User Reviews

I noticed that the previous reviews have talked about Laurence Fox's teeth possibly contributing to his not being understood. I admit, I'm usually the first one to have problems with some British accents. My sister lived in England and often has to translate for me. However, I admit I haven't had a problem with Fox.

"Old School Ties" is the second episode in the Inspector Lewis series. I enjoyed it and I loved all the shots of Oxford. In this case, DE Lewis and partner Hathaway are assigned to guard a criminal turned author, Nicky Turnbull (Owen Teale). One of the young women (Frances Albery) who actually arranged for Turnbull to speak at Oxford is killed, and this is followed by another murder. And Lewis reconnects with a woman he knew years earlier (Gina McKee).

It's a witty script - in the beginning, a literature professor who is the object of school tabloid journalism looks at a headline and says, "I suppose I should be glad they got the apostrophe in the right place." I find the Inspector Lewis series to have intriguing stories that one needs to pay attention to, which is a nice exercise for the mind.

Hearing about 'Lewis' for the first time when it first started, there was a big touch of excitement seeing as 'Inspector Morse' was and still is one of my favourites but also a little intrepidation, wondering whether the series would be as good. The good news is, like the prequel series 'Endeavour', 'Lewis' is every bit as good as 'Inspector Morse' and stands very well on its own two feet as a detective mystery and show in general.

"Old School Ties" is admittedly not as good as "Whom the Gods Would Destroy". It is a long way from a bad episode, from personal opinion, and isn't an indication of a decline in quality or the show going downhill. Innocent is still not doing much for me and isn't a well written or interesting character, not a good use of Rebecca Front's talents. Kind of agree that the story plods in places and lacks tightness.

However, the acting is fine, anchored by Kevin Whately and Laurence Fox. Whately is again very good and carries the episode with aplomb, even if Lewis becomes better developed later. Fox is a breath of fresh air in a great contrasting role that reminds one of a more intelligent Lewis in his younger days and his sparkling sparring chemistry with Whately is a big part of the episode's, and show's, appeal. Have to strongly disagree about criticisms of his diction, voice and acting. Clare Holman is reliably strong as well.

As to be expected, the production values in "Old School Ties" are of very high quality. It's beautifully shot, and Oxford not only looks exquisite but is like a supporting character in itself. Barrington Pheloung returns as composer, and does a first-rate job. The theme tune, while not as iconic or quite as clever as Morse's, is very pleasant to listen to, the episode is charmingly and hauntingly scored and the use of pre-existing music is very well-incorporated.

Much of the writing is smart and thoughtful, some lovely droll exchanges with Lewis and Hathaway, some emotional impact and a real effort to tie up everything. The story starts off promisingly, and apart from some pacing issues it mostly compels.

In conclusion, solid episode if not one of the best Lewis episodes. 8/10 Bethany Cox

I have to admit I enjoyed this episode probably more than I should have. Nicky was funny as heck to me and actually a little likeable . But I have to admit I am enjoying this series (after hesitating to pay the $7/month) mostly due to Hathaway. He is so interesting to watch. From his long lanky frame, to his baritone voice and his unusual hobbies and odd past. I find him very intriguing. I hope we find out more about him.

Lewis and Hathaway are guarding a controversial ex-criminal-now-writer when a female student is murdered in the hotel room next to his. Soon after this the writer is murdered. The only suspect Lewis and Hathaway is the writer's wife. Turns out she went to school with Lewis.

A good, but not flawless, episode. The mystery is intriguing and has quite a few clever twists and turns.

However, some aspects of the plot are not that plausible, especially how the second murder was committed.

The other implausible aspect was casting Gina Mckee as someone who went to school with Lewis. He is clearly much older than her (and in real life there is a significant difference in age between Kevin Whately and Gina McKee - 13 years in fact). Not that I mind seeing Gina McKee in the cast!

These are great to watch with a cuppa on your own , though it did make me laugh when Lewis turns out to have been at school with a character played by Gina McKee, as he's 12 yrs older than her in the real world I somehow think not!. Never mind it didn't spoil it, I often think 'oh I've seen this I shan't bother' but it's always worth the effort as five minutes in you realise you never can remember the ending, makes a change from watching black and white films, though. It's a shame we don't very often get tv of this calibre anymore, endeavour aside. I wonder if all the actors have little or no character these days perhaps it's growing up in these anodyne times.

Old School Ties is a decent early episode, I wouldn't say it compares very favourably with other episodes in this and later series, but the food points outweigh the bad. On the plus side the story is good, it has lots of humour, and Owen Teale gives an excellent performance.

Lewis and Hathaway are as terrific as ever, this time it's Lewis who provides the laughs, frustrated by his case's celebrity Geordie status. Owen Teale was really convincing as a Geordie, you'd never believe he was a Welshman.

On the downside I thought the second half of the episode was a bit dull, I really struggled to understand they actions of the killer, I didn't find it the most engaging episode, it lacked some of the depth you get in most episodes.

A decent episode, but not a favourite, 6/10.

I can't believe this is one I hadn't seen. Laurence Fox is always fun to watch. He and Whatley make a great pair in any of these episodes. I'm gald I dug it up. It was a nice change of pace from tv fare for 2021. I don't think I can tire of this cast of decent people trying to solves a crime. And the humourous bits add to the pleasure of watching.

This starts out as a pretty interesting episode. Lewis and Partner are sent to babysit a convict turned author. The guy is quite a piece of work. Upon arrival, he is set on by a group of "journalists" who want to get inside his head. Any viewer would wonder what their motivations are. I guess they are a reckless bunch who are playing a dangerous game. The wife of the rocker/ex-con/literati is a former crush of Lewis's. When two death occur, this pack is revealed has having little moral standing. It is up to the detective duo to sort out a whole bunch of duplicity because straight answers are really hard to come by. The one thing that is bothering me is the lack of a kind of spark here. Endeavour was so involving. I don't have that sense here. I will let it go through its growing pains and not be too critical at this point.

I love this show. It Is rather plodding sometimes.However, it makes up for it in detail of the subject of the plot.I found this story quite interesting and enjoyable, with all the plot twists and guessing. All the actors are pleasing to the eye too. As for Laurence Fox, he seems to have some sort of problem with how he talks. After pondering on this, I think the problem is too many teeth packed into his mouth. If he were to remove the back tooth, last ones at the back of his mouth, upper and lower ones on each side, it would give his other teeth room to spread out, and the tightness would disappear. Then I am sure he would speak quite evenly and more under-standarbly.

"Old School Ties" took me 6 viewing attempts to get through. I switched streaming services and Midsomer Murders isn't available. The first Lewis episode "Whom the Gods Would Destroy" was marvelous. This episode the middle was so plodding you could fall asleep. Morse's Lewis didn't know which side of his bread to butter. Now we are to believe he's now a brilliant detective. I can live with that illogical jump if the episodes are great. I'll give it a few more episodes than ill jump ship. Keeping my fingers crossed this is the last series clunker with bad writing.

This episode was difficult to follow (for a murder mystery) because the writing here follows a theme raised in the plot: that books (such as novels) are obsolete and instead we are merely given information. In this episode there were very few occurrences we watched, and just endless talk. Very witty talk, no doubt, but sarcastic zingers work better in a sit com and not a murder mystery. Even a "functional illiterate" was given over to happy talk. The yakking became interminable. In fact, there was so much patter that I became nostalgic for the days of the old Inspector Morse, who said little, and when he did, he said it slowly. I've seen most of the Inspector Lewis series before, and I am grateful this episode was an aberration.