The First Light programme was only good based on the fact that the team were on a budget and on a time limit. otherwise it was very poor IMHO.

But the show mentioned in this topic was awesome, I really enjoyed it and the McGregor brothers relationship was really nice to see. Not all famous actors are drama-queens. I echo Dutch's comments here ;)

The Drill Sergeant in the Cranwell sequence was my Drill Sergeant when I was at Cranwell just over a year ago - absolutely top bloke...

Did any of you guys catch the BBC 'Spitfire Women' documentary on Monday Night?

It was a documentary (with interviews) about the women pilots who formed part of the ATA. I was absolutely gobsmacked that these young women pilots flew around 150+ different types of WW2 Aircraft with absolutely no training - they were simply given a book as they climbed into the cockpit and flew it to its destination in all weather conditions, no RT and no ammo.

Really? what program is that? I'd like very much to see it.

Nevermind! Found it...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00txmkk

Sort of like flying a prop plane in FSX for the first time, you open up the in-game checklist, ignore the air traffic control and do your thing :-P

You got to give them some slack here (or maybe you are...lol). A drama (or movie) will never live up to the expectations one develops after reading a good book. Any filmed extrapolation of a written work could never live up to the magic of reading a book...their is so much that happens in the mind of a reader and a filmed representation limits the involvement of your imagination. I dont think they ruined the story with their short drama...I just think that they didnt have enough time or money to give the story the justice it deserved.

I dont think the drama was a "home run"...but, what was their...was ok.

Maybe this drama will inspire others to read the book.

This does look interesting...

Yes, I know exactly what you mean. I have been talking with a fair number of people involved in the production, and they have all said that, despite lots of comments about historical accuracy, many things happened in the program because it made 'good TV'. That's generally what is usually comes down to.

Oh well, whwn I rule the world.... :cool:

Interesting...

Yea, true...a producers (suits) idea of what makes "good TV" (all to) frequently ruins what was good with the original idea. In this case they might have ignored the quality's of the original story that the "targeted audience" would have been looking for...in place of trying to "attract" a larger audience. However...in this situation, it was by no means a "Pearl Harbor" assault... ;)

No, i agree. In fact, I might have quite enjoyed it if I hadn't read the book. The cliched characters, for me, were what let it down. But for a budget they did a pretty good job ;)