I Met a Man Who Wasn't There

The title comes from the old rhyme about the man who was not there, and it suits the episode's villain, whose whole method is to be felt before he is seen. Bulman interferes with the schemes of a vengeful man, and the villain does not take the interference well. The revenge is aimed at Bulman as much as at anyone, which is what makes the episode personal rather than procedural. But either way, Bulman spends the hour working out who is pulling the strings before the strings close around him, and the episode keeps the villain's face offscreen for as long as it decently can.

Henry Livings wrote it, and the script has a sly, wordy quality that fits the material. Ken Grieve directed with a steady hand, letting the threat build through meetings and messages rather than violence. A vengeful man who plans carefully is more frightening than one who acts quickly, and the episode understands that arithmetic. Livings' dialogue rewards attention, and the episode trusts the audience to keep up.

DI Holmes appears to keep the official side of the inquiry moving, John Benfield playing the patient professional against Bulman's more personal interest in the matter. Holmes' presence keeps the police side from feeling like an afterthought. Don Henderson is at his most watchable when a case gets personal, and this one does: the schemes are aimed at the life he has built, which means the clock shop and the partnership are both in the firing line. Siobhan Redmond's Lucy McGinty is the sounding board and the second pair of eyes, which the episode needs.

The nursery rhyme's man was not there at all. This villain very much is, and finding him is the whole game. The hour is a reminder that a good villain is a pressure you feel before you see the source of it, and the episode plays it fairly, which is more than its antagonist does.