Lucifer: The Complete Second Season - DVD Review

[Michael Scott]

Lucifer: The Complete Second Season

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

“Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the DVD I reviewed in this Forum Post. The opinions I share are my own.” ​

Movie
Crime dramas are a staple of modern television, and they have gotten more and more prolific as the years go by. Now they’ve jumped over from the standard schtick to having supernatural or superhero flairs to them, or by adding in unique crossovers with other genres. I always say that the majority of these crime dramas has a “schtick” that make them stand out from the rest. Bones has the forensic scientist angle, The Mentalist has an ex psychic con man, and so on and so forth. Well, in this case Lucifer has the angle of having the DEVIL HIMSELF work as consultant to the police in order to solve crimes. Intrigued? Well I certainly was when I heard about the show’s inception, but I never got around to watching the 1st season until it hit Netflix. Sadly, the schtick doesn’t really work as well, as Lucifer: The Complete First Season was a bit of a drag. There were some cool plot points, and working in the idea that the devil has kind of taken a sabbatical from overseeing hell and is down on earth and solving crimes with a hot detective IS kind of cool. It’s just that besides the whole “I’m the devil!” twist, there’s not much that allows the show to really stand out from all the rest.

To sum it up succinctly, The show revolves around Lucifer himself (Tom Ellis) deciding to take an extended “vacation” from all of the drudgery of running hell, and descends to earth with his demonic bodyguard, Mazikeen, Maze for short, (Lesley-Ann Brandt) where he naturally gravitates towards the sin ridden city of Los Angeles (of course). There he spends time indulging in all of the carnal pleasures that sent so many souls his way and runs a nightclub called “Lux”. When someone is murdered outside of Lux he meets the lovely detective Chloe Decker, who is unlike anyone he’s ever met. Using his powers of “persuasion” he’s able to work as Detective Decker’s police consultant and solve crimes around the city.

Spoilers are ahead for the first season, but I’ll try to keep them minimal. Lucifer and Chloe’s relationship is starting to get a bit awkward and strained. He’s been telling her point blank “hey girl, I’m the stinking DEVIL!” and she naturally has been putting it off as his quirky personality (cuz do you believe someone when they say they’re an angelic/demonic being in real life?), but after getting shot in the chest and coming back to life, Chloe is starting to have real doubts. However, Lucifer’s brother Amenadiel (D.B. Woodside) is REALLY not liking the idea of the detective realize that the two of them are celestial beings, and will stop at nothing to keep the good detective in the dark. Not to mention that Lucifer’s (no ex) bodyguard Maze is back in town and she’s a bit changed since their last encounter.

Amidst tracking down human murderers and the like, the celestials have to deal with another problem. Their mother, Charlotte (Tricia Helfer), has escaped from hell (where she was imprisoned by their father) and now roaming the earth. It doesn’t take a genius to realize that she PROBABLY may not hold much regard for Maze and Lucifer, as he kind of held her prisoner for ages, so the two put their best foot forward in trying to regain some sort of relationship with her once they dig the old celestial out of hiding. Mix in a healthy dash of sibling issues between Amen and Lucifer, a cocky detective (Kevin Alejandro of True Blood) who sticks his nose into too many issues, and a psychiatrist who not only treats Lucifer, but also Maze and Amen as well and you have a recipe for disaster.

Lucifer was a show that I really wanted to like. I liked the idea of the Devil coming to earth and wreaking havoc, and Tom Ellis is really enjoyable as the lord of darkness (or EX lord of darkness I should say). His snarky attitude and over the top confidence is infectious, and D.B. Woodside is a great balance to his carefree attitude. Lauren German is only OK as Chloe Decker, and the rest of the cast fit into your classic “police procedural” mold to a T. The problems really arise from the fact that there’s nothing really MEMORABLE about the show. Dr. Linda Martin is probably the most fun parts of the show, as she struggles to deal with their psychologial issues, and Lucifer’s slightly crazy views on life, but I still have to THE best part about Lucifer is...well...Lucifer.




Rating:

Not Rated by the MPAA




Video:

The three DVD set from Warner Brothers follows the patterns of most of their new day and date shows. The 480p DVDs are nothing overly special, but are all clean and clear as can be for the format’s ability. The show is given a light golden hue mixed with the neon reds (sometimes overly deep reds) of club Lux and the like, but the rest of the show seems to be given a fairly natural color grading. Details are quite commendable, and facial lines and features show up sharply. There’s some moderate softness that comes with the territory of TV on DVD, but nothing overtly annoying, and skin tones show a healthy pink hue to them. Blacks are deep and inky, with only mild crush to mar the image now and again.







Audio:

The 5.1 Dolby Digital track is just on par with the video, displaying a healthy police procedural soundscape that is pretty standardized. The show is usually pretty front heavy with dialog centric investigative episodes, but the series can show some aggression when you’re in the middle of the sonically pulsating club Lux, or when the more action oriented bits of the series play out. LFE is tight and clean, but never that heavy, and the background surround effects give ample room for enjoyment. Vocals are crisp and clean, locked up front in the center of the sound stage, and the mains display a goodly portion of the shows environmental effects. Lucifer may not be an explosively energized series, but it does everything asked of it quite well.






Extras:

• Lucifer: 2016 Comic-Con Panel
• Reinventing Lucifer in the City of Angels
• Deleted Scenes
• Gag Reel

Final Score: ​

Lucifer: The Complete Second Season is actually a moderate step up from the first season. Last year it was a mid season replacement in January of 2016, and was surprisingly renewed for a second season after mediocre reviews. The relationship between Chloe and Lucifer is the most entertaining parts of the show and the actual criminal investigations actually are pretty good. Despite that, I have a hard time really getting invested in the show and the series just becomes another police procedural after the shock and awe of the “Devil is here on earth” hook is plaid out. Audio and video are exactly what you would expect from a day and date Warner release, and the extras seem to mirror the same format as The Originals by giving us a comicon featurette as well as gag reel and a few other goodies. Interesting watch, but sadly nothing THAT special.



Technical Specifications:

Starring: Tom Ellis, Lauren German, D.B. Woodside
Created by: Tom Kapinos
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 MPEG 2
Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1
Studio: Warner Brothers
Rated: NR
Runtime: 787 Minutes
DVD Release Date: June 22nd, 2017

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Ok Watch

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I will add Lucifer to my watch list.