Wednesday, October 22, 2014

lovejoy's back for more antiques, crime and fun

Acorn Media has recently released Lovejoy, Series 2, and it is just as much fun as the first series. Based on the books by Jonathan Gash, Lovejoy stars Ian McShane as an antiques dealer who has an eye for authenticity — in antiques and women. The British series was originally filmed and aired in the late 1980s and early 1990s, with the A&E Network showing the series stateside in the 1990s. Fans of McShane and the series should be very happy that Lovejoy is finally available on DVD.


Lovejoy is a British mystery series, but the accent is more on character and story than whodunnit. Frequently Lovejoy and his friends find themselves involved in so many plots and switcheroos that most of the fun comes from trying to figure out who's on top at the moment. When viewers first met Lovejoy last season, he was trying to balance his antiques business with his gifts as a "divvie," a person who can suss out whether an object is the genuine article or a fake. He was frequently plagued by a rival antiques dealer, Charles Gimbert, aided and abetted in his schemes by pals Tinker Dill (Dudley Sutton) and Eric Catchpole (Chris Jury), and becoming friends with the lovely lady of the local manor, Lady Jane Felsham (Phyllis Logan).

Gimbert is gone in the second series, Jane and Lovejoy are now business "partners," and Tinker and Eric are still on hand to run interference whenever Lovejoy needs. Lovejoy is still (almost always) broke. In fact, the first episode of season two, "Just Desserts," finds him being released from prison — after being framed — and he is determined to find out who in the antiques trade set him up. His time in jail has echoes throughout the season, with the local constabulary always suspicious of his movements, and Lovejoy frequently seeking revenge for himself, or justice for other innocent parties. There are some familiar faces from British film and television as guests stars this season, and Lovejoy and Jane even let a few sparks fly between them. ...


Read my complete review on Cinema Sentries

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