Show 101: Paradox

SHOW: Paradox

NOW SHOWING: The first episode is on BBC One this Tuesday (November 24) at 9pm.

AIRS: Tuesdays at 9pm, BBC One

WHY YOU MIGHT LOVE IT: A 24-lite white-knuckle ride of a show, Paradox is awash with anxiously ticking digital clocks, breathless races against time, and edge-of-your-seat, nail-bitingly delicious climaxes. Throw in a smattering of science, a few humungous explosions, a bunch of mysterious aliens and the result is a scintillating mix of Science Fiction with the traditional dynamic of a cop drama. But Paradox isn't all about the thrill of the chase--it also throws up some mind-boggling philosophical questions about whether it's our place to play God by throwing a spanner in the works of the future--particularly if it's all beginning to look a little unsavoury.

WHY YOU MIGHT HATE IT: Dare we say time travel is a little last season, or would that be a Paradox? Essentially, Tamzin Outhwaite and co take the premise of FlashForward and shoehorn it into five hour-long bite-sized pieces. The few seconds it takes for the time-travelling coppers to drop their inhibitions and man the panda cars on the say-so of a slightly deranged scientist may also leave you a little unconvinced--as will the ham-fisted attempts to generate some sexual tension between Tamzin and the unintentionally hilarious "Space Scientist" Dr King. Similarly, some of the themes are a little tired. Workaholic cops with dysfunctional home lives, anyone? Paradox'll throw in a couple for you.

THE PREMISE: When dark, brooding Space Scientist Dr Christian King (up and coming Emun Elliot) receives some distressing images beamed from somewhere deep in space he's understandably a little worried. When he figures out they're actually alarming snapshots of a catastrophe set to take place in the near future, rather than a few discarded holiday snaps from the planet Zog, his brow becomes even more furrowed. So what does he do? Lifts the receiver and punches in 999 with his sweat-drenched fingertips, that's what.

There's only one copper open-minded enough to help piece it all together: EastEnders and Hotel Babylon stalwart Tamzin Outhwaite, playing tough female Detective Rebecca Flint, a workaholic cop with no social life to speak of. Along with her cohorts DS Ben Holt (Casualty's Mark Bonnar, the cynical, hard drinking one who also happens to be her ex) and DC Callum Gada (Chike Okonkwo, the wide-eyed, eager to please one) it slowly dawns on her that the heart-stopping glimpse into the future is all too real, and they have just a matter of hours to prevent a fatal catastrophe--while persuading all manner of people that they haven't gone stark raving bonkers in the process.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Auntie has wheeled out some big-hitters to beam Paradox into our living rooms: this slick thriller is written and created by Lizzie Mickery (Messiah, The 39 Steps) and directed by Simon Cellan Jones, the man behind Generation Kill and Our Friends in the North. The first episode starts as the series means to go on, with a series of images (blood soaked teddies, mangled rucksacks, that sort of thing) that a permanently worried-looking Tamzin and her crew have to piece together to avoid an impending train crash.

In fact, each episode looks set to begin in exactly the same way. "I think that's pretty much the format," said Tamzin when quizzed by TV.com. "The images come through at the end of each episode. The good thing is, from episode two, we can hit the ground running – we know it's not a hoax. The minute the images come through, it's straight onwards."

However, if all that sounds a little bit formulaic, there's a hint that some sly twists could be sticking their feet out around the corner. Our friend DI Flint is a dead cert to get a bit power crazy as a result of all this dabbling with the future, manna from heaven for a cop with no social life or family life to speak of – and God only knows how a mysterious extra-terrestrial force is likely to react to an uppity blonde copper.