I was in free fall after the brilliant first season of Lucifer ended, only to be replaced with what looked like a Sherlock knock-off about Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini. What?
The first episode was a bit jarring, to be sure. Just kind of silly and ephemeral. You know? I know nothing about Harry Houdini. I do know a little about Conan Doyle because I've read all of his Sherlock stories. I didn't quite get it at first.
I thought the pilot odd and quirky. It kind of reminded me of the Murdoch Mysteries because it felt so "light weight" -- all air, no substance. But then... the show started to grow on me. I continued watching it and I started to appreciate the writing -- especially the snarky Houdini (he's given some of the best lines, dissing Canadians and bigots, for example, but really Doyle and Adeleide have great lines, too). Both the actor who plays Houdini and the actor who plays Doyle take their roles seriously and do a great job -- no matter that the premise itself is just kind of goofy.
And, in fact, it seems all of the people involved in making this show take their jobs seriously. It's quite good on many different levels, including the production values as well as the writing and acting.
I set my DVR.
And then we had episode four -- Spring-Heel'd Jack -- and I sat up and took notice. Now this is really quite good. The main mystery was excellent. There are some continuing subplots that are compelling. I was appreciating the characters more and more. There really seems to be chemistry between the three leads. And they are not one-dimensional but fairly interesting individuals.
This isn't great TV, but it is far more entertaining to watch than stupid reality shows. And I believe there's lots of promise here.
I keep thinking here at the end of ten episodes what's the use of writing this review if Fox is just going to cancel the show after the first season. But, hey. At least I am taking a stand. I really don't have anything terribly negative to say about it. The show falls into that amazing category of re-imagined fiction -- Robin Hood, Dracula, The Musketeers, Hannibal... they are really fun. And this show is fun. The TV version of comfort food. What could be better during a blisteringly hot summer?
