Lucifer - Season 1

[JD]

So is anybody else watching Lucifer? So far I've been really enjoying it.
The guy playing Lucifer is great, and the rest of the cast is good too.
Lucifer's relationship with Chloe has been pretty fun too, although I have noticed that they seem to have stepped back from him trying to figure out why she is immune to his powers.
This week's episode seemed to set up a pretty interesting possible arc with Lucifer looking for his stolen wings. I actually figured out pretty quickly that it was his wings in the box.

 

[Christopher]

I'd been starting to lose interest in the show, as it seemed to be settling into a fairly conventional procedural show in the vein of Castle with the detective and her quirky civilian-consultant partner. (Seriously, do any actual detectives get partnered with civilian consultants who go out into the field with them on a regular basis?) And Tom Ellis was starting to get a bit frivolous and one-note. But last night's episode gave me new hope. It delved a lot more into Lucifer's darker aspects, his backstory and the theological/mythological elements of the show, and it offered hope that we'll be seeing more of an arc developing around those aspects rather than just having homicide-of-the-week antics and love-hate romantic banter.

Speaking of which, Chloe's admission that she really liked working with Lucifer felt forced to me, since every indication so far has been that she could barely stand him or his methods. I actually liked the subversion of the detective-and-quirky-consultant formula, the way Lucifer kept pushing things in the direction of that cliche while everyone around him was begging him to recognize what a horrible idea it was. So having her suddenly like him plays too much into the formula even while other aspects of the story did a good job moving beyond it.

I also didn't care for Amenadiel's line that every culture has its version of the Devil. The idea of dualistic good and evil cosmic forces is rather specific to theologies originating in the Middle East or thereabouts. Other theologies have deities that are often misinterpreted as "devilish" through the filter of Western preconceptions, but that are actually more morally neutral -- like Kali in Hinduism, say. Although, of course, the very premise of the show is predicated on the idea that Biblical cosmology is actually, literally true, so I guess I shouldn't expect it to offer that balanced a portrayal of non-Western belief systems.

 

[Gov Kodos]

So is anybody else watching Lucifer? So far I've been really enjoying it.
The guy playing Lucifer is great, and the rest of the cast is good too.
Lucifer's relationship with Chloe has been pretty fun too, although I have noticed that they seem to have stepped back from him trying to figure out why she is immune to his powers.
This week's episode seemed to set up a pretty interesting possible arc with Lucifer looking for his stolen wings. I actually figured out pretty quickly that it was his wings in the box.

It's been a fun show so far. Tom Ellis gets into the role with a lot of joy. Maze is great fun. I hope they will expand her role a bit. Overall, great fun. I am looking forward to what happens next week with the wings.

 

[JoeZhang]

Well I think it's shocking - Ellis is pretty good hamming it up (he's be a good bond) but beyond that there isn't much to recommend in this show - far too conventional and every turn is so obvious and telegraphed there is no fun in it.

 

[JD]

I'd been starting to lose interest in the show, as it seemed to be settling into a fairly conventional procedural show in the vein of Castle with the detective and her quirky civilian-consultant partner. (Seriously, do any actual detectives get partnered with civilian consultants who go out into the field with them on a regular basis?) And Tom Ellis was starting to get a bit frivolous and one-note. But last night's episode gave me new hope. It delved a lot more into Lucifer's darker aspects, his backstory and the theological/mythological elements of the show, and it offered hope that we'll be seeing more of an arc developing around those aspects rather than just having homicide-of-the-week antics and love-hate romantic banter.

Speaking of which, Chloe's admission that she really liked working with Lucifer felt forced to me, since every indication so far has been that she could barely stand him or his methods. I actually liked the subversion of the detective-and-quirky-consultant formula, the way Lucifer kept pushing things in the direction of that cliche while everyone around him was begging him to recognize what a horrible idea it was. So having her suddenly like him plays too much into the formula even while other aspects of the story did a good job moving beyond it.

I also didn't care for Amenadiel's line that every culture has its version of the Devil. The idea of dualistic good and evil cosmic forces is rather specific to theologies originating in the Middle East or thereabouts. Other theologies have deities that are often misinterpreted as "devilish" through the filter of Western preconceptions, but that are actually more morally neutral -- like Kali in Hinduism, say. Although, of course, the very premise of the show is predicated on the idea that Biblical cosmology is actually, literally true, so I guess I shouldn't expect it to offer that balanced a portrayal of non-Western belief systems.

