Thin Air. Ed Whitmore writes a Boyd gone mad. In 1989 a girl disappeared from Hampstead Heath and was never found. Her dress and some memorabilia are uncovered belonging to the son of a dolls house maker, Justin Salinger. Under pressure from the Commissioner, Boyd rashly arrests him without examining any other evidence. Strike 1. Then an old mate of Spence Steve Toussaint is suspected of being involved, and Spence goes to see him without any other officers - big mistake. And Strike 2. Then Boyd meets the dead girl's sister Sophie Winkleman without any colleagues being present - inappropriate and Strike 3. But in the maddest of moments, she comes to visit Boyd alone, comes on to him and manages to convince him to wear her sister's dress and go for a night walk across the Heath. Strike 4. Che cazzo? Has the world gone crazy? Who let Ed write such madness? I was half expecting for Boyd to wake up and find that bit was just a dream.
There's an 'Alice in Wonderland' reference and what with the doll's house and the night / red dress scene there's something fairytale going on here, something that perhaps became diluted along the line.
The parents are Roger Allam and Cherie Lunghi, whose appearance in Excalibur in 1981 was by no means her first and who has rarely been off our TV screens since her debut in 1964.
A hallmark of this show has been the quality of the acting, which is generally excellent - Winkleman sadly something of an exception. Who was the 'show runner'? The producer?
Graham Frake is on camera again and throws in one of his quick circular moves.
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