The first of a new 8 part BBC crime-drama series centring on a young, idealistic but ultimately frustrated field-based HM Customs Officer who burns his bridges with his employer when a drugs bust goes wrong, severely injuring his partner and best mate. Nevertheless, he soon finds himself enlisted into a somewhat shadowy parallel Drugs Intelligence Agency who work covertly, it would appear sometimes inside, sometimes outside the law, with their own "Snoopers Charter" to listen in on any and apparently every phone-call made in the UK.
Once you get past the awful series title which makes it sound like some Will Smith-type action-fest, I quite enjoyed it. The series continuity will undoubtedly come from the Unit's pursuit of the drug world's Mr Big, played by Trevor Eve, but I anticipate several time-honoured moral dilemmas, shoot-outs and stake-outs, not to mention family dramas as our talented but headstrong hero gets out there in the job he was made for.
Resemblances to any other BBC show featuring a black male lead with Holmes-like deductive skills, total dedication to the job and Duracell-type energy and stamina are probably coincidental, but putting the Lutheran connection to one side, this could be the Beeb's best crime series since then.
O.T. Fagbenle as the lead Ash might lack Idris Elba's magnetism but he's believable from the start and should improve with increased familiarity, and is well supported by a supporting cast, which, Eve apart, appears to lack a big name, not that I'm complaining. With its topical story-lines and persuasive mixture of street-smarts and road chases this looks like it could be one to watch.
