Lucifer: Pilot
January 25, 2016 7:42 PM - Season 1, Episode 1 - Subscribe
After leaving hell, Lucifer Morningstar seeks a more exciting life in Los Angeles.
I'm curious where this show goes - right now I have it ranked as dumber than Blacklist and Blindspot, which is really an accomplishment.
posted by humans are superior! at 8:02 PM on January 25, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by humans are superior! at 8:02 PM on January 25, 2016 [2 favorites]
This was terrible but I kind of liked it. Sort of like Scream Queens.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 8:05 PM on January 25, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 8:05 PM on January 25, 2016 [2 favorites]
Did anything survive from the comic aside from "Lucifer abdicated and went to LA"?
posted by Pope Guilty at 8:11 PM on January 25, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by Pope Guilty at 8:11 PM on January 25, 2016 [5 favorites]
What? This is a police procedural. For fuck's sake.
posted by Justinian at 9:04 PM on January 25, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by Justinian at 9:04 PM on January 25, 2016 [5 favorites]
What? This is a police procedural. For fuck's sake.
Hee. For some reason it amuses me to no end that they've done this. Like, to take a premise with such potential to be epic and boil it down to a generic procedural, it's just so ridiculous. (I'm mostly familiar with Lucifer's Sandman arc though; I know I was buying the Lucifer comics when the monthlies started, but I think I dropped out well before the end of the 75-issue run.)
posted by oh yeah! at 9:37 PM on January 25, 2016 [5 favorites]
Hee. For some reason it amuses me to no end that they've done this. Like, to take a premise with such potential to be epic and boil it down to a generic procedural, it's just so ridiculous. (I'm mostly familiar with Lucifer's Sandman arc though; I know I was buying the Lucifer comics when the monthlies started, but I think I dropped out well before the end of the 75-issue run.)
posted by oh yeah! at 9:37 PM on January 25, 2016 [5 favorites]
I'm going to pitch an adaptation of Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast reimagined as a courtroom drama.
posted by Justinian at 9:39 PM on January 25, 2016 [20 favorites]
posted by Justinian at 9:39 PM on January 25, 2016 [20 favorites]
Anyone else find it amusing that Lucifer was first seen driving around in a convertible listening to loud music, just like his character on Rush? No? Just me, then?
posted by The Wrong Kind of Cheese at 9:42 PM on January 25, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by The Wrong Kind of Cheese at 9:42 PM on January 25, 2016 [2 favorites]
It had me, then it lost me. I really enjoyed the first scene; the conversation about "The devil didn't make you do it" was probably the most humanistic thing I've seen on TV in a while. Then the whole police procedural thing kicked in, and then they had to do the kids-today-with-their-hippity-hop-music bit on top of that. But I did enjoy the scene with the school bully.
posted by MrBadExample at 9:55 PM on January 25, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by MrBadExample at 9:55 PM on January 25, 2016 [2 favorites]
Just got started -- really didn't like the Fridging Of The Blonde Girl as a way of motivating the protagonist. Lucifer had more of a human connection with that motorcycle cop. They should have done something to that guy, I would have been more on board. On the other hand, I giggled that his nightclub was called 'Lux'. I'll keep going a bit more.
posted by Mogur at 4:20 AM on January 26, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by Mogur at 4:20 AM on January 26, 2016 [3 favorites]
I'm going to pitch an adaptation of Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast reimagined as a courtroom drama.
If you managed to pull Jonathan Rhys Meyers & Stephen Fry back into it, I'm pretty sure that would end up on my Tivo. (No seriously, thank you for that this morning.)
posted by librarianamy at 4:32 AM on January 26, 2016 [2 favorites]
If you managed to pull Jonathan Rhys Meyers & Stephen Fry back into it, I'm pretty sure that would end up on my Tivo. (No seriously, thank you for that this morning.)
posted by librarianamy at 4:32 AM on January 26, 2016 [2 favorites]
Tom Ellis seems fatally miscast and way too try-hard. Ugh, his gross landscaped stubble!
