The BEST episodes of BBC Documentaries season 2017
Every episode of BBC Documentaries season 2017, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of BBC Documentaries season 2017!
Documentaries produced by or for the BBC.
#1 - Warren Gatland: Lion King?
Season 2017 - Episode 154 - Aired 6/19/2017
Warren Gatland has won nearly everything there is to win in his sport. But one thing has eluded him - he has never masterminded a victory over New Zealand, the country where he was born. Now in charge of theBritish and Irish Lions for the second time, he is set to take on one of his biggest challenges. A decade after he became the head coach of Wales, we find out what makes Gatland tick and how he has achieved such stunning success in his career.
#2 - Madame Tussaud: A Legend in Wax
Season 2017 - Episode 44 - Aired 2/23/2017
The remarkable true story of the woman behind the worldwide waxworks empire - Madame Tussaud. In an extraordinary life that spanned both the French and Industrial revolutions, this single mother and entrepreneur travelled across the Channel to England, where she overcame the odds to establish her remarkable and enduring brand. Determined to leave an account of who she was and the times she lived through, her memoirs, letters, and papers offer a unique insight into the creation of the extraordinary empire which bears her name.
#3 - Britain's Nuclear Bomb: The Inside Story
Season 2017 - Episode 110 - Aired 5/3/2017
In 1957, Britain exploded its first megaton hydrogen bomb - codenamed Operation Grapple X. It was the culmination of an extraordinary scientific project, which against almost insuperable odds turned Britain into a nuclear superpower. This is the inside story of how Britain got 'the bomb'. The BBC has been granted unprecedented access to the top-secret nuclear research facility at Aldermaston. The programme features interviews with veterans and scientists who took part in the atomic bomb programme, some speaking for the first time, and newly released footage of the British atomic bomb tests.
#4 - Frank Skinner on Muhammad Ali
Season 2017 - Episode 116 - Aired 6/1/2017
Frank Skinner goes on a journey to explore the life of boxing legend Muhammad Ali, meeting Ali's family and friends and visiting key locations in his life. To discover more about his idol, Frank travels around the UK and US, visiting key locations and people in Ali's life. In Ali's hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, he meets the neighbour who witnessed the teenage boxer's single-minded dedication to his craft. He meets Ali's younger brother Rahaman, a key figure in the boxer's entourage and his closest confidante, and Ali's wife Khalilah, who was alongside Ali during the turbulent years when he was banned from boxing for refusing to fight in Vietnam and which saw him become an icon of the civil rights movement. Frank pays a visit to Ali's training compound in Deer Lake, Pennsylvania, somewhere he has always longed to see. This is where Ali and his team prepared for one of his most famous fights of all time - the Rumble in the Jungle. From Ali's business manager, Gene Kilroy, Frank learns how Ali's unshakeable self-confidence and ability to manipulate the crowd were powerful weapons against his opponent George Foreman. He finds out what it was like behind the scenes in the Ali camp by talking to Ali's old sparring partner and friend Larry Holmes, who later faced him in the ring. Frank also delves into some of the lesser-known aspects of Ali's life, meeting the bare-knuckle boxer from an Oxfordshire council estate who became one of Ali's dearest friends and the actor who played alongside Ali in a little-known musical on Broadway.
#5 - Anthony Joshua: The Fight of My Life
Season 2017 - Episode 271 - Aired 10/18/2017
Documentary going behind the scenes of the boxing fight between Anthony Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko at Wembley Stadium on April 29 this year, where 90,000 fans witnessed Joshua defeating his opponent. Featuring exclusive access to Joshua's camp in the week leading up to the event and on the night itself, and Joshua himself reliving all the key action from the fight, describing what happened in the ring in intimate detail.
#6 - Harry Potter: A History of Magic
Season 2017 - Episode 278 - Aired 10/28/2017
It is 20 years since JK Rowling's Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone first cast its spell on readers across the globe. But Rowling's fantastical creation wasn't entirely make-believe. In the run up to the exhibition Harry Potter: A History of Magic, JK Rowling ventures behind the scenes of the British Library, revealing the real-life counterparts to her fantastical world. From shrieking mandrakes and Elizabethan invisibility spells to the mystery of ancient Chinese oracle bones and the real life search for the Philosopher's Stone, it is the start of a warm, playful and inventive journey round some of the most magical places in the land - from wizarding wandmakers in the English forest to the beguiling witchcraft of Boscastle, Cornwall. The film features readings by actors from the Harry Potter films, including David Thewlis, Evanna Lynch, Warwick Davis, Miriam Margolyes and Mark Williams, while Rowling's illustrator Jim Kay illuminates her imaginary world. Narrated by Imelda Staunton.
