Customer Reviews

Lovejoy - Season 4

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Please don't mistake this as a criticism of the program it is only an opinion on the lack of quality product one gets for ones hard earned quid.
I and the family have loved this program since it was first broadcast on the BBC back in the early 1990's. The cast of characters and the scenic beauty of East Anglia are terrific. The TV production is almost as good as the books. This is possibly the best season of the series. The rough edges are polished and the interaction of the actors is superb and the writing is at its peak.
The only reason I cannot rate this 5 stars is due to the lack of re-mastering. For $51.99 plus S+H, one would think this wonderful program would have been restored. Instead it's like watching BBC Gold re-runs on the telle on a stormy East Anglia night. Scratchy picture, hissing sound track, and faded colour. Come on, with today's technology there is no reason for this program to be presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 mono and a faded image cut to fit the TV screen. For $52.00 I should get something fully restored to its original glory presented in Dolby Digital 5.0 at a minimum.
I will buy this regardless of its lack of quality and cherish the entertainment value as I eagerly await the release of season 5.

Lovejoy is a cultural phenomenon in the UK. Quite often when you watch British antiques shows charming antiques buff is called a Lovejoy after the title character of this show.

The premise of this series was simple, Lovejoy (Ian McShane) is a professional antiques dealer with a shady past. Tinker Dill (Dudley Sutton) is his old antiques buddy and Eric Catchpole (Chris Jury) is his young apprentice. Lovejoy's love intrest is Lady Jane Felsham (Phyliss Logan) but it is a platonic relationship as she is married.

The fourth season contains the following 13 episodes:

The Napoleonic Comode - Lovejoy is kicked out of his cottage by his landlord (Alexi Sayles) and he goes on the road to get a stake. On the way he finds a comode that was to have belonged to the great Emperor Napoleon. Now all he has to do is find Monsieur Brogni, the Napoleon antique expert to certify it.

The Ring - The title does not refer to a piece a jewelry but a group of dealers that work together to increase the price of an item at an auction. Lovejoy gets an unwitting Lady Jane plus three old friends to up the price of a painting he has up for auction. But any fan of Lovejoy would tell you, things hardly goes as planned.

Second Fiddle - Lovejoy antiques is hired to turn a real Statavarious violin into a fake but why?

The Colour of Money - Lovejoy's arch nemisis, Charlie Gimbert reserfaces and askes Lovejoy to find a pool table that once belonged to Mary, Queen of Scots.

Fly the Flag - An American flag from the Revolutionary War period is found in a local parish church. But who actually owns it?

Judgement of Solomon - A retired Air Force officer asks Lovejoy to sell a collection of antique jewelry. But the provenences are questionable.

The Galloping Major - Lovejoy acquires an antique cannon. But when Lovejoy is at the Tower of London to get information about it, Eric is almost conned out of the cannon.

God Helps Those - Lovejoy's table is smashed in an antiques store, Jane berfriends a young man helping a local hospital and Charlie Gimbert is asked to find a special clock.

They Call Me Midas - Lovejoy gets suckered into a scam by his antiques mentor.

Irish Stew - The gang go to Ireland in search of new stock and a special painting for Jane.

Dainty Dish - The group go to Brighton to buy a set of china but as usual it gets complicated.

Taking the Pledge - Lovejoy helps a friend raise money to recover a painting from a pawnbroker.

Lovejoy Loses it - Lovejoy puts his divvying talents on display for a TV program. But later he passes over a find at a house clearance and he wonders if he is losing his powers because he abused it.

This is a show that is a delight to watch. A perfect cast in a near perfect series.

Seeing these Lovejoy episodes is like visiting old friends. I have waited a very long time for all of the episodes to be available on DVD. Perhaps the quality and sound isn't the best, but watching the stories compensates for it. The writing and acting are superb! Well worth the wait.

This is a wonderful series. The only problem with this is that "The Prague Sun" episode is missing from this and the third season. This episode was a full length feature between the third and fourth season.

I almost own the entire collection. Just season one, which the local library has not replaced. (So, just purchase it here.)It is worn out so much, it will be unplayable shortly? I cannot say enough about this show. I just love it. It is a pleasure to laugh, view the beautiful landscape and capture a learning experience all rolled into one tv show!

Always love Lovejoy,no matter what. I can see changes coming,but the stories always make my day. Recommend it for anyone who likes Ian or Lovejoy

Because these boxsets are so expensive we buy them every Christmas. He loves this series.

i loved seasons 1-3 but the 4th is awful. don't know what changed to cause it, but now they are the 3 stooges, and jane is a little nasty/snippy diva while awesome good old lovejoy is suddenly kind of a sleazy lying thief, not a rascal with a gleam in his eye, but more like just a crook.

for comedy, you should expect to see eric fall in the grass repeatedly and come up with it in his hair and tinker slip and fall in the mud and cry about it.

i see bbc now co-listed on the dvd credits beginning this season, so maybe they became more involved to its huge detriment. no idea what changed but this little gem is now suddenly in the 4th season utterly unwatchable for me.

I think the title says it all. If you like Lovejoy, Season 4 is more good times. All the favorites are still in the cast, such as Lady Jane and Eric, who subsequently dropped out in the near future. Enjoy!

JBF

We've now seen all four of the Lovejoy series. It's been a lot of fun. The scenery is beautiful, the acting is first class, and the stories have, by and large, been believable. (However, I'll never get used to an actor talking directly into the camera with asides. I think it harms all film drama.) The twist in series four is that Lovejoy ceases to be a crooked antique dealer part of the time and now is a full time crook. The antics are consequently less amusing. This is not about Robin Hood, and the approach lowers the already sagging moral tone of the films. Two more in the series are on the way, and one hopes that the writers can enhance Lovejoy's character a bit. There was a hint of this possibility in the final program of series 4.