Roboclot – all in the line of duty

BRITISH acting royalty Stephen Graham, Daniel Mays and Anna Maxwell Martin must have needed some light relief. The stars, all Line of Duty alumni, are known for their gritty dramatic roles. But here they flex their comedy muscles in this series that truly stretches the meaning of Artificial Intelligence.

DI John Major (Mays) has it all. He’s one of the best coppers in the country, with a glittering career in the Special Investigations Unit where he serves alongside his partner and best mate DI Roy Carver (Graham). And he has a loving wife, Kelly (Maxwell Martin).

But while working undercover on a sting operation, he is gunned down in the er, line of duty. Someone set him up and he paid for it with his life.

“It’s ok, we’ll name something important after him, like a helicopter or a canteen or a bird bath,” says his boss, played by Rosie Cavaliero.

This is all in the first five minutes, and you’ll wonder how Daniel Mays’ character could possibly be killed off so quickly.

But then the plot thickens. Thanks to an experimental police AI project,

Major has been rebooted. He’s been brought back by “techy bods”, he announces to his dumbstruck partner Carver, and wants to seek revenge.

But he is now 90% human, 10% robot and a whole lot more stupid.

“Are you sure you didn’t have any bits left over when you finished rewiring?” Carver asks the tech boss.

Yes it’s all completely bonkers, but these brilliant actors make this an absolute riot.