One Wink Plot
A dead copyist leaves behind a fake snuff box, a fake priest and a real fortune. Unfortunately the middle of the episode gets buried with him.
Review
Following the near perfection of The Judas Pair was never going to be easy, and To Sleep No More becomes the first episode of Lovejoy that feels a tad ordinary. That's not to say it's bad — Lovejoy is never terrible — but it is the first time Series One has some serious dips.
Ironically, it gets almost everything right at the start of the episode.
Lovejoy and Eric buzz through the cricket ground gates on the motorcycle/sidecar combo before Charlie Gimbert delivers one of his finest moments. A man collapses and dies in the middle of a village cricket match (the match isn't suspended until the man literally keels over) and Charlie's overwhelming concern isn't grief or sympathy. It's annoyance that his half-century has been denied. Classic Gimbert. The sneer is lovely.
The opening continues with the introduction of Arnold Nelson, sporting a moustache now very fashionable in Hoxton and demanding compensation for the "vintage Spode" plates Lovejoy sold him. John Forgeham threatens to blow the bloody doors off the main plot every time Arnold stomps back into the episode — which is rather fitting, given Forgeham also appeared in The Italian Job.
The resulting pub fight is magnificent and choreographed with all the swagger of a 1950s Hollywood western. Dandy Jack quietly lends a hand once again and, having previously likened him to Jar Jar Binks, I may owe the man a small apology. He's still not exactly fully formed or certain what he is doing in each episode but he does add something.
Unfortunately, once Sam Wendell's funeral begins, the episode loses much of its momentum. The wake (why are the Felshams there!), the lengthy discussions about copyists, forgers and snuff boxes, and the slow drip-feed of clues never quite generate the urgency the opening promises. The central mystery simply isn't as engaging as the colourful cast circling around it.
Thankfully Ian McShane drags proceedings back to life once Lovejoy realises a fake priest is hunting the box. Watching him bluff his way around in a dog collar is exactly the sort of stuff I'm here for. The hotel receptionist, meanwhile, somehow identifies Lovejoy as Anglican while Smiley O'Reilly is Roman Catholic after little more than a glance. Personally, I'd quite like five minutes with her myself. I still struggle to explain the difference between Baptists and Methodists, yet she can identify denominations faster than Tinker can knock back a G&T.
The episode also expands Lovejoy's growing catalogue of antique folklore. We learn that a "Foreigner" is the extra copy a forger secretly makes for himself, while "Sleepers" are valuable antiques deliberately hidden away until the world forgets they exist. Lovejoy explains these wonderfully romantic concepts to the audience with complete confidence, although apparently not to Eric, who after six episodes still seems to be paying for an apprenticeship without receiving much actual tuition.
The script also delivers one of the series' best observations: "If even half the rumours in this game were true, we'd all be rich." It's a lovely line because it captures the entire world of Lovejoy, where whispered legends often prove more valuable than the antiques themselves.
Ironically, that's also the episode's biggest weakness. The subplot involving Arnold, Charlie, Smiley O'Reilly and Lovejoy's ecclesiastical adventures is consistently more entertaining than the treasure hunt at the story's heart. When your supporting cast are repeatedly blowing the bloody doors off the central mystery, you know you've got a structural problem. It's an issue the series flirts with again in the following episode, The Real Thing.
There's still plenty to enjoy here. McShane remains effortlessly charismatic, Smiley's transformation from petty crook to gun-toting antique hunter is almost as memorable as the Elvis Warhol print hanging on Cecilia Mattock's wall, and the final reveal is satisfyingly neat. But for the first time in Series One, the journey simply isn't as enjoyable as the destination.
Favourite Moment
Lovejoy borrowing a dog collar and hoping nobody asks too many theological questions.
Antique Lesson
A Foreigner is the secret extra copy a forger keeps for himself. A Sleeper is an antique deliberately hidden away until the world forgets it exists.
The Divvy Verdict
An excellent opening, a superb pub fight and Ian McShane having enormous fun pretending to be a vicar can't quite disguise the fact that the middle of the episode is a slog. Still enjoyable, but comfortably the weakest outing of Series One so far.