Lockerbie

This is what the BBC does so well. Not over dramatised, but based on good research and faithful to the events.

I've given 7/10 until I see more but with just episode 1, I am blown away by the preparation, scene setting, extras, props.

Initially disappointed with the representation of 1988 like it was the 60s or 70s! I remember that year and the UK was much more power dressing and double breasted jackets... Though maybe not in Lockerbie, tbf.

Acting and script is a bit patchy, but there are some great actors to carry this off, albeit with some sketchy US accents.

Lastly, to reflect on the event itself. What a dreadful thing to do. So much terror, and for what. The btards. It's a testament to this tragedy that we are reconstructing it nearly 40 years later.

It's been said this has strayed from the train of events somewhat, and may even have factual inaccuracies. Maybe so. However, I feel it has captured the essence of this awful tragedy - with a strong cast, well-written screenplay and thoughtful direction. I would like to know what the people of Lockerbie thought of it, as well as those (still with us) who were involved in the aftermath of the disaster - police, FBI, forensic experts and other professionals - as well as families of the victims. Arguably it might bring back memories which many would best not wish to have resurrected, but these views would surely be authentic.

Criticisms: Some accents needed working on as they were a distraction to the story. Apart from that, most of the acting was very good.

Too long. Four episodes would have been better.

A lot of time taken up with mundane things like cops and agents travelling back and forth.

Personally I would have preferred some flashback reminders of key plot items as it was hard for me to remember and keep track of some details and characters.

The font used for captions at the beginning and end of episodes was too small.

Praises: The series did well in portraying the kindness and generosity of the Scottish volunteers and people of Lockerbie.

The authentic film clips of politicians of that time and the years following were helpful.

The aftermath of the bombing was not unnecessarily graphic.

The bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 is the air disaster that shook the world way before 9/11- 243 passengers and a crew of 16 departed on a cold December night from London Heathrow, full of the festivities of the upcoming Christmas season. However, the Boeing 747, which was bound for the United States, never reached its destination when, at just after 7:02pm, an explosive device located in the forward cargo hold detonated and slowly began to cause the airliner to disintegrate. The wreckage rained down on the unsuspecting Scottish town of Lockerbie and subsequently caused the deaths of 11 residents on the ground; it was and can only be described as pure devastation. Over the years there has been multiple documentaries, films, TV specials and books covering the horrific night of the 21st December 1988 and the years, months, and weeks afterward leading to the eventual heavily publicised criminal proceedings- The BBC series which began on the 18th May was heavily promoted with a well-known cast, and I had high hopes for it to be played out meticulously given the sensitive nature and history that is remembered about the doomed flight. However, in episode one alone, it is littered with factual errors that could have been easily rectified just from a quick Google search! It was frankly just sloppy on the researcher's part, and given that it's been headed up with MGM and Netflix amongst many other prolific production companies funding, it makes it even worse. Knowing that it still remains such a sensitive issue for the victim's families, I would have thought that the attention to detail would have been the most important factor.

The horror of the Lockerbie bombing in 1988 has been portrayed before in documentaries and also the recent drama starring Colin Firth as a bereaved father.

This series, though, is primarily focused on the extremely complex, wide-ranging and stressful investigation and the multiple countries and agencies who worked together to find the culprits. The whole cast is excellent but in particular Connor Swindells and Patrick J Adams as the Scottish Police and FBI leads are tremendous and so believable. The years of dogged investigation and the many, many professionals who worked tirelessly to identify the bombers is inspirational. Those who were involved will never be the same again, I'm sure.

The torment of the families is very much to the fore as well, and the close bond that many of them formed with the people of Lockerbie and members of the investigation team over the following years is very emotionally played here. Phylis Logan is great as a local lady who forms a volunteer group to carefully clean and sort out the victims' belongings so they could return as much as possible to the grieving families.

This is a very, very good series and it is extremely emotionally affecting.