2. • Luther is a British psychological crime drama television series
starring Idris Elba as the title character Detective Chief
Inspector John Luther.
• John Luther is a Detective Chief Inspector working for the
Serious Crime Unit in season one, and the new Serious and
Serial Crime Unit in season two. A dedicated police
officer, Luther is also a genius. He is obsessive, possessed, and
sometimes dangerous in the violence of his fixations. But
Luther has paid a heavy price for his dedication; he has never
been able to prevent himself from being consumed by the
darkness of the crimes with which he deals. For Luther, the job
always comes first. His dedication is a curse and a
blessing, both for him and those close to him.
3. • Despite his somewhat gruff appearance and attitude Luther
is a genius with the ability to analyse situations with
incredible effectiveness and efficiency, noticing things that
most people miss. Of his more physical abilities Luther has
considerable fighting skills and usually defeats his enemies
in combat. He also has an unusually high pain tolerance
withstanding a large nail being hammered through his
hands, and although it caused him some pain he seemed
fine within a couple of minutes.
4. • A selfless individual working tirelessly to keep
London safe, Luther's own home is very meagre.
He possesses very little, despite working in his
capacity for several years. The things which he
does have, such as his car, are usually very old
but are durable. Luther doesn't seem to mind
living it rough and lives very humbly.
• Luther is constantly burdened with the cares of
his work and he seldom gets any time for
himself. As a result, he deals with his stress with
outbursts of anger, although only with inanimate
objects. They go to show that Luther is a
sensitive and loving person under a strong, hard
and tough shell.
5. • Luther has a do-it-myself attitude, mainly
because his colleagues take too long to arrive. It
means he is often in confrontation with the
criminal. It also means that he has a hard time
trying to keep his hands clean, because criminals
may try to attack him.
6. • Alice Morgan is a malignant narcissist. She killed her
parents. Luther discovers her crime in the first episode, but
is unable to prove it. Alice's core belief, that nothing
ultimately matters, comes into direct conflict with Luther's.
She frequently inserts herself into Luther's business, going
as far as murdering a child killer, Henry Madsen, when he
threatens Luther's career. Alice comes to view Luther as a
friend after he shows her that he still, despite the problems
of his marriage, has not given up on love.
7. • The plots depend as much on the complex
relationships of the key characters as on the
crime that is being investigated. The policemen
are shown to be damaged by their dedication to
the job. Luther’s wife eventually leaves him for
another policeman, but his life is consumed by
the job too and he accidentally kills her.
8. • One of the key villains is Baba, an older woman gang
leader; another is Caroline Jones, whose husband Luther
put in jail 15 years previously; her life was ruined and her
relationship with her daughter was destroyed – and now
she wants Luther destroyed in revenge. Ironically,
daughter Jenny, now a little girl lost, desperately wanting
to be saved but unable to ask for help, sees Luther as her
beacon of light, her hope. In the face of such pure,
unadulterated trust, Luther begins to see a better version
of himself but as Jenny grows more precious to him, she
exposes his vulnerability, proving herself his Achilles heel.
9. • Sidekick – Benny ‘Deadhead’ Silver – laid back
computer geek and a bit of an oddball and
recluse. But he is an exemplary hacker and what
he doesn't know about computers and
technology just isn't worth knowing. Rarely a case
goes by when Luther doesn't need Benny's
infinite knowledge of trivia and his high tech
nerdy expertise.
10. • DS Justin Ripley - His high regard for Luther is
unwavering; confident that Luther's intent is to
be on the side of the angels. However, his regard
is polluted by the knowledge that work for the
angels can bring you too close to the devil. Can
he keep on turning a blind eye to Luther's
methods or will he be forced to challenge
Luther's decisions?
• Some conflict with his boss, DCI Martin
Schenk, but he values Luther’s dedication, skill
and intelligence.
11. • DCI Erin Gray – highly intelligent, young, black
policewoman - Excited by her new role, she is also
apprehensive about the prospect of working with a
man of Luther's reputation. Determined to succeed
she makes it clear that she will not get her hands
dirty or be tarnished by the same brush that
tarnished Ripley. But abiding by the rules proves a
much harder choice than she ever anticipated.
