Shame about the 'Scottish' accents: Lockerbie TV drama comes a cropper
***
Less than six months since Sky Atlantic's Lockerbie: A Search for Truth comes another drama, The Bombing of Pan Am 103, starting on BBC One this Sunday.
One can only speculate that the reason for both arriving so close together was the forthcoming - and now postponed - trial in the US of a Libyan man accused of making the bomb.
Sky's A Search for Truth was based on the book by Dr Jim Swire, whose daughter Flora was among the 270 people murdered when Pan Am flight 103 exploded over Lockerbie on December 21, 1988. While Colin Firth turned in a moving and nuanced performance as Swire, the story became lost in a fog of warring theories.
The BBC drama - to be released globally by Netflix at a later date - is a more straightforward police procedural.
The cast is international, but this is very much a Scottish affair. 'Scottish soil. Scottish evidence. Scottish procedure,' growls Peter Mullan's police chief to one of the FBI agents desperate to take over the investigation.
Read more
Mullan might as well have added, 'Scottish cast' to the list. From Mullan and Tony Curran to Phyllis Logan and Kevin McKidd, there can't have been many who did not answer the call to arms.
That Scottishness is reflected well in Jonathan Lee's plainspoken dialogue, as in the exchange between a grieving teenager and the police officer who takes the local lad under his wing. 'How's it going?' asks the copper. 'Fine, aye,' comes the reply.
Scotland in general and Lockerbie in particular come across well, with local people receiving their due for preserving the victims' effects and looking after grieving relatives.
Alas, there is a downside to all this 'putting a kilt on it', and yes, it's the accent thing. Again.
With so many actual Scots around, those acting the part have a tougher task than usual. Here's looking at you, Connor Swindells, playing DI Ed McCusker. At any other time, the star of SAS Rogue Heroes might have got away with what is to the untrained ear a perfectly honourable attempt at a Glaswegian detective. Here, however, it's the accent equivalent of Les Dawson playing the piano.
Swindells is not the only one to come a cropper, though this time it's not a Scottish accent to blame. Eddie Marsan, playing the American explosives expert Tom Thurman, has an accent that wanders from Texas to Tooting in the same sentence. Why put actors and viewers through such grief? Better to stick with your own accent than mangle someone else's.
Lockerbie: A Search for Truth was on earlier this year (Image: free) Clever location choices make up for the low budget (so much for those Netflix big bucks terrestrial broadcasters dream about). The lack of cash pays off in other ways, most notably in opening scenes that are less graphic, and not as intrusive, as those in the Swire drama.
Star of the piece is our man Mullan, a class act on any continent. Here, he comes with a bonus in the shape of Patrick J Adams playing FBI agent Dick Marquise. The star of Suits and the force of acting nature that is Mullan make a dream team.
The BBC drama is the superior piece of the two, but whether it adds anything to our understanding is a question that cannot be answered till the case is closed and everyone accepts the outcome. That, however, is not a date you will find on any calendar.
The Bombing of Pan Am 103 is on BBC One and BBC iPlayer from 9pm, Sunday 18 May
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Spectator
3 hours ago
- Spectator
Ingenious: the Globe's Romeo & Juliet reviewed
Cul-de-Sac feels like an ersatz sitcom of a kind that's increasingly common on the fringe. Audiences are eager to see an unpretentious domestic comedy set in a kitchen or a sitting-room where the characters gossip, argue, fall in love, break up and so on. TV broadcasters can't produce this sort of vernacular entertainment and they treat audiences as atomised members of racial ghettos or social tribes. And they assume that every viewer is an irascible brat who can't bear to hear uncensored language without having a tantrum. The result is that TV comedy often feels like appeasement rather than entertainment. Theatre producers are keen to fill the gap, and the latest effort by writer-director David Shopland declares its ambitions in its title. Cul-de-Sac is set on a housing estate where Frank and Ruth are busy destroying their marriage. Ruth lounges on the sofa all day drinking sherry and mourning the loss of her career as a therapist. Frank is a depressed salaryman who rants and raves obsessively about a mysterious Mercedes parked by his kerb. The couple make friends with a timid bisexual neighbour, Simon, whose wife has just run off with his brother. More characters arrive. Marie is a beautiful, nerdy evangelical who recruits worshippers for her husband's church by knocking on strangers' doors. Her latest disciple, Hamza, is a Kurdish businessman who owns the Mercedes that blocks Frank's drive. Thus the messy social circle is complete. The characters are quirky, likeable and easy to relate to. And the show is full of awkward comic moments and latent sexual conflict. The best character, Simon, is perhaps too obviously based on Alan Bennett. He has a squashed blond hairdo and geeky black-rimmed glasses, and he speaks in a lugubrious, wheedling Yorkshire accent. The show is good fun for 90 minutes but after the interval, disaster strikes. The script morphs into an anguished memory play and the characters become self-pitying bores. They take it in turns to describe the most grisly moment of their lives. Ruth explains the crisis that terminated her therapy career. Marie reveals the difficult truth about her missionary work. The men recount tales of loss and bereavement caused by lethal explosions and murderous terrorist attacks. These distressing back-stories have no shape or dramatic direction and the show becomes an interminable group-therapy session. At the climax, a suitcase is opened to reveal a blood-stained item of clothing, and the script delivers 'messages' about the virtues of tolerance. We're warned not to indulge in xenophobia or to lay blame on a particular faith for the crimes of a few extremists. In other words, it feels like a TV show. Perhaps Netflix will pick it up. At the Globe, Sean Holmes offers an ingenious new take on Romeo and Juliet. His inspiration? Set the show in the Wild West. It makes sense, just about, to plonk the story into a frontier town where two murderous families are locked in a deadly feud. The Victorian age was a time of stylish and dignified fashions so the show looks terrific. The women swish around in sumptuous full-length gowns while the men sport frockcoats, hip-hugging trousers and chic leather boots. The cowboy hats are a bit of a problem. Thesps hate wearing headgear that conceals their faces, and in this production the actors wear their hats shoved well back on their heads so that their handsome mugs can be seen at all times. Perhaps the hats could be ditched altogether. This feels like a TV show. Perhaps Netflix will pick it up Most of the cast are pretty good, some are exceptional. Michael Elcock's Mercutio is a mischievous, charming street hustler who turns the tricky Queen Mab monologue into a tour de force by pretending that it's the most hilarious joke he's ever heard. (On the page, the speech reads like a bad dream about a spider improvised by a stoned poet.) Elcock's playful, fleet-footed Mercutio makes Romeo seem like an angry dullard by comparison, but that's always a risk with this play. At least Rawaed Asde (Romeo) has the dreamy good looks of a movie star. His Juliet (Lola Shalam) plays the part as a cheery Essex blonde with a heart of steel. When her father threatens to force her out of the house, he looks more scared than she does. Jamie Rose-Monk's Nurse is too young to perform the role as a venerable lady's maid and she plays it like Juliet's best mate from school. Dharmesh Patel works wonders with the small role of Peter by adding balletic little hand gestures and other physical absurdities. None of his play-acting is in the script but it comes across beautifully in the festive, carefree atmosphere of the Globe. This is an object lesson in how to reconceptualise Shakespeare. The idea of the Wild West is lightly handled and it offers witty suggestions rather than imposing ugly restrictions.
