As a viewer, you have rights. No one reads you your rights at the start of each show but, trust me, you have them anyway. One of those rights is that you don't NEED to read the reviews to enjoy a show; and, if you do, you certainly don't need to read them extra carefully. But this show is an exception. If you do choose to read the reviews -- including the mainstream reviews which IMDb so graciously provides -- you will notice recurring references to "escapist entertainment" and other terms to that effect. WHAT'S THAT ABOUT? Well, let us toddle off to the first or pilot episode and have a closer look, shall we?? At one of the key or defining moments in this story, Luther, convinced that the proof of his "theory" lies in the cremation vase containing the ashes of Alice's parents' dead dog, breaks into her flat, opens the vase and - PRESTO -- indeed finds pieces of a Glock pistol inside the vase. He is so excited about this that, even though he has no intention of actually arresting her, even though the search is illegal, he confronts Alice deliberately and shows her the find. Now the good news is that this behavior sets the tone for the entire series and is very useful to the viewer. The bad news is that it is nonsense. Standard procedure at crematoriums is to fill the vases by hand in order to bypass bits of unburnt bone which, logic dictates, might be somewhat upsetting to relatives. So for the writers to presume that actual pieces of the mechanism of a gun would be nonchalantly passed on to the next of kin is (are you ahead of me?) escapist and fanciful. If you can overlook that flaw -- Sherlock Holmes this is not! -- it's an engaging show, part of the "new breed" of shows where the hero has some sort of off-putting character trait (Doc Martin, House) and an extension of the theme introduced in Silence of the Lambs where it is entirely normal and proper to consult known sociopaths to gain insight on other crimes. Good show, yes. Great show, I am frankly not sure.
Review of Luther
