The first season of Lovejoy was also the best one. Some episodes actually adapted the novels, which had true mystery plots and actual suspense, and Lovejoy was more like he was in the books -- much less trustworthy and a good deal more ruthless than he would be in later seasons of the show. A younger McShane had yet to grow the bad hair-do he would sport for the rest of the series, and I don't think he had found that dreadful leather jacket yet, either. I caught the series out of sequence on A&E, and having seen some of the later shows first, found these early episodes to be a revelation. I kept hoping that the show would get its guts back. Sadly, it never did, and while subsequent seasons' episodes were usually pleasant, they were also determinedly light, and the somewhat darker edge was sorely missed. Anyway, this particular box set is the essential one.