Mikes Film Talk

Using a premise that is not too different from the 1934 Frederick March film  Death Takes a Holiday, where death takes three days off from the business of dispensing death, falls in love and suffers a personal dilemma, Lucifer tells of Satan taking time off from running Hell and taking up residency  in the City of Angels.  Having missed this popular fantasy when it first debuted, it was deemed necessary to binge on the first three episodes to see what all the fuss was about.

Starring  Miranda love interest Tom Ellis (a Welsh actor who is equally at home doing comedy as fantasy) as the title character, the series asks what would happen if Lucifer left Hell, against his Father’s wishes, and lived topside, as it were.

What would he get up to? How would living amongst the human population that, once dead, have a good chance of ending up in his old domain affect him? It also asks the question of why cop Chloe Dancer (Lauren German) cannot be affected by “the devil.”

Lucifer Morningstar owns a nightclub and seems pretty benevolent with those who he has helped. While he enjoys himself amongst the living, with his sidekick Mazikeen (Lesley-Ann Brandt), angel Amenadiel (D.B. Woodside, who played, amongst other roles, Principal Wood on Buffy the Vampire Slayer) comes by periodically to warn his opposite number that the longer he stays out of Hell, the more things are in danger of being messed up badly.

The series thus far has dealt with a number of murders, punishment for those who deserve it and Lucifer’s increasing fascination with Detective Dancer. Morningstar is less enamored of Dancer’s daughter Trixie (played with adorable cuteness by Scarlett Estevez) and the cop’s ex-husband (dubbed Detective Douche by Lucifer) Dan (Kevin Alejandro).

Lucifer  benefits from a number of brilliant guest stars, in the first three episodes there are a couple of familiar, and talented, actors who stop by. In episode 103,  Richard T. Jones (Event Horizon, Collateral) plays an unscrupulous football agent and in episode 102, Jeremy Davies (Lost, Justified) plays a paparazzo under suspicion for murder.

In some ways the show feels almost like a Castle knock-off, but with the reluctant detective being teamed up with Satan versus a writer. Another difference is that Lucifer does not have official permission to tag along on cases, he just manipulates his way there. He is, after all, Satan and highly persuasive.

Ellis manages to give his holidaying devil an impish feel. The ruler of Hell is delighted to be “out and about” while, at the same time, developing emotions and feelings that should be anathema to the angel cast from heaven.

In the three episodes on offer so far, Lucifer is learning what having a conscience means, has suffered from guilt and starts to focus less on punishment and more on justice.  In terms of relationships with people,  he has not changed his feelings for Trixie, he is becoming fond of her mother.

The Welsh actor brings a keen sense of comedy to the role along with sizable acting chops that enable him to make his devil likable with just enough of an “edge” to make him occasionally  a little disturbing.  Despite this harsh side, Ellis’ Lucifer is compelling and a little addictive. Woodside’s Amenadiel is humorless and uptight compared to his “brother.”

German, as the former actress turned cop, is also a bit uptight and humorless but for entirely different reasons. Her mother was a film actress of note (B films) and Dancer’s one foray into the film world resulted in a topless scene that she would rather forget.

Lesley-Ann Brandt’s sidekick role as Mazikeen places her as an evil Jiminy Cricket, where she attempts to lead Satan back into Hell, or at least to act that bit more…devilish.

Lucifer being set in Los Angeles is nigh on perfect for this fantasy, and oddly procedural, show.  Having Satan solve crimes with his reluctant partner, who remains unmoved by Lucifer’s influences, is set against his personal evolution generated by his being in the “real” world.

Show creator Tom Kapinos, who somewhat amazingly started on Dawson’s Creek,  has come up with a brilliant show that features two impressive stars, German and Ellis and a fascinating storyline.  Lucifer airs Mondays on FOX. Catch this one, it is different and very much outside the box and,  once you have watched it, you too will be saying “I love Luci…”