Crime Traveller

Crime Traveller is a 1997 British television science fiction detective series produced by Carnival Films for the BBC. It was based on the premise of using time travel for the purpose of solving crimes.

Anthony Horowitz created the series and wrote every episode. He had the idea while writing an episode of Poirot. Despite having over eight million viewers on a regular basis, Crime Traveller was not renewed after its first series. According to Horowitz, "The show wasn't exactly cut. There was a chasm at the BBC, created by the arrival of a new Head of Drama and our run ended at that time. There was no-one around to commission a new series...and so it just didn't happen."

Plot

Jeff Slade is a detective with the Criminal Investigation Department of the local police force led by Kate Grisham; although unusually for such a position he is an armed officer, carrying a handgun as routine. Slade is a good detective who gets results although his approach is somewhat maverick and his methods do leave a lot to be desired and have more than once landed him in trouble. Amongst Slade's colleagues at the department is science officer Holly Turner who has a secret that Slade manages to uncover. Holly owns a working time machine that was built by her late father. The machine is able to take Slade and Holly back far enough in time to witness a crime as it happens and discover who committed it. As a result, Slade's track record with crime solving goes through the roof with case after case being solved in record time.

Cast

• Michael French as DI Jeff Slade — City detective, and the only person other than Holly who knows about the time machine.
• Chloë Annett as Holly Turner — Forensic scientist whose father invented the time machine, which she keeps and adjusts in her apartment.
• Sue Johnston as DCI Kate Grisham — Slade's irritable boss who he is constantly getting on the wrong side of.
• Paul Trussell as DS Morris — Slade's slow-witted colleague, who usually takes the credit for his success.
• Richard Dempsey as DC Nicky Robson — A posh, intelligent but naïve trainee detective, too helpful and trusting for his own good.
• Bob Goody as Danny — Caretaker at Holly's apartment block, who is constantly having to deal with the power outages caused by Holly and Slade's use of the time machine.

Home media

Revelation Films released the entire series on DVD on 21 June 2004. The DVD release includes an exclusive interview with writer and creator Anthony Horowitz.

See also

• Quantum Leap, an American science fiction show involving time travel to fix the past; this often involves crime solving.
• Seven Days, an American science fiction show in which a government-controlled machine can send one man a week back in time, though the expense means that it is only used to avert serious disasters; this can involve stopping criminals or terrorists.
• Timecop, a 1994 science-fiction film starring Jean-Claude Van Damme as a time-travelling police officer.

External links

• Crime Traveller fan site
• Template:BBC programme
• Crime Traveller at the Internet Movie Database.
• Action TV Crime Traveller page