There are two main problems with this kind of plot: firstly, it’s ridiculous, outlandish, and entirely unbelievable. The second, somewhat larger problem, not unconnected with the first, is that it’s all pretty much true.

We say ‘pretty much’ because even the end credits of each episode feel the need to warn us that liberties have been taken with the truth in the pursuit of dramatic licence. And it’s true that even in a pseudo-Bond world, a certain amount of outlandishness is vital. But that’s the thing: the real life of Ian Fleming is so packed with these jaw-dropping events (he really did set up a blueprint for the CIA, presumably between brandies and cigars), but this doesn’t translate well to drama. Or, at least, this drama.

The main stumbling block is that nobody seems to know just who Fleming is meant to be aiming for. Is it eyebrow-raising Roger Moore style campery, or a more square-jawed examination of an emotionless man exorcising his masochistic demons into print? Between the script and the show, the concept seems to have fallen between two stools (before, one assumes, breaking one of the stools over a German spy’s head and using the wooden leg to escape capture).

The script appears to be a lot more wry and knowing than anyone is delivering. Of course, it’s a given that there will be multiple references to the Bond canon – this week, we meet the inspiration for Bond’s buddy, Felix – but there’s more than a few lines that suggest a wink and an in-joke.

One or two could be blamed on the over-active imagination of the viewer, but by the time Lara Pulver is having to reheat her Standing Naked In Front Of Enigmatic Hero shtick (and even being referred to as ‘That Woman’, a la Sherlock), it’s easy to assume such archness was deliberate at script stage, and forgotten by the time the cameras were rolling. As pseud-Bond, Fleming isn’t nasty enough (and it is often nasty) nor camp enough (again, often) to convince on either level.

On the subject of names, our hero spends a surprising amount of time this week being referred to by his first (as opposed to the more usual, titular Fleming). Presumably, it’s an attempt to humanise the unfeeling bastard we’ve been introduced to so far, but it only serves to remind us what a curious name ‘Ian’ is for an action hero. Although it would perhaps explain why he thought James was a suitable name for his spy creation.

So far, Fleming has been a little like a ’70s Bond girl: very pretty to look at, some smart lines, but ultimately somewhat empty. Next week is the story finale, which in a Connery movie would provide a gun battle in a volcano, but with this essentially promises little more than a man sitting down in front of a typewriter. It’ll be a tough trick to pull off.

Do we expect anyone to die? No, Mr Fleming: we expect to care.

Aired at 9pm on Wednesday 26 February 2014 on Sky Atlantic.