An Alternative to Car-Crash TV

ITV1 broadcasts a brand new five-part drama called Collision from Monday. In these times where car-crash reality TV is taking over our small screen, watching a well-written, absorbing drama makes for a nice change.

The story follows a troubled policeman who returns to work after a leave of absence. He begins an investigation into a car crash on the A12, only to discover the victims’ lives were not as straight-forward as one would assume. As he untangles the mess left by the crash, he discovers a web of lies, deceit and conspiracy.

The pace is slow at the beginning, but stick with it because more characters are introduced after the second episode and the story gets even more complicated. The viewer begins to see how the pieces come together through flashbacks and new discoveries in the investigation. Look out for the running theme of wasps too…it may prove useful!

Most TV nowadays is mind-numbing and vacuous. Don’t get me wrong, I do occasionally like to sit gormlessly in front of the TV set and have entertainment spoon-fed to me without having to think about it. But I do that so often that I had forgotten how nice it is to have programmes that actually make you think. Just when you think you’ve sussed out what might be happening in Collision, something else gets thrown in the mix. Surely a sign of good writing? And the ending? Well, I’m not one to spoil, but it’s a good’un! Ultimately, what makes the programme so watchable is the fact that it’s a story about the drama of people’s lives, not just a tragic event. Collisions starts on Monday 9th November, ITV1 9pm.