As a edge case of the demographic you described (forties/wed dev), you have perfectly articulated the slush of thoughts in my head regarding a BBC tv show I've been sucked into: Life on Mars: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_on_Mars_(TV_series) - it's only now been broadcast in Australia where I live.

Apparently set in the 70's with an insane/time-travelling/comatose (pick one) current day protagonist it's the perfect combination of 30/40-something in-jokes and nerdish, clue festooned plots.

I couldn't understand why I liked it. Thnx