Luther Season 1 Overview: A Police Procedural That's A Cut Above

Season 1 of the British series was released on BBC back in 2010. I keep hearing good things about it that I decided to give it a try. All four seasons are currently viewable on NetFlix. There are only six episodes total in the first so it's a super fast watch.

Idris Elba is London DCI (Detective Chief Inspector) John Luther. While John is very good at his job, he has a number of demons (including some anger control issues and a tendency to play outside the law). This is precisely what makes him such an interesting character. Elba has received a number of awards for his excellent work here.

Episode 1: Luther investigates a murdered husband and wife who were discovered by their daughter (Alice Morgan). An interesting twist is that the family dog was also killed. As the season progresses we learn that Alice (Ruth Wilson) is not what she seems. She's an astrophysicist, was an 18 year old PhD and is definitely smart enough to get away with murder.

The two eventually form a warped bond. I'm not sure exactly what to call it. It's not romantic or sexual. Alice refers to it as "simpatico" (meaning they both are similar and understand each other). This relationship is the best part of the series. It reminds me of Hannibal Lector and Will Graham from NBC's "Hannibal". See reviews here.

Episode 2: A sniper is on the lose and he's targeting coppers. While John works on this case, Alice continues her obsession with him. She attacks his estranged wife Zoe. We're not sure if Alice plans to frame him, kill him, eat him or all of the above. I'm LOVING the interaction between the two.

Episode 3: Lucien Burgess is a satanic/occult serial killer who likes to drink women's blood. He kills in 10 year increments. John must use all his wits to catch the jerk. Lucien is not as smart as he thinks he is. Meanwhile Alice continues to try to "help" John by hiring some girls to beat up Zoe's current boyfriend (Mark). John slowly begins to rely on Alice for her insights into other killer's motives.

Episode 4: A serial killer attacks women at night and takes their jewelry. This episode has one of the most chilling scenes thus far in the series. The killer corners a woman in a bathroom (where she finds the dead body of his "supposed" friend (who was also having an affair with his wife). Excellent scene-- I really believed he wanted to kill the poor woman. The breaking-down-the-door scene was very reminiscent of "The Shining". Luckily Luther gets there in the nick of time. The killer's wife is not so forgiving and axes him the head right in front of the police.

Alice continues to "help" and solves John's Madsen problem by killing the guy. Henry had been in a coma but since had woken up. There was much suspicion in the police department that Luther caused Madsen to fall. We however saw what really happened in the first scene of episode 1. The good news is John got the intel from Madsen to save a girl's life. The bad news is (depending on your opinion) that Luther did nothing to keep Madsen from falling. I personally dont have a problem with it (the guy kills little girls after all). I guess the law frowns on that sort of thing though.

Episode 5: This episode involves the kidnapping of an art dealer's wife. The kidnappers want diamonds but they dont initially know she has swallowed them. It turns out DIC Ian Reed knew about the heist but is crooked and so takes a kickback.Things go from bad to horrible when Ian kills Zoe and frames John for the crime. I really didnt see that coming. Heartbreaking.

Episode 6: Luther dodges the police as he tries to prove his innocence and Ian's guilt. He is shot by a police sniper. His boss Rose Teller thinks he's guilty. Supervisor Schenk begins to suspect he might be instead innocent. John devises a plan to restore his reputation. It involves Mark and Alice. Unfortunately Alice goes rogue (as she usually does). Ian is dead. Problem solved. However, does this mean Luther will go to jail for his killing? No more helping Alice!

Grade: 5 Monsters (out of 5). Season 1 of "Luther" is excellent. It's smart, sexy and extremely well done. I dont care if some of the story lines are a bit far fetched. I just enjoy watching the actors. Elba and Wilson are on fire as they circle each other in a cat and mouse game. The six episodes left me wanting more. That's the sign of a great series. There has been talk of Elba becoming the next James Bond. I'm all for it.