Customer Reviews

Lovejoy (series 3)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Another great season of the wildest antiques dealer in Great Britan. This box set contains 12 regular episodes plus the Christmas Episode - The Prague Sun.

Ian McShane has created one of Britan's most popular television characters. Half antiques dealer, half slueth, all rogue charmer. The name Lovejoy has become synonomous with suave antiques dealer in the UK (watch Bargin Hunt and you will hear contestants referred to a Lovejoy's)

Chris Jury and Dudley Sutton are his faithful cohorts, Eric Catchpole - the young intern (read free help) and Tinker Dill - the experienced antiques expert.

The sexy Phyliss Logan returns as Lady Jane Feldsham - very married but still the love interest of Lovejoy.

The following is a summary of the episodes in this series (season):

Friends in High Places - Lovejoy returns from Spain to find Tinker has joined a monastary and Eric is now a security guard. Jane's friend Vicky Cavero is staying at Feldsham hall and quickly entagles the entire gang in a series of events when she asks Lovejoy to sell a South American gold ring. AbFab's Joanna Lumbley guests.

Out to Lunch - The Feldsham's go away with Lovejoy and Vicky to a friend's country cottage. Lovejoy buys some drawings for a song but when he sells them to a gallery, they are denounced as fakes.

No Strings - A rock group that is playing at a charity concert stays at Feldsham hall but the organizer runs off with the proceeds. The group decides to sell an antique harp but even that disappears.

Angels Trousers - Lovejoy is asked to sell some medals that belonged to Jane's housekeeper. But when has anything gone as planned for Lovejoy.

The Benin Bronze - When a rare antique goes missing, blame Lovejoy. At least that way he will find it. This time it is a rare bronze statue from Africa. Lovejoy's prime suspect is Austrailian dealer Greg Veitch who wanted to buy the bronze.

Eric of Arabia - Lovejoy is asked to value a Chinese terra cotta pig. Eric tries to sell his antique motorcyle - by claiming it belonged Lawrence of Arabia.

Scotch on the Rocks - Vicki Lovejoy finds an old Claymore sword in the attic. Daddy Lovejoy buys it at auction but gets suspicious when he gets an outrageous offer for it. This leads to a wild treasure hunt.

Loveknots - Jane decides to sell an Anatolian rug. At the auction an old lady buys a Berber rug for her dog. When it is stolen, Lovejoy wants to know why. (This is one of the best of the season) Guest Star Born Free star Virgina McKenna.

Smoke Your Nose - When the Reverend claims there is a Roman Mosiac Floor in the field next door, Lovejoy races to find it before developers build over it. Also, Lovejoy and Lady Jane have a romantic dance together. It alright, she and Alexander have seperated.

Kids - (or Meet the Lovejoys) When Vicki disappears, the ex-Mrs. Lovejoy calls Lovejoy for help. But it turns out that their daughter is just shacking up with a much older widower - or is he? Lovejoy is not the only one having kid problems. The son of a government minister is involved with a fake art scam. Look for Minnie Driver in a cameo role.

Members Only - Lovejoy is asked to value a golf club's finest silver trophy but it is a fake. Did Lovejoy know this because the real on is in his attic?

Highland Fling - Investigating some sketchs takes Lovejoy and Jane to Scotland. While there they uncover a con involving one of Jane's friends. But the real question is will Lovejoy and Jane finally consumate thier romance? (This is another great episode.) Guest Stars Simon Ward and Born Free's Bill Travers.

Prague Sun - This was a 2 hour Christmas Special. Lovejoy, Eric and Jane head to Prague to uncover the mystery of some diamonds and a religous artifact. Guest Stars Donald Pleasance and Peter Vaughn.

This a show that will keep you guessing while you laugh. Add in some great locations in England, Scotland and Europe and you have it all.

Fans of this series who cannot wait for this release date can order the show through Amazon's UK site. The shipping time is astonishing quick through Royal Air Mail. I've now seen the entire series this way. The DVDs, set to ZERO region or Region 'O' are a different region than North American, and technically incompatible with our DVD players. It can be played on a region-free DVD player such as PHILIPS Hi-Def 1080p Up-Conversion Multi Region Codefree DVD Player with DivX HDMI and USB. Plays PAL/NTSC DVDs From Any Region. Remote IncludedYet I found it can be played on some universal systems, such as those sold here by American Amazon. OPPO DV-980H 1080p Up-Converting Universal DVD Player with HDMI and 7.1CH Audio However, and don't ask me why, the Lovejoy DVDs from England are encoded in Region Zero instead of Region 2, and can also play on SOME - NOT ALL - Universal players that otherwise would not play Region 2. A fine example is the Oppo: OPPO DV-980H 1080p Up-Converting Universal DVD Player with HDMI and 7.1CH Audio These are wonderful machines and will also play a wide range of other formats, including SACD and DVD Audio. If you must see all the Lovejoy shows and can't wait another year or more they're now available from Amazon UK in one large box set or as single sets for each year.

