After an uneasy start, the BBC’s latest drama output, From There To Here manages to find its feet early on in this second episode. Starting off more or less where the first finished, From There To Here surreptitiously sidesteps explaining how Daniel survived the explosion in his brother, Robbo’s nightclub (this reviewer was surprised not to find, in Sherlock fashion, a series of humorous, alternative accounts of how Daniel pulled through) and put more focus on Daniel’s double life. Contrary to what I believed last week it was, in fact, Robbo who bombed the club and while his insurance gyp was successful, he’s got a new ‘head of security’ in the form of Vincent Regan’s Stapleton, a gimlet-eyed, malevolent old-school Irish baddie who’s blackmailing him. Meanwhile, Joanne’s son Ryan’s suspicions rose after Daniel’s cock and bull story about being a drug addict – and they were duly confirmed. The convergence of both Daniel’s lives in the hospital was well done (Peter Bowker’s predilection for ‘dun-dun-dun’ moments is showing) although it felt a bit soapy. Liz White and Steven Mackintosh are the two whose performances have shone consistently throughout this miniseries. White managed to root Joanne firmly in the grounds of believability once more and Mackintosh, although without as much to do this week, has a certain charm as Daniel’s shiftless brother. Glenister’s performance is reliably strong, but nothing out of the ordinary here, and Saskia Reeves makes a good fist of the little material she is given but it’s White and Mackintosh who are the scene-stealers. From There To Here reaches third base next week with Daniel addressing the emotional fallout of his twin lives, and hopefully Bowker can tie the drama up nicely without feeling the need to further afflict his characters – or kill one of them off, heaven forbid. The performances are solid enough and Daniel is a likeable enough lead (we know his actions are wrong but we can relate to him; in unskilful hands this might not have been the case) but From There To Here remains so-so. My fingers are crossed that it redeems itself next week with a finale that makes me feel something for the characters. One can but hope. Read Patrick’s review of the previous episode, here.
