Crossing Lines

Series one
From the opening onwards, this could be a spoof of the crime thriller. There’s the nubile blonde in her underwear, in peril and then in the stabbing line of a hooded assailant. The ragtag, multinational group of coppers (led by ‘Prison Break’s’ William Fichtner) assembled to catch the killer, whose dark deeds have left four women dead in four different countries. And the doggedly formulaic procedural it becomes as the team show off their special skills, settle their differences and learn to work together.

Reminiscent of Jean Reno’s ‘Jo’ (itself an unwieldy international co-production) but with dialogue that displays rather more self-awareness than that stinker managed, ‘Crossing Lines’ has some fun with the culture clashes and features some decent performers slumming it. Sadly, it comes unstuck almost everywhere else. The whole series is released together on LoveFilm, but the first episode ought to give you ample indication of whether it’s for you. It wasn’t, shall we say, for us.