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Must Watch reviews: Lockerbie

Every week, the Must Watch podcasters review the biggest TV and streaming shows.
This week, Hayley Campbell and Scott Bryan Naga Munchetty to review new Sky drama Lockerbie: A Search for Truth.

Available to watch on Now TV, the new five part mini-series headed by Colin Firth tells the story of the deadliest terror attack in British history.

On the night of 21 December 1988, the Pan Am flight 103 from London to New York crashed over the Scottish town of Lockerbie - killing 270 people. It began a complex, long-running investigation to find the truth.

Colin Firth plays Jim Swire, whose daughter Flora died on the flight. He devoted his life to finding out the truth about what happened to Pan Am flight 103.

What do the Must Watch Reviewers think of Lockerbie: A Search for Truth?

Scott Bryan and Hayley Campbell give their views on Lockerbie: A Search for Truth

Naga: "Must Watch, Scott?

That first episode is shocking and harrowing”

Scott: "It isn't for me. I mean, there are interesting parts to it, but I don’t think it reached the threshold of a Must Watch.

“I think what it does well is highlighting the devastation, horror, and sudden loss for the victim’s families, and for the town. There were so many victims they had to store them together in an ice rink. Victims were spread over a large area.

“That first episode is shocking and harrowing because there was a documentary that I reviewed two years ago which looked at this, but I think having it dramatised really highlights the overwhelming devastation.

“Colin Firth, who depicts Dr Jim Swire, captures him well - highlighting and focusing on his overwhelming grief, which turns into a lifelong commitment to find the truth. His commitment to finding the truth has taken a toll on him personally, which the drama also explores.

“I think what this limited series does well is it looks into why he has done certain things and why he believes certain things. You learn why Swire believes that the only person who has been convicted of the bombing - Abdelbaset al-Megrahi - was wrongfully convicted. You also learn why he decided to smuggle a fake bomb onto a later flight because he believed that airport security had not improved.

"He also looks at why he agreed to meet with Muammar Gaddafi, who was the ruler of Libya at the time.

Sky

Scott continues: “Those plot points are well thought through. It looks at why the government had not launched an independent inquiry and why there remains some unanswered questions about the bombing.

Colin Firth is great in this”

“The reason why it doesn't hit a Must Watch for me was that the way that it’s told is so complicated. I had to rewind to actually understand what was happening. It could have been told in a simpler way or have these parts stretched out a little bit more.

“I also found, unfortunately, that some of the dialogue and characters were a bit one-dimensional and clunky. They say from the top that there are scenes created for dramatic purposes, that's perfectly fine, but the newspaper journalist character in this drama, quite a central character, is not a real person.

“He's actually a composite of different people. I think when that involves essentially making up a central character, that for me, irks me. It just feels a bit uncomfortable.

“I made it to the end. I found it informative and there are qualities that have been done respectfully that manages to explore a very complicated topic. It just doesn't reach that level for me as a Must Watch.”

Sky

Hayley: "I agree with most of what you said, but I liked it. I thought this was a Must Watch. The first episode is harrowing and bleak. It's got the actual crash in it - but from then on, it's the aftermath and the fight to know what truly happened.

They decided to include as many details as they could”

“I think Colin Firth is great in this but what I thought was interesting was seeing how little moments had been changed from the reality of what happened to something that worked better in a drama in of the meaning of it.

“There's a moment where Jim Swire goes to the temporary mortuary in the ice rink to see his daughter's body. In reality, he had phoned ahead to the mortuary - he was allowed in because he was a GP - despite the fact that everyone else was banned from attending. They had put his daughter aside in a little alcove with flowers. Whereas in the drama, we see him walk out onto this ice rink with these sheets over these anonymous bodies. She's one of hundreds, and the worker has to consult paperwork to figure out which one she is.

“I think that change really hammered home the fact that once there's a mass fatality like this, a victim becomes a number and it's a fight to get your person to be a person again, let alone this man's bigger fight to find the truth of what actually happened to her - it was a change, but it was touching and it was meaningful.