#7 - Saying Goodbye
Season 2017 - Episode 297 - Aired 11/14/2017
Every day in the UK over a hundred children face the death of their mum or dad. Behind this statistic are many untold and heart-rending stories. Saying Goodbye, a special film for BBC Children in Need, features a group of seven- to 17-year-olds who have been bereaved and a few who are facing the death of a parent. In their own words, these brave children share their heart-wrenching experiences and memories, with the aim of helping other young people who are facing a similar situation.
#8 - Ovid: The Poet and the Emperor
Season 2017 - Episode 298 - Aired 11/16/2017
Michael Wood explores the life, works and influence of one of the world's greatest storytellers who died 2,000 years ago. When an Elizabethan literary critic said that the witty soul of Ovid lived on in 'honey-tongued Shakespeare', they were just stating the obvious. Ovid, everyone knew, was simply the most clever, sexy and funny poet in the western tradition. His Metamorphoses, it has often been said, is the most influential secular book in European literature. Unique among ancient poets, Ovid left us an autobiography, full of riveting intimacy, as well as ironical and slippery self-justification. Using Ovid's own words, brought to life by one of Britain's leading actors, Simon Russell Beale, the film tells the story of the poet's fame, and his fateful falling out with the most powerful man in the world, the Roman emperor Augustus.
#9 - The Galaxy Britain Built
Season 2017 - Episode 323 - Aired 12/15/2017
The Galaxy Britain Built celebrates the British contribution to the original Star Wars. Presenter and Star Wars fan David Whiteley uncovers some never-before-heard stories from the geniuses who helped build the galaxy, from the costume designer and art director to the man who made the lightsabre. It was a time when science fiction films were not box office draws, and very few people in the industry believed in George Lucas's vision. But his first Star Wars film ended up being a very British endeavour. The programme documents the behind-the-scenes talent that helped bring the galaxy to life in the late 1970s. It also looks at how the British talent continues to be part of the Star Wars legacy to the present day.
#10 - Alan Partridge: Why, When, Where, How and Whom?
Season 2017 - Episode 343 - Aired 12/27/2017
It has been a quarter of a century since a little-known sports reporter was given his own radio chat show by the BBC. Two radio series, five TV series, four specials, two books and one movie later, Alan Partridge has an unrivalled place in the comedy pantheon. To celebrate Alan's return to his rightful home at the BBC in 2018, this retrospective documentary looks back at his journey from broadcaster caricature to the award-winning study of complexity and pathos that he has become. We hear from the man behind the man himself, Steve Coogan, as well as the acclaimed team that created him 25 years ago. That cohort of writers and performers would become some of the most celebrated and distinctive comic voices of their generation - Armando Iannucci, Patrick Marber, Peter Baynham, Rebecca Front, David Schneider and Doon Mackichan. Through interviews and a wealth of never-before-seen archive footage, including improv sessions, rehearsals and unseen outtakes, a light is shone on the genesis of the character. This is a richly textured account of the craft involved in that early development and the ongoing story of how, through Coogan's virtuoso performance, Alan remains one of the most beloved comic creations of the last few decades. The programme also features discussions with some of the best-loved characters in Alan's world - the likes of Felicity Montagu (Lynn), Simon Greenall (Michael), Sally Phillips (Sophie the receptionist), Phil Cornwell (Dave Clifton) and Tim Key (Sidekick Simon). And we hear from writers and directors Neil and Rob Gibbons, who inherited the Partridge mantle and, alongside Coogan, have taken the character to new heights, finding in each incarnation different ways of exploring Alan while being faithful to the character's legacy. Through all these voices, archive material and iconic clips from the shows themselves, the show explores Alan's unprecedented cultural influence, his impact on the comedy landscape and how the most entertainingly con
#11 - Francis Bacon: A Brush with Violence
Season 2017 - Episode 20 - Aired 1/28/2017
Francis Bacon was the loudest, rudest, drunkest, most sought after British artist of the 20th century. 25 years after his death, his canvases regularly exceed £40million at auction. Bacon's appeal is rooted in his notoriety - a candid image he presented of himself as Roaring Boy, Lord of Misrule and Conveyor of Artistic Violence. This was true enough, but only part of the truth. He carefully cultivated the facade, protecting the complex and haunted man behind the myth. In this unique, compelling film, those who knew him speak freely, some for the first time, to reveal the many mysteries of Francis Bacon.
