Nightsleeper is a BBC TV thriller that has a lot going for it. Unfortunately, it's one of those six-part stories that really should have been two or three parts long. There's a lot of padding and in the end this significantly diminishes the impact of the story. A pity, but it's characteristic of an age when television economics dictate that storylines need to be stretched out long enough to justify the investment in a costly production.
The story is about the mysterious cyber-hijacking of the Heart of Britain, a high-speed train heading from Glasgow to London. It's hurtling along the railway tracks of the country towards imminent destruction. Where are those leaves on the line and the wrong kind of snow when you need them? The dramatic events on board the train are counter-pointed with innumerable scenes in cybersecurity HQ, where Alexander Roach is leading the attempts to save the passengers, while being generally obstructed by colleagues and superiors, partly because of her determination to involve her chum Pev (David Threlfall, at his maverick best), who is something of a black sheep in the cybercommunity. Suffice to say that the scenes on the train are much more gripping.
The passengers on the train are, naturally, a varied assortment, ranging from a stereotyped right-wing bigot to a small boy who has been separated from his mother, and a host of individuals may not be all they seem. For good measure, the Minister of Transport is on board, and no opportunity is lost in the script to mock her hopelessness.
Joe Cole is the disgraced cop who tries to save the train and strikes up an unlikely rapport with Alexandra Roach in the course of innumerable telephone calls. There are some thrilling moments, but this is really a two-scene storyline that never needed six hours to unfold. A shame, because there are plenty of signs that it could have been so much better.
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