Mad Dogs

This was an odd one. A programme that Sky TV commissioned, themselves. While it was only a 4-part series, it was good to see a home-grown drama on Sky, who usually just buy ready-made content from America.
The programme was unapologetically bloke-ish. 5 middle-aged friends meet up at a villa in Majorca that one of them owns. It turns out the owner is into some dodgy deals and when he ends up murdered, the other 4 - just like any middle aged, middle class blokes - have no clue how to deal with the situation. While the script and the situations don't stand up to scrutiny, that's not really important. The characters, their failings and relationships draw you in to their world much more than some of the faults might alienate you. The hesitation of the 4 remaining characters and their realisation that they are in, way over their heads gives them a much more identifiable quality that most "crime" drama lacks.

The series ended with a nicely paced "what will happen next?" that leaves room for a sequel, planned for 2010. Hopefully this will succeed, too and Sky will build on that success and we'll see more british content on their channels.