'LUTHER' 1.5

WRITER: Neil Cross
DIRECTOR: Stefan Schwartz
GUEST CAST: Michael Smiley, Alexander Morton, Graham Turner, Thomas Lockyer, Donatienne Dupont, Ross McCall, Lee Wynter & Ania Sowinski

[SPOILERS] A marvelously entertaining and shocking hour from this dark, bonkers detective drama, with enough brio to power London for a week. There were still daft moments (not least the diminishing returns of psycho Alice in a church), but overall it felt like writer Neil Cross is starting to find the right balance between taut, efficient detective drama and heightened, grisly melodrama.

This week, an American thief called Daniel Sugarman (Ross McCall) took art dealer James Carrodus (Thomas Lockyer) and his wife Jessica (Donatienne Dupont) hostage in their home, demanding the handover of expensive diamonds. James refused to give into Sugarman's demand, resulting in the removal of his wife's tongue and freedom to acquire the jewels or condemn his spouse to a nasty death should he fail to deliver the goods. Naturally, a desperate James turned to the police for help, and Luther (Idris Elba) tried to find a way to catch Sugarman and save Jessica's life -- all without actually handing over the diamonds, as they'd been swallowed by Jessica and Sugarman wouldn't be above gutting her for the loot.

Adding a level of complexity was Luther's partner DCI Ian Reed (Steven Mackintosh), who was aware the Carrodus robbery was going to happen, having negotiated a percentage of the takings via underworld contact Bill (Alexander Morton). Reed didn't realize the situation would become a blood-stained hostage crisis, so spent the episode trying to distance himself from the mess by furtively eliminating those who could link him to events. Racked with nerves, a fear of losing his job, and the possibility that his outing as a "bent cop" might give all the criminals he's ever arrested a reason to contest their imprisonment, Reed's compose quickly vanished and he started taking increasingly desperate measures to protect his secret. This led to him strangling Bill, shooting Sugarman dead during Luther's arrest, and taking Luther's wife Zoe (Indira Varma) hostage in an attempt to get Luther to hear his side of the story, then half-accidentally shooting her dead and tampering with the murder scene to frame Luther when he arrived home to find her.

It was a real maelstrom of excitement and tension, certainly the series' most compelling episode so far, and a great lead-in to next week's finale. There were still plenty of silly moments and unconvincing distractions (did we really need to have Luther discussing "Paradise Lost" with Alice (Ruth Wilson)?), but the core storyline was very engrossing and the final act's events felt like a grenade going off. I still wish the series had a core of seriousness that felt realistic, but can't deny that Luther's mix of clichéd cop show with sub-Thomas Harris intrigues is an appetizing, sometimes nonsensical dish. Idris Elba's fierce determination to keep things grounded doesn't always work, and I'm not always sold on his flinty performance, but the way he tugs against Neil Cross's scripts is part of the joy.

Overall, I still appreciate why some people dislike Luther, but it's turning in weekly hours of grand guignol crime-based horror and procedural clichés that have coalesced into a surprisingly potent, enjoyable TV series. It's certainly the first homegrown detective show I can remember actually wanting to tune into for many years.

1 JUNE 2010: BBC1/HD, 9PM