Lovejoy - General Discussion

[Meredith Quill]

A place to discuss particular episodes, arcs and moments from the show's run. Please remember this isn't a complete catch-all topic -- check out the forum for character topics and other places for show-related talk.

[gingerella]

*raises hand* ... Okay, it was me, I asked for this show because I just recently stumbled upon it in a rather odd way. Was taking a tour of a grand manor house in Suffolk, England and the owner immediately said that his ancestral home had been the star of a quirky British crime/comedy series called Lovejoy. Of course all the Brits in attendance knew the show but I did not. I've been watching on DVD and I have to say, it's pretty darn entertaining. If you like/love antiques or crime mysteries or British comedy/dramas, or any combination thereof, you'll probably like this too.  As I was told, the first season, the first three episodes are so-so, then it kicks into gear because you get to know the personalities of the ensemble cast, all of whom are very different to one another but all equally entertaining and charming as well.

So far, I'm liking the characters around Lovejoy better than the actual lead himself. I love seeing the 'big house' of Felsham Hall, because I've been inside and they used the family's actual decor, and Lady Jane is very amusing. She and Lovejoy sort of have a weird "I would like to have an affair with you if I wasn't married" sort of thing going on. Tink is the antiques expert who is perpetually intoxicated. There's a dimwitted son of a friend who is in training with Lovejoy, and the evil local antiques auction house guy. In and around these folks are secondary characters and each episode is a complete story surrounding some antiques mystery.

So...anyone else here familiar with Lovejoy?!? Speak up now, I can't hear you...

[Tosia]

I adore Lovejoy!  I have read most of the books that it is based on. ...which is hard to do since they were printed in the 70's ...so I usually find them at thrift stores.  

I love Ian McShane of course!   And so many Brit  actors are young again in this series....Phyllis from Dowtown Abbey had gorgeous hair and was quite a dish. 

Jonathan Gash is the author. ..not his real name. ...and he was a physician. His antiques' knowledge is incredible!  

Edited September 20, 2018 by Tosia

[gingerella]

Who did Phyllis play in Downton Abbey? I love her banter with Lovejoy, and her marriage is so strange...

[Tosia]

The head house keeper who married the head butler. Can't remember her name. ...Mrs.????? 

[gingerella]

Oh whoa, Mrs. Hughes! I had NO idea...wow...no wonder I like her in this too.

[Notwisconsin]

This is one of the best detective shows that ever was...yeah, I know that Ian McShane was in "If it's Tuesday, this Must Be Belgium" a decade before, but this is what made his career.

[Tosia]

There is a facebook group on Brititsh mysteries via PBS Masterpiece Theater where you can find recommendations for lots of British fun shows.  Or just get BritBox.

[gingerella]

10 hours ago, Tosia said:

There is a facebook group on Brititsh mysteries via PBS Masterpiece Theater where you can find recommendations for lots of British fun shows.  Or just get BritBox.

I'm trying Acorn TV first, once I cycle through that I'll get Britbox, but Acorn had the complete Detectorists series that I wanted to see.

14 hours ago, Notwisconsin said:

This is one of the best detective shows that ever was...yeah, I know that Ian McShane was in "If it's Tuesday, this Must Be Belgium" a decade before, but this is what made his career.

It IS, isn't it? I'm just about done with Series 1 and happy to know I still have 5 more seasons to get through...hopefully it just gets better and better. This cast is really entertaining and gels very well.

[Tosia]

Detectorists is just a perfect show.   I bought the DVDs and was able to binge  watch Season 3.  Love, love, love it.  I want to live there. Actually, I want to live anywhere in England. 

I read British mysteries 90% of the time.  Bill Bryson has an awesome book, Notes on a Small Island, about his walking travels throughout England.  And my book club is reading, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, another walking through England tale that is simply beautiful, bittersweet and touching. There is a companion book, The Love Song of Queenie Hennessey, who is the friend in hospice that Harold is walking to--he wants her to stay alive until he gets there.  Both books are incredibly soulful.  Rachel Joyce is the author.

Acorn is the best too.

[gingerella]

Mods, this thread doesn’t seem to be taking off so I leave it to you if you want to delete or not. 

