Vexed was a fun detective show. Which, I guess, is why it failed. After all, there must be 163,482,632 episodes of Law and Order, Criminal Minds, NCIS ad nauseam shows, which are the same bloody body, disgusting violence, hatchet in the head, boring repetitive garbage. And since that crud is so popular, it prevails.So if you want something different, watch Vexed. But there are only 9 episodes. If you want the blood and guts format, simply turn on the TV and you can find it with your eyes closed. Face it, you would be hard pressed to not find it.

We gave this one a chance, but after four episodes had to stop. We're huge fans of police procedurals, at least those shot in the U.K., but this one proved the exception.Why? The lead character is too obnoxious. The sound of the series is excruciating. The plots were simple with many thin spots and far too much vamping. The wasted time would be better spent adding depth to the plot.The co-lead left after three episodes. We gave it one more episode, but the series failed to improve.In most cases, we'd give the show a bit more of a chance, but this was just too painful.

Vexed wants to be the USA version of Moonlighting. The first series was a three parter from Howard Overman, with Jack played by Toby Stephens, an arrogant, uncaring and misogynistic cop and his new partner played by Lucy Punch, exasperated with his methods and attitude who also had a madcap relationship with her fiancé played by Rory Kinnear.The first series was not a great critical or viewing success. A re- tooled second series appeared two years later, Punch was replaced by Miranda Raison and Jack was toned down, made a little bit more sensitive and a better detective. Stephens tried his best to be a charismatic series lead.Like Moonlighting it is off beat enough with a hint of 'will they or won't there' and crime solving thrown in.Unfortunately the second series was not a hit with the audience neither. I doubt the series will return which will leave the creator slightly vexed.

Come on, you have to love this show. In episode one it appears D.I. Jack Armstrong and his partner D.I. Kate Bishop are checking out apartment rentals until they step over dead and bloody body. Toby Stephens as Armstrong is cynical and laid back and out of step with his comments on everything. He is so non PC that you know this show would never make it on American TV. But he is a good cop with good instincts. He does go through two female partners, Lucy Punch in season one and Miranda Raison in season two. Their characterization are completely different but both work well with Armstrong. The stories are interesting and laced with humor. Think of the better episodes of Castle with darker humor. Roger Griffiths plays Tony who runs the bar where the two detectives go to drink and think. Took me a while to recognize Griffiths who also starred in Chef. A fun series. Hope they do a third.