Lucifer a Devilishly Fun TV Show

I know it’s incredibly cheesy, but boy, do I enjoy watching Lucifer. I know it’s an unholy matchup of a myth-based DC comic and a procedural show — Lucifer comes to LA, meets a former actress, now police officer, and together, they’re detectives! — but Tom Ellis does a terrific job of conveying demonic charm and a growing sense of humanity (that Lucifer isn’t entirely sure he wants or likes).

As the title card reminds us each episode,

In the beginning….

The angel Lucifer was cast out of Heaven and condemned to rule Hell for all eternity.

Until he decided to take a vacation…

Where he winds up running the Los Angeles nightclub Lux. (Thank goodness they didn’t call it Hades.) He can’t be killed, and he has the power of persuasion. People want to tell him the truth about their desires, even against their best interests, when he turns those dark, direct eyes on them. That helps him assist Chloe Decker (Lauren German) in solving murders, most of which involve stereotypical aspects of LA celebrity. Here’s Ellis describing the premise:

The supporting cast consists of Amenadiel (D.B. Woodside), an angel wanting his brother Lucifer to return to Hell (because otherwise he might have to take over the job); Mazikeen, aka Maze (Lesley-Ann Brandt), a demon who bartends at the club and watches over Lucifer; Chloe’s daughter Beatrice (Scarlett Estevez); and Rachael Harris as Lucifer’s therapist. Those last two are my favorites (as not much has been done with the former yet).

Beatrice, nicknamed Trixie (which is, as he tells her, is “a hooker’s name”), believes Lucifer is who he says he is when most people don’t. She charmingly wants to befriend him, but he loathes kids and tries to put her off in amusing ways. (Like throwing a doll down the hall and telling her to fetch.) Harris’s character, meanwhile, doles out key observations before and after sleeping with him, since that’s the deal he made (specifically, “as much naked cuddle time” as she wants) to pay for therapy. Key observation she makes: “You like to hide insecurity in humor, don’t you?”

I just wish German didn’t look so starved and haunted all the time, and that she was a better actor. She looks like an extra from a WB show wandered into this beautiful mess of sex and drugs and death.

Lucifer is usually seen drinking, or in one memorable scene, he smokes a joint at a crime scene after he finds it in the victim’s car. He indulges in all kind of vice, all good-heartedly and with a delicious British accent. Nothing is serious to him, and he flirts a lot, which I love watching. He’s also got a strong sense of wanting to see the guilty punished, and he’s coming to terms with no longer being in control of everything. Heck, once he discovers he can be hurt, he’s positively giddy at the exhilaration of the risk.

The character is based on the version written by Neil Gaiman in The Sandman and Mike Carey in Lucifer, but the show has gone in a different direction (thankfully — the demon stuff is better for me in lighter doses). The episodes so far are

• “Pilot” — A singer friend of Lucifer’s is murdered in front of his club, introducing him to Chloe and fascinating him when he discovers she isn’t subject to his charm or will. She’s intrigued by him when he saves her life and isn’t harmed.
• “Lucifer, Stay. Good Devil.” — A movie star’s son is killed in a car crash by a paparazzo, and Lucifer learns more about Chloe’s background and home life.
• “The Would-Be Prince of Darkness” — An identity thief impersonates Lucifer, while he encourages a celebrity virgin to pick up a girl at a party, who unfortunately is found dead the next morning.
• “Manly Whatnots” — Lucifer decides to seduce Chloe, only she’s having none of it, while they try to find a missing girl involved with a con artist who runs a club to teach guys to be players.
• “Sweet Kicks” — Lucifer talks Chloe’s boss into letting him help her on her latest case, involving a gang-related shooting at a sneaker fashion show, while Maze gets a chance to show off her ninja skills.
• “Favorite Son” — A biker gang is involved with a robbery at a storage unit where Lucifer keeps something important.
• “Wingman” — Lucifer wants help from Chloe and Amenadiel in finding the missing item.

You can watch the most recent five episodes at the Fox TV site. The next one airs tonight. I hope you watch it, because ratings aren’t great, and I want to see more of this! It’s funny! (This and iZombie make the case for TV doing some premises better than the comics they were based on.)