At 5:57 on a Friday afternoon, a car suddenly swerves on a superhighway leading into London. In the resulting pileup, fate entangles the lives of a remarkable group of strangers, whose loves, intrigues, crimes, and secrets test the skill of a dedicated team of police investigators.
Masterpiece Contemporary on PBS presents a tense and suspensesful story about the hidden drama that lurks inside a random group of vehicles, on Collision, airing in two parts Sundays, November 15, 9 to 10:30 pm, and November 22, 9 to 10pm.
Smuggling, murder, and international conspiracy are just some of the pieces in the jigsaw puzzle that emerge from the wreckage—along with injustice, betrayal, and dashed hopes, plus a surprising twist that shows how a trivial incident can snowball into disaster.
Written by Anthony Horowitz, creator of the quietly compelling Foyle’s War, Collision stars Douglas Henshall, (best known to BBC America viewers for his work in Primeval) as Detective Inspector John Tolin, who is called in to make sense of what happened in a six-vehicle collision that leaves two immediately dead, others severely injured, and one driver mysteriously missing. Tolin’s obsession with the case is fueled by a personal tragedy: the death of his wife and crippling of his daughter in a road accident a year earlier.
Just seconds…
Coincidentally, Tolin is paired with his estranged former lover, Senior Investigating Officer Ann Stallwood (Kate Ashfield). Together the two must overcome their troubled love affair and get to the bottom of what happened on England’s A12 expressway and why. Above all, they must confront allegations that police misconduct led to the smash-up.
Taking just seconds, the accident starts when Sidney Norris (David Bamber) inexplicably veers into the adjacent lane, causing Karen Donnelly (Claire Rushbrook) to crash into him. Sidney is a piano teacher with a secret fetish that he hides from all except a close friend. Karen is on her way to a rendezvous with a journalist to deliver a purloined corporate document with explosive implications.
Immediately behind, a furniture van driven by Danny Rampton (Dean Lennox Kelly)
brakes and skids into the two cars, leaving the ground and vaulting into the oncoming lanes. Having just picked up a mysterious contraband cargo in Holland, Danny flees the scene as soon as he comes to, before emergency responders can interview him.
Meanwhile, a chauffeur-driven car carrying wealthy property developer Richard Reeves (Paul McGann) plows into Sidney and Karen’s cars, followed by Brian Edwards (Phil Davis) in a station wagon, with his mother-in-law (Sylvia Syms) in the passenger seat.
Blood and adrenaline
And on the other side of the road, Gareth Clay (Anwar Lynch) is speeding at 83 mph with his fiancée, Alice Jackson (Lenora Crichlow), when he notices a pursuing police car in the rear-view mirror. Distracted, he misses the unfolding accident ahead and smashes into Danny’s upended van. The police car screeches to a halt, barely avoiding the mayhem.
With blood and adrenaline flowing, the action has only just begun. The search for Danny will turn up a horrific scheme. Karen will find herself trapped in a nightmare of intrigue. Richard will pursue an ill-advised romance with one of his rescuers. Brian will be investigated for murder. Gareth will face scrutiny over his actions in the split second before the crash. And Tolin and Ann will have their wits—and relationship—tested in ways they never could have imagined.
Collision is an ingeniously written, enthrallingly told and well-acted tale. It’s the perfect companion for a Sunday evening in November.
Collision: Sundays, November 15, 9 to 10:30 pm, and November 22, 9 to 10pm.
