Morse was a classic series, largely due to the enigmatic central character brilliantly played by John Thaw, plus the wonderful music. Lewis I have watched again and again and despite the fine acting by Keven Whateley and Lawrence Fox, it never works. The sheer clunkiness of the plots, which Thaw somehow managed to transform or at least make tolerable, becomes oppressive, and panoramic shots of Oxford - always filmed in beautiful sunshine - are increasingly given prominence to try and make the whole thing work. The extended format, which weighed proceedings down in Morse, becomes totally tedious in Lewis. I know I'm in a minority on this but what the heck - in my view the follow-up was a mistake and that's that.
Review of Inspector Lewis
