First off, as with Life On Mars, a huge part of the appeal is in the aesthetics. If LoM was all about The Sweeney, AtA is, if anything, set in the world of  the stupendous British Gangster movie "The Long Good Friday" or even the sitcom "Only Fools & Horses".  However much it might ostensibly echo shows like Miami Vice. The attention to '80s detail is very satisfying, especially the cosmetics. (Keeley Hawes as new DI Alex Drake sports fantastic heavily frosted eyeshadows and dense, matte lipstick throughout ). Yet the important thing is that it all looks like it works  - it really does evoke stepping back to an earlier age, not just playing dressing up. These people actually do look sort of cool. I would defintely like to hang out again in early '80s London on this evidence.

The tone of the first episode was a little uncertain. After only just complementing Hawes on her sensitivity and subtlety, she actually struggled quite a lot to find the right tone here. In fact, sometimes she seemed downright embarassed by some of her own lines which is a bit worrying. The most effective scenes of the show were the ones where she is missing her child - her grief at being away was very moving. It also highlights an important difference from LoM. In that show, it always rather strained credibility that Sam was so keen to return to 2007 - he didn't seem to have that much to return to in his old life, especially after being dumped by his girlfriend whereas 1973 looked like the best fun ever. But Alex has much more to lose back in her old life and is desperate to return.

Anyway, a promising start and I will be back for more next week.