Reception
Luke Durville has proved to be one of the most popular recurring characters on the show since its inception with Gerald Urquhart's performance being a favourite of fans and critics alike. In 2009 and 2010, Durville placed runner up for "Favourite Male In A Recurring Role" in the Throng Shortland Street Fan Awards. In the 2011 awards, Luke and Bella (Amelia Reid) won "Favourite couple" and their relationship won "Best thing to happen in 2011". Gerald Urquhart was nominated for "Best Actor" in the TV Guide Best on the Box 2011 for his acting throughout the 2010-2011 period. He placed runner up behind Antony Starr. Urquhart received the same nomination the following year.
Urquhart's co star, Matt Minto (Isaac Worthington) spoke of the fan's praise for Luke following scenes where Isaac got Luke kidnapped and later framed for drug addiction; "I'm going to be public enemy number one. Luke's popular because he's eccentric; taxidermy is his life after all. He is intrinsically funny. He is also very good-natured and always means well, which I'm sure appeals to the audience." Urquhart further elaborated on the characters popularity and 'cult following', saying: "I think he's someone who's a little out of the box, but I also think he's got a heart of gold and people connect with his earnestness". The storyline that saw Luke romance Zlata (Kate Elliott) was labelled as "shocking", due to the speed to which the characters fell in love. In 2012 Luke was named as one of the standout characters of the show's first 20 years.
Throughout his first stint, Urquhart's favourite scene was where Luke threatened to take Sophie McKay to court over accusing him of being a serial killer. He enjoyed the vast variety of emotion it enabled him to play as opposed to Luke's normal behaved manner. As one of the primary suspects in the Ferndale Strangler storyline, Luke sparked a large reaction with the public and during the airing, Urquhart often found himself abused or confronted by viewers believing him to be involved in the deaths of several loved characters. The relationship between Luke and Isaac that fluxilated between friendship and deep rivalry, adorned the title, "Isaac versus Luke" and was named by Television New Zealand as one of the highlights of the 2011 Shortland Street season. The love triangle between Luke, Bella and Zlata was also listed as one of the top moments.
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Famous quotes containing the word reception:
“I gave a speech in Omaha. After the speech I went to a reception elsewhere in town. A sweet old lady came up to me, put her gloved hand in mine, and said, “I hear you spoke here tonight.” “Oh, it was nothing,” I replied modestly. “Yes,” the little old lady nodded, “that’s what I heard.””
—Gerald R. Ford (b. 1913)
“He’s leaving Germany by special request of the Nazi government. First he sends a dispatch about Danzig and how 10,000 German tourists are pouring into the city every day with butterfly nets in their hands and submachine guns in their knapsacks. They warn him right then. What does he do next? Goes to a reception at von Ribbentropf’s and keeps yelling for gefilte fish!”
—Billy Wilder (b. 1906)
“To the United States the Third World often takes the form of a black woman who has been made pregnant in a moment of passion and who shows up one day in the reception room on the forty-ninth floor threatening to make a scene. The lawyers pay the woman off; sometimes uniformed guards accompany her to the elevators.”
—Lewis H. Lapham (b. 1935)