If you're one of those people who decries a general lack of imagination when it comes to commissioning new television programmes, then you'll probably growl a self-aggrandising harrumph of disapproval at the news that the hit US show Law & Order is winging its way to our shores in the London-based form of Law & Order: UK. If, however, you're the kind of person who enjoys good television and knows the importance of lightening the hell up, then you'll be rejoicing at the news that we're soon to have our very own version of the long-running police procedural.



We were lucky enough to get a sneaky peek at the first episode of ITV's latest acquisition in the suitably historical environs of The Law Society in London's Chancery Lane and we're happy to report that all the elements that made the original such a big hit - namely following the investigation of a crime from discovery to prosecution in handy, self-contained one-hour episodes - are all present and correct... and with an all-British cast to boot.

Episode one of the Dick Wolf-inspired show is entitled "Care" and gets straight into the action. Following L&O's remit of never seeing the main characters outside of their normal working life, we're launched into a storyline involving the abandoned body of a small child and allegations of carbon monoxide poisoning, while also getting a brief but effective introduction to the main players in the ongoing drama. On the "Law" side of the fence, we have DS Ronnie Brooks (Coronation Street's Bradley Walsh), an old-school Cockney copper with a heart of gold and his younger, more impulsive partner DS Matt Devlin (Battlestar Galactica's Jamie Bamber); they're both overseen by their motherly DI Natalie Chandler (Harriet Walter). At the traditional halfway point where the police hand over the reigns to their Crown Prosecution Counterparts (AKA the "Order" side), we meet the justice-seeking Senior Crown Prosecutor James Steel (Ben Daniels), his right-hand woman Crown Prosecutor Alesha Phillips (Doctor Who's Freema Agyeman) and their boss CPS director George Castle (Bill Paterson). As is usually the case with this ever-growing franchise, there's no time for getting to know our heroes - other than little tidbits that help to flesh out the characters - as the crime is the thing.

And a refreshing soap-free approach it is too. In the space of 60 minutes, we learnt more about Britain's criminal justice system than we had in a lifetime (perhaps more of a reflection on our own stunted knowledge than a sign of the show’s success, but still...) and the knowledge that this is a show that you can pick up and enjoy without slavishly devoting yourself to a 20-episode story arc is quite a wondrous thing. Like The Bill before it became too character-driven and infused with a "ripped from the headlines" ethos that keeps each new investigation fresh and exciting, this is a show that, like its illustrious predecessor, will run and run.



Law & Order: UK starts on ITV1 on Monday, February 23.



Glen Ferris