The whole thing was embarrassing for everyone involved, especially the viewer, but the scene at the rapper's house was so misjudged it was practically a hate crime.
posted by Ian A.T. at 5:54 AM on January 26, 2016 [6 favorites]
The whole thing was embarrassing for everyone involved, especially the viewer, but the scene at the rapper's house was so misjudged it was practically a hate crime.
posted by Ian A.T. at 5:54 AM on January 26, 2016 [6 favorites]
Ah yes, I had the "pleasure" of watching the leaked pilot sometime late last year and I have never hated anything so intensely in a long time. Sure, make a supernatural police procedural but don't fool us into thinking it has anything to do with the comic character. It really doesn't, aside from a few mandatory touches.
And usually I am all for a handsome British actor but no fucking thank you, Tom Ellis. Try again.
posted by Kitteh at 7:09 AM on January 26, 2016
And usually I am all for a handsome British actor but no fucking thank you, Tom Ellis. Try again.
posted by Kitteh at 7:09 AM on January 26, 2016
Since I had no idea this was derived from a comic book (good lord...Is anything not derived from a comic book anymore?), I viewed it totally cold, and I liked it for goofy premise that it was. It was silly fun. Being a police procedural is a small strike against it, but I think it survived that demerit.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:30 AM on January 26, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Thorzdad at 7:30 AM on January 26, 2016 [1 favorite]
Hmph. Well, if it survives, they should use the time to let Mazikeen (sorry, "Maze") have a bit of the spotlight. And her real face.
posted by rewil at 7:33 AM on January 26, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by rewil at 7:33 AM on January 26, 2016 [4 favorites]
I wasn't expecting much and got goofy and charming in a way I appreciated. I probably won't make an effort to follow it bu I had fun.
posted by PussKillian at 10:55 AM on January 26, 2016
posted by PussKillian at 10:55 AM on January 26, 2016
That was pretty bad. I want to like it so I'll stick with it for a bit, but it's not off to a good start. I never did get around to reading the comic book (something I should probably rectify) but I do remember when Lucifer first quit Hell in Sandman, which I really enjoyed at the time. It might be fun if they did a variation of that story and had various pagan Gods come to the bar and try to buy Hell from Lucifer.
Tom Ellis seems fatally miscast and way too try-hard.
Indeed.
posted by homunculus at 6:20 PM on January 26, 2016
Tom Ellis seems fatally miscast and way too try-hard.
Indeed.
posted by homunculus at 6:20 PM on January 26, 2016
This kind of shit might be the most entertaining thing about the show so far: Olive Garden Under Fire From One Million Moms For Sponsoring Lucifer
posted by homunculus at 6:44 PM on January 26, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by homunculus at 6:44 PM on January 26, 2016 [4 favorites]
That scene where Lucifer trashes the rapper (but no slam against black music, the devil loves the blues!) felt way too much like a 50 yr old television writer's personal axe grind and turned me off a lot.
Nothing in the dialigue or story made me feel like Lucifer was as old as time and incomprehensible bored. He took a leave from hell to experience a festival of flesh and earthly delights which consisted of... driving fast and lots of hetero sex?
Actor was great though and did sell both the character's boredom and interest in the novelty of policework.
posted by elr at 7:58 PM on January 26, 2016 [5 favorites]
Nothing in the dialigue or story made me feel like Lucifer was as old as time and incomprehensible bored. He took a leave from hell to experience a festival of flesh and earthly delights which consisted of... driving fast and lots of hetero sex?
Actor was great though and did sell both the character's boredom and interest in the novelty of policework.
posted by elr at 7:58 PM on January 26, 2016 [5 favorites]
That scene where Lucifer trashes the rapper...
I mean maybe everyone's used to it already, but that had to be super uncomfortable to film, right?
I'm now hoping every single new show I watch somehow becomes a procedural in the second act. Every last one.
posted by ODiV at 8:45 PM on January 26, 2016 [3 favorites]
I mean maybe everyone's used to it already, but that had to be super uncomfortable to film, right?
I'm now hoping every single new show I watch somehow becomes a procedural in the second act. Every last one.
posted by ODiV at 8:45 PM on January 26, 2016 [3 favorites]
I'm now hoping every single new show I watch somehow becomes a procedural in the second act. Every last one.
Tonight on the Gilmore Girls...
posted by Mogur at 3:56 AM on January 27, 2016 [4 favorites]
Tonight on the Gilmore Girls...
posted by Mogur at 3:56 AM on January 27, 2016 [4 favorites]
I am unfamiliar with the comic, but this was just silly fun to me.
