I love By Any Means!! Not sure what happened with the first episode.. it seemed a bit all over the place and the script wasn't very good, but all the other episodes were great and kept getting better!!! I better see a second season and Charlie better be back or there will be hell to pay!! I think a lot could be explored on this show in the script to do with the lines between "good" and "evil", justice, the abuse of power and authority, and so many other things. I think it could get really interesting! Would love to see them go off in a Breaking Bad direction and just get crazy with it. Somehow I can imagine this show could go in a really edgy direction if they wanted to take it there. Way edgier than it is now.I'm in love with all the main characters, they're wonderful. Lots of talent there!!! Though I'd like for the script to allow for more depth of character development. It's a lot better than the American show Leverage, which is similar, and I rather like that show!There is A LOT of potential here. So like I said, I better get to see a lot more than a mere pitiful six episodes, or there will be hell to pay. I will come after whoever is responsible, and you will not have your BAM team to save you. ;-)Now that it's been cancelled, don't say I didn't warn you!

Briefly, I'd like to say that I agree with lots of the points raised in more negative reviews; By Any Means reflects styles that we've seen before, much of the content is quite lightweight and there have definitely been higher spec productions. However, because I enjoy the program I tend to view those as positives.I've enjoyed some of the techniques previously seen elsewhere and hopefully if they opt for a second season they will refine them rather than overuse them. I think there is not just space but a continuing need for material that is lighter in tone within the TV schedule, to maintain a full range of options for people. Regarding the production quality, if you enjoy a program you make allowances at the same time as you suspend your disbelief and focus on the story; if I'd been forced to sit through the episode and had found it annoying from the off then every little thing would have compounded the frustration, but happily I enjoyed it.Less rambling. By Any Means has characterisation that is writ large, the nods to recent events are fairly unsubtle and you can rely on the twist. It is what it is, which is a police procedural with flavours from a number of family friendly programs (most obviously Hustle, I am also put in mind of the sense of adventure fun in the earlier seasons of Primeval and Robin Hood, although that may be influenced by certain actors!) Simplest way to work out if it is of interest would be to watch an episode. If you start feeling the urge to rant about licence fees part way through, or the state of the BBC, how the world was better when you were 12 and so forth, I'd stop part way through and have a cup of tea :)

Yes, honestly, who pays these guys to have them say the show is bad? I want a cut, because otherwise I'm giving it at least 7 stars.I felt the need to come here and post this review after I saw that literally everybody on this page gave it no more than 2 stars. Come on people, how close-minded can you be???The show is like a British version of Leverage, and it is great and funny. Charismatic actors, good solid scripts (it ain't Doctor Who, but it does a very good job) and a very nice atmosphere make from this recipe a very entertaining series.Disregard the people crushing it with their comments. They're just very bored people who probably love to watch soaps and stuff.

This was the starting week for many series in USA and UK. Not any real diamond among them. Most of them are bad to mediocre but so far "By Any Means" is the worst.There are many problem with this TV-series.First and most important all the actors and actresses lack charisma. I don't know what they have done before B.A.M. but they are totally forgettable, performance wise, even their faces. The team of 3, have the usual snob/hype attitude, common in many series, but just doesn't suits them. No charisma at all.Second and equally important the plot. Is about a "special team" and blah-blah, blah-blah, one of them is a hacker (!), the girl is the ...locks expert, the last one is the street smart and blah-blah, blah-blah, *YAWN*. And they will catch the bad guy in a mildly smart way.Third the pace, editing, transitions between shots, photography, music and (obviously) directing are simply annoying. (If you now a things or two about editing there is something called "light spills" that is overused here.). To put it in 2 words: Poor execution.There is an arrest (in the pilot) that introduces (kind of) to the team stolen directly from an Al Pacino movie were the criminals think they are going to participate in some sort of Sports event. I saw it and keep asking my self: Are these people the Special team? That's how uncharismatic they are.Anyway this has nothing to do with other BBC series like "Sherlock" in terms of fun or intelligence and you can do perfectly well without it.Overall: Better to avoid it. (Or you will lose 57' of your life)