Luther Series 4 - reaching spectacular new heights!
Matthew Mosley
Assistant Script Editor
Do you know where the word 'geek' comes from? Neither did I, until I worked with - writer and compendium of outré knowledge - on the new series of . It turns out that, to the denizens of the first half of the twentieth century, a geek was someone who bit the heads off live chickens in a circus sideshow. Neil recommended that I read forgotten pulp classic to get up to speed with the dark underbelly of carnival culture.
Neil and I had our geek chat while coming up with a fictional company during the process, normally one of the more tedious tasks of the script editor. The name of every character, street, business, publication etc. must be cleared for use on screen. But combing through the new Luther scripts with Neil, it was a delight to see how the smallest details are carefully chosen to resonate with the themes or imagery of the show - the geek reference being one tiny example.
Image credit: ±«Óãtv/Steffan Hill
What first strikes the eye on opening a , with Neil's liberal use of block caps and onomatopoeia, is the amazing kinetic energy - they are compulsively readable. What's less in-your-face, but what makes Luther so ardently loved by its fans, is the deeply-felt emotion and the epic themes that underpin each story. We knew we had to do something pretty special with this fourth series, after that iconic Southwark Bridge denouement of , and worked hard on ramping up the emotional stakes. I can't say more for fear of spoilers - and don't worry, there's still plenty of badassery (to use a very Neil word).
#LuthersBack for a 2 part special on ±«Óãtv One
When the scripts were ready, the crack troops of the Luther crew took over and it was amazing to see what each brought to the project. Director , production designer , costume designer (to name but a few) have all returned series after series and operate together like a well-oiled Volvo. This time around it feels like all the stops have been thoroughly pulled out - I hope you'll agree that the Luther aesthetic has been taken to spectacular new heights in .
Oh, and see if you can spot that geek reference when Luther airs on Tuesday - blink and you'll miss it...
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