COLLISION: Part 5 of 5

[SPOILERS] ITV1's weeklong mini-series can be considered a success, having captured the attention of approximately 6 million every night this week. Collision was certainly a refreshing change of format and subject-matter for the channel, and I enjoyed most of the episodes enough to stick with the show. But, ultimately, I think it's clear this five-part series didn't do justice to the idea behind it...

The fifth and final part tied up the loose ends quite well, but didn't really provide many surprises. Indeed, a key bugbear about Collision has been how many of its storylines felt quite predictable, and neither really had the narrative meat to back them up. Considering the fact writers Anthony Horowitz and Michael A. Walker had nearly four hours of screen time (sans adverts) to tell a handful of stories, it's disappointing that quite a few never truly burst into life.

But how did things wind up. Well, Tolin (Douglas Henshall) got to the bottom of the pharmaceutical conspiracy, but in a rather tedious way because someone just researched things on the internet and told him that the company Karen worked for had been illegally providing African warlords with chemical weapons. Karen's handler, who had been posing as a Guardian journalist to ensure her obedience, went to Tolin for protection from the same men who killed Karen to keep her quiet, but found Tolin less than sympathetic. Finally, Tolin managed to arrange for the conspiracy to get leaked onto the newspapers, despite knowing there are ways for the company to cover their tracks and that, ultimately, nothing will stick. Of the stories being tackled in this episode, this was the most unpredictable, but it didn't really engage you emotionally. And didn't they miss a trick in failing to link the African illegal immigrant from Danny's storyline to this one?

One slight surprise was how Sidney's computer was revealed to have illegally downloaded raw footage of Star Trek on it, instead of child pornography. In hindsight, we were pushed towards suspecting Sidney of being a paedophile so blatantly, that a twist was inevitable. For me, the fact many of the other stories went down familiar paths made me expect Sidney's would do the same, so I was mildly pleased to discover a little twist. But really, the problem with Sidney's story was that he'd died in part 1 and no flashbacks could shed light on his backstory without giving the game away.

Brian (Phil Davies) also admitted to his wife that he killed her mother after the crash, which is nothing we haven't expected for a few days now, which didn't help matters. But, like so many of Collision's storylines, it was the acting that landed a bull's-eye, with Davies really quite wonderful when he admitted the horror of what he'd done. A bit strangely, though, we were left to ponder his fate –- not sure if his wife would forgive him this tragic lapse of self-control. I'd have liked less ambiguity, personally.

Finally, Richard (Paul McGann) and Jane's (Lucy Griffiths) story had a twist in the tale that wasn't the shock I was hoping for, but it had some emotion behind it. There wasn't anything truly sinister about Richard, or any clever link to the collision, it just turned out that Richard is a cuckolded fantasist. His wife found out about his plan to leave with Jane on the Eurostar, so he lost all enthusiasm for his plan and attended a board meeting rather than whisk her to Europe. Richard's wife even arrived at the train station to tell Jane what kind of man her husband is, after she'd finally plucked up the courage to dump her fiancé, but it was nice this story had a "happy" ending of sorts – with Jane still using her ticket to visit Europe as she'd always dreamed. Really, this subplot worked for me because of McGann and Griffiths' performances, as it was otherwise pretty clichéd and the resolution nowhere near as clever as I was hoping. I didn't guess it, but that's only because I was expecting something more revelatory.

And what about the cause of the accident itself? Well, it's here that part 5 will probably split audiences. The reason given was, it has to be said, very plausible but amusingly silly. The wasp glimpsed briefly in part 1 (that Jane failed to swat in the service station) somehow found its way into Sidney's car and, while he tried to bat it away, he lost control of his car and caused the pileup. Yes, a wasp. For me, this revelation caused a bit of laughter, but I appreciated how it had been foreshadowed as far back as part 1, so it wasn't too terrible. In fact, there was something quite powerful in seeing the devastation a tiny insect can wreak on people. The final scene was quite bizarre, too, as time reversed and we saw an alternative history – where Jane did kill the wasp, and all the characters went about their journey on the A12 with no harm coming to them. It was a tingling reminder that, every day, thousands of motorists are so close to having their lives thrown into chaos: a wasp buzzes in a motorway service station and a hurricane of twisted metal reigns down outside.

