2. Alice Morgan - Luther
When I first heard about Luther I was pessimistic, the days of Cracker and Prime Suspect were long gone and I wasnt sure that this kind of cop show had anything new to offer. The biggest hit British police show of recent times was Life on Mars, but that show was a lot more than the traditional cop series. I realise now that I was wrong, the cop show is an excellent genre full of storytelling potential as long as the writers approach it in the right way. In truth Luther is more of a drama about a guy who happens to be a copper than a series about cops. A big part of my realisation that Luther could be something more was Alice, in truth I could see the twist coming but, what did surprise me is that she got away with it! All of a sudden Luther had a Moriarty and it was a woman, not an unattractive woman either. The dynamic between Luther and Alice was fascinating; Luther is clearly a man that finds trust hard to come by, his wife was moving on, his friend Ian was corrupt and though Justin would turn out to be loyal, there was always a doubt. To make it believable that the hero of the show- a cop- would find a kindred spirit in a serial killer, is a tough task but somehow the writers pulled it off. Alices obsession with Luther mirrored his own with his wife and it was always clear that she offered something that perhaps he wanted. By the end of the third series, when John Luther had lost virtually everything, you could understand why he would choose to go with a serial killer like Alice, she offered freedom, excitement and a genuine understanding of who he is. Other entries on this list are debatable, some of you may say Locke for Lost or Starbuck for Battlestar but I honestly believe that there is no argument here. Thats not to say that when she isnt around the show is boring- far from it- but when she is everything goes up a level.