Inspector Lewis
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Robbie Lewis is the sidekick in the Inspector Morse crime novels by Colin Dexter and television series of the same name. In both he is a Detective Sergeant, so he is known as Sergeant Lewis. 2006 saw the broadcast of the first episode of a new series Lewis, in which Robbie Lewis, now a Detective Inspector, is the lead character.
On television, he is played by Kevin Whately. Lewis is a police detective on the staff of the Thames Valley Police in Oxford, England, and is assistant to the title character of the stories, Inspector Morse. Morse's given name (Endeavour) was kept secret until the end of the series and thus he is referred to only by his last name. Similarly, although Lewis's given name was not kept secret, he was rarely referred to as anything but "Sergeant Lewis" or "Lewis."
Lewis is a loyal, hardworking, honest, and earnest police detective, who is often troubled or frustrated by the erratic, emotional, and egotistical behaviour of his superior, Morse. The background and personality of Lewis -- a working class, easygoing family man with a Geordie accent -- is frequently contrasted with that of Morse -- Oxford educated, RP-accented, lifetime bachelor. Morse frequently uses these differences to insult or demean Lewis, perhaps, from Morse's point of view in a playful manner, but Lewis is often not amused by the jabs. However, Lewis is unflinchingly loyal, and follows Morse's lead.
In the stories, Morse is often shown following a hunch that Lewis criticizes and in the end, Lewis is usually proved correct, or at least more correct than Morse. Near the end of the television series, Lewis moves on in his career and takes a promotion. With the end of the Inspector Morse series and the death of its star, John Thaw, Lewis's adventures had seemed to come to an end.
However, the popularity of the broadcast of the one-off episode has spurred the announcement of a continuation into a new series...
In the UK on Sunday 18th February, 2007, ITV broadcast the first of a mini-series of three two-hour episodes of "Lewis." Its careful and lavish production, writing, music and casting were all akin to those of the "Inspector Morse" series.
