Lucifer Review: “Pilot”

After years of waiting, fans of The Sandman finally have something from that series find its way onto television.

It’s Gaiman’s version of Lucifer Morningstar, more or less. He solves crimes on a mismatched detective procedural show.

Directed by Tom Wiseman
Written by Tom Kapinos

Tom Ellis as Lucifer Morningstar
Lauren German as Chloe Dancer
Lesley-Ann Brandt as Mazikeen
Kevin Alejandro as Dan
Rachael Harris as Linda
D.B. Woodside as Amenadiel
Bailey Chase as Grey Cooper
Tomiwa Edun as 2Vile
Scarlett Estevez as Trixie
AnnaLynne McCord as Delilah

Premise

Lucifer, having abandoned Hell, lives the high life in LA. When murder touches someone close to him, he inserts himself in the investigation.

High Points

They found the right lead actor to carry of this part, a blend of Luciferian charm, TV camp, moral ambiguity, and comedic dickishness

Low Point

The scene in the counsellor’s office didn’t even work as camp for me. It just played as stupid, and filled with exposition of things we should be able to understand from context. YMMV.

The Scores:

Originality: 2/6 This is a really odd idea: a folkloric character who was given an original take in a graphic novels, put in the most cliché TV setting imaginable.

Effects: 5/6 The effects are decent, even if the angel wings seemed a bit cheesy. It’s hard to do convincing angels.

Acting: 5/6

Emotional Response: 3/6 If I wasn’t planning on reviewing the first ep, I would have stopped watching. However, it’s the sort of thing that may develop a following, particularly if they can give Lucifer greater depth.

Story: 4/6

Production: 6/6 The show has a significant budget, which they generally use well.

Overall: 4/6

In total, “Pilot” receives 29/42