Hi All,
Despite alerting the forum to the programme I actually viewed it last night and disappointed is an understatement. Yet another golden opportunity for a historical documentary with a personal human interest The Lancaster Lovers and Stan Shaw’s story to finish it off in style missed completely. A very poor show yet again by the penny pinching BBC who would rather keep wasting millions of pounds on unsuccessful Drama/Comedy/and so called stars not to mention all the money wasted in courts defending then loosing and paying out compensations to whom ever!
I agree entirely with what Nachtjagd and Bruce have said and would go further to say there is obviously a lacking in the historical department when it comes to Aviation as a whole as this is not the first time a documentary has had mixed up facts accompanied by some dodgy related filming as examples
showing a Henkel 111 that was plummeting to earth and Short Stirling in a couple of shots to name but two gaffs, to say nothing of the way John took Stan Shaw’s Daughter and Grandson out to the wreckage onto a pier that looked as if it would collapse any second then to row them out in a boat that was barely big enough for all three really penny pinching again with a lack of organisation.
It really surprises me that so many documentary’s are never researched properly that always include the same tired pictures of wrong aircraft when describing certain actions, I often wonder if this is simply because to acquire the correct film of certain actions is more costlier than say showing a bomber that resembles the aircraft being focused on if it isn’t and neither apply they are just treating the audience with scorn obviously with the view that one person does not know one type of aircraft from another ?
I would say on the whole though these documentary’s are viewed by the aviation enthusiasts ? as an old friend put it many years ago as me and another chap sat discussing air show’s, this other chap commented ‘ while we sit wanking over our aircraft most enjoy a good pint ‘- enough said I think. This is why I feel the makers should be more conscious of the audience and not treat them as a dumb viewer but treat all the viewers as if they actually are interested in the subject and may possibly know a thing or two, I mean god help the BBC if a period drama ever had things out of place I imagine all hell would break loose it a shame the same attitude is not put into certain documentary’s.

Geoff.