You've done everything you can think of...
and you're still no closer to home.
Why are you still here, Sam?
I'm here for a reason.
Where are you?
870 to Alpha One, that stabbing at the bookies,
suspects are cornered in at Winton Drive.
Right, let's get it done.
Unarmed? Those blokes smashed a bookies clerk.
We should sit tight. Wait for uniform back-up...
You wanna tell us who you work for and we'll forget about this little incident?
Come on! You want something?
Do you wanna tell us about the Morton brothers?
Throw down your weapons.
Nowhere to go, lads.
They gotta give it up. What else they gonna do?
We're the Force.
And may the Force be with you.
Oh, damn.
Clunk, click, every trip.
Looks like the Mortons are pretty serious about taking over this city.
That's no way to treat a lady.
Our best lead into a tasty new gang and they end up as chopped liver.
Now we've got nothing.
I wouldn't say we got "nothing" guv.
Police. Hands on your head and get on your knees.
- You heard me. - Hands, knees, bumps-a-daisy.
I've paid for this room.
Dad...
Damn... I mean... damn!
Daddy's gone away, Sammie.
He didn't want to...
but he had to.
On the road again, just... back on the road.
But he loves us.
And you'll see him again.
Please... can I phone my wife?
My name is Sam Tyler.
I had an accident and I woke up in 1973.
Am i mad? In a coma? Or back in time?
Whatever's happened, it's like I've landed on a different planet.
Now maybe if I can work out a reason, I can get home.
Daddy's gone away, Sammie.
But he loves us...
and you'll see him again.
Eager beaver.
You're not gonna believe this.
You know that bloke we just brought in from the hotel?
It's my dad.
The suspect we just arrested?
He's younger than you are!
He's my dad!
You know I've been searching for an answer, why I'm here and...
and how I get back.
Maybe the answer's found me.
Right. Shall we go and have words?
I think we should give him a few minutes.
He's... um... feeling unwell.
Shall I fetch him some milk of magnesia?
The bloke's innocent.
We found nothing on him, nothing in the room....
Look at him. He was at the wrong place at the wrong time, is all.
Haven't you been paying attention in class?
Have you forgotten your place, Detective *Constable*?
You were the Boy Scout who wanted to put Stephen Warren away. Remember?
When a big old shark
at the top of the criminal ladder goes,
the other smaller fish get excited.
They wanna climb that ladder.
This is a very mixed metaphor.
Big shark has gone,
and others wanna take over his feeding ground and I'm telling you,
I had no idea there were so many fish in my pond.
Can we just stop?
Look, we've got a new gang in town, the Mortons.
They're looking to muscle in on the gap left by Warren.
Now, the Mortons were behind the stabbing this morning
and our only leads to them just went through the front window of a Rover P6.
What we're left with is an innocent man,
who for some reason, we've taken into custody.
We've got to crush this gang, Sam, before they grow.
You're wrong. Our only lead is waiting for us in Lost and Found.
Do you want me to go down and warm him up for you, guv?
Listen to me. You touch one hair on his head...
I'll talk to him first.
- That's amazing. - Go again?
Go on.
Round and round she goes, where she stops...
Well, that's a dead cert, that.
Lesson for me there. Never try to outsmart the copper's mind.
Investigative brain, innit. It's lava... lava...lavatorial.
Lateral.
Lateral thinking, Chris.
Senior officer?
Not that senior.
You two related? Both Tyler?
- Ah, give over. - Somebody call Esther Rantzen.
Right, Mr Tyler. D'you know the Mortons?
Take a look at these two fellas.
Jay Borrows and Danny Hutchins. They both worked for them.
I'm sorry sir, I've no idea.
The Mortons are two-bit criminals crawling around in the city,
looking for their chance to make it into the big time.
Trouble is, moving into the big time puts them squarely on my radar.
They wanna get big. Little fish becoming bigger fish.
Need to feed, fast, and hard.
The point is, the Mortons are getting nasty
and I'm gonna grind them into the dirt. And you...
You're gonna help me.
I sell cleaning products. Door to door. I work for a Mr Belmont.
Regional supervisor. You can call him.
Don't worry, Mr Tyler.
