SOME folks struggle for years to get a TV series off the ground, while others merely have to show up with a list of ideas and are given the green light.

JJ Abrams and Jonathan Nolan are two of those men, and their twisty-turny saga Person of Interest continues to enthral.

It centres on John Reese, a former CIA officer (Jim Caviezel), and Harold Finch, a mysterious billionaire (Michael Emerson), who try to prevent violent crimes in the Big Apple.

They are aided by the Machine, a mass surveillance computer system that monitors and analyses data from surveillance cameras and other devices around the globe.

In this week’s episode, Reese is held with three other men in 72-hour custody by special agent Donnelly (Brennan Brown), and Carter (Taraji P Henson) is tasked with getting him off the island without Donnelly suspecting that Reese is actually the vigilante he has been pursuing.

Meanwhile, the Machine has its eye on another person of interest, Caleb Phipps, a seemingly normal high school student with average grades.

However, when Finch delves further into the lad’s home life, he discovers an alcoholic mother and a family tragedy.

It is also revealed that Caleb is a mathematical genius and being targeted by drug dealers, so Finch tries to piece the puzzle together and stop another needless death.

The show is another feather in the cap of Abrams, Hollywood’s hottest property since Steven Spielberg.

His Midas touch has helped turn TV shows such as Alias, Lost and Fringe into three of the most talked-about series of recent years.

On the big screen, he has directed Mission Impossible 3 and rebooted Star Trek for the cinema.

Jonathan Nolan saw his co-scripted Batman Begins sequel go through the box-office roof.

He had already attracted a cult following when his tale Memento Mori was adapted for brother Christopher Nolan’s breakthrough feature Memento.

They both picked up an Oscar nomination for best original screenplay, before re-teaming for The Prestige and The Dark Knight Rises.

Now JJ is now busy working on the most eagerly anticipated film in years, Star Wars: Episode VII, Jonathan is hoping the filmed version of his 2007 script Interstellar (co-written and directed by Christopher Nolan) will also send tills ringing when released later this year.