As the other reviewers have said, this was a much thought of show at the time. (13 episodes, I seem to remember, being shown on ITV late night on a weekday evening, perhaps a Wednesday).
The technical ability of the show, only shows up a little dated/jaded at times but more than made up for this with old war footage and new, plus the added bonus of good acting, action and scripts/stories.
Though some episodes, in an aviation/drama scenario were somewhat strange (A young Dennis Waterman as a reluctant prospective bomber pilot being talked into fighting by a severely wounded aviator in his ward), it was still a great series and yet, as the other reviewers have said, it hasn't had the deserved more airtime, if you'll pardon that phrase.
The British RAF's Pathfinder force of WW2 made a significant contribution to the war effort and in winning the final victory - for that reason alone and to honour the sacrifice of those who died and the veterans left behind, British, Commonwealth and other foreign aviators within the RAF, I find this really quite shameful.
Nevertheless, the great performances by Robert Urquhart as 'Wingco' MacPhearson and his sidekick, the doc, played by Jack Watling and a host of other sometimes established, sometimes waiting to be, British TV stars was a real treat on those late evenings.
The series had the technical assistance of Group Captain Hamish Mahaddie who had also advised on the film, 'The Battle of Britain' and he was seen being interviewed on 'The World at War' TV series (Episode: 'Whirlwind').
In all, as well as real 'Lanc' footage from the UK's only surviving Lancaster and a host of other footage, the series employed the use of thirteen model Lancasters and I was informed, by one of my aviation mags, that most of these were sadly written off, if you can say that about models! Fortunately, I managed to visit the RAF museum in Hendon at the precise time they had, in the museum shop, the complete 13-episode series in one box on DVD (Four discs)and at the then price of £24.99 I just had to snap it up. It's a real treat for WW2 fans/aviation buffs who have never seen it.
The technical ability of the show, only shows up a little dated/jaded at times but more than made up for this with old war footage and new, plus the added bonus of good acting, action and scripts/stories.
Though some episodes, in an aviation/drama scenario were somewhat strange (A young Dennis Waterman as a reluctant prospective bomber pilot being talked into fighting by a severely wounded aviator in his ward), it was still a great series and yet, as the other reviewers have said, it hasn't had the deserved more airtime, if you'll pardon that phrase.
The British RAF's Pathfinder force of WW2 made a significant contribution to the war effort and in winning the final victory - for that reason alone and to honour the sacrifice of those who died and the veterans left behind, British, Commonwealth and other foreign aviators within the RAF, I find this really quite shameful.
Nevertheless, the great performances by Robert Urquhart as 'Wingco' MacPhearson and his sidekick, the doc, played by Jack Watling and a host of other sometimes established, sometimes waiting to be, British TV stars was a real treat on those late evenings.
The series had the technical assistance of Group Captain Hamish Mahaddie who had also advised on the film, 'The Battle of Britain' and he was seen being interviewed on 'The World at War' TV series (Episode: 'Whirlwind').
In all, as well as real 'Lanc' footage from the UK's only surviving Lancaster and a host of other footage, the series employed the use of thirteen model Lancasters and I was informed, by one of my aviation mags, that most of these were sadly written off, if you can say that about models! Fortunately, I managed to visit the RAF museum in Hendon at the precise time they had, in the museum shop, the complete 13-episode series in one box on DVD (Four discs)and at the then price of £24.99 I just had to snap it up. It's a real treat for WW2 fans/aviation buffs who have never seen it.