One Million Moms is already giving the show some free publicity by complaining about it.
posted by miss-lapin at 4:44 AM on January 27, 2016
One Million Moms is already giving the show some free publicity by complaining about it.
posted by miss-lapin at 4:44 AM on January 27, 2016
I like that even Lucifer doesn't know why he is solving crimes (at the end, when he goes to see the psychiatrist). I'm convinced that he really wants to know why he's being nice to people so that he can stop.
posted by Mogur at 10:26 AM on January 27, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by Mogur at 10:26 AM on January 27, 2016 [4 favorites]
I'm going to watch this now and I expect to be angry about it being a police procedural.
posted by Justinian at 6:53 PM on January 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Justinian at 6:53 PM on January 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
I am angry.
posted by Justinian at 11:22 PM on January 27, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by Justinian at 11:22 PM on January 27, 2016 [6 favorites]
I knew nothing about this series before I watched it, which I think is why I was able to enjoy it so much. I thoroughly expected it to be awful, thanks to the ads for the show... and then I was pleasantly surprised.
I tend to hate how the devil is portrayed in a lot of shows. Usually, they make the devil care way too much about being Evil and Dastardly and Mwua-ha-ha. As if an entity with god-level power would really be all that interested in mundane bullshit like someone cheating on their spouse, etc. I know why so many stories about the devil are set up like that, I just find it uninteresting and over-done. So, unlike others above, I really disliked Lucifer's interaction with the cop. It just seemed like more of the same plot you always see: "I, insanely powerful creature that I am, can't help but put the energy and effort into pointing out how petty your power is compared to mine." That's just... not a good use of a super-powerful demi-god's time. It's like an adult, in all seriousness, going up to a toddler and being all, "Let me explain to you, toddler, how much more powerful I am than you!" You have to have a pretty serious inferiority complex to be interested in doing that, and it doesn't fit with someone as cool, suave, and collected as the devil is usually portrayed as.
Now, what I do like is a super-powerful demi-god getting so annoyed at a musician messing up a song that he has to go and let the musician know it. I love the idea of the devil driving around, enjoying some sick tunes, and then getting all irate because this one song just sucks! so! much! that he has to hunt down the artist and be all "I AM A BEING WITH INFINITE POWER AND YOUR RHYMES SUCK." (I just wish they hadn't made it some really uncomfortable racism thing. My husband and I agree that the scene would have worked so much better if Lucifer were an ardent fan of Smashmouth and got annoyed at a cover band ruining "All Star" or something.)
And I'm also just tickled pink at the idea that the devil is in a police procedural. He wants to punish wrongdoers! That's a motivation that makes sense to me. He's got plenty of free time and nothing better to do (other than, you know, drive around listening to sick tunes), so why not? He gets the satisfaction of completing his God-given duty. I'm all in, on that front.
I just.... I just wish they hadn't given him a love interest. I just wish his partner was a regular person, rather than The One Who Somehow Escapes His Power, Even Though No One Has Ever Managed It Before, Making Her Super Interesting Despite Her Apparent Ordinariness. I'm tired of that sort of story. I'm tired of love stories. Do not want.
posted by meese at 9:19 AM on January 28, 2016 [5 favorites]
I tend to hate how the devil is portrayed in a lot of shows. Usually, they make the devil care way too much about being Evil and Dastardly and Mwua-ha-ha. As if an entity with god-level power would really be all that interested in mundane bullshit like someone cheating on their spouse, etc. I know why so many stories about the devil are set up like that, I just find it uninteresting and over-done. So, unlike others above, I really disliked Lucifer's interaction with the cop. It just seemed like more of the same plot you always see: "I, insanely powerful creature that I am, can't help but put the energy and effort into pointing out how petty your power is compared to mine." That's just... not a good use of a super-powerful demi-god's time. It's like an adult, in all seriousness, going up to a toddler and being all, "Let me explain to you, toddler, how much more powerful I am than you!" You have to have a pretty serious inferiority complex to be interested in doing that, and it doesn't fit with someone as cool, suave, and collected as the devil is usually portrayed as.
