The Point of Vanishing (5 Apr. 2009)
"Lewis" The Point of Vanishing (original title)

A former religious fanatic who deliberately tried to kill an outspoken atheist in a car crash but only succeeded in crippling his daughter is murdered.

Director:

Maurice Phillips

Writers:

Colin Dexter (inspired by the Inspector Morse novels of), Paul Rutman (screenplay),

Stars:

Ophelia Lovibond, Danny Midwinter, Dougal Irvine

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Ophelia Lovibond	...	Jessica Rattenbury
Danny Midwinter	...	Steven Mullan
Dougal Irvine	...	Alex Hadley
Julian Wadham	...	Tom Rattenbury
Jenny Seagrove	...	Cecile Rattenbury
Zoe Boyle	...	Hope Ransome
Ben Aldridge	...	Daniel Rattenbury
Kellie Shirley	...	Madeleine Cotton
Clare Holman	...	Dr. Laura Hobson
Kevin Whately	...	DI Robert Lewis
Laurence Fox	...	DS James Hathaway
Rebecca Front	...	Chief Superintendent Jean Innocent
Catherine Walker	...	Fiona McKendrick
Tim Treloar	...	Marc Cotton
Susan Tracy	...	Frances Wheeler

Storyline

Steven Mullan, a former religious maniac who served time for running atheist writer Tom Rattenbury off the road, crippling Tom's daughter Jessica in the process, is murdered. Or rather his flatmate, who swapped identities with him to escape the wrath of his lover's husband, is. Then the real Steven Mullan is killed and Tom commits suicide, claiming he killed both lads. But Tom had an alibi and Jessica and Steven were closer than anybody guessed. Who has engineered the cover-up?

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Plot Keywords:

atheist | car crash | wheelchair | swimming pool | traveling shot | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 April 2009 (UK)

Filming Locations:

Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

ITV Productions, WGBH

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min 93 min (dvd release) 93 min (11 episodes)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

[first lines]
Hope Ransome: I'll be two seconds.

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Connections

References Casablanca (1942)

User Reviews

Good episode, just one niggle

This was a good episode in the series, which has been getting more and more into its stride.

The partnership of Whately and Fox is still not that entertaining (mainly because of Fox's colourless character), but that did not stop this story from being absorbing.

As ever, the plot was convoluted and not very easy to follow. If the phone rings during the programme, you can forget understanding the rest of the story, however brief the call. You must also time any trips to the kitchen or bathroom to the lengthened commercial breaks that ITV so thoughtfully provides nowadays.

The explanation at the end was not great. Come back, Poirot - gather everyone in the library and spell it out, please.

In our family we are still not sure who committed the second murder!