To many alternate history buffs it would seem inevitable for TV shows about Operation Sealion airing. Channel Five just pulled it off with Hitlers Britain (see my other review) but this horrid ITV adaption was just painful to watch. The program was badly researched, the only mention of the British invasion defence's was a brief, downplaying of the defences of the South Coast of England, the program suggested that it was futile for Britain to defend itself. There was no mention of the plan to withdraw the RAF to the North of Britain if things got worse for them. Important defence organisations like the Home Guard or the Auxiliary Units were only given about two minutes worth of time! The program also for some reason seemed to accept that the German invasion plan would go according to plan and nothing could stop it! Also the most criminal thing left out by the program was the Royal Navy which as the Sandhurst War Game showed would have played a crucial role in destroying the German invasion fleet and supply fleet. Very shoddy research indeed. Now I come to the reconstructions. Nicholas Jones and Clifford Rose were very good in their parts as General(later Field Marshal) Alan Brooke and Admiral Raeder, respectively. But the other actors were god awful. Especially the actor who played Heydrich, he included the worst German accent I had ever heard and even included the dreaded "vers" and "vots", makes me cringe thinking about it! Also why do documentaries need to show reconstructions. Reconstructions are good is to show tactics, the situation and get the feel of something, and they must be well acted out. Some docu-dramas are good at this like "Ten Days To D-Day" or "The Somme". But for this program whats wrong with the actual archive film of the British and the German invasion preparation photographs and archive photographs? Overall you are better trying to look out for Hitlers Britain than this badly researched garbage.
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