CHANNEL Four may come in for some stick (mainly from me) but you have got to hand it to their programme buyers as they can pick a juicy morsel from the American market.

The latest import to tickle the tastebuds is the black comedy Reaper.

It centres on Sam, who discovers that his parents sold his soul to the Devil to cure his father of an illness when he was a child.

Now that he's 21, Old Nick's back and employs him to recapure escaped souls and return them to hell.

OK, it might not sound overly promising but I don't think I've really done it justice.

Sure it's pretty silly. Last week's opening involved Sam chasing after a fireman/arsonist who kept bursting into flames armed with a small vacuum cleaner. But I suspect that will be enough to appeal to people.

It's worth watching for Sam's slacker' mate Sock (it is American). Clearly the role was written with Jack Black in mind.

Last night Sam got his second assignment' from his new boss. Trying to track down an escaped soul who sucks energy from power lines.

Now clearly Reaper isn't going to win a Bafta but it is genuinely original and does make you laugh.

There aren't too many home produced series around at the moment you can say that of.

So well done Four, keep these good imports coming.