This New Netflix Drama Series Is a Must-See if You Liked Lockerbie: A Search for the Truth
Following the release of After Lockerbie: A Search for the Truth, Netflix released The Bombing of Pan Am 103, another series about the tragedy.
The new BBC One and Netflix series The Bombing of Pan Am 103 is based on one of the saddest events in modern history: the Lockerbie disaster.
Scottish screenwriter Gillian Roger Park took a responsible approach to the subject, influencing not only herself, but also Scottish culture as a whole. Park recreates the smallest details of the tragic event using real news broadcasts from that time.
What Is The Bombing of Pan Am 103 About?
On December 21, 1988, all 259 passengers aboard the London-New York flight failed to reach their destination. Having covered about half the distance, the plane disappeared from radar forever.
The Boeing 747 crashed into the streets of the Scottish town of Lockerbie, crushing several residential buildings. Debris and luggage were scattered and there were no survivors.
The Bombing of Pan Am 103 & Lockerbie: A Search for the Truth Are Told from Different Perspectives
If you feel like you've seen a series with a similar plot recently, you're not imagining things. The Bombing of Pan Am 103 is the second project this year to explore the mystery of the British air disaster. The first was Lockerbie: A Search for Truth, starring Colin Firth, from Sky and Peacock.
Lockerbie: A Search for the Truth is told from the perspective of a grieving parent who lost his daughter.
The Bombing of Pan Am 103 tells the other side of the story, from the perspective of the investigators. These officers are Scottish, American, and German, and they are forced to unite in the face of a global catastrophe.
The Bombing of Pan Am 103 Treats the Victims With Respect
Unlike Lockerbie: A Search for the Truth, which showed the aftermath of the plane crash in great detail, the filmmakers of The Bombing of Pan Am 103 deliberately avoided relying on spectacle.
They treat the dead with respect, showing no bloody bodies strewn across Scottish fields or details about the horrific deaths of those trapped under the plane's wreckage.
Detective Ed McCusker slowly makes his way through the smoke-filled streets of Lockerbie at night. Smoldering suitcases, fragments of seats and clothing, and the personal belongings of passengers are all around him. The scattered debris and absence of cries for help speak louder than images of bodies.
The Bombing of Pan Am 103 Aims to Draw More Attention to the Tragedy
"The victims don't need sympathy; they need justice," says one of the characters. Perhaps this phrase is the key to the imminent release of the second series about the Lockerbie tragedy.
The final trial of the alleged culprit, the manufacturer of the explosive device that destroyed the Boeing 747, is scheduled for spring 2025.
Drawing attention to the tragedy of 37 years ago may have influenced the verdict. However, the final hearing was temporarily postponed, and a new date has not yet been set.