| Seconds from Death
Fasten your seat belts and settle in for an ambitious drama that gives a new meaning to the phrase car crash television. This week TV is clearing the decks for five consecutive nights of Anthony Horowitz’s complex thriller Collision. This gripping mini-series interweaves stories of the driver, passengers and others involved in the aftermath of a tragic high speed car crash on the A12. Flashbacks hint at secrets, revelations and intrigue in the lives of all the people involved, all of whom share a devastating moment that will change them forever. Former Primeval star Douglas Henshall heads a strong cast as DI John Tolin who is responsible for unravelling the carnage that threatens to spill way beyond the hard shoulder. “I love the idea that by the end of episode one, you really don’t know anthing,” says Douglas, 43. “All you know is that there’s been a terrible car accident, a guy has been put on the case to investigate it and it is a mess. My character doesn’t know much more than the audience. It is open for interpretation; we are asking the audience to use their brains a wee- I think that is what TV should be about!” “I also like the randomness of it. No one sets out to have a car accident. You can be the safest driver in the world and it can still happen to you because of somebody else or sequence of events-I suppose it’s one of the scary things about living.” And there’s plenty to be scared about in the fall-out from the crash. The father of one dead passenger alleges that the pile u-up was caused by a racially motivated police chase. Soon the investigators are turning up stories of smuggling, government cover-ups and infidelity. For two of the stars, this long overdue chance to work together Strictly Come Dancing’s Craig Kelly and his brother Shameless star Dean Lennox Kelly , finally act together on the small screen. Both describe this as a dream cone true though Dean admits to just a touch of sibling rivalry. “Yeah, I want to look better than him on camera,” grins Dean, who as Dan Rampton uses his brother Jeff’s dodgy van for a dodgy trip over the channel. “I want to appear taller and I want to have the best lines and the screen time,” he jokes. “I got to be in the crash, which is great, but Craig is playing someone very different fro him, while I’m basically playing myself with cropped hair.” The accident also leads to an unexpected meeting between unhappily married property tycoon Richard Reeves (Paul McGann), who is only slightly injured in the crash, and service station waitress Jane Tarrant (Lucy Griffiths). The pair’s chance encounter soon sparks an unlikely mutual attraction. “You get the impression that she has been stuck ever since she left school”, says Lucy who made her name as Marian in the BBC’s Robin Hood. “She’s been moving from rubbish job to rubbish job. She wants to get out but she doesn’t quite know how. I think a lot of young people who have dreams and aspirations are like that, especially today, unless they are really self-motivated and resourceful. You get a lot of wasted talent. “The main excitement in Jane’s life comes from her meeting Richard. There’s an instant spark that passes between the two of them, which, let’s say, inspires her.” “I was a bit concerned that I ended up looking like a dirty old geezer! “ says Paul. Hints of a past romance between the recently bereaved DI Tolin and Senior Investigating Officer Ann Stallwood (Shaun of the Dead’s Kate Ashfield) add to the simmering tension. Hidden connections between key characters come to light, and there are hints of scandal which goes to the heart of the government. Meanwhile all this reminds Douglas of the occasion some years ago when he had his own brush with mortality on the road. “I was involved in a car crash once when I was at drama school in North London”, he reveals “The thing I still remember is everything seems to go into slow motion –you have time to think-‘We are going to crash – I’m going to be in a car crash!’- Time seems to slow down completely." More from Douglas Henshall: You play the cop investigating the car crash, and the fall out from it – so what kind of man is DI John Tolin? He is a career policeman – like a lot of them he is fairly consumed by what he does. But he is also coming back to work after something terrible has happened within his family, which he feels a lot of guilt about. Conveying that was tricky, because I was worried that he just looked like a miserable so-and-so all the time! I think this event becomes the process by which he tries to find his own redemption. He can help get this monkey off his back by fixing something that is very similar to what happened to him. The people involved in this crash become some kind of surrogate family for him. In one incredible scene you are walking, with Kate Ashfield’s character, on a deserted motorway. Was that eerie? It was almost unprecedented, we got the police to shut down a live stretch of motorway on a Sunday afternoon. It is the scene when Kate and I walk along to visit the crash site. The director and the cameraman were on a bridge looking down over the motorway and we waited on a slip road as cars went by. The police did a rolling roadblock where they sit in front of the traffic and slow it down and slow it down until it stops. Suddenly from the cacophony of the live motorway, there was complete silence. It was like being in a Western. Both of us walked down the length of this motorway, but there is a terrible feeling in the back of your head going, 'Did they stop everybody?' The temptation to turn around was almost overwhelming. It was very eerie, very spooky. It was a perfect morning for the atmosphere – suddenly you get all the countryside noises, the birds were singing, and we are walking down the motorway. Then we were picked up by a car and the motorway came back to life. That was an amazing day. How do you feel about Collision going out on five consecutive nights? (UK only) I think it is maybe necessity more than anything else. People have so many avenues to look into for entertainment, you have more chance of capturing people to watch it over five nights than spread across five weeks. That just makes sense today. It is like watching a box set, which is my favourite way to watch TV now. I’ve loved The West Wing, The Sopranos, Six Feet Under and The Wire – and Entourage is good, just for a laugh. What made you decide to do Collision? The people and the writing, those are the only two things that matter – if they are good, it is all good. Sometimes you go into a job hoping you can fix something, but with this, I read it and thought it was great. I met the people involved and they are great. So the worst you can do is muck it up, really! How do you balance a film and television career? It is very tricky. It is easy to get stuck in one or the other, and the other will forget about you fairly quickly unless you are a big movie star. I think the negative side of that is that you can be seen as a Jack of all trades and master of none, but I never wanted to be stuck with only one option. What are you filming at the moment? I’m learning German for a film in Serbia called How I Was Stolen By The Germans. It is a Serbian language movie and I play a German Officer. It is going ok, although it is a little scary. I didn’t speak any German before, I was pretty raw, but I’m an actor, it’s fine, I’m trying not to worry about it! I’ve also just finished a film called Eagle Of The Ninth, which is out next year. I’m only in the first 20 minutes of it, but I have a fantastic chariot race with Channing Tatum through forests and fields and it was great, I had a great time. By Adrian Lobb - TVCHOICE magazine - November 7th -13th 2009 |