Strange time to be watching Ashes to Ashes

Since I first said that I find crass, sexist, violent Gene Hunt hard to take in the age of Trump (not that Gene Hunt is Donald Trump,  though a number of people thought I was saying that), a few bazillion sexual harassment/abuse allegations against people in all sorts of positions of authority have come forward, making Ashes to Ashes even weirder to watch at this particular moment in history. To clarify: I get that I'm supposed to see the goodness underneath Hunt's offensive exterior, and that he's meant to be seen as redeemable. I get that Glenister is brilliant at playing layers. I actually do find the character's personality to be magnetic. But I'm not entirely comfortable with the notion that we ought to readily believe that what's on the outside doesn't reflect what's on the inside, and if we wouldn't want to make that argument about men now, knowing what we know about what goes on, we shouldn't make it about then, either.

Also, here's how I know we're in Alex Drake's imagination and not in 1980: the bra strap. I had my first office job in 1980. You did NOT intentionally show your bra at work.

What office attire did not look like:

What Alex Drake is wearing:

What female TV cops of the 1980s wore:

What actual working women of the 1980s wore:

I'm just partway through Ashes to Ashes season 1; quite a few people have said basically, "Just wait until the series finale, then you'll see." I am totally unspoiled (and plan to remain that way), so yes, it may be that, after I've seen it, I will swear it was all worthwhile, everything fits, and the character arc is a thing of beauty. That's not sarcasm. I really may. But even so, five seasons is a looooong time to wait.