Charlie Brooker's Screen Burn Heavens to Betsy, where did that come from? Just a few weeks ago I was bemoaning the embarrassing efficiency with which American TV drama was kicking our collective national arse: they make The Sopranos and 24, we spew out identichangeable star vehicles for Ross and Martin Kemp (how long before they team up for a show called Shop window Dummy Squad?). Then suddenly - bam! Channel 4 wheels out a fantastic new series called Buried (Tue, 10.30pm, C4). Set in the cheery confines of the British prison system and hailing from Tony Garnett's ever-reliable World Productions (This Life, The Cops, um, Attachments), it's the polar opposite of the sort of bland-o-matic mush we're usually spoon-fed. Had it appeared on BBC1, chances are it would have been called Holby Prison and starred Leslie "Sofa-Mouth" Ash and a cast of Hollyoaks deserters. The average storyline would involve a kindly old lag befriending a frightened young whippersnapper, interspersed with scenes of comic relief in which the prison pig goes missing and Alan Davies has to track it down. As it is, it's late-night Channel 4, and it's packed to rooftiles with anger, violence, sexual assualt and more casual use of the f-word than the average south London school playground. Scathing and espresso-strong, then - but what's interesting is that it's very, very good: an intelligent script that illuminates, coupled with uniformly excellent, entirely convincing performances from every single cast member. It'd be a crying shame if Buried were overlooked by its native audience, so I urge you all to do your civic duty by tuning in and watching the damn thing. That's an order. Dont' worry if you missed last week's opener - there's a recap at the start and once you're in, you're in (rather like prison itself actually). It's a measure of how good Buried is that, despite being relentlessly grim, frightening and, yes, profoundly depressing, you won't want it to end. And if for some mad reason you feel the show fails to live up to my histrionic praise, I apologise - it's not often I find myself utterly blown away by a preview tape and it's nice to get carried away in a positive way for a change.