Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)The long overdue US success that Ian McShane enjoyed as Al Swearengen in the HBO series Deadwood may be responsible for the equally long overdue release of Lovejoy, the superb British series seen on A & E back in the early 1990s, on DVD. In Deadwood, McShane took his penchant for playing lovable rogues and darkened his portrayal by several orders of magnitude, while simultaneously investing a three-syllable expletive with an almost Shakespearean eloquence. But the seeds of that brilliant performance can be found here, in a charming, slightly corrupt but never mean character, whose talents as a 'divvy' or diviner of the true identity and worth of obscure antiques, makes him highly sought after by those on both sides of the law who are 'collectors' of the objects of Lovejoy's obsession.
What makes the Lovejoy character so interesting is his authentic love for things old and beautiful. His passionate concern is with their true value and not their mere monetary worth. It is only when he engages in a rare bit of forgery now and then, of which he is also a master, that monetary considerations are paramount. Of course, Lovejoy invariably winds up giving the proceeds to some needy soul, one usually fleeced by the more nefarious characters who populate the darker realms of the antiques world, including the obnoxious Charlie Gimbert (Malcolm Tierney), an unscrupulous antiques dealer who is the anti-Lovejoy. Lovejoy's unrequited love for Lady Jane (Phyllis Logan), his fiercely loyal friendship with his gone-to-seed partner, the usually tipsy Tinker (Dudley Sutton), his tolerance for his resentful apprentice Eric (Chris Jury), provide the skeletal structure around which numerous clever and well-written scripts are constructed.
The show hits its stride in the second season, first broadcast in 1991, five years after the 1986 premiere of the truncated (10 episode) first season. That delay was caused by lengthy contractual difficulties. The twelve 1991 episodes include:
1) Just Desserts
2) The Italian Venus
3) Bin Diving
4) Montezuma's Revenge
5) Who Dares, Sings
6) One Born Every Minute
7) National Wealth
8) Sugar and Spice
9) Raise the Hispanic
10) Lily's Pearls
11) Riding in Rollers
12) The Black Virgin of Vladimir (the last two a two hour episode)
This is a superbly entertaining and intelligently written television show. If mysteries leavened with light comedy, as well as a healthy dose of the fascinating world of antiques and art, interest you, then you will love this show. Most strongly recommended.
Mike Birman
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LOVEJOY:COMP SSN2 - DVD Movie
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