ABI Morgan's four-part drama Murder begins with a particularly nasty killing. A young man is attacked and savagely beaten while walking through the park.

He is shown crawling, splattered in blood, along the path in search of help. By the time the ambulance arrives, he's dead.

But Murder aims at being more than just another in a long line of thrillers. Director Beeban Kidron employs every trick in the book - flashbacks, rapid editing, handheld camerawork - to avoid telling the story in chronological story. In future episodes, we'll see the effect on other people as well as the murder victim's family.

At the core of the story is Julie Walters as the mother, slowly coming to the realisation that, the day after his 21st birthday, her son Chris went off to work and will never come back.

The actress does grief beautifully, from the slow collapse when first told the news to the pain-etched face as she recalls her loving son. By not opting for uncontrollable bereavement, she's all the more effective as flashbacks begin to reveal the events leading to the murder.

Imelda Staunton's no-nonsense detective and Om Puri's Asian shopkeeper will play larger roles in coming weeks. So will Robert Glenister as the passer-by who found the body. The opening episode, The Journalist, concentrated on David Morrissey's freelance reporter, wrestling with dealing with his wife's recent death and raising two young children while earning money to pay the mortgage.

The body wasn't even cold before he'd wheedled his way into the dead man's home, offering a shoulder for his mother to cry on. He borrowed her photo album without permission and stole a disposable camera containing pictures of the dead man's last night on the town.

This looks like being unmissable viewing, which is more than can be said for Danger! 50,000 Volts in which presenter Nick Frost undertakes such assignments as navigating a mine field and offering advice on what to do when you're impaled.

Full marks for presenter participation. How many others would jump into a frozen lake or help catch an alligator. "Ever had an alligator between your legs?" asked gator trapper Todd, straddling one after the two of them had captured it and taped its mouth shut.

If it all went horribly wrong, Frost was told exactly what to do. "Get a finger and jam it in its eye socket," suggested Todd.