In the world of TV reviewing, it's probably not the done thing to suddenly start rabbiting on about a programme which has been around for a couple of decades, isn't particularly taxing and always holds its own in the ratings.
But isn't The Bill (ITV 1, 8pm), brilliant at the moment? Rather like Holby City, it's one of those fixtures in the TV schedules which is so easy to overlook when on the quest to find something new and different to write about.
But last week, through sheer laziness because I couldn't be bothered looking for something else (downside to Sky: so many channels makes choices much harder) I stopped and sat through it.
Admittedly, Russian (or Eastern European - I can't remember) embassy staff using their diplomatic immunity to avoid prosecution for getting a bit rough with prostitutes, only to get their comeuppance when a determined young WPC gets him for murder against the odds isn't particularly realistic. But I do tire of the coppers who turn round and say that the Bill paints them in a bad light. I'm a journalist, and I know how journalists are portrayed on telly. But I know I'm not a foot-in-the-door, trample-on-your-grief terrorist, so I don't complain. Get over yourselves.
But in an age where reality TV is everywhere, The Bill has come into its own. It is far-fetched - it even has Gary Lucy in it, yet it's still good - but so what? It does exactly what it says on the tin in an age when there aren't so many tins saying what there's does. If you see what I mean.
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