I was very surprised by this "pilot" for a potential series in that I actually enjoyed it.At first I feared that the character Nathan Hyde would just be a cold-blooded killer, but he was rather more sensitive than that and not at all as ruthless as I thought he would be.It took me back to the good old days of the 70s when we had shows like "The Avengers" and it had great promise. It was different everything else I've seen of late. It didn't rely on foul language and needless violence to get its message across.Nigel Harman who is anyway a gift actor starred as Nathan Hyde and his character bore a stark resemblance to Dennis from EastEnders, but from my wife's point of view that was a good thing. It was certainly Nigel's mannerisms coming across the screen rather than the character he once played.It was a little bit corny and unbelievable, but for myself and my wife it all added to the enjoyment of the programme. It was refreshing to see a programme that didn't take itself too seriously. It had elements of "The New Avengers" and even "James Bond," just take a look at that granite island in the ocean for instance.I was left thinking that Nigel Harman would make an ideal James Bond.There was more story to be told but unfortunately it seems that the series is not going to happen which is a disappointment.Although classed as 90 minutes long, it is really only about 78 minutes long if you remove all the adverts, but it's fast paced and witty and has attractive stars.Anna Madeley is well cast as Erica, the new recruit who lures Nathan out of hiding and Brian Cox is the boss of Minus 12, named Gabriel and has a sinister edge to his personality.I was left wondering what had gone on between Nathan and Gabriel and feel that this relationship could've been explored further.It was also an original idea. I haven't heard of a painting before that held the secret of eternal life! It might not have had the ratings it deserved, but for me it left a definite lasting impression. One of those few shows that do.There is a twist at the end that is worth seeing also. A nice little idea about putting an ad in the lonely hearts columns and a scene at a graveyard in the pouring rain.If you haven't already seen it, I suggest you do. You might be surprised like I was.

I rather enjoyed this highly derivative piece of action adventure. The references to all before it were great to pick off. They really threw everything into the mix; Bond, Bourne, the Da Vinci Code, 3 days of the Condor, the Persuaders, as well as The Saint to name but a few. Personally, I loved it, particularly the 60's throwback stuff, the title screen reminded me of the Time Tunnel and lines going across the screen in place of a fade out were great. It's the latest in a long line of TV action and reminded me of stuff like the Sandbaggers, Department S, Callan and the Professionals. Even the gardens of the Stately home reminded me of the Village from the Prisoner as did the scene when the lead woke up in his room! The choreography they used in the fight with the Ninja assassins came straight out of the Bourne Identity movie but I really enjoyed watching it, especially the elbow smash! The perfect antidote to a soap filled Tuesday night! Just wonderful! There was a load of bad writing on offer, such as the schmovie goers guide where the female lead explained the male leads back story for the benefit of the viewers and the Ninja assassin carrying a calling card! I can forgive this because of the short run time. The CGI was a bit poor in places and I could just about forgive putting place names on scenes showing world famous landmarks. In short, if you like any of the above named shows then this is for you, albeit with a tongue in cheek approach. If you like Spooks / MI5 this is the other side of the coin. I hope they make more.

Oh dear. Britain's main commercial channel, ITV, have yet again thrown a load of money at another star vehicle that has gone down in hilarious flames. Ex-Eastender Nigel Harman (good look, shame about the voice) stars as an ex-spy now running a lobster restaurant who is re-recruited by his shadowy former employers to steal a painting that's got some kind of formula on it (the usual kind you can only see under ultraviolet light). Brian Cox texts in his performance as the head of the agency - clearly all his scenes were shot in one day as he probably needed a new kitchen or something.What else is there to say? It's badly made, clumsily written, flatly directed trash. ITV are clearly testing this out to see if they can get a series which, trust me, they shouldn't. ITV need to take a page out of the Beeb's books and stop making crap star vehicles and develop ideas into decent scripts and THEN hire the actors.

If you absolutely adore Nigel Harman this is so for you, I am one of those people and from the moment he came jogging onto the screen in tracksuits, a nuclear war couldn't make me turn the TV off. The whole programme is well acted though and has some skill shots incidenlty whoever decided to dress Harman in black and leather and hoodies and suits all the way through deserves a medal! The plot however has so many holes it is ridiculous, seriously nothing is explained to you and the script is hardly skillful and the fact that it was made for drama shows in it's feeble attempts at CGI.Whoever wrote the script though had obviously been up all night watching pirated copies of James Bond and the Da Vinci Code though, it is a truellly shockingly bad script. I also have no idea why they got Brian Cox in for perhaps a day's filming?! Cut some of the ridiculous close ups of the 'baddie's knowing smiles' and give us some more of him!!However I am glad I watched it and will try to again, it's a lot of fun if you can somehow block out the plot and just enjoy