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The BBC's new comedy crime drama Death in Paradise, on paper, promises much: a combination of both a tried-and-tested format - an uncomfortable British man in a far-removed alien environment - and the presence of a well-known, and likeable, lead actor to liven things up. However, the opening episode falls short of the mark by an unexpectedly large amount.
From the painfully bad CGI lizard to the tin-pot police station, the fictional island of Saint-Marie is so swamped by cliché that it would fit better in a panto than the location for a grim web of corruption, murder and adultery. In fact, the 'tropical paradise' devised for Detective Inspector Poole (Ben Miller) to feel out of place in is so simplistically painted that it doesn't feel exotic, it feels irritatingly British.
Furthermore, the fact that they have flown in an Englishman to help out the 'backward locals' is verging on patronising, and perhaps explains why the entire show is spent trying to make fun of the repressed Poole - to ultimately no end as he solves the case on his own. And the resulting conflict in both Poole's character - half pedantic obsessive compulsive, half ace sleuth - and in the environment makes the horror of the crimes seem incongruous and bizarre.
Just like the world that he steps into, Poole is confined to serving the crude plot and thus becomes one-dimensional and wooden. And when the poor, wasted Miller is not robotically grimacing in horror at yet more dirt and heat, he is belabouredly spoon-feeding plot exposition. This ensures that his character is not developed any further from the description that can easily be found in the Radio Times' synopsis.
As a stand-alone episode, it had elements that made it mildly amusing - the goat was actually quite cute - but as an opening episode of an eight part series, it did not succeed. It did not establish Poole as a character that was worth caring about, and it did not showcase an enticing enough format to leave me wanting to run back for more.
For those that do want to run back for more, Death in Paradise continues Tuesday 9pm BBC1.
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