Lewis: Series 8 (TV)
R2 - United Kingdom - ITV DVD
Review written by and copyright: Samuel Scott (15th November 2014).
The Show

***This is a technical review only. For reviews on the show from various critics, we recommend visiting HERE.***

Lewis the hugely successful spin-off of Inspector Morse, stars Kevin Whately as Detective Inspector Robbie Lewis, ably assisted by his young sidekick, D.S. Hathaway (Laurence Fox), in this hit detective drama full of intriguing murder mystery.

Set in the idyllic surroundings of Oxford and its University campus, murder has never been so appealing...

Video

ITV Studios Global Entertainment have released procedural detective series "Lewis" on to DVD for its eighth series, using the original broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1. The transfer is anamorphic and reasonably good, but has a few flaws dotted about.

In fact, it really doesn't take long to get to quite an obvious flaw. Just three minutes into the first episode of this three episode set, we get some rather horrible posterisation along the wall. Unfortunately, this posterisation is a recurring issue along walls, but for such a new show from a major broadcaster, I don't expect to see any at all, especially as pronounced as it is. Colours are good throughout, and although some blacks aren't quite as deep as they could be, there are no major issues. There is good clarity between various shades, and good sense of depth. Details are as good as you would forecast, with close-ups of gratifying quality, and good levels of sharpness. Skin tones are accurate for the majority, but in some enclosed scenes can be slight warm. There is some minor edge enhancement here and there, but nothing overly notable. No scratches, dirt or nicks are visible, but on rare occasion, some compression artefacts can be spotted on disc one only.

"Lewis: Series 8" doesn't look as good as other recent TV releases from ITV, but it's certainly acceptable.

The two part episodes have been condensed into feature length episodes for this release. There are no cuts.

Audio

ITV have provided us with a single English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo option which is perfectly adequate for this type of show. As with most British detective shows, "Lewis" has very little in the way of action, and is very much dialogue driven. All speech is easy to understand and hear, with no mumbling or volume inconsistencies present. The score adds to the tone of the episodes, never overpowering the dialogue, but always making itself known. Channel separation is minimal, but there aren't a huge amount of scenes where separation could have been utilised better. There are no issues with the track such as drop outs or scratches, and I noticed no signs of background hiss.

Optional subtitles have been included in English.

Extras

Unfortunately, nothing at all.

Overall

The Show: B+ Video: C+ Audio: B- Extras: F Overall: B-

 


Rewind DVDCompare is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and the Amazon Europe S.a.r.l. Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.co.uk, amazon.com, amazon.ca, amazon.fr, amazon.de, amazon.it and amazon.es . As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.