Just tell us exactly what you were doing in Room 16 of the Victoria Park Hotel.
I was hoping to land a school's contract. I was getting changed...
So you book into a hotel four miles from your house.
Good neutral ground to meet a client.
What, I suppose he wanted to test out the tea-making facilities as well,
but shall we ask him, Inspector?
I'm a bit behind with the rent,
trying to steer clear of the landlord for a week or so.
So you can't afford the rent,
but you can afford to splash out on hotel rooms.
That's just an assumption.
I'll make assumptions until I get some answers, Mr Tyler,
because do you know, by law, how long I can keep you here?
As long as I bloody well like.
Let's start again.
I play cards.
The men in your photos...
they were setting up a game at the hotel.
Here we go.
But I'm not a crook. It was just a card game.
And the Morton brothers?
No, no mention of any Mortons.
Everyone was taking a room and I wanted to keep up appearances.
I was getting ready when you lot turned up.
So that's where your involvement ends? You know nothing else about all this?
So what're you saying? We should let the gentleman go, Sam?
I've got a young lad called Sam.
I've got a pain in the arse called Sam.
What's he like, your... lad?
Ah, he's always busy. Up here...
You know what little nippers are like. All that make-believe.
Mr Belmont - Gateway Cleaning Products - checks out.
So he's a guy who likes a hand of cards who fell in with the wrong crowd.
Let's release him.
Someone can... run him back.
I could always...
He might be Pippy Longstocking in your eyes,
but he's still the only lead we've got.
We search the house.
You never phoned. I was going spare.
Sorry sweetheart.
These policeman want to have a quick look round the house.
- It won't take two shakes. - You.
Have you met?
- Inspector... Bolan? - Tyler.
We met in connection with a burglary. And...
I thought it might confuse you if I gave you my real name, so...
I adopted a professional alias.
It's not a wind-up love, he really thinks like this.
The big hand always sticks at twelve.
I'll get it fixed.
You never do.
He works hard for us.
He's always on the road, but...
but the first thing he does when he comes home, flowers for me and...
A present for Sammie.
When I was... little, my dad worked away a fair bit.
I used to look for the sight of his jacket on the banister.
It was the most exciting thing in the world.
I'm gonna go and see if he's alright.
What're you gonna charge me with?
You haven't done anything.
Do you mind if I search your jacket?
They've already done that, at the...
Why not?
Well, that was a spectacular waste of police time.
Not entirely.
His missus was a bit of alright.
Wouldn't mind giving her a good old going-over with the old tickling stick.
Tattylarious.
Don't, guv. Can we just leave them in peace now, eh?
I think she likes you though.
Hey, you could slip her a length.
You're a Tyler. Keep it in the family.
There's always something if you know where to look.
I know this.
He used to read it to me.
My dad, I mean.
Little lad was using this for a bookmark. Bookies receipt.
So?
Likes a flutter, visits the bookies occasionally, so what?
Gamblers move in tight circles.
Maybe Vic Tyler knows nothing.
But someone in his little orbit might.
Could be our only link to the Mortons.
It's a long shot.
Trust the Gene Genie.
Who's setting up card games at the Victoria Park Hotel, Jimmy?
I don't know nothing about no game.
Step into my office.
Mr Hunt, you know if there's stuff to tell, I'll tell it!
Victoria Park Hotel, nothing doing.
Mortons.
The brothers?
I know of them. Well, the races.
Tic-tac man with a bit of funds's what I've heard.
The snooker club, Watling Road. There's action there, okay?
The Morton brothers have got something going on.
More than card games.
Ding dong.
Avon calling.
What's this?
Public information film on the dangers of inhaling goose down?
"Once Upon a Time in her Vest"?
You dare to pollute the glorious genre of the American western?
Are the Mortons here? I wanna say hello.
- Don't know who you mean. - 'Course.
But I'm sure somebody here does.
What's this one?
"French Letter Connection"?
"A Fistful of Donners, and a Few Donners More".
If Sergio Leone knew what they were doing...
The Morton brothers are funding and distributing hardcore porno.
Hardcore. I've seen worse on Channel Four.
