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Long story short: It’s pretty bad, though not necessarily for the reasons you might think. That said, there’s potential in it. More below the fold. (Spoiler alert!)

The problem is Jason O’Mara as time traveler Sam Tyler: He’s terrible. He’s twitchy and unhinged. He reminded me of Mel Gibson in the Lethal Weapon films, down to the almost-parodic American accent. He overacts and overreacts. He comes across as a full-on nutter, rather than a kind of quiet nutter who happens to be brilliant, which was John Simm’s reading in the Beeb version.

Having said all of that, there may be some method in O’Mara’s madness. In retrospect, Simm’s coolness is a little unsettling, and it never really seemed as though he’d do something rash to change the situation. He was a Good Cop, full stop. O’Mara’s Sam, though, has the potential to go ballistic — to snap — a characteristic that was fully on display late in the episode where he seems to contemplate blowing away a youngster who’ll prove to be a sadistic serial killer 35 years down the line.

Harvey Keitel is brilliant as Gene Hunt. It’s a different Gene than Phillip Glenister’s version — simultaneously tougher and more vulnerable. My friend Mark Venn’s right, though: Keitel and O’Mara don’t have the chemistry that Glenister and Simm did. You can see it.

Michael Imperioli as Ray Carling is genius. Again, his character only shares a name and a situation with Dean Andrews‘ version. The Beeb’s Ray is mostly an opera buffe character — a clownish tough guy. Imperioli’s, though, is more menacing, smarter, and a better cop … while being funnier.

The score so far: I’d like so see Keitel and Imperioli move to the center of the show.

Other notes of interest:

1) The sequence featuring the title song isn’t nearly as elegiac and lovely as the Beeb’s — we’ve got stuff to sell here on ABC! — but the final shot which cuts it short is genius. I won’t spoil that for you.

2) Much of the early part of the episode is shot-for-shot copied from the Beeb version. Much of the set design seems copied, as well. Odd how they make what’s supposed to be a dilapidated Manhattan station house look the same as the interior of the Miserable Britain-era Manchester Polics HQ.

3) The Annie character may prove to be much cooler than her Beeb counterpart: She puts Sam’s hand on her own chest to prove that she has a beating heart, for example. (In the UK version, Sam puts his hand there while Annie stands, shocked.) The squad room scene during which Sam enlists Annie’s help to figure out what the killer’s thinking, though, is a mess — really agonizing — as it focuses solely on those two, leaving out the uncomfortable office politics that’s at the center of the UK version.

4) Sam’s apartment — meant to be a kind of Manhattan flop — is way too goddamned big. Like I even need to say that.

5) The music didn’t suck! Bowie’s title song made an appearance, as did the Who’s “Baba O’Reilly”. Best of all, though, was Sweet’s “Little Willie” in the final chase sequence — that’s good stuff, used well.

I’ll certainly keep watching. I hope O’Mara gets better, or that the writers move Gene and Ray (and maybe Annie) to the fore.