#12 - Frank Lloyd Wright: The Man Who Built America
Season 2017 - Episode 223 - Aired 8/26/2017
Frank Lloyd Wright is probably America's greatest ever architect. But few people know about the Welsh roots that shaped his life and world-famous buildings. Now, leading Welsh architect Jonathan Adams sets off across America to explore Frank Lloyd Wright's masterpieces for himself. Along the way, he uncovers the tempestuous life story of the man behind them and the secrets of his radical Welsh background. In a career spanning seven decades, Frank Lloyd Wright built over 500 buildings and changed the face of modern architecture. Fallingwater, the house over the waterfall, has been called the greatest house of the 20th century. The spiralling Guggenheim Museum in New York reinvented the art museum. Wright's Welsh mother was born and raised near Llandysul in west Wales, and emigrated to America with her family in 1844. Her son Frank was raised in a Unitarian community in Wisconsin. The values he absorbed there were based on a love of nature, the importance of hard work and the need to question convention and defy it where necessary. Wright's architecture was shaped by these beliefs. He built his lifelong home in the valley he was raised in, and he named it after an ancient Welsh bard - Taliesin. It was the scene of many adventures and of a horrific crime. In 1914, a servant at Taliesin ran amok and killed seven people. They included Wright's partner Mamah Cheney and her two young children. 150 years after his birth, Adams argues that Frank Lloyd Wright is now a vitally important figure who can teach us how to build for a better world. Wright's belief in what he called organic architecture - buildings that grace the landscape and respond to people's individual needs - is more relevant than ever, in Wales and around the world.
#13 - Venus Uncovered: Ancient Goddess of Love
Season 2017 - Episode 296 - Aired 11/15/2017
In 1914, the suffragette Mary Richardson attacked the Rokeby Venus at the National Gallery in London. But why did this painting fire such outrage? Professor Bettany Hughes embarks on a voyage of discovery to reveal the truth behind the Venus depicted in the painting, proving that this mythological figure is so much more than just an excuse for sensual nudity and chocolate-box romance. Because Venus Uncovered is the remarkable story of one of antiquity's most potent forces. And more than that - hers is the story of human desire, and how desire transforms who we are and how we behave.
#14 - Hokusai: Old Man Crazy to Paint
Season 2017 - Episode 164 - Aired 6/27/2017
The first UK film biography of the world-renowned Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849), whose print The Great Wave is as globally famous as Leonardo's Mona Lisa. With Andy Serkis reading the voice of Hokusai, the film features artists David Hockney and Maggi Hambling, and passionate scholars who study, admire and venerate this great Japanese master. The film focuses on Hokusai's work, life and times in the great, bustling metropolis of Edo, now modern Tokyo. Using extraordinary close-ups and pioneering 8K Ultra HD video technology, Hokusai's prints and paintings are examined by world experts. In the process they reveal new interpretations of famous works and convey the full extent of Hokusai's extraordinary achievement as a great world artist. Hokusai spent his life studying and celebrating our common humanity as well as deeply exploring the natural and spiritual worlds, using the famous volcano Mount Fuji as a protective presence and potential source of immortality. He knew much personal tragedy, was struck by lightning and lived for years in poverty, but never gave up his constant striving for perfection in his art. Hokusai influenced Monet, Van Gogh and other Impressionists, is the father of manga and has his own Great Wave emoji
#15 - Are There Fascists Next Door?
Season 2017 - Episode 219 - Aired 5/8/2017
Anti-immigrant? Islamophobic? Homophobic? Anti-semitic? We meet the young people in France campaigning for the far right, as well as those opposed. How did Front National become a popular party amongst French millennials, and could the far right ever win the popular youth vote in Britain?