Yeah, well, I find the idea of watching a bird brushing her teeth
on some bloke's John Thomas less than exotic, kill it.
None of the blokes from the snooker club are talking, guv.
No formal ID, anyroad.
And they're scared, no doubt about it.
There's big money in porno.
Enough to fund any project these bastards feel like
and ruin the lives of more people like Vic and his family.
That's why we need to nail the brothers Grimm
before they blight this town like a dose of Colorado beetle.
Am I still getting my whatsits mixed up, Gladys?
No, that was a simile, you're alright.
Anything else to add?
Yeah, I need volunteers to go through these films with a fine-tooth comb.
I'll just stick to the fun stuff then, shall I?
What've you got, my little deputy-dawg?
This is the only number we've found.
It's probably a sex chatline.
A what?
Hello.
Sam Tyler speaking. Can I help you?
And? Any chat?
Nothing.
Well, who answered?
It was a... dead line. Number unobtainable.
It's either a dead line or number unobtainable.
Can you just get on with whatever it is you're doing, Chris?
Daddy's gone away, Sammie.
He didn't want to...
but he had to.
But he loves us.
And you'll see him again.
Why did you leave us, Dad?
Where did you go?
...and we've seen a marked improvement in Sam's condition.
No doubt about that as we watch his vital signs begin to stabilise.
We've recorded a significant increase in brain activity recently,
a crucial step towards regaining consciousness.
And as they close into the final furlong...
You're supposed to be looking at ladies' boobs through a magnifying glass.
My dad's caught up in it.
He's got himself mixed up with the Mortons, or at least, somebody...
connected with them...
- Can't you have an ordinary day? - Maybe that's why he went away.
Maybe he was running away from them.
My dad walked out on us at a family wedding,
round about this time. I never found him.
Not a trace. Thirty years.
Maybe he was scared of the Mortons and that's why he left us.
Or will leave us.
Maybe that's why I'm here.
To stop him from leaving.
History's repeating itself,
but I can change it.
So what're you gonna do?
Save him.
And that will save me.
My mate's got one of these at home. It's got sound.
Runs cartoons.
It's like the cinema in your living room.
Get your popcorn and watch this.
See that? Go back.
Just a bloke in the wrong hotel room, eh?
You're in it up to your neck.
Now, either you give me the names of the men you work for
or I'm do you up for peddling pornography.
- I wanna help, but... - Trust us.
He was the one who put me in touch with those other men.
Don't be scared, okay? We can help.
I love my wife.
I'm not into that... filth that they make.
You can't run away from this.
I...
We...
...can get you out of it.
I didn't know I was playing cards with gangsters.
Not until I couldn't pay.
I tried to talk my way out of it, but...
but when they blindfolded me, I thought...
I thought my number was up.
They took me to this...
this place where they were making the film and...
girls with no shame.
But I refused to show them my disgust or my fear.
Good for you.
And then they said that the brothers, the Mortons,
wanted me to sell the film around the city.
What better cover than a real-life travelling saleman?
Did you meet the Mortons?
No, it was always done through somebody else.
Why did you agree to do it?
Because they were gonna hurt Ruth.
And my little Sammie.
After I'd finished,
I waited at the hotel for their visit,
and I thought it was all over.
But... then you were there.
Whether you were coerced or not,
you're in a bit of a pickle, Vic.
Question is,
what are we gonna do about it?
Sorry, I'm not very good with ink pens.
Plus, I'm shaking.
He's just nervous, Phyllis.
Thought he had palsy.
So, what now?
The Mortons need to think you've been released
and they'll wanna know what you said to us,
so they're gonna try and arrange a meet.
So go home, wait for the call. It'll come, okay.
And don't look so worried! You've got Manchester's finest looking after you.
Well, piss and get off the pot then. You're clogging up my area.
870 to Alpha One. He's leaving the house now.
You okay?
Yeah, only sleepless night.
Someone's just called.
Who? Did they give a name?
- Recognise the voice? - No.
There's a phone box on Winslow Green. I've got to wait there for instructions.
All this cat and mouse.
Usual form.
They just wanna keep you rattled.
They're doing a good job.
All I ever wanted was security for my family.
