The Beer Hunter

Having produced a baker's dozen of gritty, funny episodes in Series 1, you can really see the writers straining in Series 2 to pen compelling stories. As is often the case in the second season of any show, they resort to back stories for the lead characters.

Last time out, Terry was the focus. He had a young boy dropped on his porch, with a note that suggested the lad was his biological son arising from a week of fun a decade ago. That was actually a very affecting episode, the strongest so far in Series 2.

This time out it's a bit of back story for Arthur, who has an old army buddy come to town for a wedding. Night before the nuptials, Arthur and his buddy get completely blotto, after which the buddy has trouble remaining in his hotel room.

What ensues is a dull episode where Terry and Arthur have to track down the buddy. Decent set piece where Arthur gets to run on to a rugby pitch, steal the ball, and run one for touch. But that's thin gruel.

By the time they retrieve the buddy and get him to the reception in yet another smoke-filled pub, the episode mercifully ends pretty much in the middle of a song by some talentless fat broad.

Worst Episode in the entire run of Minder thus far. Strained my patience to the limit.