418 – Doomwatch – Train and De-Train

There’s a pesticide company and there’s a train, and the pesticides keep getting on and off the train, which may be an atomic coast-to-coast #Supertrain. This also may have nothing at all to do with the episode.  Find out as Ben and Eugene discuss Train and De-Train. Episode synopsis:  In a forest in Sussex the animals are dead and John Ridge is investigating them. Meanwhile, Toby Wren is put on the job of finding out if any new pesticides are being released by British companies. At a British pesticide company chief chemist Ellis is being given some unusual hints. His parking spot is removed, he gets a new secretary without warning, they remove the carpet from his office, his phone disappears, and the head of the company is avoiding talking to him. Whatever could it mean? [expand title=”More…” swaptitle=”Less” tag=”strong”] When Toby Wren visits the company he overhears what they are doing to chief chemist Ellis. It seems that they are trying to give him a hint that they want him to leave. Instead, since he has a contract, they transfer him to a new job, a lesser job. This doesn’t sit well with Toby. Ellis happens to be his former tutor at Cambridge, and a man that he has great respect and fondness for. This also means the Toby takes an instant dislike to the head of the chemical company, Mr. Mitchell. Mitchell doesn’t really want to cooperate with him, and they delay turning over samples of their new chemical until after they’ve already started shipping it. Quist is out of the country, so John Ridge is in charge. Ridge hatches  a plan to smuggle Toby into the facility and have him obtain a sample of the chemical surreptitiously. They do this however Toby is caught. Toby gives the head of the company a piece of his mind about the way they are treating Ellis and the head of the company uses a tape recorder to capture Toby’s rant.  Mitchel uses the tape to try to leverage Quist – who is now back in the country – into not investigating.  Quist has no choice but to fire Wren. However, Quist knows that, because Mitchell tried to leverage him with the tape, he has something to hide. Ellis dies.  Suicide.  Later, both Wren and Mitchell receive copies of Ellis’ suicide note.  While Mitchell destroys his copy, Wren uses his to confront him and force him to admit that he forced Ellis to perform unauthorized tests to which Ellis objected.  Mitchell is forced to cooperate and gives back the tape of Wren. There is justice in the world as, soon thereafter, Mitchell loses his parking spot and isn’t invited to important meetings.  The De-Train leaves at noon. [/expand]