This third season, available over in England for some while, finds the basic foursome of Lovejoy, Tinker, Lady Jane and Eric now moving very easily in character. Those who enjoyed the first season but found the quality of film and production a tad hoary will delight in the increasing quality of production values without any sacrificing of the stories inherent lightness of touch. Indeed, this and the next season will be the high points of the entire series.

The first two stories open ominiously, to say the least, for all of us who can't get enough of the captivating Beatrice and Benedict edge between Lady Jane and antiques self-taught expert and divy Lovejoy. A new woman appears and sweeps Lovejoy off his feet.

From that point things bubble up and over with just enough general surprises to warrant calling this all something of a classic. Ian McShane continues his march into television immortality as the ruggedly handsome womanizer who loves antiques with a surprisingly pure devotion despite his inherently too clever by half nature. Phyllis Logan sets just the right touch of proper crust and breeding for countering Lovejoy's hornswoggling inclinations, while Dudley Sutton's Tinker is a complete joy to watch. Chris Jury as Eric more and more convinces as a solid fourth, and one has only to sit back and enjoy one of the treats of modern television.

Season Four, playable on a Universal DVD system and available through Amazon UK, may be the best season of all.

Highest recommendation!

This is where Lovejoy really began to 'gel'. The characters were becoming more established and their ability to play off the other cast members really . These saw Witzend starting to take over production with BBC. They chanced from the poor quality film to a glossier warm look, more polish and professional. They came up with some really great episode. It starts off with Lovejoy Falling in love with Lady Jane's friend (the ever charming Johanna Lumley) and ends up with our loved rogues and lady in the Highlands.
in this series:

Friends in High Places
Out to Lunch
No Strings
Angel Trousers
Benin Bronze
Eric of Arabia
Scotch of the Rocks
Loveknots
Smoke Your Nose
Kids
Members Only
Highland Fling (Parts 1 & 2)

McShane just is perfect as the exceptionally charming sweet-faced individual, with a shady characters, warm heart and a gleam for sussing out the hidden gem in grannie's attic. Great writing and directing sees these one great series.

This is one of my favorite british dramas. Lovejoy is always entertaining and worth your time. The plots are fun and thoughtful. You come to like all th charactors and look forward to each of the series.... I have watched all 6 Seasons and Season Number 3 is one of the best..... You will love it.... Susan from Washington.

Imagine my disappointment after paying $81.00 for this collection only to find it will not play due to "regional restrictions"--it is not a DVD even though it is found under DVD on the website. The format is PAL, which for those of you like me who don't know, is the broadcast standard for Australia, United Kingdom, Germany, Singapore, and Hong Kong. The seller (who was highly rated) claims they "are not responsible for product details." Who is, I wonder? I was also amazed to see the same collection advertised at $53.00 a few weeks later. Buyer beware!

I got impatient and purchased this from England, but if the company that's been releasing them in the U.S. holds true to form--as they did with Series 1 & 2--then you'll get few extras, because these are essentially the same as the English discs. But it doesn't matter, as this series, and all Lovejoy, is eminently re-watchable. In this series, the players are all comfortable with each other and the scripts are a bit hit and miss, compared with the second series. But this series is not to be missed because we finally come to near resolution about the question; will Lovejoy and Lady Jane finally get together as lovers? Ah the tension mounts... You just can't go wrong with this finely crafted, five star entertainment.

We were just visited by an Australian sheep rancher and his wife. The sheep rancher runs several sheep all by himself and is a tough hombre. Had to leave him alone in the cottage for a day. Felt a bit guilty. Asked him how it went when we returned. He said great, I discovered Lovejoy.

This has always been a fun series to watch. I have been watching this since I was first introduced to it by PBS in '93. I was frustrated though that it did not include the Prague Sun as was mentioned in a previous review. Perhaps it will be included on Season 4. Does anyone know when Season 4 will grace us with its presence?

Thanks!

I picked this up from Canada, Series three on 4 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:

Friends in High Places
Out to Lunch
No Strings
Angel Trousers
Benin Bronze
Eric of Arabia
Scotch on the Rocks
Loveknots
Smoke Your Nose
Kids
Members Only
Highland Fling (Parts 1 & 2)

This also includes part 3 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 650 minutes!

Folks, this is a DVD. It is just not in the format that the U.S. uses. The U.S. uses NTSC. Most everywhere else uses PAL. So, this IS A DVD! It is a PAL DVD not a NTSC DVD. You should still be able to watch this on a computer as they are not restricted by PAL or NTSC.