Upon seeing the headline that TNT is going to be doing a new version of the UK series Cracker, I suspect I had the same reaction as many of you: Wasn't this show already remade for U.S. audiences? Yes, it was. It happened in 1997 and starred Robert Pastorelli and an unknown Josh Hartnett. They even managed a guest spot for the star of the original, Robbie Coltrane. Unfortunately, it never really caught on, and struggled to make it through that one season.

Granada America still thinks the show can be a success stateside. More specifically, they think it can be a success on cable. As senior VP Julie Meldal-Johnson puts it, "We thought the timing was right and that American cable, edgier and more open, would be a better venue for it than broadcast." And that's the bit that, kind of, sells me on the idea. Cable does offer certain freedoms and TNT does have a pretty good thing going with The Closer and Saving Grace. We'll just consider that Heartland mess a learning experience, for now. Despite failing once, Cracker remains a great story, and I'm willing to give yet another incarnation a go.