Pilot

This was 65 minutes of Taron Egerton being immasculated by the more capable, better, smarter, more badass, girlboss partner.

But if that wasn't enough... the cinematography is utterly abysmal as well. It looks like they applied a filter to the thing. Half the time, Egerton looks like he's faded beige. The digital and reliance on CGI (even when not needed) is irksome.

I mean how hard would it be to make a practical layer of dead skin peel of that woman? The CGI effect looked like it was ripped from a youtube skit.

Look, I'm being awfully harsh, but this show has some good writing amongst a whole lot of things that are just plain bad. There are good performances here. An interesting premise. It's just bogged down in a pile of dung, and that's really sad.

I'll keep watching in the hopes that this was just pilot jitters, because I know Dennis Lehane is a really competent writer when he doesn't bend the knee to Hollywoke.

Sadly, he's kissing the floor with this one.

This show has two couples in it (3 if you count cops and their partners). I don't think I've ever seen less chemistry from actors in anything I'ver ever watched. Not only is there clearly no physical connection here, there isn't any intellectual curiosity either. The whole show just feels like people reading lines they don't mean (and goodness, much of that dialogue is dreadful). The cop is also what I call a line-walker. She's dumb when the plot needs her to be and smart when it needs her to be. She does not have a consistent intellect that makes you believe she's either of those things.

I can't imagine I'll watch more than the two episodes currently available, but if I do, I expect it will likely get worse.

Interesting but not enough It is interesting but at times it seems almost a parody.

But it does lay the foundations for something that could have an interesting development.

Let me explain. Although the main character is at times overacted, predictable and full of clichés in the first part of the episode, he improves a lot in the development and the rest of the characters are well constructed.

Right, so Dennis Lehane's back with another crime caper, and bless him, he's managed to craft something that doesn't completely take the piss. "Smoke" follows "a troubled detective and an enigmatic arson investigator" chasing serial fire-starters, which sounds proper mental when you put it like that.

Our Taron Egerton's having a right go as Dave Gudsen, the ex-firefighter turned sleuth. Fair play to the lad-he's actually rather brilliant here, bringing proper gravitas to what could've been another bog-standard copper character. The fact he's "a former firefighter and aspiring novelist" adds a delicious bit of irony, doesn't it?

Visually, it's gorgeous. There's this one scene that transforms "grounded set-up" into "a living nightmare" and honestly, it's chef's kiss territory. The way they film fire is genuinely mesmerising-like watching a particularly artistic bonfire night gone wrong.

Mind you, the plotting's a bit wonky and the first episode takes its sweet time figuring out what it wants to be. Feels like they're trying to juggle too many balls without dropping any, which is admirable but makes for slightly sluggish telly.

But here's the thing: Lehane's characters are properly mental in the best way. This isn't your standard "let's catch the baddies" nonsense. It's more about people who are absolutely fascinated by destruction, whether they're fighting it or causing it. Bit twisted, really, but compelling as hell.

Bottom Line: Cracking performances, lovely cinematography, and enough psychological weirdness to keep you glued to the screen. The pacing's a bit wobbly, but it's got potential to be properly brilliant.

Give it a go if you fancy something darker than your average procedural.