The jury is out....

and still deliberating.

Rex in Rome.

I admit, I set myself up NOT to like this. After all, no poppy theme song, no Vienna, no Moser/Brandtner/Hoffmann, no Stockinger/Boeck and, I was assuming, no Kunz and, more importantly, no Wurstsemmel (I'm feeling rather maligned here). Dog aside, practically nothing that makes Rex, well, Rex.

But there was a few glimpses of Vienna, the odd Wurstsemmel or two and dear old Kunz. Still wearing the same old outfit. Kunz was just plain odd or should I say even odder?

First, something strange was growing on his head, making him look like a poor man's Benny Hill (not a good look, Martin!) Then he seemed to have difficulty speaking. I thought the poor man had had a stroke for a minute then realised he was still speaking German but had simply been dubbed into Italian. What the?

The cynic in me says they kept Kunz and the Wurstsemmel in just to create the link to the 'real' Rex. So, I'm a purist. Don't mess with the Rex. In this vein, they also maintained the Rex tradition of having key cast members disappear without explanation. I mean, Brandtner's been on a toilet break since Season 6. I just find this really irritating - the lack of explanation, not Brandtner's bowels.

I stuck it out. It was o-kay. I think I lost the plotline along the way (there was a plot?) but I may have dozed off. Thank goodness for the antidote episode of the real Rex straight after at 8.30pm.

I'll keep watching but, for now, I'm thinking ROLL ON SERIES 11 (back to Vienna).