Scottish boy Dougray Scott (Mission: Impossible 2, Ever After) has landed himself his own series in the US. It's not brilliant, but it's not half bad.

Exec-produced by Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity, Mrs and Mrs Smith, Go), Heist has much in common with Liman's other work as well as with many other genres. Scott plays a jewel thief with the cracking plan of robbing every jewellery store on Rodeo Drive in the US on the same night - Oscar's Night. Its dialogue makes more than a few passing nods to Tarantino and Guy Ritchie and the plots are just as implausible. There's a female cop chasing after Scott, with whom he tries to strike up a romance, for just a hint of Out of Sight. And there's more than a few nods to the con jobs of Ocean's Eleven and Mission: Impossible.

But despite being about as derivative as they come, there's still a certain sparkle to the show. Scott, despite his fake American accent, is a compelling lead and his burgeoning relationship with the lady cop does have some chemistry, at least. The dialogue may not bear the full stamp of Tarantino approval, but it's still amusing enough. And the various contrivances of the plot aren't as staggeringly obvious as they might have been.

Worth watching for a couple of episodes at least.

Updates and related entries

September 4, 2006: Smith tries to succeed where Heist failed.