Here’s a brief recap of my journey to heaven and hell. Not to mention Los Angeles. I’m not a reviewer like that Kevin Kim guy (I hope he watches the show so I can read a real review), but I’ll share my impressions of Lucifer (available on Netflix) with you.
Here’s the official trailer to get you started:
The show received generally positive reviews (88% on Rotten Tomatoes), and the fact that I stuck with it from beginning to end despite my limited attention span says a lot. This guy wrote a review that I mostly agree with, and rather than write my own, I’m going to just steal his synopsis:
Lucifer has given up his throne in the underworld and returns to earth, where he ironically decides to settle in the City Of Angels (Los Angeles).
While overindulging in the excesses of life, Lucifer still retains some of his otherworldly powers which allows him to ‘grant favours’ until one of his recipients is murdered outside of his upscale nightclub.
For the first time in billions of years, the murder awakens something unfamiliar in Lucifer’s soul that is eerily similar to compassion and sympathy.
He quickly pairs up with the investigating detective, Chloe Decker (Lauren German), which starts the partnership the show revolves around.
So, yeah, the show is a crime drama with Sunday school lessons. That was different enough to pique my interest. As I mentioned above, I don’t normally watch TV, but one day I had a house guest and she wanted to watch something. Scrolling through the Netflix offerings, she saw Lucifer and said, “That looks interesting,” and so began the journey. We only watched the one episode together, but some Satanic power called me back for more, and here we are.
I’ll refer you to Wikipedia for details on the cast and actors, but you have Lucifer, his partner Chloe, an LAPD detective, Amenadiel, Lucifer’s older brother, Mazikeen, a demon who follows Lucifer to LA, and several other Biblical figures (including Lucifer’s mother, Adam’s wife Eve, Cain, another brother, and assorted angels) make appearances over the course of the series.
What did I like? Well, the uniqueness of the storyline was pretty interesting. I’m no theologian, so I can’t attest to the accuracy of the religious aspects of the show, but for the most part, it worked pretty well. I actually didn’t like the portrayal of God, who seemed much too milquetoast for a supreme being. Some critics didn’t like the crime drama aspects, but I thought they helped carry along the story quite well–who doesn’t like a good murder mystery solved every week?
The aerial views of Los Angeles (always on a clear day) were spectacular. I was born in LA, and it brought back nice memories of those years before the city became a shithole. Almost all of the actresses were smoking hot and sexy. And this being a show about the devil, there were many debaucheries (within the bounds of a PG rating), dancing girls, and booze. I could relate!
Tom Ellis did a good job as Lucifer, although his British accent was a little distracting (but then again, his brother was a Black man, and so was God. Their mother was White. And that was something else I liked; the show didn’t go crazy woke; it just portrayed all the relationships as normal and natural. I’m not going to do spoilers here, but two of the female characters wound up getting married, but again, it wasn’t overplayed. Lucifer was a slut (of course) and alluded to having sex with men occasionally, but thankfully, we never had to watch those encounters. About the only time I thought the show went over the top was a couple of episodes depicting the LAPD as being a racist organization.
Anyway, a few episodes went off the rails, but for the most part, the show was always very watchable. I think it could have ended after season five because it sometimes felt like things were being drug out and strung along, but in the end, it all wrapped up nicely.
Give it a watch, and go to hell!
Sounds like an interesting series. I’ll stick it on my ever-lengthening Netflix queue. I chuckled at your remark about always seeing LA on a clear day.
It’s sad that you didn’t like Dennis Haysbert as God more. I love Dennis Haysbert. He played President David Palmer on “24” until they shockingly killed off his character in Season 5. Haysbert himself joked he was the “first black president” before Obama.
Playing God is difficult because, as a character, God arguably works better when he’s in the background. Look at the difference between the New Testament and the Old: in the Old Testament (OT), God is front and center, a huge and loud mover of events, constantly interacting with his people. In the New Testament, by contrast, you don’t get much of that because the focus is primarily on Jesus (does Jesus get a mention in the series?). There’s the “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” moment at Jesus’ baptism, but aside from that, you don’t get much OT-style God. And I’d say that that’s for the better.
What it means for dramatic actors playing the role of God is that the role should be understated, with God being seen more through hints, implications, and innuendos. This is how the series Battlestar Galactica handled God: evidence of his existence was to be found in the turn of real-world circumstances, not through the appearance of a glowing being or divine hand.
Does Dennis Haysbert’s God ever bust out a loud miracle?
Anyway, I appreciate the series review; it sounds as though it’s worth watching. I have a few other series I want to binge first, but I’ll definitely get around to this one. Thanks again.
Kev, to be clear, I had no issues with Haysbert’s performance, just the way his role was written. Yes, he was definitely a New Testament God in the episodes in which he appeared (only four or five total). He was very hands-off and let his Heavenly children and humans exercise free will. No major miracles at all.
No, Jesus didn’t play a part in the story at all. In fact, I don’t recall him even being mentioned, which is strange now that I think about it. A couple of Lucifer’s brothers were featured, but there were angels with wings and powers of their own. Poor Jesus was only human and didn’t rate, I guess. I’m trying to avoid spoilers, but I suppose I can reveal that in the story, God has decided to retire and step down from the throne. Determining who would be his replacement was a big part of season five.
Again, I’m no theologian, but one of the Bible verses I remember is along the lines of “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son…” Now I’m wondering how that reconciles with Lucifer and his siblings, who all call God dad in the show.
I’m looking forward to your take on the series.