Overall, Collision was a very mixed bag – I loved some of the performances, the central idea was strong, and some of the characters' lives engaged me (Tolin, Jane, Richard). But too many of its individual storylines were lazily-scripted, predictable or undernourished. There wasn't really a good excuse for that, as five episodes was more than enough time to do a better job. At times the format itself was half the problem, but it was also a big part of the attraction about the programme. So, I'm glad ITV took a chance on Collision, because it paid off ratings-wise and offered something a bit different for a week, but I was left shrugging my shoulders.


13 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)

COLLISION: Part 4 of 5

[SPOILERS] The individual stories are tying up now, but only a few have justified the time spent on them: the illegal immigrant and pharmaceutical whistleblower subplots (but even the latter's become less exciting now Karen's dead.) Everything else feels isolated or has lacked any big surprises. However, there are some great performances in this mini-series, and Douglas Henshall was particularly excellent in this penultimate part...

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)

COLLISION: Part 3 of 5

[SPOILERS] I thought this mid-series episode was a notable turning point for the show. It humanized the plot and developed the characters a lot more, so even though it was slower paced than the preceding parts, I found it easier to get drawn into the story...

As I predicted from the start, fugitive Danny (Dean Lennox Kelly) was revealed to have been smuggling an illegal immigrant into the country; an African man who had gone to great lengths to get to England where his wife and newborn baby are already living. DI Tolin (Douglas Henshall) also became a more rounded character here -- worrying about his disabled daughter's plans to fly the nest to university, and becoming convinced there are huge mysteries to uncover about the traffic accident that nobody else can see.

Tolin's primarily concerned that Karen (Claire Rushbrook) was taken from hospital by two strangers and has now turned up dead in her bath. Strangely, Tolin's the only detective who realizes the crime scene has been staged to make her death look like a suicide -- so is there a conspiracy involving the pharmaceutical company Karen worked for and the police force? I wouldn't be surprised if Tolin turns out to have a background in more front-line policing, too, as he's always having clever insights into the case. If not, the guy's wasted in traffic! Anyway, I thought Henshall was a lot better here, given more emotions to play as he faced various obstacles.

A few subplots were also dipped into: Brian's (Phil Davis) mother-in-law Joyce died in hospital from head trauma after the crash, and it seems more than likely her son-in-law seized the opportunity to kill her after the crash before the paramedics arrived. Indeed, given that flashbacks reminded us how Joyce was confused about Brian's choice of route, I get the impression he was planning to take her somewhere remote and kill her anyway! Brian's wife can sense the truth about her husband, and now Stallwood (Kate Ashfield) has forensic evidence to suggest Joyce suffered her fatal injury after the crash, too. I think Brian will be tasting prison slop before too long, don't worry...

The least compelling story (if only because there's little sense of anything exciting behind it) belonged to demure waitress Jane (Lucy Griffiths), who accepted millionaire Richard's (Paul McGann) invitation to go for a drink. It feels like a very standard story at the moment (the "young, engaged, working class beauty meets the older, married, handsome millionaire" gambit), so it's fortunate Griffiths and McGann are at least watchable in their roles. But I'm only interested because hopefully a twist will reveal itself. Richard must have something to hide, surely, as he's just too good to be true. As one of the least suspicious characters involved in the crash, I therefore suspect he's keeping the biggest secret of them all.

Overall, Collision has been steadily improving every night. It's not really must-watch stuff, I get the impression it's being stretched to last five hours, and a few of the storylines rely on twists you expect from the start (although I hope to be proven wrong about a few...), but it's getting better the longer you stay with it. If it maintains this trajectory, we could be in for a treat come Friday.


