At the start we don't know the circumstances of his crime, whether it was murder, manslaughter or something else.

The reasons why he's in the clink are gradually revealed over the course of this three-part series but, really, they aren't all that important.

The focus of Time is his life in prison; how he gets those hours and days to pass by.

As expected in a prison drama there are some moments of violence but the potential for it is always hovering.

Cobden's cellmate is a disturbed young man, who appears could just as easily hurt Cobden as himself and other prisoners feel like a threat merely by their presence.

The other main character is prison guard Eric McNally (Stephen Graham), who likes his job and is relatively civil to the prisoners - he's far from the standard violent screw we see in so many prison dramas.

But a run-in with a prisoner forces him to consider bending the rules, for his own family's safety.

Both he and Cobden are basically two decent men who find themselves in horrible situations - the main difference is which side of the bars they're on.

Peter Sutcliffe, dubbed the Yorkshire Ripper, was jailed in 1981 for murdering 13 women and trying to kill seven more between 1976 and 1980.

However, some investigators believe that his offending started long before that, and that there are other attacks and murders that Sutcliffe committed but was not charged with.

That police at the time missed these crimes - which bore the same pattern as Sutcliffe's other murders - isn't surprising. After his arrest, the investigation came under sustained and justified criticism.

If they'd managed to join the dots earlier, a number of women's lives could have been saved.

You can tell just from the title that this is a reality TV show, right?

And we mean "reality" in that odd fashion where we're actually describing something that is entirely manufactured and not reality at all.

Also, if I were to tell you this series features a bunch of 20-somethings looking to hook up on a TV show where they could win cash, you'd hardly be surprised, would you?

Because that's a key trope of the genre - match a couple together and then look for ways to break them apart so as to create drama.

In Heartbreak Island Australia, the contestants have had to pick their matches via online dating profiles before they all head to the island to hook up in the flesh.

At the end of each episode they're given the chance to switch partners - a move designed to create drama rather than the claimed idea of them "finding love".

With a show like this, you know what you're going to get. And if you like being served up that kind of stuff, then you'll dig this show.

If you don't, you won't - pretty simple, really.