For anyone who is a mystery buff, Masterpiece: Inspector Lewis Season 5 is for you. The plot lines are intriguing and sophisticated, and the ongoing plot involved with the recurring characters of Lewis, Dr. Laura Hobson, and Hathaway continues to engage and delight the viewer. The subtle development of romance between Lewis and the Doc unfolds with a very British sense of reserve, while titillating the viewer's curiosity on just how far things will develop. Morse fans will remember that all of Morse's love interests ended up dead or disappeared! Will Robbie and Laura experience the same fate?
One cannot watch Lewis without considering how Morse's mentorship continues to serve Lewis well. Morse would be proud of what an accomplished observer and analyst of human motivation and behavior that Lewis has become.
It is a delight to follow the hard work and keen intelligence of both Lewis and Hathaway as they work to solve the case, all the while traipsing through the lush backdrop of Oxford. Hathaway, superbly played by Laurence Fox, and Lewis, consummately played by Kevin Whately, form a team of two very different, but sharply intelligent characters, who complement one another's strengths while helping each other grapple with the bigger questions of life. Season 5 of Inspector Lewis is an engaging and thoroughly enjoyable experience.

I didn't realize how many of these I had missed. When I back tracked and started from the beginning I totally love this show. I liked Inspector Lewis from the Morse series (in books and shows) and he and Hathaway are a perfect pair, perfectly portrayed. The interplay between the two of them as their partnership develops and grows is educational and entertaining. Lewis is much more open minded than Morse, but much sharper and less easily confused than he was as Morse's sergeant. James Hathaway provides the education his and their bosses pushing of the relationship between Lewis and Laura is fun.
Hathaway has helped Lewis put to rest the unresolved mystery of his wife's hit and run death. And Lewis is seeking to understand his partner's career choice from priest to policeman. And as Lewis tells him "together they make a decent detective." One of my favorite of the PBS mysteries.

If you like British mysteries, you will like this. Lewis is someone this family has known for many years. We have watched since he became Morse's sidekick. This feeling of "relaltionship" adds to the enjoyment of a good mystery well told and well acted. We enjoy the fact that you do not catch all the clues the first time you watch. It seems that no matter how many times I watch an episode, I still spot a "clue" this time. That is what I call "a good mystery". The fact that each episode grabs attention, and that it entertains is just frosting on the cake.

Season five (5) of the PBS Masterpiece Mystery series "Inspector Lewis" contains four (4) superbly written, acted and directed episodes on two (2) discs. All four (4) episodes kept me trying to unsuccessfully guess who done it until the end of each episode. The writers certainly kept me "in the dark" until all was revealed. There was no "spoon feeding" of clues just intricate murder mysteries that one has to remain keenly alert to ascertain the clues that are given. Of course the acting by all involved is great.

Kevin Whately, as Detective Lewis and Lawrence Fox, as Detective James Hathaway are superb as a Murder investigative team--they have certainly melded into a great team. Lewis is a little "world weary" having to try to adapt to the modern technology of police work (plus dealing with the lost of his wife and suffering the fact that his daughter no longer "needs" him). He's gently nudged into the 21st century ways of doing police work by super smart and extremely aware of all but still very mysterious Hathaway. They are so good together--Morse would be proud.

Season five (5) of "Inspector Lewis" is filled with good murder mysteries involving a baby sitter, "avant-garde" artists, "Goth" characters, the digging up of a freshly buried corpse in a beautiful garden, internet dating, strangulation of a controversial American academic involving interracial love, student-professor affairs (my favorite episode), etc. Believe me all of the episodes kept me "on the edge of my seat" wondering "who done it".

The first three of the Season 5 episodes—"The Soul of Genius," "Generation of Vipers," and "Fearful Symmetry"—are so good they rank among my all-time "LEWIS" favorites. Each one stands alone as a top-notch mystery/suspense film. The writing for each is excellent; the acting and direction, superb. Each opens another window into the soul of Sgt. Hathaway. And together they contain some of the most vivid and unforgettable images and characters in the entire "LEWIS" saga.

"The Indelible Stain," on the other hand, is a weak episode. The dialogue is amateurishly clumsy in several spots. Quite un-"LEWIS"-like. Nevertheless, don't rusticate the poor sod. Watch "The Indelible Stain" and every other episode of this great show. "LEWIS" has multiple ongoing story arcs, some going all the way back to the Pilot, and at least two of them are covered in this episode. Moreover, even a dodgy "LEWIS" is pretty good telly. And so when Mrs. Bookman and I re-watch all of "LEWIS" in chronological order, we re-watch "The Indelible Stain" in its place in the chronology.

On the strength of the first three episodes I happily give Season 5 all 5 stars.

I discovered this show by accident when the television was playing and I was not in the room and I heard the by-play between two interesting men-Kevin Whately and Laurence Fox,I now know. It was such wonderful dialogue, I realized I should at least watch the end of the episode and then I fell in love with Laurence Fox's voice-too funny I know. I love the dynamic of the seasoned working class professional detective and his younger more academic and spiritually minded sergeant. I realized as I watched season after season what I must have missed because I had never seen Inspector Morse-thank goodness for HULU! Now, I am getting the full picture of Robbie Lewis and with Masterpiece's Endeavor, a fuller picture of Morse. All in all, the Lewis series is a great addition to the canon of well-thought out mystery procedurals that I have come to love as my go-to television! The series has ended, but each episode bears repeat viewings as there is always something new to be discovered.

Called Lewis series 6 in the UK I bought the British DVD set last summer and just got the Blu-ray to have the better picture. If past experience means anything "original UK edition" means the buyer gets the same content the British viewer/buyer got with very little PBS intro stuff added on- I prefer to see original style credits and content.
The stories, as always, are good but I think I prefer # 1 " The soul of Genius" over the others. With any luck all of Lewis will eventually find it's way to Blu ray. I hope to see more in the years to come too.

Not that most people will be interested but a couple of guest stars; Ciaran McMenamin ( final season of Primeval) was in # 3 "Fearful Symmetry" , and an almost unrecognizable David Soul ( when have you seen him in anything ?) was in # 4 "The Indelible Stain". Maybe all of the guest stars are well known in Britain, I recognize a face/ name from time to time in the stories, but I like to see someone more familiar too.

Excellently written and performed, this series is absorbing and entertaining. My favorite character, probably since I'm in the same career field, is Dr. Laura Hobson, played with just the right non-stereotypical and professional tone by Clare Holman. I loved Morse so much on PBS back in the 80's, that it was a delightful surprise to find that this sequel was equally enjoyable and instructive through the many erudite references to literature and arts that often require pausing to look up on the internet. My only criticism is the common one for all TV portrayals of pathologists: they really need to stop having Dr. Holman speculate so much at the scene, especially about the time of death which never can be narrowed down to "sometime between 2 and 4 am," (unless the corpse was last seen alive on CCTV at 2 and found dead at 4), before she's even done the autopsy, and then have all the results, including DNA, tox, and trace analyses, ready to hand over to Robbie the next day! I was too busy when the series was first broadcast to catch it on PBS, but thanks to Amazon Prime and streaming it is easy to binge-watch now for free with my membership when I have a moment to sit down and put my feet up. Just delicious!