“There's also this moment where he tucks the sheet back around her feet like you would if you were tucking in a child for bed - it was horrible and beautiful. I also liked how this went into how devoting his life to something like this really cost him in of his living family. I think that is something that can be forgotten in documentaries when you're looking at how something happened”.

Sky

Naga: "I've read reviews. I think it's very powerful. I've watched two so far and I will be watching to the end. I think you're right, Colin Firth is brilliant. I don't mind them amalgamating sources into one conduit for the character. I think it's easier but I did rewind a couple of bits, particularly the meetings with Gaddafi. I know some of it's dramatised, but I actually think it made it for easier listening. I hate things being stretched out, for the sake of explanation.”

I did rewind a couple of bits"

Scott: "I just think that they decided to include as many details as they could and perhaps they could have selected, just for the narrative purpose of Jim Swire's story, maybe focused on certain things rather than, I think, a much wider breadth."

Naga: "But, Hayley, I've read a review that says there are documentaries and documentary makers that have taken a very different angle to this.”

Hayley: "Yeah - the Lockerbie documentary, which you can see on Sky Documentaries and Now TV. Scott has recommended it a million times.

“It's a four-part series by Louis Theroux's production company, Mindhouse. They interview FBI people, police who are on the ground, people whose houses were destroyed, farmers who found bodies on their land. It does that thing of building the story as they're making it. They're getting official people to comment on it in a way they've never done publicly, which I love because it's quite sneaky.

“If you watch the Colin Firth drama, you will want to know more because he is searching for the truth, but it is from one direction. You will just end up googling and googling. I think Lockerbie on Sky Documentaries is the thing you are looking for.”

Sky

You can watch Lockerbie: A Search for Truth on NOW TV.

But before all that, why not Scott and Hayley with the shows you’ve been loving, loathing or both on mustwatch@bbc.co.uk.

This week, the team reviewed Playing Nice and Missing You.

Must Watch is released as a podcast every Monday evening on BBC Sounds.

This week, along with Lockerbie: A Search for Truth, the team also reviewed Missing You and Playing Nice.

As always, we like to include your reviews - on shows you love, loathe or lament.

Message @bbc5live on social media using the hashtag #bbcmustwatch or email mustwatch@bbc.co.uk.

Back in 2024, the team reviewed the modern re-run of The Day of the Jackal - here’s what Barry thought…

"I initially dismissed it based on comments about it being 'bogged down with work-life balance' and too long (10 episodes), even jokingly suggesting it should be called 'Day Off of The Jackal'... Despite these reservations and after repeated recommendations from friends and family, I decided to watch it. I was pleasantly surprised! I thoroughly enjoyed the series, particularly how it portrayed the protagonist's personal life and the complications it created within his profession as a hitman."

Simon was less forgiving…

"The Day of the Jackal was so slow"

One of the big hitters of 2024 was Disney +’s Rivals - Anne wrote in her verdict…

"Naga on the basis of your reviewers high recommendations I thought I'd watch Rivals but what a load of junk! I'm now sending creeping apologies to those to whom I ed on your recommendations."

Allie wrote in to suggest something she loved over the festive period…

"I binged a sitcom called English Teacher, which is about a gay high school teacher in Austin, Texas, who balances his personal and professional values in the time where education is used as a battleground for political culture wars. To make things better, all eight episodes were under 25 minutes!"

And Janey did the same too…

"It's a gem of a show that has made me cry happy and sad tears and laugh big belly laughs. It explores all the big ones - death, meaning of life, friendship, love, jealousy and the importance of doughnuts in the most wonderful way through humour and music. It feels like one of those shows that if you recommend it to someone you love and they don't love it you may have to re-evaluate that friendship."

Adrian was thankful Scott and Hayley suggested this new Netflix drama…

"Recently you pointed listeners in the direction of Black Doves. What a thrilling piece of television! Necessarily silly at times but tight and kind of makes sense. A political spy thriller quite unlike one that I've come across before. There is a terrific cast and just when you think it's starting to fall apart at the seams everything makes sense and all you can do is take your hat off to the must watch team for pointing you in the direction of the show."