Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #375 in DVD
• Released on: 2009-04-13
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 4
• Running time: 372 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
What could have been an ill-advised spin-off continues to excel as Lewis arrives at its third series. Firmly stepping out of the shadows of Inspector Morse, Kevin Whately as Inspector Lewis once more is solving murders and mysteries in Oxford. And again, he’s joined by Laurence Fox as DS Hathway, his partner in crime-solving.

And Lewis gives the pair some interesting scenarios to get their teeth into. There are four feature-length stories in total, and things get started when a Czech barmaid is discovered, having being slashed to death. There’s, as you’d expect, more to the crime than immediately meets the eye, and that convention continues in the following episode, where a student Shakespearian production abruptly ends after one of the cast is stabbed with a prop knife. We also get to meet, before the series ends, a rock star towards the end of his career, in what proves to be a terrific episode to close the series.

To reveal any more significant plot points of Lewis would be to spoil half the fun. What this third series retains though is the kind of diligent, well-produced drama that its predecessor was. And in Whately, it has a lead actor who studiously inhabits his role, and ensures that the name of Inspector Lewis is another to add to the British detective hall of fame. Very strong drama, and it’s just getting better. --Jon Foster

Synopsis
Kevin Whately stars as Oxford police's Inspector Lewis in this spin off of the hugely popular series Inspector Morse. Set five years after Morse's death, Lewis has returned from working in the British Virgin Isles to Oxford. This third series finds Lewis and his trusty sidekick D.S. Hathway (Laurence Fox) once again investigating mysterious murders in the idyllic surroundings of the University campus.

Customer Reviews

Whatelt & Fox - TV Gold
Series 3 of Lewis is an absolute joy - if you loved the first two series then I strongly urge you to buy this one.For me the real charm of the programme is in the developing relationship between Lewis and his sidekick Hathaway - Whately and Fox play it all to perfection and have become a brilliant double act. The setting is beautiful, the plots suitably convoluted, it is packed with well known British thesps and for those that care about such things Morse is even mentioned from time to time. It has very sad , angsty bits and some very funny moments too....sheer quality.

Whately and Fox: a dynamic duo
Series 3 of Lewis has all the quality production values of 1 and 2 but it is the partnership of Robbie Lewis and James Hathaway that makes this drama so special. Kevin Whately and Laurence Fox have fantastic chemistry and it is a pleasue to watch their relationship develop. I thoroughly enjoyed all the episodes, from the conflict and angst in Quality of Mercy to Joanna Lumley's turn as an old rock star in Counter Culture Blues. There are some very funny one-liners - particularly from Fox - and I defy anyone not to chuckle at the Status Quo joke. If Lewis becomes a victim of ITV's insane programme cull and we're deprived of a series 4, it will be a real crime.

The series goes from strength to strength
After the bizarre decision by STV not to show this season, I had no choice but to buy this dvd on the day it was released. It was well worth it. The series continues to become better and better the longer it runs (and I hope it does run for a while yet despite rumours to the contrary). The production values are high, the acting attracts our finest names, and even if I was initially unsure about Lewis's sidekick, the banter between them has now reached the stage of working like a dream.

There are four stories this time. Firstly, a barmaid dies in circumstances matching those in a novel, but all is not as it seems. Then, an actor playing Shylock in a production of Merchant of Venice gets killed, but before anyone can start wondering about whether he was the one who had the pound of flesh taken, other actors start dying. Thirdly, in a convoluted tale, a man is found murdered, but that man himself has a troubled past. Finally, Lewis investigates a rock band and a singer who was supposed to have died many years ago.

This series did mark some major changes, apparently, amongst the production staff, but nothing that appeared on screen would suggest that. All the tales are entertaining and perfect to lose yourself in for an hour and a half. My favourite is the final one with its jokier side that feels different to anything else they've tried so far. Long may Lewis continue to patrol Oxford.