The Nailbomber

A well put together documentary that tells the story of Dave Copeland and what he did. If anything I wish this was slightly longer but that's just a personal preference.

The story is gripping and the plot was a golden opportunity for the show-makers. What was needed, was to exploit the reason for racial wars, go deep into their activities in Britain, to explain how they convince members to hate, and what was the modus operandi of a spy who infiltrated the BNP. But what we got was a half baked cause and effect POV from the spy and some other characters. Better sequencing, storytelling and character buildup would've made Manhunt: Nail Bomber as good as the Manhunt series. But this was bland and at times boring, with very few moments that pull you in. Disappointing.

As other reviewers have said it felt short.

When I started watching this I was thinking "how do I not know about this?". To be fair I was 15 at the time and in a not very nice home situation so had other things on my mind but my home town is one of the London satellite towns so I can't believe I didn't have this imprinted in my consciousness. When I got to the end I realised I did remember this... The bombing at the gay bar and thought it was something to do with the IRA. Is my lack of memory about the bombs in the black and Bangladeshi neighbourhoods a reflection of my ignorance or the way it was reported at the time? I hate to admit it but I was raised with right wing family members, and although I've always had my own mind and learned to be more open minded as I've got older it isn't unreasonable that some of the poison I heard when I was growing up was still in my mind.

I feel that this doc would have benefitted from more focus on the long reaching effects of the bombings on the Brixton and Brick Lane areas. The focus seemed to be on survivors of the Soho bomb. Yes, they suffered deaths there but physical and mental injuries are also horrific. I can't be the only one who wanted to know what the outcome was for the baby who had a nail stuck in their head. We don't need to infringe on this person's privacy but it would be nice to know if they recovered.

Lastly, some update on how human rights and equality has progressed, or not, in the years following would be nice. Some insight into the animal's background and upbringing. What made him so full of hate? What were his parents like? I think we all have a need to understand what makes someone hate so much.

What these people did, and their ilk, deserved nothing less than the death sentence. Despicable excuse for human beings.

But once has to ask. Why now? With tensions in the world reaching critical mass, why now choose to bring this story to the globe. Just something to think about.

Refreshing with a true crime documentary on Netflix that isn't 8-10 episodes long. This documentary was a tight 70 minutes, it's actually one of those rare instances where I wouldn't have minded if it spent a little more time on the political climate.

Britain, Germany, Norway, Sweden. The list goes on. All of them countries where the police and other authorities downplay or ignore the threat posed by far right terrorists, with death and destruction in their wake.