Lockerbie: A Search for Truth; Vera

“This meticulously researched and sensitively told five-part drama did not dwell on the atrocity itself. Neither was the sheer horror of it minimised. The first few minutes, after we met Dr Swire, his wife, Jane (Catherine McCormack), and their three children, were ominous without exploiting the nightmare that was to come.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

“This is raw, unforgettable television. But am I the only one who feels uncomfortable watching it? Colin Firth is superb as the indefatigable justice campaigner Dr Jim Swire, whose daughter Flora, 23 at the time, was on board that plane, but I kept thinking about what it must be like for the many families of the victims to see the horror recreated so viscerally.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“For those who remain certain of Megrahi’s guilt, the climactic episode may be difficult to stomach. But that indefinite article in the title is there for a reason: this is not The Post Office vs Alan Bates, in which one buried truth awaited disinterment. Deeply moving in its strongest moments, this is a dispiriting, knotty, elusive story about absence of closure and the tragic denial of redemption.”
Jasper Rees, The Telegraph

“The six-parter’s opener focused on one man: Jim Swire (Colin Firth), whose 2021 book the drama is based on. It was a smart decision. While the drama did feature many of those clichéd prestige TV calling cards, from flash forwards to time and location jumps marked on screen, the opening episode was a masterclass in dread-building.”
Isobel Lewis, The i

“This telling favours Swire’s perspective on Megrahi – so different from the findings of the Scottish court that convicted him – and takes a line that many will disagree with. Truth, in the end, rarely comes with certainty. But the story must be told. Not just from the morbidly voyeuristic perspective that so often governs our fascination with acts of violence, but from the slow, forensic unwinding of an obscured truth.”
Nick Hilton, The Independent

“It is an extraordinary story of one ordinary man’s dedication to a cause. Unfortunately, extraordinary stories – especially when they centre primarily round dogged detective work and the unravelling of miles of bureaucratic red tape – do not automatically make good dramas. The five-part miniseries seems in thrall to the book and is suffocated by detail. Every step, and misstep, of Swire’s journey is recorded, to inescapably deadening effect. He is played by Colin Firth, who doesn’t bring much colour to what has already been rendered a grey part.”
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian

“The final film, The Dark Wives, wasn’t vintage Vera. We’ve seen DCI Stanhope investigate this sort of story before: a tale of a dodgy children’s home and young people caught in the selfish machinations of the adult world. Still, it allowed for a glimpse into Vera’s compassionate soul and flashback scenes involving her younger self and her dad Hector (Stevie Raine) were superb.”
Ben Dowell, The Times

“The case was secondary. All eyes were on how DCI Stanhope would go out – and the answer was all-guns-blazing. She has always been a difficult, irascible, brusque woman, but this time, as she snapped at her team like an angry turtle and rolled her eyes at their less-than-perfect police work, it brought a lump to the throat.”
Chris Bennion, The Telegraph

“The climax – which took place during the ‘Witch Hunt’, a local pagan tradition – veered a little towards comedy when it should have been frightening, but the actual case wasn’t really the point. This was a touching ending for a TV great.”
Rachel Sigee, The i