We were finally given some answers about Tolin's (Henshall) tragic past, and it was what I expected from very early on. I'm not notably adept at guessing where plots are headed, it's just that many of Collision's storylines have proven disappointingly obvious. But, hey, they're still entertaining despite that failing. So yes, it turned out that Tolin's missing wife was killed a year ago in a car crash that also put his daughter Jodie (Jo Woodcock) in a wheelchair, and Tolin blames himself because at the time it happened he was playing away with colleague Ann (Kate Ashfield).
In this episode, the man responsible for killing Tolin's wife was released from jail after a mere nine months, and tried to meet with Tolin to ask for forgiveness (yep, the cliché that he'd found The Bible while behind bars was trotted out, too.) But this did all lead to some excellent scenes with the outraged Tolin on the doorstep of his home, which proved more memorable and dramatic than anything in the other subplots that have had four nights to sink their teeth in.
My prediction about Brian (Phil Davis) intending to murder his mother-in-law Joyce proved too dark for Collision -- he was merely taking her to see a nursing home, in an effort to ease her burden on his marriage. It's also slightly less certain he took the opportunity post-crash to murder her and blame the accident (if you believe his excuse that Joyce took her own seatbelt off during the journey), but given the forensic evidence presented in part 3, I still say Brian's destined for the slammer.
The least compelling story has concerned loner Sidney, mainly because he died in the crash so hasn't been a big concern to anyone. Here, Tolin and Ann finally got around to visiting the house he lodges in, and swiftly confiscated his computer -- suspecting a middle-aged, unmarried man who teaches kids piano will have illegal material thereon. Indeed, it's felt very likely since the first moment we saw Sidney acting shifty in front of his PC and burning a disc for a friend in pat 1, so I wasn't surprised.
And I have to wonder -- is it really relevant that a crash investigation stretch to home visits and taking people's property? Isn't their remit purely to determine what or who caused the crash and then move on? I know Tolin's supposed to be the kind of man who can't resist an obvious mystery, and wants to get to the bottom of everything, but this investigation seems to have wandered off-target to me! Or am I just naïve about what police do in these matters?
Again, the love story between Jane (Lucy Griffiths) and Richard (Paul McGann) was fine and dandy, but it's so removed from everything else that it barely feels part of the same programme now. I think the intention is to assure audiences that something positive can come from a terrible collision on a dual-carriageway, to take the edge off the depressing storylines everywhere else -- which I suppose is fair enough. Griffiths and McGann make for a pleasant duo (if not entirely convincing as a prospective couple) and their romantic story works quite well as a breather. But I still can't help wishing tonight's final part lands some kind of dramatic blow about Richard, regarding the crash.
The most exciting story revolved around the illegal immigrant who was found dead in Danny's (Dean Lennox Kelly) van in part 3, as his accomplice brother Jeffrey (Chris Kelly) and wife Sandra (Zoe Telford) were brought in for questioning. They managed to escape being charged with anything, but Sandra suddenly turned into quite a terrifying character as she arranged for Danny to leave the country using a fake passport, on the proviso that her disappear and never come back. This proved to be exactly the case, as Danny agreed to Sandra's stipulation, but ended up murdered by those Sandra had arranged to help him and disposed of inside a car crusher!
Overall, I'm a little disappointed that quite a few of Collision's storylines haven't gone anywhere very interesting or unexpected, but I've really enjoyed the immigrant story and now Tolin's tragic history kept this episode from slipping. It's primarily the performances that I've enjoyed, but I'm optimistic that the final part will somehow draw everything together and provide a fitting conclusion -- particularly for the pharmaceutical story, which started strongly but withered here.
12 November 2009
ITV1, 9pm
written by: Anthony Horowitz & Michael A. Walker directed by: Marc Evans starring: Douglas Henshall (DI John Tolin), Kate Ashfield (SIO Ann Stallwood), Sushil Chudasama (PC Sanjay Gopal), Andrew Brooke (PC Alan Clacy), Pip Torrens (Deputy Com Fraser), Paul McGann (Richard Reeves), Jo Woodcock (Jodie Tolin), Christopher Fulford (DCI Stephen Maitland), Dean Lennox Kelly (Danny Rampton), Craig Kelly (Jeffrey Rampton), Frank Harper (Derek), Claire Rushbrook (Karen Donnelly), David Bamber (Sidney Norris), Brian Pettifer (Ed Wilson), Di Botcher (Mrs Whitfield), Lenora Crichlow (Alice Jackson), Anwar Lynch (Gareth Clay), Nimmy March (Carol Jackson), Colin McFarlane (Bill Jackson), Zoe Telford (Sandra Rampton), Nick Moss (Jake), Pano Masti (Ozan), Lucy Griffiths (Jane Tarrant), Matt Ryan (Dave Brown), Christopher Villiers (Keith Fowler), Jocelyn Jee Esien (Cindie Smith), Joe Westcott (Simon Parker), Caroline Trowbridge (Mrs Parker) & Phil Davis (Brian Edwards)
