The State Within (BBC) 9pm tonight

Radio Times -

There's no point starting out with this gripping new serial unless you've got your head screwed on. We're talking densely plotted conspiracy thriller here, a cat's cradle of plotlines, at the centre of which sits a square-jawed British ambassador to Washington (Jason Isaacs), who is being driven home one day when bits of exploded aeroplane start landing on his car. When this terrorist atrocity (staged here with shocking realism) rains death and destruction on Washington's equivalent of the M25, suspicion soon falls on a British Muslim, leaving our ambassador hero scrambling to keep the "special relationship" out of the divorce courts. Meanwhile, an embassy official is secretly filming businessmen, an army exercise ends in tragedy and an ex-diplomat is stirring up opposition to British foreign policy. Who knows how these story strands will all plait together in the end, but when a thriller is this slickly written and lavishly mounted, who cares? Let's all enjoy the ride.