Last night I found myself sitting around nine inches away from Keeley Hawes and around half a foot away from Philip Glenister. Before you ask, I hadn't gone on one of my Tuesday-night stalking missions. I was lucky enough to be at the press launch of Ashes To Ashes, the eagerly anticipated follow-up to Life On Mars (remember that show? We may have done a bit of coverage on it). I know, I know - look at me, look at me. But c'mon... if you had just gone to the press launch of a series you're looking forward to more than your next meal, you'd scream from the rooftops too. I guarantee it.

I walked into the Curzon cinema, in Soho (yes, yes, look at me, look at me), and was ushered into a quasi-VIP area. There was Keeley Hawes! There was Philip Glenister! In fact, there were all the cast! And there was Matthew McFayden too! It was a really super sight, I can tell you. Soon, we were all ushered down into the cinema to watch the opening episode. I know you want one question answered - is it any good? You'll have to click over the jump to find out.

There was a bit of an intro from BBC Wales' Julie Gardner (who seemed to prefix everything with the phrase, "the most extraordinary..."), and then we were into it. The title music kicked in and it was very Alan Parson's Project, full of edgy synths and stabs.

I had to sign an embargo form, so I can't tell you too much about the plot, but I can say that the first episode, as you would imagine, is a bit of scene-setter, explaining why Keeley Hawes' character (DI Alex Drake) gets back to 1981 and what she makes of her new surroundings. When I say surroundings, I mean shoulder pads, MASSIVE hair, strange, stripy shirts, white, grey and black colour schemes and stilettos. And when I say surroundings, I also mean... Gene Hunt.

As soon as Gene Hunt roars, "Right lads, let's fire up the Quattro" in his singularly leonine way, you know that you are on reassuringly familiar ground. He's still the man, the sheriff, the gunslinger... and now London is his town. If anything, it looks as though Gene might have mellowed ever so slightly in this series - he seemed a little quieter, and a little more worn down by the constant battles he wages. This is just me speculating, but I wonder if all the feuding he did with Sam Tyler has affected him. Only time will tell. BUT, the classic one-liners are there, as is the everything-we-love-about-Gene-Hunt too.

Keeley Hawes was a major surprise. She was REALLY good. I've always rated her, but to me she's always played demure characters and I was surprised when she got the role. Even in Spooks I got the sense she was sort of acting within herself. In Ashes To Ashes she is excellent. Really confident and really ballsy, and, crucially, able to take Gene Hunt on at his own game.

Alex has been working on the Sam Tyler case in the real world, but gets involved in a nasty incident... she gets shot in the head and is transported back to 1981. Because she's read the Tyler files, she think she's aware of what's happening, so she looks for clue - radios, TVs etc. Just like Sam did in LOM. The way she deals with Hunt in the first ep is hilarious.

The rest of the mob is there - Ray has an incredible new haircut, Chris is Chris (but there seems to be more to him this time around), and there's a new female copper in the team.

As ever, it looks great and the time-capsule authenticity of the set is still evocative and vivid. There were also the same sort of weird, dream-sequence characters that Sam encountered in LOM (remember the girl on the test card? There's an Ashes To Ashes equivalent here). There's an also an 80s equivalent of the pub they all used to drink in in the 70s. Oh, and there's also a speedboat in the first episode. Yes, a bloody speedboat!

The thing that struck me as I walked out of the cinema was... Moonlighting. The chemistry is spot-on between the two leads and, judging by the showreel we saw at the end of the first episode, the chemistry may develop as the series goes on.

I hate having high expectations about things. I had mega-super high expectations about Ashes To Ashes, and I'm just so pleased they weren't undermined. The first episode is brilliant. I may still be a bit dizzy from it all but really... it was fan-f***ing-tastic.

(So there I was at the end, and I managed to squeeze a chat with both Hawes and Glenister... so their quotes will be coming your way in a few weeks, to help preview the show.)