One of the recent trends in British television drama has been the linking device - that is, a commonality among multiple characters that is used as a reason to unfold a sprawling, almost anthology-like television series involving a number of characters in finite stories.
Some of the more successful have been "Clocking Off," which ran for four years and revolved around workers in a clothing factory, and "The Street," which told stories about residents who live on the same street in London. Add to that list "Collision," a five-part series that has been condensed into two parts for Masterpiece Contemporary on PBS and will begin airing on WGBY on Sunday, Nov. 15, at 9 p.m.
In "Collision," a massive traffic accident serves as the required springboard for the various personal dramas of the victims of the crash. Detective Inspector John Tolin (Douglas Henshall) is called in to get to the bottom of the incident, which seems routine but becomes a complicated tangle of individual mysteries, as well as the center of emotional turmoil for the detective himself, as he struggles with the death of wife, the ghosts and regrets of his relationship with her and his handicapped daughter.
Those involved in the accident unleash a torrent of other issues that need sorting, from industrial espionage to international crime, as well as some more mundane problems like mother-in-law trouble and even a possible Prince Charming love story. It's Tolin's duty to get to the bottom of why the accident
The cast features solid performances culled from various television sources - if you pay any attention to BBC America, you're going to recognize quite a few faces. Henshall starred in the science fiction series "Primeval," but also featured are Lucy Griffiths, who played Marion in the recent "Robin Hood" series, Paul McGann, a former "Doctor Who" and star of "Withnail and I" and the glittering Lenora Crichlow, who recently found success as the ghost roommate in "Being Human."
The idea in "Collision" is that from destruction comes rebirth - a fairly simple premise, but one that is realized in unexpected ways. This is not necessarily a feel-good proposition - some renewed lives come with a great price, others without the typical expectations of what qualifies as a happy ending - but it's one that allows at least some of the characters a chance for transformation, even in the face of oblivion.
If the police are thought of as keepers of the order - compilers of logic - then they are revealed here as burdened by an impossible task. There is no true order to the human existence, and the only logic to human action is an unpredictable and singular one built on emotion even still.
"Collision" is the tale of disparate lives literally slammed together for a moment like a chemical experiment - shook up to see what will happen. Random chance is the one constant in "Collision" - a roll of the dice is like the roll of a car, and there's no predicting the winners and losers.
John Mitchell is the Transcript's arts and entertainment editor
Font Resize
