The Route Masters: Running London's Roads

The Route Masters: Running London's Roads is a British documentary television series produced by Blast! Films for the BBC. Narrated by Julian Barratt, the series launched on BBC Two on 18 June 2013.[1][2] The series shows how Transport for London keeps London's traffic moving.[3]

The Route Masters:
Running London's Roads
Also known asThe Route Masters: Keeping London Moving
GenreFactual
Directed by
  • Frankie Fathers
  • Matt Pelly
  • Clare Johns
  • Kathryn Tregidgo
  • Simon Gilchrist
  • James Ross
  • Arthur Cary
Narrated byJulian Barratt
ComposerSam Hooper
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes6 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
ProducerSimon Gilchrist
Production locationLondon
Running time60 minutes
Production companyBlast! Films
Release
Original network
Original release18 June 2013 (2013-06-18) –
2 February 2014 (2014-02-02)

Production

On 6 June 2013 Janice Hadlow, the controller of BBC Two, announced the series along with several other documentaries.[4] The series was filmed over a year.[4]

The series is now repeated on Watch.

Episode list
# Title Directed by Original air date UK viewers
(millions)[5]
1"Gridlock"Frankie Fathers18 June 2013 (2013-06-18)2.45
How Transport for London staff deal with pregnant motorists, road accidents and the Vauxhall helicopter crash in 2013.[6][7]
2"Night Bus"Matt Pelly25 June 2013 (2013-06-25)1.90
How night buses are coping as London's population and road traffic continues to increase.[8][9][10]
3"On the Buses"Clare Johns and Kathryn Tregidgo2 July 2013 (2013-07-02)1.96
Following London's bus drivers as they deal with more passengers than ever before.[11]
4"Gateway to London"Simon Gilchrist16 July 2013 (2013-07-16)1.87
How Victoria Coach Station has been transformed.[12]
5"The Future"James Ross23 July 2013 (2013-07-23)1.95
How Transport for London is trying to get people to use bikes and buses instead of cars.[13]
6"Fighting Crime"Arthur Cary2 February 2014 (2014-02-02)1.51
A look at Transport for London's special unit within the Metropolitan Police.[14][15][16]

Reception

Ratings

The first episode attracted 2.45 million viewers for BBC Two.[5] It was watched by 10.7% of television viewers during its original broadcast.[17] The second episode was viewed by 1.9 million people, attaining an 8.2% share of the audience during broadcast.[5][18] The third episode was viewed by 1.96 million people, with an audience share of 8%.[5][19] The fourth episode received 1.87 million viewers, an 8.3% share during broadcast.[5][20] The penultimate episode was watched by 1.95 million people, with an audience share of 8.2%.[5][21]

Episode 1

Writing in The Independent, Tom Sutcliffe was disappointed by the way the events were presented and said that the episode "was saved by its characters".[22] Keith Watson of the Metro said that the episode "may have intended to arouse our sympathy for those who keep our streets moving – it didn't".[23] The Guardian's John Crace said that the episode "did have its moments" and that the gridlock theme was "hard to make interesting – and it wasn't very."[24] David Crawford said that Airport Live should have been more like this episode, where you "find the one person who can describe well the complexities of the job, to give you the nuts and bolts of your doc; then find all the characters among the workers who perform the myriad tasks" to make it more interesting.[25] Phil Harrison said that the episode was "perfectly watchable but, with the best will in the world, very missable too".[26]

Episode 2

Bim Adewunmi, writing for the New Statesman, said the episode "was simply excellent" and that London was "nowhere more beautifully portrayed than on BBC2's The Route Masters: Running London's Roads".[27] Bryan Scott wrote a guide in the Metro on whom to avoid on the night bus home based on this episode.[28]

Episode 3

Writing in The Independent, Tom Sutcliffe said that the episode "was much funnier and sweeter than the original [Episode 1]".[29]

Episode 4

The Express & Star said the episode "provided a fascinating insight into one of the country's busiest stations showing you the hard work that goes into ensuring journeys run smoothly and keeping the city moving".[30]

DVD

The Route Masters: Running London's Roads was released onto DVD by Delta Entertainment on 25 August 2014.[31]

See also

References
  1. "The Route Masters - Running London's Roads". Transport for London. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  2. Treen, Mary (14 June 2013). "Fresh BBC documentary to showcase TfL's daily operations". Transport Research Laboratory. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
  3. "New BBC documentary series to show how Transport for London keeps the Capital's roads and buses moving". Transport for London. 17 June 2013. Retrieved 23 June 2013.
  4. "BBC Two announces return to Modern Times alongside raft of new documentaries". BBC. 6 June 2013. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  5. "BARB Top 30s".
  6. "Pick of the Day: The Route Masters - Running London's Roads". Express. 17 June 2013. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  7. Graham, Alison. "The Route Masters: Running London's Roads". Radio Times. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
  8. Tate, Gabriel (18 June 2013). "The Route Masters: Running London's Roads". TimeOut. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  9. Graham, Alison. "The Route Masters: Running London's Roads". Radio Times. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
  10. "Pick of the Day: The Route Masters - Running London's Roads". Express. 25 June 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
  11. Graham, Alison. "The Route Masters: Running London's Roads". Radio Times. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
  12. Graham, Alison. "The Route Masters: Running London's Roads". Radio Times. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  13. Rackham, Jane. "The Route Masters: Running London's Roads". Radio Times. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
  14. Graham, Alison. "The Route Masters: Running London's Roads". Radio Times. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
  15. Blundy, Rachel (3 February 2014). "Watch the shocking moment a man is kicked through window of London double-decker bus". Evening Standard. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
  16. Philipson, Alice (4 February 2014). "Man kicked through top window of double-decker bus". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
  17. Eames, Tom (19 June 2013). "'Frankie' attracts over 4 million for finale on BBC One". Digital Spy. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  18. Eames, Tom (26 June 2013). "'Secrets from the Workhouse' opens to over 3 million on ITV". Digital Spy. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  19. Eames, Tom (3 July 2013). "'Luther' returns with 5 million viewers on BBC One". Digital Spy. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  20. Eames, Tom (17 July 2013). "'Luther' loses 300k viewers, still tops night for BBC One". Digital Spy. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  21. Fletcher, Alex (24 July 2013). "'Luther' finale ratings: Alice Morgan return gets 4.8 million for BBC". Digital Spy. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  22. Sutcliffe, Tom (19 June 2013). "TV review: The Route Masters: Running London Roads, BBC2". The Independent. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  23. Watson, Keith (19 June 2013). "Route Masters documentary won't stop my road rage". Metro. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  24. Crace, John (19 June 2013). "Something for Nothing; The Route Masters: Running London's Roads; Iain Banks: Raw Spirit – TV review". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
  25. Crawford, David (21 June 2013). "What was the point of Airport Live?". Radio Times. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
  26. Harrison, Phil (11 June 2013). "The Route Masters: Running London's Roads". TimeOut. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  27. Adewunmi, Bim (11 July 2013). "BBC2's The Route Masters showed us the real London: not flat-out amazing, not all-the-way terrible". New Statesman. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  28. Scott, Bryan (3 July 2013). "The Route Masters – Running London's Roads: 5 characters to avoid on the night bus home". Metro. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  29. Sutcliffe, Tom (3 July 2013). "Last night's viewing - The Route Masters: Running London's Roads, BBC2; Luther, BBC1". The Independent. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  30. "TV review: The Route Masters – Running London's Roads, Gateway to London". Express & Star. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
  31. "The Route Masters: Running London's Roads". Amazon UK. 25 August 2014.
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