Production: Carnival Film & TV
Directed by: David Caffrey, Andy De Emmony, Jon East, Brian Kelly
Writers: James Allen, Rachel Anthony, Neil Biswas, Stephen Gallagher, Ben Schiffer, Alan Westaway
Starring: James Nesbitt, Stephen Hagan, Amara Karen, Paul Blackwell, Sienna Guillory
Release Date: UK – OUT NOW SKY 1

What if luck were a thing, a charm, an amulet? What if you were given this piece of ‘luck’ and for James Nesbitt’s gambling addicted police officer, it would seem like the idea thing. He certainly clears up at the roulette table in one scene we would all like to have been in.

Stan Lee’s Lucky Man sets up its stall pretty quickly and luck is certainly the driving force here, except, for every bit of good look there is, as Sir Isaac Newton once proved, an opposite and there is an equal amount of bad luck for everyone else, friends, family, co-workers. Which explains why the first episode in this is simply titled ‘Yin And Yang.’

And yes, it is that Stan Lee disputed founding father of comic books featuring ‘Spider-Man‘, ‘Ant-Man‘, ‘Iron Man’, ‘Thor‘, ‘The Avengers’ and the ever popular, ever cinematic, ‘X-Men’, to name a few. Whatever your belief or comic book persuasion, Stan Lee (real name: Stanley Martin Lieber) could write a good yarn. Okay, here Lee may well just be the attention grabber in the title of Lucky Man but there is the co-created credit for Lee.

So, I’d guess around about here you will want to know how bad it is. Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news Lucky Man is not. Instead this ten-part series, helmed by the capable and affable James Nesbitt, works. Lucky Man works so well, Mrs Hooker – no fan of the comic books or anything connected to comic books – yes, it is true, opposites attract – enjoys it too.

Unlike Marvel’s Agent Carter, Stan Lee’s Lucky Man plays it straight and without camp, or knowing – ‘hey this is just comic books, silly isn’t it but what the hell’ – sly winks. The concept – the lucky charm – in Lucky Man, does not get in the way of the story or the entertainment, Nesbitt’s police officer still has to do his day job, still has to interact with people and life in a realistic and believable way. At times it is easy to forget about the luck Nesbitt’s character has been given and find a decent cop show, complete with office politics, unfolding before your eyes. Nesbitt’s one-liner put downs to some of less liked colleagues will put a wide grin on your face. There is a cameo by Lee as well but, unlike his other cameos in movies, I liked this one, it seemed to fit Lucky Man and was less cringe-worthy.

And that is what Stan Lee’s Lucky Man gives at it’s best, not a disservice to comic books, that most – ‘The Walking Dead’ being the only exception – comic book based TV series seem to go out of their way to do. As if the production companies involved can not quite get beyond the ‘comic books for adults? Are you serious’ mindset – but an absorbing piece of TV drama that just happens to have been created by some guy, that just happened to be a famous comic book writer. Which never gets in the way.

Without the comic book baggage to foul every scene up, Stan Lee’s Lucky Man is the finest non-comic book based series from the mind of a comic book writer.

 

Reviewer: Steve Hooker