Lovejoy (1986)
The adventures of the eponymous Lovejoy, a likeable but roguish antiques dealer based in East Anglia. Within the trade, he has a reputation as a “divvie”, a person with an almost supernatural powers for recognising exceptional items as well as distinguishing genuine antique from clever fakes or forgeries.
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Episode 1 - The Napoleonic Commode
Release Date: 1993-01-10Lovejoy is evicted from his rented cottage, as Freddy the Phone, his landlord (also known as Frederick Arthur Haig Montgomery Wavell Reeve) owes back taxes on it. So Lovejoy takes to the road and acquires a commode said to have belonged to the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte... and the next thing is to hunt down a continental expert to authenticate it. Did 'Boney' really sit here?
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Episode 2 - The Ring
Release Date: 1993-01-17With the naive help of Jane, Lovejoy sets up an unusual form of dealers' ring to bump up the price of a painting he has entered in an auction. Three old friends (Matron, Gideon and Henry the Hearse) rally round, but nothing seems to go according to plan...
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Episode 3 - Second Fiddle
Release Date: 1993-01-24Lindsey Parry-Davies, a leading violinist, wants Lovejoy to arrange for his Stradivarius to be touched up so that it will pass as a fake. The Lovejoy Antiques team is puzzled, but they call in the expert advice of Tommy Norris - king of the violin fakers.
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Episode 4 - The Colour of Mary
Release Date: 1993-01-31Charlie Gimbert returns home from overseas, popping up again in a new and unlikely role as manager to Murray McNally, a famous but disgraced snooker player. Murray wants Lovejoy to find him the billiards table which belonged to Mary Queen of Scots, and it seems that money is no object. A visit to Fotheringhay Castle leads on to a descendant of Mary's jailer, and then to an exhibition snooker match starring the real world snooker champion, Dennis Taylor.
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Episode 5 - Fly the Flag
Release Date: 1993-02-07A family struggling to pay death duties needs Lovejoy's help to raise the wind. Meanwhile, Beau Whittaker, working in a local parish church, finds a valuable old flag dating from the American War of Independence hidden behind a monument. A fierce battle quickly breaks out over the question of who is now the flag's true owner.
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Episode 6 - Judgment of Solomon
Release Date: 1993-02-14A retired senior Air Force officer wants Lovejoy to sell his large and remarkable collection of Jewish antiques, but Lovejoy's contacts the Solomons are suspicious about the provenance of the items. Meanwhile, Eric is arrested for theft while driving Jane's Range Rover.
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Episode 7 - The Galloping Major
Release Date: 1993-02-21On a visit to Frankie's scrap yard Lovejoy acquires an ancient cannon. He takes a trip to the Tower of London to see what he can find out about it, and while he's away an ordnance expert going under the name of Major Turpin tries to steal the cannon from under Eric's nose.
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Episode 8 - God Helps Those
Release Date: 1993-02-28In the latest of a series of antique shop 'ram-raids', a table Lovejoy has left with another dealer is smashed, and he uncovers a plan to steal a friend's silver. Meanwhile, Jane befriends a young man while doing some charitable work on behalf of the local hospital, and Charlie Gimbert is asked to find a rather special clock for a customer.
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Episode 9 - They Call Me Midas
Release Date: 1993-03-07Jim Leonard (Lovejoy's antiques mentor) resurfaces, wanting Lovejoy's help with a harmless little scam to catch out a famous dealer. The plot centres on a fake painting by Klimt... Eric plays the role of a rich gentleman farmer, Tinker falls heavily for Jim's wife, and Jane is also drawn into the scheme, but Lovejoy finds out just too late that he too is a victim.
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Episode 10 - Irish Stew
Release Date: 1993-03-14The Lovejoy Antiques team is in Ireland looking for new stock (and also hoping to find a painting by Jack Butler Yeats, for Jane to give her uncle). A bungled robbery leaves them in possession of a page from a rare ancient book, and the search is on for an expert - Brendan Hennessey.
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Episode 11 - Dainty Dish
Release Date: 1993-03-28The Lovejoy Antiques team is in Brighton, scouring the town for a really grand set of old china. Charlie Gimbert (as ever) causes some havoc, and then there's the story of the antique chairs...While on the china trail, Lovejoy chances on a stunning rip-off with hundreds of porcelain plates.
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Episode 12 - Taking the Pledge
Release Date: 1993-04-04Jamie, an old friend of Lovejoy's, turns up on his doorstep needing help with an urgent problem. He can't afford to retrieve a wonderful painting from a pawnbroker, and there are only a few hours to go. Lovejoy agrees to help Jamie raise the cash - but Jamie's estranged wife is also on the warpath...
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Episode 13 - Lovejoy Loses It
Release Date: 1993-04-11Lovejoy makes an exhibition of his 'sixth sense' for antiques on a television programme. Later, working on a house clearance, he overlooks an important item and starts to think he may be abusing and losing his talent. After he gets a letter, Lovejoy goes to see another 'divvie' who has lost the magic touch.