11 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)

COLLISION: Part 2 of 5

[SPOILERS] I enjoyed this more than the first part, but it still feels a tad lifeless. It's clear that the idea behind Collision is that everyone caught up in the pileup has a backstory that DI Tolin (Douglas Henshall) will uncover, exposing their guilty secrets in the process. Part 2 mainly focused on young Gareth (Anwar Lynch), whose girlfriend Alice (Lenora Crichlow) was killed in the crash. He's blamed the accident on being distracted by the police car chasing him for speeding, but Tolin senses that Gareth is hiding something to protect Alice's memory...

SIO Ann Stallwood (Kate Ashfield) was also introduced into the story as Tolin's co-investigator, and it became clear the two have a romantic history together, but Tolin's since ignored her for a year. The reason for Tolin's interest in this tragedy is also hinted at, as I suspect he took time off work after being involved in a similar crash himself (one that put his daughter in a wheelchair?) The lack of a Mrs. Tolin is also suspicious, so I presume she died in whatever tragic event befell him?

Elsewhere, millionaire Richard (Paul McGann) was taken to the nearby motorway services station with a dislocated shoulder, that kindly waitress Jane (Lucy Griffiths) popped back into place. Inevitably, there was chemistry between the pair, and Richard appears to be Jane's knight in shining armour, who will whisk her away from her inconsiderate, unromantic boyfriend at home. Of course, I'm guessing that Richard is going to have some skeletons in his closet that will give Jane pause for thought.

We also learned that secretry Karen (Claire Rushbrook) had been approached to steal her company's data and pass the files on for a newspaper expose, but the information is now in the back of her impounded car and she's stuck convalescing in hospital. A later scene found her being led away by two mysterious men, supposedly aware of her theft and hoping to get the "Locust" data back? And finally, Danny (Dean Lennox Kelly) has fled the crash scene with minor injuries, knowing he'd be arrested if the cops find whatever contraband he was smuggling into the country -- but it appears to have been hidden so well that nobody's discovered it yet.

When you boil it down like this, part 2 sounds very compelling, and it certainly wasn't a bad hour's entertainment. I'm just not that interested in anybody yet -- although Henshall got a few moments to shine when his grim demeanour cracked, and Griffiths exudes likeability. But too many characters are stereotypes -- or, rather, that they're existing as stereotypes until they get a chance to shine as the focus of an episode. Well, hopefully. Gareth was certainly more interesting here than he was last night, anyway.

A few of the storylines still feel like they're going down a very predictable path; a brief scene informs us that Sidney Norris' real name is Sidney Morris, and am I the only thinking he changed it because he's on the sex offenders registers? Regardless, it's fun to follow a story pre-crash via flashbacks and piece together information about the secrets people are hiding in the post-crash present. Here, Tolin eventually worked out that Gareth was smoking weed which may have dulled his reaction to the crash, but he didn't want Alice's father to know his beloved daughter was likewise a recreational drug user.

Overall, Collision still has a dreary "ITV drama" feel to it, couldn't hit an ad break on a gripping note if it tried, and I'm not sold on a few of the characters and strength of their storylines (yet), but there's enough intrigue and good performances to keep me watching. I hope tonight's third part kicks things into gear, though.


10 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)

COLLISION: Part 1 of 5

[SPOILERS] The BBC's forays into weeklong serials have proven unexpectedly successful, with Criminal Justice and Torchwood both airing five weeknight episodes to big ratings and glowing reviews. It seems that audiences (yes, even in this fragmented multimedia world) are prepared to commit to the stripped mini-series format -- although clearly it shouldn't be overused, and kept as an occasional treat...

ITV follows in the BBC's footsteps with Collision, a drama that needs to grab a big audience and keep them glued to their sofas every night until Friday. Did they succeed? Well, we won't get the full picture until the weekend*, but there was enjoyment to be had in the first part of this five-part special. I just found many of the characters too clichéd and the vast majority of this opener was pure exposition, while the climactic car crash itself was, frankly, a big disappointment. I've seen more stimulating and compelling vehicular crashes on the average episode of Casualty. I wasn't expecting a motorway pileup to rival Final Destination 2, but I found it hard to believe this was a particularly epic car crash, and couldn't even follow the stunt choreography very well.

