Luther

British actor Idris Elba rose to prominence on the HBO drama The Wire, but he doesn't have to hide his native accent in this dark BBC crime show, in which the Golden Globe nominee plays intensely driven and unforgiving John Luther, a London homicide detective with a penchant for dispensing his own brand of justice. Angry, unconventional, and hot-tempered, Luther lets the audience know just how far he will go in the opening episode, as he effectively sends a guilty man to his death (or rather near-death, which comes back to cause Luther problems) and careens dangerously through a turbulent divorce. All of this fascinates Alice Morgan (Ruth Wilson), the chief suspect in the series' first case: an emotionally crippled genius who sees a kinship in Luther, Alice initially appears to be his Moriarty, matching wits as some kind of competitive sport for the first few episodes, but as the series progresses, she becomes more of an unpredictable ally, using her cold-blooded cunning to “help” him remove enemies and obstacles. While this unfolding character drama takes some strange turns; Elba is well suited to the title role and the shows are addictive. Compiling six episodes from the BBC-aired 2010 first season, DVD extras include a behind-the-scenes featurette. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)