When I caught wind of this earlier this week, I was a bit sceptical.
I have never been a fan of profiting off events that have caused such sadness but realistically it happens and is something that people have to accept. There have been numerous films about wars, the Titanic as well as 9/11 so frankly it came as quite a shock that it has taken so long for the BBC to dramatise an event that is such a big part of this country’s history.
Already I’m weary of how it is being promoted, I was tweeted by BBC’s Radio Times Twitter page telling me Dave Tennant of Dr Who fame would be playing Jim Murphy is the drama. I’m not a Dr. Who fan but the fact that they made sure to include that bit of info makes me worried about the direction they are going with this. For United fans it is not so much about who is in it, rather how well and accurately the story of the Babes and the Munich disaster is told.
I think the drama can be a success if it is done well, there are scores of fans who aren’t well informed about the greatness of the team that we and the world were robbed of in 1958 so the BBC are compelled to be as accurate and detailed as they can even if it means forgoing the glitz and glamour.
Of course I may be being harsh, I am assuming that the BBC don’t have the right intentions when making this, for all I know the people involved may be big fans. I just hope whether they are or are not, the piece is worthy of one of the best teams the world never saw because if they aren’t I’m pretty sure I will be just one of thousands of people and perhaps millions who will have something to say.
I think this is a good idea, the BBC have handled many other docu-drama type programmes extremely well.
More to the point this is a story that needs telling. There’s an entire generation who have no real idea of the significance, impact or legacy of Munich and I for one am actually glad the Beeb are finally going to tell the tale of the ‘Flowers of Manchester’.