Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

Lucifer: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie Review

Please Allow Me to Introduce Myself . . .

Reviewed by Michael Reuben August 30, 2016

In TV's Lucifer, the devil really is a man of wealth and taste. Based on the Vertigo comic, the Fox series chronicles the adventures of the Fallen Angel on Earth, where he has decided to take an extended "vacation" after growing weary of his assigned duties administering punishment in hell. Naturally, he gravitates to the City of Angels, where he adopts the name "Lucifer Morningstar", runs a popular nightclub called "Lux" and freely indulges in the earthly pleasures that have led so many humans to his former domain. But as things turns out, Satan cannot abandon his post without upsetting both celestial balance and his own personal equilibrium.

Initially developed by Tom Kapinos, the creator of Californication, Lucifer premiered as a mid-season replacement on January 25, 2016, garnering enough of an audience to be renewed for a second season. Distributed and co-produced by Warner Brothers, the series is being released on Blu-ray through the Warner Archive Collection.

Accompanied by his faithful demon bodyguard, Mazikeen or "Maze" (Lesley-Ann Brandt), Lucifer Morningstar (Tom Ellis) has spent five years enjoying the life of a handsome club owner who radiates a mysterious magnetism no woman can resist. He has a select list of "clients" whose careers he helped advance with powers that include the ability to elicit a person's most secret and cherished desires, which the devil then does his best to grant. But when one of Lucifer's clients is murdered outside Lux, the detective on the case is unlike anyone he has yet encountered.

Det. Chloe Decker (Lauren German) is a walking bundle of contradictions. A former actress who became famous for a topless scene in an R-rated teen comedy, she quit the business and followed in her father's footsteps as a cop, earning both a detective's badge and the animosity of her fellow officers after accusing another cop of being dirty. She is separated from her husband, Dan Espinoza (Kevin Alejandro), who is also a detective and whom Lucifer promptly christens "Detective Douche". The couple's daughter, Trixie (Scarlett Estevez), thinks Lucifer is adorable, but Det. Decker finds the club owner irritating and intrusive, and Lucifer is both fascinated and perplexed when he discovers that none of his powers seem to affect her. So unsettling is this new woman in Lucifer's life that he seeks the aid of a therapist, Dr. Linda Martin (Rachael Harris), who is bemused by her new patient's insistence that he really is the devil. The doctor thinks it's "a metaphor".

Lucifer adopts the time-honored format of a police procedural, as the devil attaches himself to Det. Decker and insists on helping with her cases. Eventually he prevails on her commander to assign him to Decker as a civilian consultant (à la Castle). While the show's murder mysteries are nothing special (and easily solved), the investigations are enlivened by Lucifer's unique perspective on human misdeeds, of which he's seen every variation imaginable. As far as Lucifer is concerned, he himself is not evil; it's his job to punish evil, and in his mind no injustice on Earth can match the one done to him millennia ago when his "father" assigned him the job of jailer-in-chief for errant souls. With his British enunciation and supercilious condescension, the devil somehow manages to make every case about him. Tom Ellis' elegantly calibrated performance walks a fine line between charm and rampant narcissism, as Lucifer tramples on social niceties, treats victims and witnesses dismissively and bemoans the unfair rep he's acquired over the centuries. When sufficiently provoked, he may flash his demon face or heave someone through a window with supernatural strength. As an immortal, he is unfazed by knives or bullets, although, as his adventures with Det. Decker proceed, he discovers vulnerabilities he never had before.

Complicating Lucifer's situation is the arrival of his brother, the angel Amenadiel (D.B. Woodside), who has been tasked by heaven to return Lucifer to his former position as hell's warden, an outcome that Lucifer's servant (and bartender), Maze, would find agreeable, because she is tired of humans. But her boss pointedly refuses his brother's entreaties, and Amenadiel will adopt extraordinary methods to fulfill his heavenly mission. His machinations will intersect with Det. Decker and the LAPD in unexpected ways.

Lucifer: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The first season of Lucifer was shot digitally (on Alexa, according to IMDb) by cinematographers Glen Keenan (Sleepy Hollow) and Ryan McMaster (Primeval: New World). The series' dominant colors are black and red, the latter appearing in many shades and forms. The Warner Archive Collection has distributed the 13-episode set over three 1080p, AVC-encoded BD-50s, all of which feature a richly textured image with copious detail, even in the many dark interiors. The brighter lighting in daytime outdoor scenes only serves to emphasize the darkness of the wardrobe favored by Lucifer (and also, perhaps not coincidentally, by Det. Decker, who, like her new best friend, dresses like a New Yorker rather than a Californian). Noise, interference, aliasing or other artifacts are wholly absent. The average bitrate varies from disc to disc, ranging from a low of just under 24 Mbps to a high of almost 31 Mbps, with a solid encode.

Lucifer: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Lucifer's 5.1 soundtrack, encoded in lossless DTS-HD MA, provides an effective otherworldly presence for Lucifer's and Amenadiel's respective powers, which are sparingly used. The music and merriment of Club Lux during business hours fills the listening room, and the occasional instances of gunfire register with authority. The sounds of L.A. traffic accompany outdoor scenes, and interior environments have appropriate ambiance. Late in the season, a violent brawl is accompanied by massive destruction of furniture and glass, and the soundtrack registers every crack and crash. Scoring is provided by Marco Beltrami (Max Payne, among many others) and his frequent orchestrator, Dennis Smith, but the soundtrack also benefits from numerous thematically appropriate pop tunes used as incidental music (e.g., "Fame" by David Bowie, on whom writer Neil Gaiman partially based the character of Lucifer in the original graphic novels).

Lucifer: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Deleted Scenes (1080i; 1.78:1)
• Disc 1
• 2. Lucifer, Stay. Good Devil. (0:34)
• 4. Manly Whatnots (0:37)
• Disc 2
• 8. Et Tu, Doctor? (0:30)
• 9. A Priest Walks into a Bar (0:15)
• Disc 3
• 10. Pops (1:03)
• 11. St. Lucifer (1:01)
• 12. #TeamLucifer (1:04)
• 13. Take Me Back to Hell (2 scenes) (0:32)



• Character Profiles (1080p; 1.78:1): The profiles are provided by the cast.
• Amenadiel (1:06)
• Chloe Decker (1:11)
• Linda (1:20)
• Dan (1:01)



• 2015 Comic-Con Panel (1080p; 1.78:1; 13:02): Following a preview of the pilot, the audience is treated to a panel consisting of executive producers Joe Henderson, Len Wiseman (who directed the pilot), Ildy Modrovich and Jonathan Littman; and actors Tom Ellis ("Lucifer"), Lauren German ("Chloe Decker"), Lesley-Ann Brandt ("Maze") and D.B. Woodside ("Amenadiel").



• Devilish Duo (1080p; 1.78:1; 1:31): A promotional spot featuring Tom Ellis and Lauren German.



• Lucifer Morningstar (1080p; 1.78:1; 0:53): A second promotional spot featuring Ellis.



• Gag Reel (1080i; 1.78:1; 6:03): The map falling off the wall is the high point.

Lucifer: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Lucifer's delicate balance of irreverent comedy, human drama and cosmic conflict won't be easy to maintain as the show goes forward, but it's remarkably effective in this short inaugural season. The creative team has dropped intriguing hints about future developments that will explore Lucifer's extended "family". The show returns on September 19, 2016, and WAC's Blu-ray set of Season 1 is highly recommended.