If it didn't have him, it'd collapse.

If it didn’t have him, it’d collapse.

DC Comics has had a decent reputation on television in recent years, especially with the rise of shows like Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, and Gotham. While some properties have seen more success than others, I was intrigued to see that Lucifer was in development as a series with Fox. The comic series was originally written by Neil Gaiman, so big points there. While it is something that I have only partially read, I was intrigued to see what it would be like because it dealt with the most infamous villain in the world of fiction getting tired of it all.

So, you can imagine my surprise when the vast majority of this show ends up being, well, stolen from cop shows.

The Characters

I'm Detective Becke-. Er, I mean, Martin-. Um, what was my name again?

I’m Detective Becke-. Er, I mean, Martin-. Um, what was my name again?

Tom Ellis plays the titular Lord of Darkness, who now runs a piano bar out of mid-town Los Angeles. Even though I’ve only previously seen him on The Strain, he makes a good impression here with the lazy material at his disposal. I am thinking that he will end up carrying this show until people realize certain elements about the plot, but more on that later.

D.B. Woodside also does a good job as the angel Amenadiel, popping up twice in order to warn Lucifer about the threat of a war between him and the unknown God of the series. Other than that, he’s non-existent, which is a crying shame. If there was a focus on that story, then they could have found a lot more use for this talented actor.

Unfortunately, every other actor and actress barely registered on screen in a meaningful way. Why? Well, buckle your seat-belts because the mess begins now.

The Plot

Why wasn't this the real story? At least that would have been intriguing.

Why wasn’t this the real story? At least that would have been intriguing.

I want you to stop me if you have heard any of this before:

  • A likable wise guyfinds himself caught in the middle of a murder investigation.
  • He meets the peak “strong, independent” female cop that seems utterly immune and often annoyed by his charms. Oh, and she also has some kind of secret turmoil that the writers WILL stretch out for two to four seasons, guaranteed!
  • He becomes interested in her for some reason.
  • There is a mentor character that dispatches sage wisdom and knows the main character’s secrets.
  • The detective and hero solve the case together through the power of plot cliches, like how the first person they meet is the actual killer and everything else is a red herring.
  • He gets brought on as a consultant for the sake of the series.

Hey, writers! Castle and Forever called, and it wants its’ everything back!

The worst part about this is that it came from Tom Kapinos, the same guy that made one of the funniest shows of the last decade in Californication. I don’t know whether he or the network (or both) are responsible for tearing up the source material and replacing it with this uninspired knock-off, but that’s just inexcusable when there are so many other shows that are commanding our attention these days. For crying out loud, The X-Files finished up its’ two night premiere just seconds before this aired, and that was just as freaky and well-timed as the original episodes were back in the 1990s!

The Jokes

Funny, but this doesn't help with anyone but the title character.

Funny, but this doesn’t help with anyone but the title character.

If it weren’t for Tom Ellis cracking a joke or making pop culture references every now and again, I have a feeling that this show would be instantly shut off by a number of viewers about ten minutes in. Thankfully, most of these pieces of the script do work, even if it is only to distract you from how you’ve seen this script before. Unfortunately, that comes with some drawbacks as well.

Since the show hinges around Lucifer, it also means that the gags almost entirely circulate around his ability to draw out peoples’ hidden desires or, in one scene, be the real devil. Well, except for Lauren German’s Detective Chloe Decker. Why? Who knows? While it worked for the pilot episode, the failure to develop any of the other characters and their senses of humor will inevitably lead to problems down the road. Hell, all we really got to see of Chloe is that she has to pick her daughter up from school and that she is kind of catty with her ex.

Conclusion

Honestly, I get that some people like cop shows, but this lack of originality is inexcusable in a world that is now post-24, Game of Thrones, Strike Back, Legends of Tomorrow or virtually any other piece of critically acclaimed programming that you can think of. The devil you know may seem better than the devil you don’t, but let’s face the truth here.

Appointment television, this ain’t.