In the Line of Duty: Ambush in Waco
In the Line of Duty: Ambush in Waco is a 1993 American made-for-television action drama film starring Tim Daly that aired on NBC on May 23, 1993. Synopsis. The film portrays the events leading up to and at the start of the Waco siege. Production. Filming took place in the Tulsa, Oklahoma area. Reception. Todd Everett of "Variety.com" noted that, even though it was already being filmed during the actual series of events, the film is "an engrossing affair, with no signs of hasty production". John O'Connor of "The New  York Times" also noted the rapid production of the film that aired "little more than a month after the Texas fire that claimed the lives of David Koresh and 71 other people" and determined that "the elapsed time between news story and television docudrama grows ever shorter as networks scramble to exploit a seemingly inexhaustible based-on-fact marketplace." Due to this fact, Howard Rosenberg of the "Los Angeles Times" points out that the film does not focus on the final storming of the compound on April 19 but rather "the initial storming of the Mt. Carmel compound 51 days  earlier" and concludes that "Phil Penningroth's script provides a rationale not only for the initial assault but also for the more controversial one on April 19 that resulted in mass deaths". Penningroth's regret. Screenplay writer Phil Penningroth has regretted his involvement with this telefilm in the years since its premiere, expressing his feelings in an August 2001 article he wrote for the online magazine "Killing the Buddha".