You don't get security playing poker.
And you don't get rich selling mopheads.
Sorry.
I just wanna give my family the life that they deserve.
I'd give anything for that.
How long's this gonna take?
Ten minutes, three hours...
We just sit here...
I've got a...
There's some in the boot, we could...
Just to kill time.
On your head, my son!
The Mortons want to meet me.
Snooker club, one hour.
I've done what you wanted, I don't need to be there, do I?
I'm afraid you do, yeah.
They're gonna wait for you to go inside before they make a move.
Do this and they're finished.
You'll have nothing else to fear.
Don't worry.
I'll be looking out for you, I swear.
Come on.
Nice and steady, good man.
He might be in there a while.
So when we go in there, keep it tight.
Don't start throwing your fists around.
Remember, there's a civilian in there.
Right you are, boss.
New aftershave, Ray?
What?
Clingon.
Lucky Wilma.
Going alright, is it?
I dunno.
She goes on about her origami.
Like that programme they run at lunchtime on the telly.
I just try and picture her without her top on.
Would you three just shut your...
Oh my god.
Ray. Check the back door.
Vic.
No...
Are you okay? What happened?
They were upstairs.
They were already here, see, and I heard them and I hid back.
- The Mortons? - It must have been them.
I couldn't see, I had my eyes shut.
You gotta get me out of this nightmare otherwise I'm gone, right now.
No, I mean it, Sam. I'm gone.
I'm moving Vic and his family to a place of safety.
- You're kidding. - When I'm kidding,
my bow tie starts spinning round.
I'll take him to the station and put him in a cell.
He's an eye-witness to a double murder and I wanna know what he saw.
Which is why he's top of the Mortons' hit list.
You were bang-on, Gene, they are gunning for the big prize.
They won't stop now. Look what they did to Jimmy Lips,
just for talking to us.
We'll put Vic in custody, they can't get him.
They can still get to his family.
- You're not running this. - I am now.
You're not gonna ruin this for me, Hunt.
I think you've forgotten who you're talking to.
An overweight, over the hill,
nicotine-stained, borderline alcoholic homophobe
with a superiority complex...
and an unhealthy obsession with male bonding.
You make that sound like a bad thing.
I've gotta save him, Gene.
Guv!
Key.
What was that, Jimmy?
Key.
Even in death you're rubbish, aren't you, Jimmy?
Get after him, Tyler.
Mum! Dad!
Don't you think we should just get on and search the place?
We won't find anything.
We're under orders, Sam.
My mum and dad are gone, Annie.
They're not your parents.
How did I know where the key was?
What does that prove?
Lots of folk leave the doorkey under the dustbin.
Okay. Open that box.
It'll play the Blue Danube, by Strauss.
See?
You've searched this house before.
I've gotta find him.
Where is he?
Yes.
My dad gave me this cigarette card.
Signed. Bobby Charlton. Very special.
I keep this card...
my entire life.
So...
he's gotta come back.
He has to.
You must see a psychiatrist.
You never recovered from the accident,
and I knew it, and I just ignored it, and it hurts me...
to see you suffering so much.
Sanest lunatic you ever met.
He's not coming back, Sam.
I'm gonna get help for you.
I should have done it weeks ago.
Oh my godfathers.
I thought you were them.
Why did you run away?
Because your boss was gonna arrest me
and how can I look after my family from inside a police cell?
You'd risk your life for a cigarette card.
Because it means...
too much to my son.
Imagine what it'd do to him if you disappeared.
- I'm bad news. - Not to him you're not.
Who are you?
Second chance.
You wanna be rich?
You don't realise, do you? You already are.
Stay with them, Vic.
You're right.
If I leave them, then...
I've lost them anyway.
The Mortons've won.
Trust me to protect you from the Mortons.
They'll be in custody very soon.
Why are you going to such great lengths to... to help me?
I'm a policeman.
Thanks, Sam.
You're welcome. Vic.
I'll stay with them.
That's it, I've done it.
I've done it, he's staying.
That's it, wakey-wakey!
Doctor... he moved.
Too right he moved!
He's sorted it all out in his head and now he's coming home!
