Initially investigating the disappearance of a missing cat, Gently soon finds himself teaming up with a former university friend, Richard (Darren Boyd), and for reasons far too odd and convoluted to explain, they both find themselves involved in an unexpected warehouse explosion and an apparently dead billionaire, all of which appear to have some sort of arcane, tenuous connection. Nevertheless, writer Howard Overman has created an hour-long drama that successfully pulls all the seemingly disparate strands together for a surprisingly tidy conclusion. The biggest problem with Overman’s adaptation is Gently himself. I’m ashamed to say I haven’t read the Douglas Adams books on which the show’s based, but I am familiar enough with the author’s writing style to know that his humour was both subtle and deadpan. Surely meant as an eccentric, loveable rogue (not unlike Benedict Cumberbatch’s superb take on Sherlock Holmes), Overman’s Gently is, instead, often infuriating and sometimes downright unpleasant. He swindles money out of his friend on several occasions, and elsewhere runs another character over and then drives off, apparently unfazed. This isn’t to say that Dirk Gently is entirely devoid of laughs. A scene where the detective manages to hustle his way into a psychiatrist’s office by shrieking “Nobody knows who I am!” is one instance where Mangan’s rampant overacting works perfectly, and his eleventh-hour flash of genius, a moment straight out of Columbo, wraps the mystery up excellently. Perhaps Dirk Gently‘s biggest problem is its similarity to two of the BBC’s biggest ratings successes. By removing so many of Adams’ strange excesses (which was possibly down to budgetary constraints), the premise of this television incarnation is perhaps a little too similar to Doctor Who and Sherlock Holmes to fully differentiate itself. Given the room to develop as a full series, Dirk Gently‘s characters could grow into more rounded, likeable ones, and this pilot episode may, therefore, provide a jumping off point for more strange adventures to come. Even a cursory glance over the synopsis to Adams’ Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency will tell you that Overman has barely scratched the surface of even the first book’s rambling, surreal storyline. Follow Den Of Geek on Twitter right here.