[Minivanessa]

Wow, this is a blast from the past. 

I discovered Lovejoy back in the early 90's when I *finally* got cable TV. I had read Jonathan Gash's Lovejoy novels beginning in the 80's. I remember thinking as I read one of them, "boy, this is a little too hard-core/sexy to ever be a TV series."

So of course when I saw it *was* a TV series after all, I had to check it out. At that time it was showing on A&E, and those airings were well after the episodes had been shown on BBC. I think that in fact the series had already gone out of production by then, but we were getting "new" episodes, as in never before shown in the US.

Anyway, I was blown away by the marvelous job that the writers did in adapting the novels for television. Somehow they managed to make the shows suitable for family viewing without losing much of Lovejoy's edge, although the TV version is definitely cleaned up some vs. the grittier book version. As has been mentioned, IMO it was a lovely bit of ensemble casting, with some nice chemistry coming through the screen. Not just the Lovejoy-Jane Felsham sexual chemistry, but the various other friendships and rivalries among the regular characters as well.

I got so intrigued by it all that I went to the library (this was pre-Google, lol) to see what I could find about the show and the featured actors. I accumulated a few articles and some info. Then I signed up with an internet provider and the service included my own web page. As I said, this was around 1993 or 1994, as the internet was beginning to take off. I decided that I would use my personal web page to post information about the Lovejoy series, including an episode guide. Someone else had started it, but gave me permission to use his work on my site and add to it as I pleased.

The site is long gone now, but in its heyday it had several pages, including a bio page for McShane, a detailed episode guide, a general info page about the show, and a page about Jonathan Gash. Before it was all over, I'd met Jonathan Gash a couple of times at crime fiction fan conventions and book signings here in the US. Lovely man.

I heard from Lovejoy fans all over the world who found my site, and in 1998 I toured East Anglia with one of them, a guy in the UK who'd figured out exact shooting locations for many of the episodes/scenes. We visited the home that was used as Felsham Hall in the series - mentioned above. On the grounds is also the building that was used as Lovejoy's workshop. It got funny; I really didn't care to look at an empty field just because they'd shot a cricket game scene there. And my interest in East Anglia went beyond just "Lovejoy was here." But overall it was a fun time, and recently I cracked open my book of photos and notes from that trip. Oh, and in 2000 I got to meet Ian McShane, before he got really famous for Deadwood. Nice guy.

I'm not sure if there's enough current interest in this series to keep a topic going, but it was fun to see Lovejoy pop up!

[Tosia]

You are so lucky and astute!   I would love to see your research.  Is it online anywhere?

Lovejoy is a joy.

[Minivanessa]

17 minutes ago, Tosia said:

You are so lucky and astute!   I would love to see your research.  Is it online anywhere?

Lovejoy is a joy.

Several months ago I cleared out a lot of paper, including folders of stuff about Lovejoy from the 90's. I may have archived some digital files, but my schedule for the next week just got crazy so I don't think I'll be able to check some old external archive drives I have, for several days. I'll look to see what I may have left and let you know if I find anything. Probably anything I found, could be found somewhere online now with a Google search. Back then, McShane didn't even have his own website or web page, which I thought his agent should at least have taken care of. As I said, it was pre-Google and in the early days of the innernetz. :-)

And, it's funny. I first saw Phyllis Logan as the lovely red-haired Lady Jane Felsham on Lovejoy, and that's still how I think of her. I loved her in Downton Abbey. She also played one of the household domestics (housekeeper? high ranking maid?) in that wonderful film Gosford Park. Sometimes it's a little jolt to see her as middle-aged and not glammed up on screen.

Edited October 3, 2018 by Jeeves

[gingerella]

@Jeeves, how funny that ywas u know so much about this great series! I only found it after stumbling upon the house tour...apparently you can rent the rooms they used for Lovejoy’s flat and workshop for holidays...the church was Amazingly to go into, such history within one family!

Im with @Tosia, and wonder if you might be able to post some of your Lovejoy research on this thread? I know I’d like to read it too..I am about to re watch two episodes from S1, then move on to S2.