shcirrone I really enjoyed this series. I think it gave a more sympathetic and detailed view of the Branch Davidians. But how is Gary Noesner getting away with inserting himself in the position it seems clear Byron Sage occupied. Many of the conversations purported to have gone on between Noesner and Koresh are conversations the world has already heard happen between SAGE and Koresh. Not Noesner. So while I did enjoy the acting and the story. It seemed to be a more fair example of the Davidians than that showed by other media, but very disappointing that Noesner clearly pretends to have done things he did not do. I have followed and watched many shows about Waco in the last 25 years and this series is the very first time I ever even heard of Noesner. And it's a fact that he was NOT at Waco for the whole 51 days of the siege. He was replaced by Clint Van Sandt after a few weeks. Very disappointing. And I wonder what Byron Sage thinks about it

David Silbergeld Fox News could not have created a more biased, propagandist, untruthful presentation than this. The major flaws of the ATF and FBI in this tragic event are widely known, as are some of the controversies including the dispute of where the first shots came from. But somehow in the first two episodes of plot development and buildup prior to the raid and subsequent standoff, an unbiased viewer would come away thinking David Koresh is a pretty good guy, and even that this cult is a welcoming and happy place. The failure of these two episodes to even suggest the rape of girls as young as 11, or the fear-filled environment that features regular physical abuse of children with paddles or neglect including denying children food for days on end - all of which is well documented, including even by the psychiatrist who assessed these children in the months after the disaster - is sinfully offensive to truth and reality.If you want to watch this show, with admittedly strong acting, do the world a favor and research the actual events and people involved first. Otherwise this is actually well enough done theatrically that it would dangerously warp your views of history. Nazi germany made propagandist pieces like this. If I could rank this with negative stars I would, not for lack of quality drama or theatrics, but for its absolute assault on the truth. The makers of this series should be ashamed.

TravLehn There is only one "problem" with this mini series and im going to start with that so its out of the way.. The problem is i think some viewers will interpret that this show is trying to defend david koresh and his actions... I dont believe this is the case i think by showing a more sane/normal viewpoint of david in the earlier episodes is just trying to humanize his character for the audience. The producers of this series want us, the viewers, to understand the point of view of the victims of waco. The point of view of david thibodeau (in my opinion). Because im assuming the point of view from thibodeau was that koresh was a decent man and "messiah". People who are in a cult are brainwashed and follow whatever the leader says no matter how ridiculous. A lot of the bad reviews on this site complain about how there is an agenda with this show to somehow normalize domestic assault and paint a picture of david koresh as some martyr..But personally i do not believe that was the case based on the previous paragraph. But after about episode 2 we start to see the true facts of the horrible heinous crimes that occurred at the mount carmel center. Episode 3 and episode 6 are pure television gold. If you weren't around back then to witness this atrocity this show will put you in a time machine back to february 28th, 1993. I rarely get emotional when watching a series such as this based on true crime ***SPOILER*** but when melissa benoist's character is stuck under the bus and shea whigham's character cannot get her out...that has got to be one of the saddest/darkest moments i have ever seen on television (especially for a basic cable series). This is a must see mini-series its more than worth the 5+ hours by a long shot.

orionuer The first thing I learnt from WACO is that the American FBI are evil, kidding, but seriously, as a non-American I was shook by their portrayal if the accounts of the mini-series are true. I have never understood the dynamics of a cult. I come from a third-world country, and I can understand that circumstances can lead anyone to the extremes. But joining a cult just seems extreme to me and nonsensical. What did David have on these people to make them join his cult? The men, why follow a leader who except for himself expects all men to stay celibate? Let us not even go into the pedophilia, case in point his youngest wife whose father was also a member of the cult. How does that happen?Also, how do these people make their money, I did see a scene with a Davidian member driving a taxi, but such earnings would not be enough to sustain a cult of over 100 members. Those poor ladies, imagine cooking and cleaning for such a huge group of people.If Americans can gas their own people, I pity foreigners who get themselves in trouble with the law there. Anyway I did enjoy the mini-series, it left me asking a lot of questions which is one of the ways I usually determine the enjoyability of anything I watch.