Now, what I do like is a super-powerful demi-god getting so annoyed at a musician messing up a song that he has to go and let the musician know it. I love the idea of the devil driving around, enjoying some sick tunes, and then getting all irate because this one song just sucks! so! much! that he has to hunt down the artist and be all "I AM A BEING WITH INFINITE POWER AND YOUR RHYMES SUCK." (I just wish they hadn't made it some really uncomfortable racism thing. My husband and I agree that the scene would have worked so much better if Lucifer were an ardent fan of Smashmouth and got annoyed at a cover band ruining "All Star" or something.)
And I'm also just tickled pink at the idea that the devil is in a police procedural. He wants to punish wrongdoers! That's a motivation that makes sense to me. He's got plenty of free time and nothing better to do (other than, you know, drive around listening to sick tunes), so why not? He gets the satisfaction of completing his God-given duty. I'm all in, on that front.
I just.... I just wish they hadn't given him a love interest. I just wish his partner was a regular person, rather than The One Who Somehow Escapes His Power, Even Though No One Has Ever Managed It Before, Making Her Super Interesting Despite Her Apparent Ordinariness. I'm tired of that sort of story. I'm tired of love stories. Do not want.
posted by meese at 9:19 AM on January 28, 2016 [5 favorites]
Meese, I'm confused, who do you think Lucifer's love interest is(was?)?
posted by oh yeah! at 10:50 AM on January 28, 2016
posted by oh yeah! at 10:50 AM on January 28, 2016
Am I misremembering the source material or should half the bartender's face be all messed up a la Two Face?
posted by Justinian at 11:14 AM on January 28, 2016
posted by Justinian at 11:14 AM on January 28, 2016
who do you think Lucifer's love interest is(was?)?
His partner? Chloe, I think her name was?
I mean, they aren't love interests yet. But it seemed clear to me that they're being set up as some kind of will-they/won't-they thing.
posted by meese at 11:21 AM on January 28, 2016 [3 favorites]
His partner? Chloe, I think her name was?
I mean, they aren't love interests yet. But it seemed clear to me that they're being set up as some kind of will-they/won't-they thing.
posted by meese at 11:21 AM on January 28, 2016 [3 favorites]
Am I misremembering the source material or should half the bartender's face be all messed up a la Two Face?
Yeah, that was my least favorite change from the source material - it was always neat in the comics how her dialogue was written in with lots of random letters to simulate slurred speech but still be understandable. And she was so devoted to Lucifer, and they had that great kiss once despite her half-rotting face. TV 'Maze' is very boring in comparison.
Re Lucifer/Chloe - maybe I'm expecting too much from this stupid show, but I didn't think it was a will-they/won't-they setup. I guess if they go down the road of Lucifer losing his divinity and becoming more human it could. But judging by the scenes with the therapist, he seems to be mostly amused by sex, not driven by it. I think the dramatic tension in their pairing will be more about her immunity to his charms and her being the skeptic/Scully in the face of constant weirdness.
posted by oh yeah! at 12:17 PM on January 28, 2016
Yeah, that was my least favorite change from the source material - it was always neat in the comics how her dialogue was written in with lots of random letters to simulate slurred speech but still be understandable. And she was so devoted to Lucifer, and they had that great kiss once despite her half-rotting face. TV 'Maze' is very boring in comparison.
Re Lucifer/Chloe - maybe I'm expecting too much from this stupid show, but I didn't think it was a will-they/won't-they setup. I guess if they go down the road of Lucifer losing his divinity and becoming more human it could. But judging by the scenes with the therapist, he seems to be mostly amused by sex, not driven by it. I think the dramatic tension in their pairing will be more about her immunity to his charms and her being the skeptic/Scully in the face of constant weirdness.
posted by oh yeah! at 12:17 PM on January 28, 2016
I wish they'd just gone with the tarot card plot thing from the comics. Or kept anything from the comics. Or made a good show.
