The Looming Tower BBC2

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I thought it was excellent, well written and acted. I liked the fact that scenes lasted longer than 90 seconds, especially the interview between agent Soufan and the Al Qaeda suspect shown in the last episode. Gripping!

I’m glad others have been watching this, a truly excellent series very well done with a mix of drama and real footage as you say Bordersgirl57. I did mention it when it first started, can’t believe it’s ten weeks ago. I thought Jeff Daniels was great as John and the young Arab speaking agent Soufan was wonderful too. It was heartwarming to see how their contrasting characters developed a warm friendship, starting with advice on footwear from John. The irony of John being forced out of his job then taking a position at the Twin Towers was heartbreaking. The series was worth the tv licence fee which we will be paying again next June. I am going to read the book as there were so many characters and events to take in.

I liked it and the book is good too.

I DO think that too much emphasis was put on John's personal life.

I also suspect he was shown in a far better light in this than he actually was. (ie a serial adulterer and loose cannon).

I got fed up of seeing his a..e in action by the end.

Good depiction of the inability of the intelligence agencies to communicate though (although we're seeing things with the benefit of hindsight).

For those with an interest in 9/11 there's a great documentary called "Inside 9/11". Seriously gripping.

Oldgimmer1 I have to agree with you about the constant scenes of John’s ‘love/lust life’. One or two scenes would have given us the idea of his flawed character. I will look for the documentary about 9/11 you mention. It is one of the unforgettable events that took place in my lifetime.

Yes They definitely overdid the sex scenes with John, we all had the idea, no need for it.

fiorentina51 I agree that long interview in the final part between Soufan and the suspect was so good. The way Soufan showed the truth about what the Quran says, which is not what the terrorists thought, they hadn't read in. He got results from his way of interrogation.

I am interested to know more now. I'll watch that documentary, thanks Oldgimmer.

I am not sure we will ever know all that went on. This was an interesting item about methods of interrogation.

www.newsweek.com/ali-soufan-breaks-his-silence-77243

Good series.

Who remembers what they were doing when you first saw the towers being crashed into? I was working at home, and spent the rest of the day watching the television. It was truly horrifying.

I remember my DH phoning me at work to tell me what had happened. I was quite reluctant to tell anyone as I truly thought DH had misheard the news bulletin and I didn’t want to embarrass him with my colleagues. How wrong I was. Our boss put the tv on and we all watched in absolute horror. A day I will never forget. It still upsets me if I see any of it on tv.

I remember exactly too. I was in the early stages of pregnancy and knacketed - barely able to get through the day. I left work lunchtime to get a sandwich and listen to Jimmy Young in the car. The 2 o'clock bulletin came on with reports of a plane hitting the Tower. Everyone thought that it was an accident at that point - a random small plane rather than a jet. I didn't give it another thought until I got home, cooked myself a packet Vesta Paella and took it upstairs to lie in the bed and watch telly. I'd missed the actual event, but watched transfixed and horrified for the rest of the evening.

The whole event, from the first plane crashing to the second tower falling took around an hour and a half, I think.

There's a programme on YouTube that captures it all. I think it's called 120 minutes or something.

Inside 9/11 was put out by National Geographic. Occasionally they show a couple of episodes but there's a whole series which charts the roots of Al Qaeda and OBL through to the aftermath of the attacks. Brilliant.

I was going home from work on the train after a pre-term departmental meeting. There were some students next to me on the platform and another student approached them and whispered something to one of them. Their reaction was one of horror so as soon as I got home I turned on the television and watched the horrific events unfold. When DH got home he joined me and we watched in a daze, it was hard to comprehend what had happened.

My DH also remembers hearing about the assassination of JFK when he was at a bowling alley, I can’t remember where I was but I do remember the horror of it and also watching the news when Jack Ruby shot Lee Harvey Oswald.

I can also remember being in the school playground when a child came up to a group of us and said the King was dead. I would have been 9 at the time.

I have tried to find Inside 9/11 oldgimmer1, sometimes they are repeated on Sky Arts so I will see if I can find out when it will be shown again. Sometimes they are repeated on the anniversary of 9/11.

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@jane43 Inside 9/11 DVD is available on Amazon. I've just gone and bought myself a copy as I enjoyed it so much!

Yes I remember too - I was at work, one of the girls had a phone call from home, telling her a plane had crashed into one of the twin towers. We were all so shocked, but of course thought it was an accident. Someone found a TV and we had it on for the rest of the day. Just couldn't believe it.

When JFK was assassinated, I was on top of a London bus going along the Old Kent Road. I was meeting friends, it was early evening. We stopped by a TV shop, and all the TVs had the same footage, and I was puzzled as to what had happened. When I found out I was so shocked and sad.

Oldgimmer1 I checked on Amazon and it was over £200. I will have another look.

@jane43 I think I must have bought one of the last cheap ones then.

May be worth trying eBay?