When I first heard the news I was about to scream: an inedit creation by Stan Lee himself, and for British tv. It sounded too good to be true.
Then, all of a sudden, it got better: the series star would be James Nesbitt. D’you remember him? Of course you do. Irish, inexplicably sexy, you recently saw him as Bofur in The Hobbit (all of them) but you might remember him at his best in some of the most delightful British miniseries of the last decade: Jekyll, Midnight Man, Occupation.
Here, he plays main character Harry and I have to say that he’s in great shape (in every sense). Cunning, smart-ass and yet troubled, his character is a detective with a gambling problem, who in one night gets both blessed and cursed with an irremovable bracelet that makes him incredibly lucky. But luck of course has a price and the universe has a way to get balance by taking that luck away from the people around him.
As a concept, a lucky superhero is not unheard of.
We’ve had Longshot, created in 1985 by Nocenti and Adams but better exploited by Chris Claremont in Exiles and by Peter David in X-Factor (my presonal favourite usage of the character, though you all know I worship Claremont’s work).
We’ve had Domino, by Nicieza and Liefeld.
We’ve had Shamrock, in her own way.
And if you consider these to be probability-alteration powers, the list could really go on forever.
So, before anybody starts to brag that Stan Lee his repeating himself and that this is not new, just let me be clear: Lucky Man is not a superheroes series. Not in the classical way (and I’m thinking 1960s Batman), not in the modern and yet canonic way (and I’m thinking Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Jessica Jones, Heroes), not in the metropolitan reinvented way (and I’m thinking Gotham and Daredevil). In that way, to bring poor Todorov into the discussion, it’s more marvelous than fantastic and it most certainly is not science-fiction: nobody has a clue of what’s going on, Harry doesn’t have superpowers and the mystic bracelets (is there more than one?) are at the center of a dangerous plot.
On the side, you have police investigations and precinct life, but not nearly enough to stretch the series, which stays focused and can keep you anxious about what’s coming next.
Characters are well done and never overdone. Aside from Nesbitt’s Harry, you have Sienna Guillory‘s Eve (his “good luck jinxer”), and you might remember her from both Resident Evil and Eragon, if you’re unlucky enough. Other known faces are Underworld‘s Steven Mackintosh, The World’s End Darren Boyd, and Chinese dark beauty Jing Lusi. Among the less know, I have to say I’m not disliking at all Amara Karan, who plays Harry’s sidekick Suri Chohan. Episodes are directed, among the others, by Jon East (Downton Abbey, Whitechapel).
Highly recommended.
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