I read an interview a little while ago with one of the writers and/or producers, and they said that they will start getting into more fantastic stuff time goes on. I think we might be starting to see that here with the wings. They also said that an appearance by (a) member/s of the Endless isn't totally out of the realm of possibility.

 

[Borgminister]

Surprisingly good based on the chemistry of the leads, but it could get into Sleepy Hollow territory after the novelty wears off.

 

[Christopher]

They also said that an appearance by (a) member/s of the Endless isn't totally out of the realm of possibility.

It would be nice to see them expand the mythology.

Surprisingly good based on the chemistry of the leads, but it could get into Sleepy Hollow territory after the novelty wears off.

I wish it were as much fun as Sleepy Hollow (discounting season 2 and anything to do with Betsy Ross in season 3). That show may be nominally in the procedural cop-and-quirky-consultant mold, but the "cases of the week" are wild, freaky supernatural events with abundant excuses for flashbacks to the wild, freaky hidden history of the Revolutionary War, which is so much more fun than just a bunch of murders amid the Los Angeles celebrity culture.

 

[kitik]

I like this show. It may not be the most brilliant and clever show of all time, but it's fun, and I liked the reveal of what was stolen. (Glad I didn't see it coming, like many here apparently did.)

How odd that it's taken 2 actors from Suits.

 

[Ovation]

Well I think it's shocking - Ellis is pretty good hamming it up (he's be a good bond) but beyond that there isn't much to recommend in this show - far too conventional and every turn is so obvious and telegraphed there is no fun in it.

I enjoy it (probably helps that I DVR it and watch an episode as a late night "mindless" bit of fun after reading obscure historical monographs all day). Had the same thought re: Bond during the first episode. Could happen, I suppose. Brosnan was once on a fluffy TV show.

 

[Commander Richard]

I like it.

What are its chances of renewal?

 

[Velocity]

I like it too, which is usually the kiss of death for a show.

 

[Scout101]

My wife and I have been enjoying this one; it's fun. Good soundtrack as well, although wonder how long they can come up with new songs with the Devil in them

Looked it up while watching the other day, thought the ratings were doing decently, and zap2it had it in the likely renewal bucket from what I could tell.

 

[Christopher]

My wife and I have been enjoying this one; it's fun. Good soundtrack as well, although wonder how long they can come up with new songs with the Devil in them

I would imagine that the Devil is one of the more popular subjects of songs in Western culture, from gospel and spirituals to country-Western (e.g. "The Devil Went Down to Georgia") to heavy metal (plenty, I'm sure), and of course the Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil" (which seems a perfect fit for this show -- I haven't noticed them using it yet, though).

 

[sojourner]

The license fee for "Sympathy for the Devil" is probably too high.

 

[Ovation]

I would imagine that the Devil is one of the more popular subjects of songs in Western culture, from gospel and spirituals to country-Western (e.g. "The Devil Went Down to Georgia") to heavy metal (plenty, I'm sure), and of course the Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil" (which seems a perfect fit for this show -- I haven't noticed them using it yet, though).

Probably keeping it for the season finale.

 

[Deckerd]

I was about to bail because it was becoming tedious but this Tuesday's offering suddenly got interesting. The conceit that Lucifer is just having a jolly holiday in LA was only going to work if they had gone for full on black comedy, so he had to become invested. It's just a shame they took so long to get up and running.

 

[Scout101]

I dunno, didn't think it had gotten too bad. The actor is just fun to watch, so enjoying him acting out and chewing on the scenery a bit. But agree that it was time to step into the mythology a bit more.

In general, i like the procedurals with more of a twist to them. I won't watch NCIS, CSI, L&O, any of that kind of stuff. But I enjoy things like this, Castle, like Forever, New Amsterdam, etc. Gotta be more going on to catch me. Flaw in most of them is that they drift too far into the cop stuff, or take too long playing it safe before they really go for the mythology, in which case they are often cancelled as they get interesting.

Tom Ellis was fun as Rush a season or two ago, which was his procedural twist on a doctor show. Lucifer is sorta a similar project for him, but with better chance for a mythology behind it, and he really gets to open things up more. Either way, I've enjoyed the actor.

 

[sojourner]

What? No one has commented on his singing?

 

[Scout101]

Thought it was decent, or at least entertaining. I'm holding out for his fiddle, though

 

[Commander Richard]

Didn't know that Tom Ellis was Dr. Rush. That's quite a change.