Elba shines in BBC America's 'Luther'

How much injustice is there in the universe? In our lives? More to the point, how much injustice is there in the entertainment world? Such injustice!

Take British actor Idris Elba.

Far too many of our otherwise fine countrymen and women are not acquainted with Elba or his extraordinary BBC America show, Luther, now in its second season.

Elba, 39, is known here primarily for his amazing turn as a Baltimore drug lord in HBO's The Wire. He's had a few supporting roles in Hollywood pics, most notably in 2009's Obsessed, a Fatal Attractions-esque thriller that had him married to Beyoncé and stalked by Ali Larter.

The success of Luther may finally earn Elba a place on the Mount Olympus of actors (that'd be the fabled A-list). He is rumored to be in talks to play James Bond (he's not, but wouldn't say no, he says); NBC reportedly has signed him to develop a legal drama; he was featured last year opposite Laura Linney in Showtime's The Big C; and his fellow Brit Kenneth Branagh featured him in a funky role as Heimdall in this year's superhero hit, Thor.

Luther shows Elba at the top of his game.

One of the most intense and harrowing psychological police thrillers to hit the airwaves in awhile, Luther offers Elba as Detective Chief Inspector John Luther, a brilliant investigator entering middle age after battling dark demons for most of his life.

Like his namesake, the Christian reformer Martin Luther, DCI Luther is an anguished soul who is too keenly aware of the evil that men (and women) can do to one another - because he recognizes the criminal impulse in himself.

Thought it is highly recommended, you don't need to watch the first season to enjoy Luther: Each season is a self-contained mini-series.

The crimes and criminals featured on the show are spectacular, but Luther excels because it kneads and weaves its stories and characters into the life, mind, and soul of its titular hero.

As Elba plays him, Luther is a man who can't always keep his demons in check. And he knows it. He's a ticking bomb.

The first season opened with the detective returning to work after he was forced to take a leave of absence to deal with a nervous breakdown brought on by his last case. In a flashback we learn that the case, focusing on a child killer, ended with Luther torturing the suspect to find out where he'd hidden his latest victim.

Forced to take a leave, Luther also is forced out of his home and his marriage. His wife, Zoe (Indira Varma from HBO's sword 'n' sandal epic, Rome), can't take the anguish anymore.

With his demons put back asleep for now, Luther comes back to confront a personality as complex, as brilliant, as dark and twisted - and as potentially loving - as himself.

The first season's opening episode has Luther catch a beautiful young woman named Alice Morgan (played by the, um, ruthlessly beautiful Ruth Wilson) for killing both her parents. Luther knows she did it. She even boasts about it. But he has no evidence. That's because Alice is smart.

Alice earned a Ph.D. in astrophysics when she was 18. She is so smart, Luther realizes, with equal parts horror and fascination, that she has committed the perfect murder.

Cool story line. Where would you take it? One would imagine the rest of the season would be about Luther's dogged pursuit of evidence to put Alice away. Wrong. The two lost souls befriend each other. It's an uneasy alliance, fraught with rage and distrust, but as the season progresses we find out Alice may be Luther's only true friend.

The second season will have Luther - and friend Alice - tackle two big cases.

And Elba already has signed for a third season.