Get the team in here.
Yeah, get 'em in, get 'em all in.
Gather round for the big waking up!
gather round, game on!
I'm gonna kiss every one of you beautiful people!
Assume the position!
Where are you?
I thought I'd done it.
I thought he was gonna stay.
It's gonna happen all over again.
And now...
I don't know where he's gone.
- You lost a suspect? - No, I lost my...
He could be anywhere.
Sounds to me like you need to be cut a break, mon brave.
- He could be in danger. - Who's in danger?
I've gotta stop him from leaving him and I don't know how.
What everyone good barman knows is...
the beer ain't tasting good,
it ain't a problem with the tap.
It's a problem in the barrel.
Get to the root of the problem, Sam.
What the hell are you doing here?
Drinking.
No, what are you doing here?
Tell me Gene.
Why are you sharing this little adventure with me?
You know, you talk a big game about leaving,
but maybe this is more your cup of tea than you care to admit.
I told you before, I've got nowhere else to go.
And I told you before, you wanted to come here in the first place.
Where's Vic Tyler?
Let's leave Vic Tyler out of it, eh?
Key.
Jimmy Lips' last word. What does it mean?
No ideas?
Come on, brainbox. This is our only chance here.
Only chance?
To nip it in the bud and get the Mortons
before they destroy many more families' lives.
Did you find a key on him?
There's a Key Hugh Lane in Levenshulme.
Did a drive-by, nothing.
Code?
Where do they operate from?
Well, we know they operate card games in the red light district.
Plod reckons they've been running dog-fights down by the canal.
Canal.
So?
They know the wharfs.
Maybe we got the wrong spelling.
Quay.
Police. Stay where you are.
You're nicked, sonny.
See you've got your vicars in a twist.
Where are they?
Right. One of you is happily gonna spill his guts to us.
They're not here.
Just relax. We've got plenty to go on.
- Somebody's bound to talk. - There's no time!
Here.
Looks like they've been thinking up titles. Listen to this.
"On Her Majesty's Secret Cervix".
Guv. We've been flashing the photos around.
Vic Tyler got a reaction.
Why're you showing photographs of Vic Tyler?
We should be going after the Mortons, the root of the problem!
I've got a hunch about Vic Tyler and it looks like it's paying off.
He told us he'd been on a film shoot.
Not on this one. Do you know what I'm thinking?
He's been to a few.
I knew that bloke was yanking our chain. He's involved with them.
Ray, get an APB on Vic Tyler.
Bus stations, railway stations, the works.
You're barking up the wrong tree. He's innocent.
We should be going after the men who drove him away.
Tyler's involved! We pull him in and don't let him out of our sight
until we get some bloody answers!
You're gonna stitch him up.
- There's a thought. - You are, aren't you?
If you do that, he'll bolt for good, and then it's over.
- No it's not. - For me it is!
I really need you to help me find him! We've no idea of where he is!
Or where he's gonna be...
What?
- Where do you think you're going? - Get out of my way.
You're staying right here with me where I can keep an eye on you.
- Don't! - You are my DI.
Now you act like it!
My dad walked out on us at a family wedding,
roundabout this time.
I never found him. Not a trace.
DCI Hunt, can you hear me? There's no sign of DI Tyler,
but he was right about Vic coming to the wedding reception.
He's just left the hall, over.
Can you hear me?
Look, I know what you said, but I'm going after him.
Excuse me.
Have you seen my daddy?
I need to find my daddy.
Go back inside.
I'm gonna go and get him.
Where are you?
Daddy, where are you?
Can you hear me, Sam?
Please come in.
I can hear you.
I'm a police officer.
Ok well, leave me in peace, please. Don't wanna be involved.
- You are involved already, sir. - What have I done?
All I wanted was to keep my family safe.
Provide for them.
You can discuss all this with DCI Hunt.
They planted you like a little CID stooge.
Waiting for me. Spying on my family.
Well, you got no right. It's my life.
It's my life!
Give me that radio.
Wait! Vic.
You don't have to run anymore.
I can protect you.
- Victor Tyler, I'm arresting you... - Wait, Annie.
What's this for?
In case they found me, the Mortons.
