I just have to say that The Inspector Lewis Series on Masterpiece Mystery is some of the best television there is. Too bad it's on PBS and, therefore, has a relatively small following compared to, say, The Mentalist or Law and Order SUV.
Why The Inspector Lewis series, set in Oxford, England, is vastly more compelling than the bucket-load of mysteries on American television is, well, a mystery to me. Oh, I know why I find it so - better writing, superior characters, lovely photography, considerably more depth, but the question is why can't American mystery dramas be more like the Inspector Lewis Masterpiece Mysteries on PBS?
Sad to say, I think we all know the answer to that question - the audience. But maybe television producers are selling the American viewers short. From what I see, even on Facebook and Twitter, the American audience is a bit sharper than television producers think. The overblown and predictable dramas on American television leave little to the imagination - the audience has little sense of participation. I wonder what would happen if Inspector Lewis and Sergeant Hathaway showed up on ABC?
On second thought, I guess it's best to leave Inspector Lewis on PBS. The commercials would destroy the dramatic flow.
There is a former PBS thriller coming to ABC network television. At least the pilot is being filmed. Known as Spooks in Britain the PBS series was known here (and loved on PBS) as MI-5. Oh, I'm starting to cringe just thinking of how the American version will devour the beauty of the original.
Now I believe more than ever that American paws should never get their claws into Inspector Lewis and Sergeant Hathaway. And there's no mystery why.
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