Throughout the 1980’s PBS stations broadcasted quite a few British mystery programs that American audiences would never have seen otherwise. Programs like Mystery! helped to showcase the country's unequalled output in the genre. But for every detective show that made it to air in America, there were other series that never got the limelight. One such show is Lovejoy, which is making its debut in North America as affordable DVD season sets thanks to Warner Home Video.

I wasn’t familiar with Lovejoy before I watched this set, so I don’t consider myself any kind of authority. Apparently, the character of Lovejoy (from a series of novels by Jonathan Gash) is a semi-seedy antiques dealer (and sometimes forger) who has an impressive, and intuitive, ability to determine the authenticity of almost any object. You might assume that a man of such talents would be quite successful, but Lovejoy (Ian McShane, Sexy Beast, TV’s Deadwood) is always on the edge of bankruptcy due to his warped morality which allows him to rip off people he considers enemies, while he will sticking his neck out to help just about any woman in need.

Lovejoy has comedic roots. All of the characters are very witty and sharp beyond reason. Lovejoy himself has an almost James Bond-ish level of charm. A typical episode finds him hired to either restore or obtain an object of nostalgic value and later finding out that either the object or the customer is hiding something. Lovejoy and his allies gather as much information as possible, Lady Felsham will give him financialbacking if needed, and Lovejoy will either come out even in the whole deal or rip-off the wrong-doer. The episodes vary from a standard job to a more comically absurd, such as in the second episode, “The Axeman Cometh,” Lovejoy finds himself in possession of a dresser that he discovers contains a valuable Arab headdress. As Lovejoy tries to unload the headdress,the original owner of the dresser is released from prison and, axe in hand, hunts down Lovejoy with all the grace of a bull in a china shop.

Other episodes have a much larger scope. Quite possibly the biggest Bond inspired story is the season-ending two-parter “Death And Venice.” A rich client is worried that the city of Venice, within a few years, will be completely submerged and all of its wonderful art treasures will be taken with it. He contacts Lovejoy to help create forgeries of ALL of Venice’s treasures, which he hopes to replace with the originals and then store the originals for safe-keeping. However, after Lovejoy refuses the job and then travels to Venice on his own to investigate this unlawful if good-intentioned criminal ring, he discovers that his potential employer’s twin daughters are double-crossing him, taking the forgeries that are being made and selling them off to rich clients as the real thing. I enjoyed this episode immensely since quite a bit of it was shot on location. The sleuthing involved lets Lovejoy use his gift for detecting fakes a number of times, and forces him to destroy a priceless work of art in order to build trust and unravel the scam.

Anyone who enjoys mysteries is sure to find enjoyment in these ten episodes of Lovejoy. All of the episodes (save the season ender) are entirely self-contained, which makes viewing them a breeze. There is no overall story arc, so if you miss an episode you wouldn’t be lost. I’m intrigued to see how the second season, made five years after the first, compares to this one. I’m ready to spend a lot more time with these characters.

The DVD Presentation
The first season of Lovejoy aired in 1986 and I don’t have to tell anyone reading this how video production has improved in the 21 years since. This DVD displays all of Lovejoy’s age, and it doesn’t try to cover up any wrinkles. The transfer is grainy, particularly in external scenes (which are frequent). The program also has that soft look that is typical of Britain’s output of the time, and it’s quite obvious Lovejoy didn’t have the budget that bigger shows had. All that said, the show is still pretty damn watchable and, although the last episode suffers greatly, it’s probably exactly as it was broadcast. The Mono audio track doesn’t fare much better, but it, again, is a product of it’s time and all dialogue is understandable. English subtitles are available for those that require them.

And the Extras Are?
Ian McShane talks about Lovejoy – Part One – (7:54)
As the only extra on this set, we get a portion of an interview with the man behind the show’s titular character. While everything McShane has to say is interesting without a doubt, this feature is far too brief to be of much value. I imagine that more of this interview will be seen on future season sets as they are released.

Aside from this, there are BBC trailers for different DVD releases including Hu$tle – Seasons 1 & 2, Ballykissangel, Monarch of the Glen, the collection of A Dorothy L. Sayer’s Mystery films, Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple Mysteries and Campion.

It’s disappointing that on this first season (and only season until the series relaunched in 1991) there were no real extras concerning the production of the show. I hope that on future releases we will get more of a glimpse behind the scenes here, or at least some interviews with other cast members as well.

The Bottom Line
This is one of the few times that I got to review something that I hadn’t even heard of, and that I selected based on plot description alone. So I can say with absolute certainty that my enjoyment received from this program is not derived from any sort of bias whatsoever. Lovejoy is endearing television. It isn’t bold, immersive, envelope pushing or anything of the sort. But it is fun for all ages and viewer friendly. If you enjoyed the show when it originally aired, or are just in the mood for some light sleuthing, then you should definitely give Lovejoy a go.