I could turn it on 'em.
Or on myself.
Let me have it, Sam.
I can protect you!
And your family.
They're better off without me.
No, Vic, they need you. You have to stay.
Vic, please.
If I stay,
I'll need to protect 'em.
Don't, Sam.
You stay?
- I promise. - Sam! Don't!
Don't you move a muscle, you scummy bastard.
Sam, step back.
What're you doing?
Do you wanna tell him, Vic, or shall I?
Tell him what?
A known associate of the Mortons had Vic's hotel room details
We've got film that shows he was at a porno shoot.
He was at the snooker club,
where we found Jimmy Lips and the manager dead.
Guv, this is...
There was no one at the club, Sam. Just him.
We've only got his word that the Morton brothers were there.
We never searched him. He could've had a gun himself.
Oh my sweet godfathers, you think what?
We've got no formal ID on the brothers.
Never crossed our minds that one man...
could be pretending to be two men.
You're not gonna set him up, Gene.
I don't need to, Sam.
Forget logic, what does that tell you?
He's rotten, Sam. We've got to bring him in.
Now that's an odd thing to do.
You don't want me to leave.
But I have to leave, Gene.
He's under stress, sir.
I'm not exactly dozing in a deckchair myself, here.
Listen to me.
Write it down, I'll read it later.
Dad.
Stop.
You understand. You know what the police are like.
They need to solve cases, they'll do anything to...
Don't leave.
I'm begging you.
You can't protect me Sam. Not even from your own DCI.
I can.
I can save you.
But you have to stay,
together with your family, the way it was supposed to be.
I'll need to feel safe if I stay, Sam.
Please.
Give me the gun.
I'll stay if you give me the gun.
Come on, Sam.
Come on.
He's waking up.
You're so close.
You can do it, Sam.
Come on, Sam, come on.
I had to know.
I had to be sure.
I saw it.
It was a memory from when I was four.
You out here in the woods.
The woman in the red dress.
She was a police officer.
And you struck her down...
and you kicked her and kicked her...
and then you fled. And I saw it all.
I blocked it out.
Until I came here.
Victor Tyler,
you are under arrest for murder,
and for obtaining monies by the manufacture and distribution
of material banned by the 1967 Obscene Publications Act.
Fine.
Fair cop.
Slap on the cuffs.
Are you gonna tell my Ruth and little Sammie what I am?
Or do you want them to read about it in the papers?
Or find out that daddy's a crook...
from the kids in the playground.
You'll ruin their lives.
He moved.
How badly do you want this, DI Tyler?
I just want you to stay.
Can't stay.
Not with Ruth and little Sam.
If I stay, it's in prison.
Oh my god!
How can I...
This is not fair!
I can't win!
What're you gonna do, Sam?
Go.
Get out of here.
What's going on?
Where's my Vic?
Tell me.
Vic was...
involved in something.
It wasn't his fault.
He was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
His life, and in fact, your lives...
were all in danger.
He's gone away now...
so he can stay safe.
You and Sammie will be safe.
I'm sorry.
I have to tell Sammie something.
What do I tell him, Inspector?
Tell him...
He's on the road.
Just back on the road.
And tell him...
He'll see his daddy again.
Don't you look smart?
Like a prince.
Daddy's gone away, Sammie.
He didn't want to, but... he had to.
On the road again, just...
Just back on the road.
But he loves us.
And you'll see him again.
Come on. Big man now.
No tears.
Hide those bad feelings away, Sam.
Do you see now?
Nothing can make you wake up...
because you are already awake.
I'm afraid I'm never gonna believe that.
But you should know...
I don't hate everything about this place.
5'9, 5'10, brown hair, collar length,
last seen heading towards the Brackley Green area on foot.
Eyes and ears open from plod.
You know what you've done, boss? Lost me a fiver.
We had a little bet, not long after you arrived
on who'd pull a gun on who first.
I was sure it would be the guv.
You shouldn't underestimate me, Chris.
I don't underestimate you, boss.
I just don't understand you.
I want to go home.
Don't be such a jessy.
Go home later.
What do you wanna do now then, guv?
Pub!
Pub.
Pub.