The Real Thing

I remember Ian McShane guest-starring on my favorite American show of the 80s, Magnum P. I. I think he played a member of MI5 or 6 or whatever number they're up to. He's such a charismatic fellow he pretty much stole the episode from Tom Selleck.

But when Series 1 of Lovejoy first aired I was still in university. The idea of watching a show on PBS about British antique chasers was anathema. Why don't I just go to my great-aunt Maude's knitting circle at the community hall?

Well, fast-forward 30+ years and I'm binge re-watching Minder, my favorite British TV show from the 80s. Who turns up playing a charismatic con man but Ian McShane. So I go looking for Lovejoy on my Firestick's, um, ''streaming service."

It took me a few episodes of barely being able to understand the dialogue. And an equal number of episodes to follow the plots. But The Real Thing presents delightful and easy-to-follow Con A and Con B. One involves a new "modern antique" gallery in the city. The other involving forged paintings.

Everyone from McShane's Lovejoy to Phyllis Logan's Lady Jane and on down to the week's guest star, Ray Lonmen, are having a good time, with Lovejoy getting some very funny wisecracks in for good measure.

If I were to introduce somebody to this series, I would start right here.

Another wonderful episode from the first series. All very well put together, you might even think they forgot about a strand of the story but it is hovering in the background.

Ray Lonnen plays a flash wideboy called Palmer driving a red Rolls Royce. Lady Jane has been having dealings with him as he plans to convert an old warehouse into an antiques center dealing with 20th century art such as Art Deco works. Palmer has hired Lovejoy as an adviser for £250 a week cash.

However Lovejoy suspects Palmer is a con man, trying to get money out of dealers and investors and then do a runner.

Meanwhile Gimbert is on the warpath again after Lovejoy conned him out of a spiral staircase and then made him look foolish at an Antiques Roadshow type program where Gimbert appeared as an expert.

A shopkeeper friend of Lovejoy falls for an old con. Asked to mind a large but cheap painting bought in by a customer who just bought it at an auction while he goes to collect his car. Another prettier customer soon walks in and tells the shopkeeper that it is worth a fortune.

Lovejoy turns the table on the pair. Antiques, eh, you cannot trust anyone in the game.

Another good if not-quite-tight episode -- as if pieced together from several different stories, all revolving around themes of pulling some scam. Lovejoy pulls no less than two capers on Gimbert, and meanwhile uncovers two capers by other people. His penchant for lovely ladies is restricted to a receptionist who hardly gets a decent shot (and, unlike Cassie Stuart, gets nowhere near a swimming pool), and the comedy bits are restricted to a couple of angry heavies ... who are, however, logically used to launch the main story. Jane's tolerance for Lovejoy's less savoury activities is not nearly so logical, but I guess as long as everyone's happy, who can complain?

In this episode, Lovejoy is involved in two different plot threads involving two different fraudsters. In the first, larger story, Lovejoy has been hired by a man named Palmer (Ray Lonnen) to help open a new antique mall. Lovejoy smells a rat and sets out to prove Palmer isn't who or what he claims to be. In the second, a local shopkeeper is caught up in a scam involving a forged painting. Lovejoy decides to turn the tables and scam the scammer.

Lovejoy is a unique character. On the one hand, we're on his side as he takes on forgers and scammers. On the other hand, we root for him when he's the one doing the forging and scamming. Watching The Real Thing, we can't wait for Lovejoy to expose the smug Palmer for what he really is. But just a few minutes earlier, we loved watching Lovejoy get one over on Gimbert, when, by lying through his teeth, he basically steals a spiral staircase. I've never thought about it before, but I suppose that makes Lovejoy something of a Robin Hood.

Anyway, The Real Thing is another nice episode. It's all just so leisurely paced, with interesting bits of mid-80s England on display. Of the two plot threads, I enjoyed the smaller one the most. The way Lovejoy gets back at the fraudsters, using their own scam and greed against them, is a treat to watch unfold. Another big plus for the episode is Ray Lonnen. He's fantastic as Palmer. He's just so perfectly arrogant and slimy that it's a pleasure to watch him get his in the end.

7/10