#16 - The Galaxy Britain Built: Droids, Darth Vader and Lightsabers
Season 2017 - Episode 335 - Aired 12/21/2017
The Galaxy Britain Built: Droids, Darth Vader and Lightsabers celebrates the British contribution to the original Star Wars. This is a longer (60-minute) version of The Galaxy Britain Built, shown on 15 December 2017. Presenter and Star Wars fan David Whiteley uncovers some never-before-heard stories from the geniuses who helped build the galaxy, from the costume designer and art director to the man who made the lightsaber. It was a time when science fiction films were not box office draws, and very few people in the industry believed in George Lucas's vision. But his first Star Wars film ended up being a very British endeavour. The programme documents the behind-the-scenes talent that helped bring the galaxy to life in the late 1970s. It also looks at how the British talent continues to be part of the Star Wars legacy to the present day.
#17 - Saturday Night Fever - The Ultimate Disco Movie
Season 2017 - Episode 332 - Aired 12/23/2017
John Travolta and Barry Gibb star in Saturday Night Fever - The Ultimate Disco Movie, with Bruno Tonioli. This documentary celebrates the fortieth anniversary of the 1977 blockbuster dance movie, and sees Strictly Come Dancing's Bruno, who was a young dancer in New York in 1977, walk us through the steps that made the movie legendary. He also revisits the streets of New York where the film was shot and looks back at the success of a film that gave everyone disco fever. Travolta, Gibb and other members of the cast and crew give gripping accounts of supreme success against a backdrop of setbacks and unexpected twists and turns. Bruno unpacks the skill, athleticism and dedication of Travolta, whose incandescent performance prompted a disco dance craze. We also hear about the potent influence of impresario Robert Stigwood, whose faith in Travolta and a group who had hit a glitch in their career - The Bee Gees, proved visionary. With clips from the original movie as well as astonishing access to those involved and rarely seen on-location archive, this programme retells the nail-biting evolution of a groundbreaking US film that originated in the work of a British journalist, saw a director fired, suffered mafia threats, filmed guerrilla style on the streets of Brooklyn, had a newcomer cast, benefited from disco hits written in a weekend and delivered a white suit and a performance from the man who wore it that have gone down in history. Other interviewees include actors Karen Lynn Gorney, Donna Pesco, Joseph Cali and Paul Pape, producer Kevin McCormick, former head of RSO records Bill Oakes, writer Nik Cohn, director John Badham, dance instructor Denney Terrio, costume designer Patricia von Brandenstein and location manager Lloyd Kaufman.
#18 - The Search For A New Earth
Season 2017 - Episode 232 - Aired 9/11/2017
Professor Stephen Hawking thinks the human species will have to populate a new planet within 100 years if it is to survive. With climate change, pollution, deforestation, pandemics and population growth, our own planet is becoming increasingly precarious. Planet Earth has been home to humankind for over 200,000 years, but with a population of 7.5 billion and counting and limited resources, this planet might not support us forever. In this landmark film Professor Hawking, alongside engineer and radio astronomy expert Professor Danielle George and a former student, Christophe Galfard, join forces to find out if, and how, humans can reach for the stars and relocate to different planets. Travelling the globe, they meet top scientists, technologists and engineers who are working to answer our biggest questions: is there another planet out there that we could call home? How will we travel across the vast distances of space to get there? How will we survive the journey? And how will we set up a new human civilization on an alien world? Taking in the latest advances in astronomy, biology and rocket technology from the Atacama Desert to the wilds of the Arctic, viewers will discover a whole world of cutting edge research. This programme shows that Professor Hawking’s ambition isn’t as fantastical as it sounds - and that science fiction is closer to science fact than we ever thought.
