some of the cream of British television. This due deference to the memory of John Thaw and Colin Dexter’s creation of Morse goes before the offshoot programme and with the likes of the splendid and unruffled Sanjeev Bhaskar, the elegant Emily Joyce and much underused Beatie Edney gracing the episode then at least the acting and story lines aren’t the ones slowly killing off the programmes integrity.

A mysterious death, the coy working relationship between Clare Holman’s pathologist and the dogged and sometimes world-weary detective, which always raises a smile, and the ghosts of Morse in the relationship between learned detective and his immensely more intelligent sergeant makes this a treat to watch. Throw in the incredible ways that the writers find to kill someone off and it is easy to see why it retains it malevolent charm.

It is a shame that I.T.V. have deemed it fit to split a quality programme, one of its flagship creations, into two different parts. Surely the beauty of dramas such as Lewis is that the viewer is allowed to be enthralled by the story line in one sitting, to see the conclusion and restoration of dramatic justice restored within one evening. By allowing the detective drama to be in two parts, it feels as though I.T.V. is letting this much loved series slowly disappear into the realms of its repeat channels and afternoon patronage, if so it is a sad and dismal way to treat the programme.

That aside, it is a welcome sight to see the dreaming spires of Oxford once more, even if it does put you off ever moving there in fear of becoming another victim.

Ian D. Hall