Happy family memories make your childhood seem fun. One of those childhood memories I have is sitting around the television set with my father and watching his favorite British drama, Lovejoy. Other than sports, watching Lovejoy was one of the few things I enjoyed doing with my dad, and he had been into the character since he first read the books by author Jonathon Gash (writer John Grant’s pen name).

My father read vociferously. It was said his IQ was incredibly high and I never saw him without a stack of books around him. He would go to the library nearly every week and come home with a new stack, ready to sit down and sift his way through another pile. He loved books that revolved around the British, mystery, and spy novels. Things like James Bond, Michael Critchton novels, and the Hunt for Red October struck his fancy. Lovejoy was yet another book series he loved and when he found out it was to become a show on British television, let’s just say he was thrilled that we had the BBC.

Lovejoy aired on British television from 1986 (I was five). It first aired on BBC1 and had a time lapse of five years until it came on as a regular series. From 1991 until 1994, it aired. This is when I remember watching the show with my dad, and I thought the show was absolutely hilarious. The cast was great and the humor that is characteristic of British television really struck my fancy. It was something we watched as a family and actually enjoyed together.

When I was given the chance to review The Complete First Season of Lovejoy, I jumped at the chance. Now I could share the hilarity with Ash and our son. Now that my dad has passed on, I think he’d be proud that the tradition continues. Everybody loved the show. Ash is the most skeptical when it comes to British comedies, but soon she was laughing along with the rest of us. Her favorite episode, as well as my own, was The “Axeman Cometh”. Another favorite of ours was the two part season finale, “Death and Venice: Part 1” and “Death and Venice: Part II”. The whole disc is well worth the watching though.

Lovejoy revolves around the very talented British actor, Ian McShane (Deadwood, Shrek the Third). McShane plays Lovejoy, an incredibly talented antiques dealer with an “eye” for the market. However, Lovejoy rebels against the fancy mores of the antique world coming off more as a rebel. This ultimately gets him into major trouble. Throughout the episode he takes, buys, examines, and looks for a host of rare and unusual treasures.
Joining Lovejoy is his young and often foolish apprentice Eric (Chris Jury), his eccentric friend Tinker Dill (Dudley Sutton), and the woman of his affection (he wishes!) Lady Jane Felsham (Phyllis Logan), who just happens to be married to a Lord who we very rarely see. The episodes explore Lovejoy’s relationship with the trio as well as all of the trouble the foursome can get into. This makes for a really great show.

The DVD was released on June 19. It contains lots of goodies. If you love extras you will love this three disc set of Lovejoy. On it is a featurette entitled, “Ian McShane Looks Back on LOVEJOY”. There are also interviews with source writer, Jonathon Gash and both Ian McShane and Gwen Humble who star in the series. The language feature is set to English and both the audio and video is impeccable. I don’t see what more you could ask for in a television series.

Bottom Line: If you love British humor and comedies, you will love Lovejoy. Otherwise, you might want to rent this before buying it.

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