The Taking of Flight 847: The Uli Derickson Story is a taut drama moved chillingly along by Lindsay Wagner's compelling performance in the title role and punctuated by sporadic bloody violence. The made-for-NBC movie about the 1985 hijacking of a TWA flight from Athens will be broadcast at 9 p.m. today on Channel 24.

The TWA 727 was flying to Rome when two terrorists pulled out a gun and hand grenades and commandeered the aircraft. But it was a botched terrorist operation from the start, because a third hijacker was arrested at the gate in Athens. He was the only one of the three who spoke good English.

The two hijackers yelled their demands in Arabic and beat crew members. But it wasn't until German-born Derickson, the senior flight attendant, tried her native language that communication was established.
Derickson's ability to remain firm and fairly calm as the aircraft was ordered back and forth across the Mediterranean between Beirut and Algiers was credited later with saving passengers' lives. Through her direct intervention, several passengers were released and others were saved from beatings.

One life that wasn't saved was that of American sailor Robert Stethem, who was beaten repeatedly, then shot to death. His body was dumped onto the tarmac at the Beirut airport. The movie is dedicated to Stethem.

Wagner as Derickson plays her role with nice understatement. Derickson was a very competent flight attendant doing what she was trained to do, and that's the way Wagner approached the role.

Of course, what Derickson accomplished was more than simple competence. But Wagner avoids canonizing Derickson by her portrayal. Instead, the film as a whole establishes Derickson's qualifications for heroism.

Another fine performance was by Eli Danker, as the German-speaking hijacker, Castro. His looks alone are enough to scare the wits out of you. Add a gun and random beatings of crew members and passengers and you get a taste of what it must be like not knowing whether you'll survive the next minute.

The violence is not for the squeamish, but it seemed entirely appropriate to make the point that this was an act of terrorism.

The Taking of Flight 847 effectively avoids falling into a lot of traps. It could have made a Mother Theresa of Derickson. It could have relied most heavily on what we in the United States were getting from the media as we followed the odyssey. And it could have tried to provide a sympathetic portrait of misguided young men from Lebanon bent on avenging wrongful deaths. Instead, The Taking of Flight 847 adds a suspenseful dimension to what we already know about the hijacking and the people involved.

Lanny Larson, The Fresno Bee