#19 - How To Holiday Better
Season 2017 - Episode 177 - Aired 7/9/2017
Two sets of holidaymakers entrust Cherry Healey and Ade Adepitan to book a getaway on their behalf. Using cheats and tips from top travel experts, the team reveal easy ways to up the scale and ambition of the trip without having to pay more. Meanwhile, Richard Madeley shows us how to beat the tourist traps and get the most out of Venice, one of his favourite cities, and Steph McGovern explores Oman to see what this up-and-coming destination can offer British tourists
#20 - Rock 'n' Roll Guns for Hire: The Story of the Sideman
Season 2017 - Episode 174 - Aired 7/7/2017
Film shining a spotlight on the untold story of The Sidemen, the musicians behind some of the greatest artists of all time. The Sidemen are the forgotten 'guns for hire' that changed musical history. Featuring interviews with Mick Jagger, Billy Joel and Keith Richards, this film takes viewers from the 1960s to today, via global stars such as Prince, David Bowie, The Rolling Stones and Beyoncé.
#21 - Ryan Gander: The Idea of Japan
Season 2017 - Episode 148 - Aired 6/13/2017
Ryan Gander OBE is a leading conceptual artist. He creates artworks full of symbolic meaning - images, sculpture, installations and films that may appear to be about one thing, but contain further messages for the thoughtful. And this, he believes, is why he is "big in Japan." Ryan believes he is appreciated there because the country has a highly sophisticated visual culture, expressed through images and symbols that broadcast cultural messages to the world, as well as to the Japanese themselves. The geisha and the samurai are obvious examples; bullet train, tattoo art, and Tokyo street style are less so.
#22 - Gravity and Me: The Force that Shapes Our Lives
Season 2017 - Episode 73 - Aired 3/28/2017
Physics professor Jim Al-Khalili investigates the amazing science of gravity. A fundamental force of nature, gravity shapes our entire universe, sculpting galaxies and warping space and time. But gravity's strange powers, discovered by Albert Einstein, also affect our daily lives in the most unexpected ways. As Jim tells the story of gravity, it challenges his own understanding of the nature of reality. The science of gravity includes the greatest advances in physics, and Jim recreates groundbreaking experiments in gravity including when the Italian genius Galileo first worked out how to measure it. Gravity science is still full of surprises and Jim investigates the latest breakthrough - 'gravity waves' - ripples in the vast emptiness of space. He also finds out from astronauts what it's like to live without gravity. But gravity also directly affects all of us very personally - making a difference to our weight, height, posture and even the rate at which we age. With the help of volunteers and scientists, Jim sets out to find where in Britain gravity is weakest and so where we weigh the least. He also helps design a smartphone app that volunteers use to demonstrate how gravity affects time and makes us age at slightly different rates. And finally, Jim discovers that despite incredible progress, gravity has many secrets.
#23 - The Cult Next Door
Season 2017 - Episode 15 - Aired 1/26/2017
This documentary by acclaimed director Vanessa Engle tells the extraordinary story of a strange cult, which came to light in 2013 when a sensational news story broke about three women emerging from a small flat in Brixton in south London after decades in captivity. Tracing the group back to its roots in the 1970s, the film describes how its leader Aravindan Balakrishnan, a student of Indian origin, believed in an international communist revolution and created a tiny political sect that followed the teachings of China's Chairman Mao. The film features exclusive interviews with two of the women who escaped - Aisha Wahab, a 72-year-old Malaysian woman who was part of Balakrishnan's group for 40 years, and Katy Morgan-Davies, Balakrishnan's daughter, who was born and raised in captivity. The film documents how this left-wing collective evolved into a bizarre pseudo-religious cult, where members were controlled, threatened and brainwashed so that they were too terrified to leave.
#24 - City Boy Fight Club
Season 2017 - Episode 34 - Aired 2/20/2017
Unregulated and brutal, the subculture of white collar boxing has exploded in Britain over the last five years. We follow city boys Josh and Challon, prime examples of the successful, young and angry men who choose the ring to expel the frustrations and stress of modern life. In this film, they square up to each other for the second time in a bitter rematch.
#25 - The Lake District: A Wild Year
Season 2017 - Episode 32 - Aired 2/17/2017
For the wildlife and people who live amongst the epic scenery of the Lake District, life is one of continuous change. Cutting-edge camera techniques give a new and unique perspective on a turbulent year in the life of England's largest national park. Time-lapse photography shows months and weeks passing in seconds - snow and ice giving way to sunshine or the frequent rain showers - whilst the animals, plants and people find extraordinary ways to cope with the challenges of this stunning, ancient landscape.