Waco: The TV Show (Soon to be a Musical)

I'm curious...how would those who say the ATF mishandled the situation done things differently?

 

Episode 3 (the initial ATF siege) was absolutely riveting, one of the best episodes of dramatic television I've seen in the past year. It should win Emmys.

I've been surprised how well-acted and written it is.

 

I'm watching it and liking it. It's a well done reencactment of what went down based on accounts of those that were there. The raid scene was pulse pounding. Great acting to. Taylor Kitsch is very convincing as Koresh. I always found this quite an interesting moment in US history. Definitely heartbreaking, but fascinating as well.

 

i think you could say that they mishandled the situation every step of the way. for me, the most frustrating thing was how it was handled before the siege even took place. if they were interested in arresting and charging Koresh for crimes, why didn't they do it when he was outside the compound? they knew what was going on at the compound...they had an FBI informant in there. they could've avoided so many problems by arresting him away from his home turf. but it's pretty clear that they were looking to make a PR splash and decided that a raid was the best way to do it.

 

what channel is this miniseries airing on? I would like to see it.

 

The Paramount Channel in my parts.

 

Formerly known as Spike. I think new episodes air on CMT too.

 

another good episode, only two to go. The FBI lead HRT guy plays a dickhead really well.

 

i wonder if they will replay this series. i missed the first one and right now i'm deep into the Olympics.

 

It's on demand (at least for Directv).

 

Vicky Weaver was holding her 10-month-old infant when she was brutally murdered by the FBI sniper.
The violence started when the Feds shot Weaver's dog (and his son...who had returned fire in self-defense
...in the back). Another great day for the FBI! Randy Weaver got four months in prison for his "crime"
and the government was forced to pay out $3.1 million to the surviving Weaver family in damages.
Keystone Cops for sure, but nobody was laughing this time.

 

I saw Episode 4 tonight. Another great one. The tension is really building, even though this one wasn't quite as dark as the others. It takes a good hand to pull off that sort of manic feel in the daylight. (does that makes sense?)

Maybe that really was how David Koresh was. They keep adding bit of erratic behavior into the mix, whilst still showing him as an everyday guy, which is really how they are portraying the feds, as well. So, it's not as one-sided as I originally thought it was going to be, although the show leans slightly toward the Branch Davidians when it comes to the who-and-what-fors.

My impression is that it was ego trippin' on both sides. Who's going to blink first.

 

The theory in Austin at the time was that Koresh had gone into 'End-Times' mode because his
band's demo tape was rejected by the SXSW Music Festival committee that year. Seriously.

 

Finished episode 4. Damn, this series is really excellent. Acting is top notch and the story is plenty suspenseful. Extremely well done all the way around.

 

ATV were there February 28th to execute a search warrant, not an arrest warrant. When executing a search warrant is met with that kind of resistance, you see what happened.

 

Vernon Wayne Howell is who he really was. Just another Jim Jones type that history has seen come and go. He got a bunch of people killed.
Tim

 

He was a cross between Jim Jones and Warren Jeffs.

 

What is the old saying about the Buddha?

 

The Davidians were tipped off a raid was going to occur. The ATF knew about the tip off, so the element of surprise was gone. They should have waited for Koresh to go on an errand outside the compound to arrest him.

I've been watching all of the related shows on TV. Fascinating stuff. It was interesting seeing and hearing some of the Davidians who left before the raid and/or during it. What a bunch of mindless sheep.

 

Again, they weren’t there with an arrest warrant. They were there with a search warrant. If they delayed executing the search warrant, evidence could be destroyed/removed.

 

I used to buy ammo at a Waco gun shop that Koresh frequented.
The parking lot would have been the perfect setting for a bloodless
Davidian arrest by the Feds.

 

In the parking lot of a gun shop?

 

detaining Koresh outside the compound would've been so much better and likely would have been able to avoid any violence that way. it would have been tantamount to "cutting the head off the snake".

 

Sure. I don't know any gun stores in the U.S. (or 'transient' Gun Shows either) that allow customers to
have loaded weapons on their premises. If the ATF agents had arrested Koresh between the store and his
SUV, he would effectively been unarmed. A much different scenario than a frontal assault on his heavily-
armed followers at the Branch Davidian compound...which seems to have been more of a publicity-stunt-
gone-wrong than smart police work. I put a lot of blame on the Feds for the lives lost on both sides in that
initial assault.

 

Ahhhh, that is a good point.