Luther cops some flak

TV editor Lyndall Crisp selects Luther as her pick of the week on free-to-air television.

Idris Elba in the title role of Luther.

TV editor Lyndall Crisp selects Luther as her pick of the week on free-to-air television.

Luther
Sunday, 8.30pm, ABC1

When was the last time a TV show made you feel genuinely frightened? Made you cover your ears (or rip off your headphones) when the suspense became intolerable? Made you think about how crazy your ordinary-looking neighbours might actually be? The BBC's Luther, starring Idris Elba (The Wire, Thor: The Dark World) as detective John Luther, is one such show. This third season has begun with Luther hot on the trail of a serial killer who poses his victims in 1980s punk outfits and steals their shoes. His offsider, Detective Sergeant Justin Ripley (Warren Brown), is unsure whether to co-operate with an internal investigation of Luther by the "Judas division", echoing the audience's doubts about Luther's propensity to cut corners. Is he a human lightning rod for all things bad? Or exactly what is required to keep the bad guys from under our beds or in our wardrobes? This show turns up the gore quite a few notches: if fingers in the food blender or heads smashed through plaster ceilings is too much for you, you have been warned. The delightful Sienna Guillory joins the cast as Luther's new love interest, which prompts the question: Can Luther keep the ugliness of his world from crushing a budding romance? - Justin Burke

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