Re: Luther - new uk show with Idris Elba (Stringer Bell)
 

Re: Luther - new uk show with Idris Elba (Stringer Bell)
 

Don't have anything original to say about the last 10 minutes of episode 5. All I can say is "wow....WOW." So intense. And awesome.

Re: Luther - new uk show with Idris Elba (Stringer Bell)
 

Read that this will air on BBC America later this year (didnt see an exact date).

Re: Luther - new uk show with Idris Elba (Stringer Bell)
 

I understand what you are saying Rex. :)

Re: Luther - new uk show with Idris Elba (Stringer Bell)
 

I thought episode 6 was the best yet. Idris Elba's best performance of the series also.

I am amazed at how much action and suspense they were able to pack into that one episode, and the whole series for that matter. 6 episodes was the perfect length.

Re: Luther - new uk show with Idris Elba (Stringer Bell)
 

So there are only 6 eps in the series?

Re: Luther - new uk show with Idris Elba (Stringer Bell)
 

Yes, only 6 episodes for Season 1 of Luther. But we can all start hoping now that the BBC recommission the show and give us 6 more episodes next year!

And yes, BBCA announced yesterday that they will be airing Luther "later this year." In typical BBCA fashion, I'm sure they will be cutting 15 minutes from each episode to fit into a one-hour slot and censoring the f-word, so I'm glad I watched the original BBC UK version online.

Also, for those with a region-free DVD player, the Region 2 set of Luther Season 1 is out on June 21 (BBC Video will probably release a Region 1 version in early 2011 once BBCA has aired Season 1).

Re: Luther - new uk show with Idris Elba (Stringer Bell)
 

That was a phenomenal TV Series. I loved every minute of it.

Re: Luther - new uk show with Idris Elba (Stringer Bell)
 

I just finished Ep4 and I'm totally engrossed. Gonna go watch the last 2 eps right now. I have to say, British TV seems to kick the snot out of American TV most days. Why is it that they can do in 6 eps what we can't seem to do in 22? This show is 10 times what CSI, Criminal Minds, or any of that other stuff tries to be.

I constantly come to the realization that British TV has some amazing stuff. Given that this is my first forray into British crime drama, anyone have any other suggestions for the summer? Old series? New? I'm a huge fan of the Office, Coupling, Robin Hood, and Jekyll (and of course Luther). Any others I should check out? Thanks!

If you haven't seen Luther, seriously...check it out, what an amazing show.

Re: Luther - new uk show with Idris Elba (Stringer Bell)
 

Well, part of it is confirmation bias. There's as much crap on British TV as there is on US TV... it's just that only the really good British shows get exported to BBC America or talked about on message boards. It's the same way with films: certain "film snobs" think French movies are better than American ones, but that's because they only see the 3-4 really good French films made that year, and not the 200 mediocre-to-bad ones.

There's also an amount of economics going on here. The BBC (or, these days, the company that the BBC hires to make a series) simply can't afford to hire a giant team of writers like US shows can. So most British shows are written by a handful of people, and in some cases a single person (all 28 episodes of Coupling, Britain's version of Friends, were written by Steven Moffat, for example). This has two effects: it limits the length of a series (no single person could write 22 episodes of Luther by themselves, for example). It also helps give the shows a certain continuity that American shows can sometimes lack.

BBC productions also don't have to worry about commercial breaks or offending advertisers, which aids in making many of their series more like "mini movies" than TV shows.

Lastly, because the BBC doesn't have to worry about the Almighty Dollar (Almighty Pound?) as much as American networks do, they sometimes will give something a shot that a network like NBC or ABC wouldn't. In a way, it's kind of like how HBO, Showtime or AMC can afford to try out shows that the big networks wouldn't bother with.

As far as other British shows you might want to check out:

Spooks - called MI-5 in the United States, the series is a fast-paced look at the world of Britain's Security Service. It's sort of like 24, only without the ridiculous explosions and over-the-top plots. I think they still show it on BBCA, although it's best if you can buy the DVDs or get them through Netflix, as BBCA cuts 15 minutes out of the show to make room for commercials. Also, (IMHO) the quality of the series rapidly goes downhill after season 3, but that's just my opinion.

Life on Mars -You might remember the awful US remake of this show... but don't be fooled: the original British series is one of my favorite shows ever. In case you don't know, it's about a 2006 cop who gets hit by a car and wakes up in 1973. The series features Gene Hunt, one of the best TV cops ever. The downside is that I don't think R1 DVDs have been released of this show yet, so you'll have to find it on BBCA.

Ashes to Ashes - The sequel to Mars, Ashes is about a female cop who gets shot in 2008 and wakes up in 1981. Gene Hunt returns as her boss in the series. I initially liked Mars much better than Ashes, but because Ashes is set in London in 1981 (where all my favorite New Wave bands came from), I had a much closer connection with this than with Mars. And I liked that this series has an actual ending, where you learn all about Hunt and his universe. The series is running right now on BBCA, and R2 DVDs are available. You would be a fool to watch Ashes without having seen Mars, but it's doable: you'll miss out on a lot, but you won't get lost.