I also would like the Gormenghast police procedural remake.
posted by the uncomplicated soups of my childhood at 12:51 PM on January 28, 2016 [4 favorites]
I also would like the Gormenghast police procedural remake.
posted by the uncomplicated soups of my childhood at 12:51 PM on January 28, 2016 [4 favorites]
I'm definitely with meese in thinking his "partner" is set up to be the love interest.
posted by miss-lapin at 8:00 PM on January 28, 2016
posted by miss-lapin at 8:00 PM on January 28, 2016
I always liked how kill puppies for satan [sic] handled the devil- sure, he's completely evil, but come on, the worst thing that could happen already did, and holy shit but it's old news by now, and really the worst thing that can happen to Satan is that he waits a few years and everybody involved is either out of his hair or available to have lye pissed in their eyes until he gets bored.
posted by Pope Guilty at 8:32 PM on January 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Pope Guilty at 8:32 PM on January 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
Am I misremembering the source material or should half the bartender's face be all messed up a la Two Face?
Yes, although I've never read the Lucifer comics and know the characters only through their appearances in Sandman. I'm hoping that "Maze" having a normal face is just some sort of illusion for the benefit of Lux's customers, and her true appearance will be a reveal in a future episode for viewers unfamiliar with the comics. IIRC, the dialogue in this episode already implied that Maze isn't human.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 4:58 AM on January 29, 2016
Yes, although I've never read the Lucifer comics and know the characters only through their appearances in Sandman. I'm hoping that "Maze" having a normal face is just some sort of illusion for the benefit of Lux's customers, and her true appearance will be a reveal in a future episode for viewers unfamiliar with the comics. IIRC, the dialogue in this episode already implied that Maze isn't human.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 4:58 AM on January 29, 2016
lets hear it for the intern who searched their itunes for any songs with the word 'devil' or 'wicked' in them
good jorb toby
posted by robocop is bleeding at 10:16 AM on February 1, 2016 [7 favorites]
good jorb toby
posted by robocop is bleeding at 10:16 AM on February 1, 2016 [7 favorites]
Can I just add that as an Australian, the constant references to Jimmy Barnes were very confusing...
posted by prismatic7 at 2:23 AM on February 2, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by prismatic7 at 2:23 AM on February 2, 2016 [3 favorites]
Okay, so years later I finally try watching a few episodes of this. My therapist thought I should watch it, I cannot remember why. It is ridiculous and about what I expected, but we did seriously laugh our heads off. It is a comedy.
Better moments: Hot Tub High School never stops making me snicker. Trixie. The bully scene. Tom Ellis acting like every day is Christmas morning for him.
Eye rolly: the romantic setup, and banging the therapist. I had Some Thoughts on that one for my shrink, lemme tell ya.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:25 AM on June 19, 2021
Better moments: Hot Tub High School never stops making me snicker. Trixie. The bully scene. Tom Ellis acting like every day is Christmas morning for him.
Eye rolly: the romantic setup, and banging the therapist. I had Some Thoughts on that one for my shrink, lemme tell ya.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:25 AM on June 19, 2021
Hi, jenfullmoon! Watching the series finale this past week got me to look at this pilot thread for old times sake - for some reason your newer comments in these old threads didn't bump them up into my Recent Activity. Welcome to Team Lucifer.
No spoilers, but, I just want to say to you and to anyone else who might be checking out the show on Netflix for the first time now that it has finished -- it's worth the binge. This show seemed like such a dumb premise when it started, yet another "Cop/Not A Cop" bad procedural, but it turned into a wonderful ensemble show, about love and family and redemption (but still fun, silly, and sexy). Be warned though, Season 3 turns into a real slog, as the writers had too many episodes in the season and did a lot of lousy character work in stretching the season arc out to fill the time. But once they switched from being a Fox show to a Netflix show, they really found their groove. I never would have expected from how it started that Lucifer would end up becoming one of my favorite shows, but, it really did.
posted by oh yeah! at 4:52 AM on September 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
No spoilers, but, I just want to say to you and to anyone else who might be checking out the show on Netflix for the first time now that it has finished -- it's worth the binge. This show seemed like such a dumb premise when it started, yet another "Cop/Not A Cop" bad procedural, but it turned into a wonderful ensemble show, about love and family and redemption (but still fun, silly, and sexy). Be warned though, Season 3 turns into a real slog, as the writers had too many episodes in the season and did a lot of lousy character work in stretching the season arc out to fill the time. But once they switched from being a Fox show to a Netflix show, they really found their groove. I never would have expected from how it started that Lucifer would end up becoming one of my favorite shows, but, it really did.
posted by oh yeah! at 4:52 AM on September 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
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posted by oh yeah! at 7:56 PM on January 25, 2016 [2 favorites]