For this new article, I would like to tell you about one of my favorite television series. it is a fantasy-police series which was broadcast on FOX from January 2016 to May 2018 then on Netflix from May 2019 to September 2021. The main character is a character based on one of the comic book characters created by Neil Gaiman, Sam Kieth, Mike Dringenberg and M. R. Carey for The Sandman series and whose first appearance in the fourth volume dates from April 1989. I am of course talking about the Lucifer series.
We start with a quick summary: Lucifer Morningstar has decided to take a vacation from his duties in Hell and decides to spend some time on Earth to better understand humanity. He settled in Los Angeles - the City of Angels where he owned a nightclub. Lucifer received from his father the gift of compelling people to reveal their deepest desires. One evening, Lucifer witnesses the murder of a pop singer in front of his club. He therefore decides to go in search of the culprit and meets on his way a police officer named Chloé Decker who resists his gift and puts obstacles in his way.
A very brief technical description:
- Created by Tom Kapinos, based on the character of Lucifer created by Neil Gaiman for the comics The Sandman.
- Music by Ben Decter, Jeff Russo, Denis Smith and Marco Beltrami.
- Main cast: Tom Ellis, Lauren German, D. B. Woodside, Rachael Harris, Lesley-Ann Brandt, Kevin Alejandro, Aimee Garcia.
I've always loved fantasy stories, myths and legends and all that, so I figured why not try this series. I started it when season 2 had just been released on Netflix and enthusiasm for the series was quite strong on the networks.
First of all, I was completely seduced by the choice of actors and actresses who embody these colorful characters. Tom Ellis playing the King of Hell offers a warm and crazy performance, far from the lugubrious aspect that Lucifer could have in the collective imagination. He perfectly fits every aspect one would expect of the character: sarcastic, touching, sassy and more. His chemistry with all his on-screen partners is also noticeable. Detective Chloé Decker - played by Lauren German - with whom Lucifer will have several incredible adventures over the course of the episodes, is a more down to earth and reasonable character. The bond between Lucifer and Chloe is built slowly, gradually and their various differences in character will allow one another to grow on aspects of their personalities and evolve together. I particularly like the beginning of their relationship because together they show that for a friendship to work, we don't need to be mirrors of each other and that is what can be the greatest strength of a friendship. Sometimes it’s precisely these differences because they can help us move forward on our own life journeys. Arriving on Earth, Lucifer is also joined by one of his demons, Mazikeen "Maze" Smith - played by Lesley-Ann Brandt - and, personally, she quickly became my favorite character. Without revealing too much because it would be of no interest to you to watch the series afterwards, I really like the balance it brings to Lucifer's crazy ideas, either in one extreme by trying to reason with him or in the other by being abrupt and sometimes even violent. She brings a form of raw honesty and Lucifer respects that about her. Once again, they represent a strong friendship, they are united and very loyal but for all that they are not systematically in agreement with each other. And during their disagreements, even if sometimes they go far in their confrontations, they always hear each other's arguments, that does not mean that they agree with it but they admit the value of the opinion of the person closest to them. I'm not going to talk about the characters one by one because it would be way too long and I risk telling you too much so I will simply end this section by saying that the entire cast of this series is very talented and their team cohesion works well . The different personalities, the different links also between the characters all bring something specific and different to the story compared to other series that are rarely found at the moment.
The character of Lucifer also having a very religious connotation, I like the liberties they allowed themselves to take with his story and especially with the people who can surround him. Without developing too much so as not to completely spoil the entire series, over the course of 6 seasons we have the opportunity to meet several biblical characters or those linked to this cosmogony. Although 6 seasons was a little too long in my opinion and they would have done better to stop before then, they learned to develop the plot without losing too much of the essence of their characters, which many series do not. don't know how to do. And while I'm glad the show was saved after it was canceled by FOX (after season 3) so that we had a slightly more constructed ending than what we were left with, Netflix should have completed a fourth season to write a cleaner ending and stop there. I'm not saying that there aren't events in the Netflix seasons (seasons 4 to 6) that aren't likeable or enjoyable, what I'm saying is that they wanted to focus too much on subjects that could be treated more simply.
Still, I loved this series from the first episode, and even if some stories are sometimes far-fetched or, on the contrary, a little underdeveloped, there are many aspects that make it a great series , pleasant to watch and which sometimes even creates a very pleasant suspense. We gradually feel in the evolution of the different seasons the changes in the themes which are accentuated: first season one which establishes itself as a detective series and which evolves over the seasons to detach itself more and more from this genre and to get closer and closer to the fantastic side of its story and its various characters. This evolution was also manifested by an aesthetic evolution of the series. The various special effects which were quite rare at the start of the series became more common over the seasons and unfortunately, they were not always up to the quality that could be expected. Certain special effects which logically reinforced the fantastic aspect were not necessarily necessary and I think that these various defects were perhaps due to a lack of continuity of the budget between FOX and the rescue by Netflix.
To finish with this series, I would like to talk to you about the soundtrack of the series which is for me, no pun intended, simply fantastic! The work of Ben Decter, Jeff Russo, Denis Smith and Marco Beltrami was of high quality. And I will add that Tom Ellis knowing how to sing a song does not spoil the work of atmosphere brought to the series and also adds a music lover's dimension to the character of Lucifer, humanizing him just enough so that we can better understand him. to understand.
There you go, I'm going to leave you with these beautiful words, hoping to have made you want to watch the series. Let me know what you think if you ever try it !
