If you are watching TV late on a Sunday night bracing yourself for another week at the working grindstone you probably won't want anything too intellectully demanding. In which case The Curse perfectly fits the bill, putting a brisk, fresh twist on the old heist genre.
Tom Davis from King Gary and Murder In Successville and the ensemble from People Just Do Nothing star (they all wrote it together too, with Davis' regular buddy James De Frond) are a gang of hapless would-be hoods who hatch a plan for a small warehouse robbery and think that they have lucked in when thet also discover a hefty pile of shiny gold bars being stored there. But is their big haul going to unleash the curse in the programme title?
The comedy drama is played out with some nice touches and observations. It is set in 1980s London, which immediately lends itself to bad clothes, bad facial hair and a banging nostalgia-heavy soundtrack. And jokes about car phones and Breville sandwich makers. It also means that when the gang aren't planning the big job that is going to set them up for life they are discussing how sexy George Michael is. Imagine Tarantino in shell suits and old fashioned pint glassses in shady boozers.
I was expecting some cheap shoddy Lock, Stock rip-off but despite the look of the series being on the cliched side (I certainly didn't dress that badly) this is far better than that. Davis' yarn-spinning character is a bit Fast Show (or a grown-up Jay from The Inbetweeners), but lots of fun and the rest of the gang are amiably well drawn. Tash (Emer Kenny) and Albert (Allan Mustafa) run the cafe but hope for a big break, Tash’s brother Sidney (Steve Stamp) has the original idea of the warehouse blag after getting a job there that can give them access. And Phil (Hugo Chegwin), in his skinny tie and tight suit looks like he has just popped in on the way to Quadrophenia.
If you remember the era you'll enjoy this as a romp through your past, but you no more have to know the 1980s to enjoy this than you have to be a time traveller to appreciate Doctor Who. And like the Doctor's adventures, the opening episode ends on a cliffhanger that will certainly keep you hooked.
The Curse, Sundays, C4, 10pm and the whole series is available here.
