BBC America's Britz

By Ethel C. Fenig

BBC America does seem to have -- depending on your point of view --impeccable or terrible timing.

Well before the horror in Mumbai but well after the horror of 9/11 and the 7July, 2007 Moslem instigated train station bombing massacre in London, the tax supported BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) produced Britz, a two part mini series telling the story of British born Moslem siblings who turn out oh so differently. Naturally it won all sorts of British television awards. And wouldn't you know, it is premiering on BBC America tonight and tomorrow night.

According to the Washington Post

the series describe siblings:

...one tracks down terrorists and the other rebels against repressive government policies.

How perfect! And just what could those British "repressive government policies" possibly be? Suspicions against Moslems just because a few blew up a train station? Or try to blow up planes? Or preach death to non-Moslems in England? Or....? And the Moslem terrorist tracker? Oh the exquisite agony! How bloody awful.

Meanwhile, the reviewer on the other side of the country at The LAist thinks:

"Britz" is a thriller featuring two young British Muslims, each pulled in different directions by personal experiences in post 9/11 Britain. This drama asks (perhaps a year or two late) whether the laws we think are making us safer, are actually putting us in greater danger.

A legitimate question - -maybe the laws should have some teeth before it is a year or two too late.

In light of the recent Mumbai slaughter, the BBC is sure to quickly bring us another award-winning television show about the plight of Moslems in Britain, suffering under suspicion. And the victims? If the BBC remembers them at all, they'll probably demonstrate that they deserved their fate.