The Control Room review: a ‘hooky’ BBC thriller set in Glasgow
Made by the team behind Sherlock, this is an ‘unexpected treat’ for high summer
This three-part BBC drama is “equal parts adrenaline shot and fever dream”, said Victoria Segal in The Sunday Times. Iain De Caestecker plays Gabriel, an ambulance dispatcher in Glasgow whose world is “blue-lighted into chaos” when he answers a 999 call from an old flame (Joanna Vanderham) who admits – before recognising his voice – that she has killed a man. With stylish direction and design, “elegantly handled” flashbacks and some nuanced performances, The Control Room keeps viewers’ “hearts pumping”.
This is the kind of “cheesy thriller” that will doubtless do “big numbers on iPlayer”, said Anita Singh in The Daily Telegraph. But to me, “the only mark in its favour” is De Caestecker, who plays “the bewildered everyman with real feeling”, and who makes you really root for Gabriel as he is sucked into the Glasgow underworld. Overall, though, the show has the slightly cheap feel of “something Channel 5 would knock out to fill a scheduling gap”.
De Caestecker’s “terrific, tender performance” does anchor the show, agreed Lucy Mangan in The Guardian. But there’s plenty to enjoy besides. The drama doesn’t just coast on its hooky premise; there is a “meaty, succulent” plot. Made by the team behind Sherlock, The Control Room is an “unexpected treat” for high summer, a time when the schedulers usually try to fob us off with “second- or third-rate stuff”, on the basis that “we’re all too hot or on holiday to complain”.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
'New arrivals are more than paying for themselves'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
6 stylish homes in Portland, Oregon
Feature Featuring a wall of windows in Collins View and a historic ballroom in Portland Heights
By The Week US Published
-
What's next for US interest rates?
The Explainer Stubborn inflation forestalls anticipated rate cuts
By Becca Stanek, The Week US Published
-
6 stylish homes in Portland, Oregon
Feature Featuring a wall of windows in Collins View and a historic ballroom in Portland Heights
By The Week US Published
-
Tom Crewe's 6 favorite works that challenge societal norms
Feature The novelist recommends works by Margaret Oliphant, Patrick White, and more
By The Week US Published
-
On the trail of India’s wild lions at Sasan Gir National Park
The Week Recommends The sanctuary is a 'roaring' conservation success
By The Week UK Published
-
Recipe: almond marmalade cake
The Week Recommends This syrupy cake can be toasted for brunch
By The Week UK Published
-
Properties of the week: houses with enchanting gardens
The Week Recommends Featuring pretty homes in Hampshire, Devon and West Sussex
By The Week UK Published
-
Venice Biennale 2024: from the good to the bad to the downright 'bizarre'
The Week Recommends Central exhibition features the work of some 330 artists
By The Week UK Published
-
Sunset Song: gripping theatre that's 'close to magic'
The Week Recommends Morna Young's 'first-class adaptation' of Lewis Grassic Gibbon's classic novel
By The Week UK Published
-
Challengers: 'the most purely pleasurable film of the year so far'
The Week Recommends Zendaya plays a former tennis player turned coach in this 'almost ridiculously' sexy drama
By The Week UK Published