3 Reasons Why You Have to Watch Luther

 

       Luther is back!

       The first episode of Series 3 aired last night on BBC and offered the same irresistible mix of hardboiled cop drama, twisted serial killer shenanigans and of course, the man himself, Idris Elba.

       Sometimes it’s hard to convince people to watch this show. Although recent promo has given the launch of this latest series a decent amount of exposure, many people I’ve talked to about it previously have never even heard of it.

       So here are 3 great reasons why you should watch it:

1) It’s Short

       I’ll be honest with you – I can’t be bothered with watching long series. About 10 episodes is usually my maximum limit (yes, Game of Thrones!). That’s why I generally have a disdain for US TV shows which seem adamant on wringing out every possible minute they can from given material, usually resulting in plenty of filler and artificially lengthened story contrivances that just end up watering down the whole experience.

       Luther, on the other hand is short. First series: 6 episodes. Second and third: 4 episodes each.

       Although they are good shows, I struggled to watch all of LOST and Heroes ONCE let alone any repeat viewings. But you’ll probably want to watch all of Luther again at some point– it’s that awesome!

2) The Villains

       Good cop dramas need good villains and the killers contained here are all of the dark and twisted variety – often (but by no means always) grotesque serial killers with disturbing MOs or unusual ways of killing.

       Things are also usually not how they are first presented and although you often see the killers introduced early on and go about their work, there is usually always some kind of shock twist or reveal to keep you guessing.

       The city of London is nearly always shown here as being dark and grimy and acts as the perfect setting, although some may end up developing an irrational fear of going there after seeing some of the scary crooks and psychopaths portrayed as regularly lurking the streets there!

       It’s not just the killers that Luther is trying to catch either. He also has family problems, grief from his superiors, internal affairs constantly breathing down his neck and even his trusted partner DS Ripley (Warren Brown) occasionally has cause to doubt him and his methods.

       And lets not forget the delectable (yet greatly unhinged) Alice Morgan (Ruth Wilson), who plays a Moriarty like counterpoint to Luther’s Holmes… that is, if Moriarty was a woman and attracted to Holmes. Does she ultimately want to save him - or destroy him? I guess we’ll find out. Ruth Wilson is also set to have a role in the upcoming Lone Ranger film starring Armie Hammer and Johnny Depp, which is out later this year.

3) It's Idris Elba!

       He is the driving force of this whole thing, and arguably it simply would not work without him in the role. He’s got the smarts, he’s got the brawn (and isn’t afraid to use it) and most of all he is strong of character. Despite all the adversity thrown his way from all sides he just keeps going.

       Luther always gets the job done, and although his methods occasionally cross the line his heart is in the right place, which means we are always behind him every step of the way. He may be dogged, weary and perpetually grumpy but he somehow still remains charismatic, likeable and relatable. A difficult feat to pull off, which not only attests to the fantastic writing in the series, but also Idris’s performance.

       He’s no stranger to movies either, with notable roles in The Losers, Prometheus, Thor and 28 Weeks Later. Of course he has been in the occasional stinker such as Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (booooo!) but has a big role in the soon to be released Pacific Rim (yay!), which I am scheduled to review, so watch this space! Oh yeah, he was also Stringer Bell in The Wire.

       At one point, in the far reaches of the internet, it was rumoured that he was being considered to be the next Bond. And you know what? I’m totally fine with that. Alas, it probably wont be happening now as he is admittedly getting a bit old for the role now (…Not because he is black! It would have been a brilliant way to further shake up the franchise!)

       So basically, go and watch Luther now! You may have to hunt down the earlier seasons elsewhere but HERE is a link to the first episode of Season 3 on BBC iPlayer. The moment I heard Massive Attack’s beautifully melancholy opening theme I was hooked and so will you be…

You can check out a brief trailer for Luther Series 3 below:

3rd July 2013