Action Team is Naked Gun meets Touch Of Cloth on ITV2

"Whatever scum did this, not one man on this force will rest one minute until he's behind bars. Now, let's grab a bite to eat."

Frank Drebin's deadpan delivery - supplied masterfully by the late Leslie Nielsen, was what made The Naked Gun films so great.

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Now, a new British show is looking to reignite the spirit of "Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker" films, as Action Team heads to screens next week.

Described by Radio Times as "somewhere between The Naked Gun and A Touch of Cloth" - the latter being Charlie Brooker's gloriously silly police procedural parody - Action Team stars Tom Davis as secret agent Logan Mann.

He's the James Bond-esque leader of a band of hapless agents on a mission to save the world. Davis has already proven his spoofing abilities with the improvised, celebrity-baiting Murder in Successville.

In the first episode of Action Team, he and the group must foil a plot to bomb a charity convention in Vienna.

"Every year I sit there as the bookies predict who they think will play the next James Bond," said Davis. "I'm always left off the list, so I've decided to do something about it."

Jim Howick (Peep Show's Gerard), Kayode Ewumi and Laura Checkley make up the rest of the titular team, while the cast also includes Line Of Duty's Vicky McClure as Ruth Brooks, the head of an MI6-like organisation working for the British Government.

Shaken and stirred

Also involved are Catastrophe's Rob Delaney, who plays henchman Victor, and Stephen Graham as the villainous Gavril.

From the trailer it's clear that the slightly surreal humour of The Naked Gun is present, and although the clip doesn't deliver any classic lines, here's hoping they've been saved for the series proper.

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Tom Davis as DI Sleet alongside Richard Osman in 'Murder in Successville' (Photo: BBC)

It looks to be a daft romp through the ridiculous possibilities of the spy genre, with the creative team - who were also behind the aforementioned Murder in Successville - sparing little expense on special effects.

ITV describe the show as a "high octane, big scale comedy featuring a dysfunctional group of spies", and if the huge explosion at the end of the trailer is anything to go by, that could be true.

As to whether it's as "fast paced, high concept and crammed with silly jokes" as ITV also claim it is, remains to be seen.

Action Team begins on ITV2 next Monday, March 5 at 10pm

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