NEEDED: ONE TONNE DOORKNOB REPELLENT

An hour ago I took a break and watched a documentary on TVO by the name of Battlefield Mysteries: Siege of Malta. Hosted by the respected Canadian military historian Norm Christie, the hour-long program covered the Axis (German) aerial bombardment of the island of Malta during WW2. It is quite the story.

My problem with the program was the poor use of historical/archive footage. It looked to me as though no researchers were involved -- at least none worth anything. Case study: A British pilot interviewed recently on the airstrip used by the Allies in Malta talks of the German aircraft flying over the island. At one point he says, "then the (Junkers) 88s came in". We, the viewers, are treated to a Heinkel 111, a very different aircraft. At another point in the show the voice-over speaks of Hawker Hurricanes (fighter planes) having to defend the island in the early days. What do we see?... a Spitfire. This gets confusing to the observant viewer, especially when the Spitfires finally do get called to the island defences. The viewer must think, "isn't that a Hurricane?".

Absolutely inept. The producing company -- here in Toronto, big surprise -- is called Breakthrough Entertainment. The real breakthrough would be them doing their jobs properly.

Mr. Woods, I need a shipment of your patented "Doorknob Repellent". As I leave this town I am going to go crazy, spraying every small-potatoes 'production company'.


(Illustration above: Junkers 88 armed with 4 x 250 kg "Doorknob Repellent" bombs.)