Customer Reviews

Lovejoy (series 2)

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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

For American audiences, this is the first season of Lovejoy. This show premiered on A&E in 1991 with The Black Virgin of Vladmir. This was probably done as a tie in to Dallas. In 1988, Ian McShane joined the cast of Dallas as movie producer Don Lockwood to become Sue Ellen's love interest. The end of the season, both characters left the show to be together in London. Two years later Linda Gray returned the favor by doing a guest on his television series Lovejoy.

The following are the episodes on this set:

Just Deserts - Lovejoy has returned from doing time after being set up. Now he has returned home to find out who really did it.

The Italian Venus - Jane asks for Lovejoy's help to get the inheritance a friend of her's is due from his brother. Lovejoy does this with a fake statue.

Bin Diving - (That means looking in trash bins for salvagable items.) Once again Lady Jane gets Lovejoy in trouble. After Jane has Lovejoy value the goods of an elderly widow, the antiques are stolen and of course, Lovejoy is the police's prime suspect.

Montezuma's Revenge - When Lovejoy is asked to sell a pre-Columbian solid gold, two murders occur. It's upto Lovejoy to solve the mystery.

Who Dares, Sings - Lovejoy and Lady Jane are hired to decorate pub but Lovejoy finds out you can't even trust the police.

One Born Every Minute - Lovejoy is hired to find a local lothario, who paints pictures of homes and uses this to seduce the lady of the house. But once again, everything is not what it seems.

National Wealth - Lovejoy is hired by a former film star, who Tinker has a crush on, to arrange an auction. But her house is robbed, just like a number of other country homes. It's Lovejoy to the rescue.

Sugar and Spice - This time it's Lovejoy's daughter who gets him in trouble. We get to meet his ex-wife, too.

Raise the Hispanic - Lovejoy is hired to furnish a house as a wedding present from the bride's father. But nothing is that easy for Lovejoy, when he finds the groom in a suit of amour - well the dead groom.

Lily's Pearls - Lord Felsham has a new partner but as usual, nothing is as it seems. Lord Felsham's partner has secrets including his wife Lily's pearls.

The Black Virgin of Vladmir - (the best episode) - American widow Cassandra Lynch is swindled by Harry Catapodis and Lovejoy decides not only to get even but teach Harry a lesson, in one of the series most complicated and funny cons.

Ian McShane is great as the rougish Lovejoy and Phyllis Logan is the perfect unattainable love interest. Add to this Chris Jury and Duddley Sutton as the perfect accomplices and you have a great cast.

This series is a cultural icon in Britan. The name Lovejoy is synanamous with the antiques trade. If you watch any of the BBC antiques show (Cash in the Attic or Bargin Hunt), you will hear people referred to Lovejoys.

If you enjoy witty well written shows with a cast that is obviously a great time, this is your show.

This is the second series of Lovejoy episodes. While the first still retained a heavy flavour of Gash's books, in series 2, McShane began to flesh out the dotty character and make it his own. I think these episodes are some of the best of the whole series. These were just so GOOD!

1) Just Desserts
2) Italian Venus
3) Bin Diving
4) Montezuma 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 (double episode)

You also get the second part of the interview with McShane talking about his character.

It just does not get any better than this. Again, super BBC transfers and a nifty price.

I picked this up from Canada, Series two on 3 discs. This was a great British mystery show that aired on A & E in the early 90's then just completely disappeared. I never understood that. The only way to enjoy this show was to buy the 4 episode VHS set for a rather high price. Now, the shows can be enjoyed on dvd with the great English countryside as a backdrop for Lovejoy, Tinker, and Eric to do what they do best. The episodes are:

Just Desserts
The Italian Venus
Bin Diving
Montezuma's Revenge
Who Dares Sings
One Born Every Minute
National Wealth
Sugar and Spice
Raise The Hispanic
Lily's Pearls
Riding in Rollers
The Black Virgin of Vladimir

This also includes part 2 of an exclusive interview with Ian McShane. If you enjoyed this show when it aired over a decade ago, you must pick this up, great stuff. Over 600 minutes!

Great show from the past. Ian McShane is brilliant as the antiques dealer Lovejoy and his interaction with the cast of characters...Lady Jane, Tinker and Eric makes this show such a joy, no pun intended, to watch. This for sure is one of those DVD sets, where you get addicted to the episodes, meaning you intend to sit back and watch one episode, then you're on the second...third...putting in disc two with episodes 4, 5 6
I just hope they continue releasing the subsequent seasons. I have purchased seasons 1,2 and 3......watched them all, but there is no word yet on season 4's release.

Lovejoy is probably one of the most complex comedy-dramas ever to be exported from the BBC. The stars are quite charming and the tales of their antique finds always have a great mix of adventure and mystery. The relationships between all of the characters are multi-leveled and not what I have been used to on most TV shows. I think that those who only know Ian McShane from his fine performances in HBO's "Deadwood" will be pleasently surprised. Dudley Sutton as his alcoholic, yet knowledgeable, associate and Chris Jury as his less-than-stellar apprentice add to the shows' appeal and the ever-present, unattainable Lady Jane (Phyllis Logan)adds a strangely platonic love interest for our hero. I also truly enjoy the rich variety of settings, both indoors and out. This program constantly gives little snippets of life in the U.K. and shows the complete range from the very wealthiest to those who scratch out a living on the bottom rungs of society. Try it and I think you'll enjoy it too.

Lovejoy is always entertaining, sometimes funny and occasionally romantic. Imagine someone with a sixth sense regarding true antiques who just can't seem to do well in the trade. He is always chasing the elusive great antique item and usually falling a little short, mostly because someone needs the money or whatever more than he. He skirts the law and often brushes it a little too close, but in the end right will out, even if it does not favor him. You will enjoy the antics and maybe learn a little about antiques in the process.

This second installment in the Lovejoy series really took off. The characters are beginning to feel like old friends and the humor is delightful. For antique lovers this is a must!

In my opinion, THIS is the penultimate series of Lovejoy. It has two (well, the series ender is a two part episode) of my three absolute favorite episodes--that I can recall--from when they were shown on A&E network. ("the Italian Venus", "Black virgin of vladimir".) Personally, this is one of the few shows produced for TV which A) don't insult my intelligence (There were accurate references to the then current art world, for instance) and B) is so entertaining I'm sure it will keep me watching for a very long time. Lovejoy's "under the radar" scams--"just trying to make an honest crust"--continue as well as his pursuit of Lady Jane, with Tinker and Eric along for the fun. You won't regret buying this, unless your idea of fun is pro wrestling or something... :) It's not much like anything else on TV, even when it was being broadcast.
But if you enjoy shows/movies where the little guy "makes a find"--in this case antiques--and profits well from it, or, scams some fink who is an even bigger scammer, then I'm certain you'll enjoy it as well.

Lovejoy! Definite sex appeal (!) but not too racey! Great mystery stories about antiques with out murder. I love Bones, NCIS, and CSI but I do get tired of the gore after awhile. This is a great change of pace. The cast of characters are lots of fun! They will make you laugh especially if you get British humor (humour? smile). I love to see the British landscapes, towns and cities too.