The National
3 hours ago
- The National
Scots Language Awards officially launched for 2025
The Scots Language Awards — organised by Hands Up For Trad, a group that promotes traditional Scottish music in the mainstream media — was launched for 2025 on Thursday and will take place in Cumnock Town Hall, Ayrshire, again on 13 September. The annual ceremony aims to recognise figures and organisations that encourage use of the Scots language in wider society, and categories will include business, literature, community work and more. READ MORE: Home and half an island owned by famous Scottish shark hunter up for sale Simon Thoumire, Scots Language Award organiser and Hands Up For Trad creative director, said: "The Scots leid is gaun fae strength tae strength, and we're thrilled tae see the Scots Language Awards return tae Ayrshire, hame tae sic a rich cultural heritage. 'This event isn't jist a celebration o the wunnerfu talents in Scots music, literature, an community endeavors, but a recognition o the leid's vital role in oor Scottish identity. 'We can't wait tae bring the Scots language community thegither again, and wi' new initiatives lik the Scots Hoose school sessions, we're ensuring the next generation can share in the pride an passion for oor mither tongue. It's set tae be a nicht tae remember, an we cannae wait!' The launch coincides with 'Gies a Scots Poem Day' 2025, an initiative created by the Scottish Poetry Library, which aims to promote Scots language poetry in all of its forms, including Doric, Shetlandic and Dundonian. READ MORE: Deacon Blue issue update as bandmate 'seriously ill' in hospital East Ayrshire Provost, Claire Leitch, said: 'I'm awfa chuffed that the Scots Language Award will return tae East Ayrshire this year. I'm looking forward to gaun along, celebrating the talented performers and aw the folk fae across Scotland who are dedicated who are encouraging us to use oor 'mither tongue'! It's gonnae be another stoater o a nicht! 'For me, there's nuhun more important than staying true to who we aw ur, and encouraging oor communities and weans to use and celebrate the Scots language. 'Definitely get yersel a ticket quick. As Jack fae Still Game says - "He who hingeth aboot getteth heehaw!' Hands Up For Trad are also partnering with learning resource Scots Hoose to deliver Scots language lessons in schools across the country. A range of musicians and poets will perform at the ceremony this year, including Edinburgh Scots singer Amy Leach and local Burns purveyor Wullie Dick. Scots Language Awards nominations will be open from July 28 until August 10, with voting for shortlisted nominees taking place from August 25 until September 7. Further information regarding ticketing will be available on the event's website soon.
The Independent
3 hours ago
- The Independent
A bid for bail by former New Jersey US Sen. Menendez is rejected by appeals court as prison looms
A bid for bail by former U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez while he appeals his bribery conviction was rejected Wednesday by a federal appeals court, a week before the veteran New Jersey politician is scheduled to report to prison. Menendez, 71, was convicted last July of selling his clout for bribes. FBI agents who searched his home three years ago found $480,000, some of it stuffed inside boots and jacket pockets, gold bars worth an estimated $150,000 and a luxury convertible in the garage. Prosecutors said that in exchange, Menendez performed corrupt favors for the New Jersey business owners. They said he tried to protect the men and associates from criminal investigations, helped two in business deals with foreign powers and met with Egyptian intelligence officials before helping that country access $300 million in U.S. military aid. Menendez, a Democrat, has insisted that he is innocent and is seeking to overturn his conviction. He is scheduled to surrender to federal prison authorities on Tuesday. A three-judge panel on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied his bail motion in a brief order issued Wednesday. The decision did not include a rationale, but it said one of the three judges would have granted the motion. An email seeking comment was sent to his attorneys. Menendez, who once served as chair of the influential Senate Foreign Relations Committee, resigned his seat a month after his conviction. He had been in the Senate since 2006. Two business owners also were convicted last year along with Menendez. His wife, Nadine Menendez, was convicted in April of teaming up with her husband to accept bribes from the business owners. Her trial was delayed after she was diagnosed with breast cancer and required surgery. Her sentencing has been set for Sept. 11.
