The Glitch (23 Sep. 2009)

An air traffic computer system, based on theories from an eccentric college professor, is denounced by the scientist creating a financial crisis for its backers.

Director:

Richard Holthouse

Writers:

Michael Russell (screenplay), Caroline Graham (characters)

Stars:

John Nettles, Jason Hughes, Jane Wymark

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
John Nettles	...	DCI Tom Barnaby
Jason Hughes	...	DS Ben Jones
Jane Wymark	...	Joyce Barnaby
Laura Howard	...	Cully Barnaby
Barry Jackson	...	Dr Bullard
Kirsty Dillon	...	DC Gail Stephens
Shaughan Seymour	...	Norman Wayland-Smith
Philip Jackson	...	Daniel Snape
Josie Taylor	...	Emily Harte (as Josephine Taylor)
Nigel Whitmey	...	Clinton Finn
Lucy Brown	...	Helen Markham
Jim Norton	...	Edward Canning
David Haig	...	George Jeffers
James Musgrave	...	Tom Jeffers (as James Musgrove)
Joanna Roth	...	Melanie Jeffers

Storyline

DCI Barnaby and DS Jones investigate the apparent murder of Emily Harte who was run off the road by a car while cycling late at night. The evidence at the scene also suggests that the driver then backed up over her to make sure the job was done. She was a member of the local cycling club and was in a relationship with George Jeffers a professor at the local college. Barnaby quickly concludes that Jeffers was the driver's intended target. Jeffers had several people who might want to get at him. His ex-wife Melanie felt that she was losing her son as he too was spending more time with his father and Emily. Then there's a disagreement with a local technology firm that has built a new air traffic control system built on his theories. Jeffers thinks there a serious flaw and has threatened to go public and the company's CEO Clinton Finn has already taken steps to get the college on his side by endowing a new research building. Throughout all of this, someone locals have dubbed the bucketman...

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Plot Keywords:

paint | air traffic control | bicycle | software | hit and run | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 September 2009 (UK)

Filming Locations:

Brightwell Baldwin, Oxfordshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bentley Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

Did You Know?

Goofs

When the intruder is trying to type the password on the keyboard, the number of key-presses does not correspond to the number of characters that appear on the screen.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Edward Canning: If you're all going to ride like maniacs, at least do it quietly.

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Soundtracks

"Daisy Bell"
("A Bicycle Built for Two") (uncredited)
Composed by Harry Dacre (1893)
Sung by school choir

User Reviews

Boring

"The Glitch" is a very boring episode, I could hardly watch it to the end. Unlike "The Magician's Nephew", this work by Michael Russel is rather dull. The plot goes on very slowly, the only exciting point - the attacks of the bucket-man. But the rest of the film was full of clichés: the murder of a young girl, classical "red herrings", the second murder which happened right after the fatal words of Phil Jackson... The author of the script endeavoured to convince the audience that the murders were somehow connected with Kernal logic and that the real target was Jeffers, but all those "red herrings" obviously were false and led nowhere, it would've been so easy if the murderer were Clinton Finn. So, when the truth is revealed in the end, I just shook my head, acknowledging that the solution was reasonable enough, but still that fact didn't change anything: the episode remains pale and not impressive. Below average, I suppose.