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Must Watch reviews: Nightsleeper

Every week, the Must Watch podcasters review the biggest TV and streaming shows.

This week, Hayley Campbell and Scott Bryan Naga Munchetty to review the new BBC real-time drama ‘Nightsleeper’.

Starring Joe Cole, of Peaky Blinders fame, ‘Nightsleeper’ is set on a sleeper train from Glasgow to London. But once onboard - the engers realise the train is being hacked into and controlled by an external force.

Part fast-moving heart-in-mouth action-adventure and part twisty-turny whodunnit detective story, it’s a roller coaster drama where no-one is ever quite who they seem.

Nightsleeper Trailer (short)

Real-time thriller about the hacking of a sleeper train travelling from Glasgow to London

Scott: “There's a lot of ‘24-style’ Jack Bauer and Chloe yelling via a headset [and] I found it silly. Silly, silly, silly, silly, silly”.

Naga: “We like silly, though, sometimes?”

Scott: “I mean, it's not a must watch because a must watch has to have a certain level of compelling… that this wasn't”.

Hayley: “A certain level of good”.

Scott: “Every single time that something happened, I was thinking to myself, Well, this train has still got another five hours to go and there's five more episodes, so it's probably going to be ok.

“Also the fact that this is a train that's been hacked. They can't anyone. There's no driver - the driver got off, they can't the rail operator, there's no mobile phone coverage on the phone due to some reason that nobody can really understand. So every single time that you, logically in your head go, 'why don’t they just turn off the mains?' there's always somehow a reason why that thing is not the thing that can stop the train.”

Scott continued: “I think what is good about it is that it is set in 'real-time'. It follows a journey from Glasgow to London overnight, essentially like a sleeper service that looks very much like the sleeper train that actually exists. The fact that it’s in real time in the middle of the night does feel good.

This is madness. This is ludicrous! But yet you keep watching...

“But it's the fact that there are some moments, like at one moment, the person on the train, played by Joe Cole, is speaking to somebody who is using every means necessary to go and try to stop this train from running away. But it just seems to be one woman on a Gatwick Express train on a FaceTime!

“I was thinking, 'hang on, shouldn't hundreds of people be involved in trying to stop this train? This is madness. This is ludicrous!' But yet you keep watching”.

Scott continued: “There’s a moment when there is an altercation on the train and a man just nearby is just pouring himself whisky”.

Hayley: “Oh, he was my favourite guy”.

Scott: “Absolutely loved him. But I just found that there were moments that it really worked for me. There were moments it didn't really work for me. There were funny moments, that bizarre sequence when they quote Kate Nash lyrics.

“As a package, I love the ambition, I love the idea. But unfortunately, I just don't think it is as good as it could be”.

Scott continues: “The production company that makes this series, Euston Films, is winding down and letting everyone go. There's been a lot of concerns within the TV industry about how many independent production companies that make TV shows are struggling.

“[Highlighted by the fact that] a show that’s on at 9:00 PM on BBC One is closing. I think that is a warning to the rest of the industry that there needs to be something done”.

Hayley: “I agree with Scott. It's not a must watch for me, but I did enjoy how silly it was. I liked its various Speed-like things. If you're old enough to have seen Speed, everyone on that bus had a personality”.

It's thrillingly silly and annoying in all the ways those B-movies are...

Naga: “The first one only…”

Hayley: “There's some outlandish things in this show, and I don't know if it's just me being a bit 'London', but it opens with everyone caring that one bag has been stolen, and I just don't believe that that would happen. Everyone's chasing this one guy with one bag”.

Naga: “You are darker than I thought”.

Hayley: “Well, I think everyone else would be on the train being annoyed that their train was now eight minutes late - that’s the thing that would annoy them.

“But it's quite a classic B-movie idea. It's thrillingly silly and annoying in all the ways those B-movies are. You have people doing things that are clearly stupid ideas so that the next bit of silly plot can happen. But it is fun.”

You can get in touch with Scott and Hayley by email on [email protected].

And after that, you can watch all episodes of ‘Nightsleeper’ on BBC iPlayer now.

Must Watch is released as a podcast every Monday evening on BBC Sounds and all other podcast providers.

This week the team also reviewed ‘In Vogue: The 90s’ and ‘The Penguin’.

Your reviews

As always, we like to include your reviews - on shows you love, loathe or lament.

Message @bbc5live on social media using the hashtag #bbcmustwatch or email [email protected].

The Perfect Couple

Adrian in Preston wrote in his review of The Perfect Couple - which Scott and Hayley reviewed last week.

“I was very much put off by it being described as incredibly soapy, a holiday thriller, trashy and deliciously silly, exactly the sort of thing I would steer a thousand miles away from but I put my faith in the Must Watch Team and gave it a chance. After all, how bad could something with Nicole Kidman, Isabelle Adjani & Liev Schreiber actually be?

Frankly, pretty bad. I disagree with Leila that it is easy to watch. It's taken me a week to get through three and a half episodes, which I watched out of respect for your good auspices. I'm up to a stage where I really don't mind who did it or why and I'm sure I won't be unhappy at the end of episode 6 when I can turn a page and move on to something a little less trashy and more cerebral.

Freddie Flintoff’s Field of Dreams On Tour

Listener Amie wrote to us about the new BBC series Freddie Flintoff’s Field of Dreams On Tour:

Sorry, this clip is not currently available

“I just wanted to say how much I loved Freddie Flintoff's series, Field of Dreams on Tour. I hadn’t watched the first series, so I watched that first and followed straight on with the most recent series. Both are great.

Freddie is an incredible man: how he relates to the boys, s and encourages them, as well as letting them know when they’ve been rude etc… but also what they give to him in the second series - helping him mentally get back into the world. It’s beautiful. I hope the lads go on to do what they want and use the gift of self belief that Freddie gave them to go for their future dreams.

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This week’s ‘Must Watches’ pick was Wise Guy: David Chase & The Sopranos on NOW TV. It’s clear Nick isn’t a fan…

The Sopranos...that new jersey shtick, amorality and endless self pitying, means I've never got beyond the first episode of the first series. Despite really trying and wanting to get on the bandwagon...

Sherwood + Flack

The other week we reviewed the new series of Sherwood - starring Lesley Manville. Jane emailed us to share her thoughts on this and also Flack…

Just wanted to let you know that I did the homework set the week prior and watched the first series of Sherwood. Now catching up with the second series. Can't believe this programme ed me by before. It is gripping both dramatically and on an emotional level and I can't wait to see how this season concludes.

Also I started watching Flack on BBC iPlayer and Hayley is totally right, of course, is it wonderfully silly nonsense and I love it.

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