The most successful element of this episode, scripted by Anthony Horowitz & Michael A. Walker, was its flashback device. We opened to see DI John Tolin (Douglas Henshall) returning to work after a long absence, and going through the case-notes of the titular collision, as the story jumped back in time to the day before the crash and followed each character's lives. Primarily these were: shadowy brothers Jeffrey (Craig Kelly) and Danny (Dean Lennox Kelly), the latter of whom is seen transporting illegal cargo into the UK from Europe; piano teacher Sidney (David Bamber), who had delivered a CD to a strange man in a café; motorway services waitress Jane (Lucy Griffiths); and personal assistant Karen (Claire Rushbrook), who has stolen government documents from her boss codenamed "Locust", amongst other less defined people caught in the melee...

The one thing this episode did well was define and outline each character quickly and effortlessly, but I'm hoping for more depth to reveal itself in the remaining episodes. Everyone was fairly clichéd (the girlfriend with the insensitive boyfriend, the ageing man with the battleaxe mother, the scallyway brothers, the middle-aged loner), but we'll see how rich they become now everything's setup and DI Tolin was start to uncover each character's secrets...

Of mild concern is that a few of the individual mysteries appear fairly predictable -- the brothers were transporting an illegal immigrant, no? The piano teacher's a paedophile passing on child porn to others in his circle, surely? Maybe I'm wrong, or was being led down a path intentionally by the script, but we'll see. The frustrating thing about these five-part serials intentionally airing every night is that any criticisms you have could be annulled within 24-hours, so I'll mainly be offering gut reactions and thoughts until Friday from hereon in.

Overall, Collision wasn't as gripping as I'd expected, I thought Henshall was particularly wasted (staring at his wall in a cramped office for most of the episode), the basic setup didn't offer anything that felt unique or fresh, and the stuntwork was abrupt and incoherent, but the fact there are four more hours left has me hopeful Anthony Horowitz and Michael Walker's series has a more complex and emotional story up its sleeve... and part 1 just didn't intend to show any of that yet.

I'm intrigued enough to give tonight's episode a whirl, so I dare say that makes part 1 a success.


9 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)

* 7.5 million tuned in for Monday's first part (twice as many as the BBC's Life documentary), so that's certainly a great start. Now, can they keep those numbers 'till Friday?

Get ready for a five-day Collision

Collision is a five-part drama (airing across consecutive weeknights from 9 November) created by Anthony Horowitz (Stormbreaker) and directed by Marc Evans (My Little Eye). It's about a group of people's lives that intersect after a tragic car accident, and the cast includes: Douglas Henshall (Primeval) and Kate Ashfield (Shaun Of The Dead) as detectives, Paul McGann (Withnail & I) as a millionaire property dealer, Lucy Griffiths (Robin Hood) as a waitress, Dean Lennox Kelly (Shameless) and Craig Kelly (Coronation Street) as shady brothers, David Bamber (Rome) as a piano teacher, Claire Rushbrook (New Tricks) as a secretary, and Phil Davis (Whitechapel).

The premise sounds interesting, if broadly similar to Lost's setup (a big disaster bringing disparate characters together), but it's the excellent cast that has my attention. I never liked dour Douglas Henshall in Primeval, but he'll hopefully fare better in a more realistic scenario; it'll be a treat to have Lucy Griffiths back on our screens again (and draw in the Robin Hood fans, I'm betting); it's about time Paul McGann started turning up in primetime regularly; and I always enjoy what David Bamber and Phil Davis bring to a production.

It's another ITV drama worth getting excited about! What's happening to the world? Collision hits screens on Monday 9 November and there's a new episode every night on ITV1 @9pm until Friday 13 November.