The Sweeney - A 70s British cop show that sort of redefined the genre for its "realism", much like how Hill Street Blues did in the US in the 80s. It's really dated, so if you can't handle 70s US cops shows, 70s British ones will be right out. However, given the influence on Life on Mars, it's pretty much a must-see.

The Fixer - A really dark series about a covert assassination squad run by the British government to "fix" problems that the "regular" government cannot. The main character, Lenny Douglas, is a former member of Special Forces who killed his aunt and uncle in a rage. He is sprung out of prison by John Mercer, the group's leader, to be the "hit man" for the group. Like Luther, Lenny has demons of his own he has to conquer. Only available as R2 DVDs, I'm afraid.

Lock, Stock... - A short-lived TV show loosely based on the Guy Ritchie film. A group of guys own a bar, and are always trying to get in on the latest scam or heist, usually with hilarious results. If you liked the film, you'll like this show. Only available as R2 or R4 DVDs, but they're probably pretty cheap these days (yep - Amazon UK has it for £7.59, which is $11.26, or $9.34 without VAT).

Martina Cole's The Take - Based on a novel of the same name, this miniseries is about a British crime family. The father is in prison, the eldest son is trying to go straight, and the youngest son has just been released from prison but is back to his old ways. It's not unlike Showtime's Brotherhood, but is even bleaker, IMHO.

I have a giant PDF of other British series I've seen, so let me know if you're interested in this, and I will list more!

Re: Luther - new uk show with Idris Elba (Stringer Bell)
 

I just finished both seasons of Life on Mars and am starting Ashes to Ashes. The Sweeney, The Fixer, and Lock, Stock.. look interesting so I'll try to find them and give them a shot. The creator of Luther was the head writer for Spooks so I'm definitely going to check it out, too (the 1st 4 volumes are available for streaming on Netflix so that's easy enough).

Re: Luther - new uk show with Idris Elba (Stringer Bell)
 

Odd, I thought S6 of Spooks/MI-5 was really good. It was the first to have an overall plot thread running throughout the course of all the episodes.

I believe the complete (UK) LoM set comes out at the end of this month or sometime in next month. I do not know if any cuts will be made - I was banking on a review from somebody who has seen the originals.

Re: Luther - new uk show with Idris Elba (Stringer Bell)
 

The complete UK LOM set being released by Acorn Media in July is a repackaging/condensing of the two individual season sets they released previously. I remember reading back then that the US Acorn DVDs were identical to the UK BBC DVDs, including the music.

An extra on one of the discs discusses the music licensing issue, and the producers stated that the DVD music is virtually identical to the broadcast music. The one very minor execption (I cannot remember the specific song) was where they had to substitute one version of a song in a scene with another version of the same song.

Re: Luther - new uk show with Idris Elba (Stringer Bell)
 

Just finished Luther last night based on this thread... amazing show. Alice might be one of my favorite TV characters ever.

I really hope there's a season 2.

Re: Luther - new uk show with Idris Elba (Stringer Bell)
 

Another downside is that the ending is really fucking stupid. It made me not wanna rewatch the show.

Luther on the other hand, great stuff!

Re: Luther - new uk show with Idris Elba (Stringer Bell)
 

Grunde, are you talking about the ending of the US or UK Life on Mars?

Re: Luther - new uk show with Idris Elba (Stringer Bell)
 

UK. They both had lousy endings, but the UK one pissed me off the most

Re: Luther - new uk show with Idris Elba (Stringer Bell)
 

Wahh?? That was one of the best and most unique endings I've seen to a show! I'm still not sure I 'get it', but it certainly makes you think!

Re: Luther - new uk show with Idris Elba (Stringer Bell)
 

Its fresh in my mind because I just watched it a few days ago but it sorta made sense to me:

Re: Luther - new uk show with Idris Elba (Stringer Bell)
 

^^^



Having said that, I really liked the ending of the British Mars. It thought it was both sweet and funny. The less said about the US version, however, the better.

Re: Luther - new uk show with Idris Elba (Stringer Bell)
 

Re: Luther - new uk show with Idris Elba (Stringer Bell)
 

I loved Luther but I found it a little hard to believe that Zoe's boyfriend would believe him just like that.

Re: Luther - new uk show with Idris Elba (Stringer Bell)
 

Ruth Wilson knocks this character out of the park. Love her.

Re: Luther - new uk show with Idris Elba (Stringer Bell)
 

I like the series overall but I had numerous problems with the last episode.

Re: Luther - new uk show with Idris Elba (Stringer Bell)
 

FYI everyone

BBC America will air this show October 17th. Mark your calendars!

http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2...0100812bbca01/

Looking forward to watching this in HD.