The BEST episodes of Channel 4 (UK) Documentaries season 2007

#1 - The Great Global Warming Swindle

Season 2007 - Episode 4 - Aired 3/8/2007

This film by the documentary-maker Martin Durkin presents the arguments of scientists and commentators who don't believe that CO2 produced by human activity is the main cause of climate change. It's a controversial film that was roundly attacked by some scientists and enthusiastically received by others, and the arguments it contains are an important part of the wider debate on the causes of climate change. The film was shortlisted for the Best Documentary award at the 2008 Broadcast Awards.

#2 - Nazi Pop Twins

Season 2007 - Episode 40 - Aired 7/19/2007

Filmmaker James Quinn investigates the controversial American pop band Prussian Blue, who are fronted by teenage twin girls. They have made headlines around the world with their white nationalist lyrics and have been associated with neo-Nazism.

#3 - Folk Hibernia

Season 2007 - Episode 29 - Aired 1/19/2007

Documentary which looks at the Irish folk revival of the last 20 or 30 years. 60 years ago virtually unheard abroad and largely unloved at home, Irish music has given the world a sense of Ireland and Ireland a sense of itself, as the country has risen from an impoverished post-colonial upstart to a modern European power. Contributors include Christy Moore, Paddy Moloney of The Chieftains, Ronnie Drew of The Dubliners, Liam Clancy of The Clancy Brothers and Shane MacGowan of The Pogues.

#4 - Lie Lab: Tourist or Terrorist

Season 2007 - Episode 30 - Aired 6/2/2007

Ruhal Ahmed and Shafiq Rasul became known as the Tipton Taliban after they were picked up by US forces in Afghanistan and spent two years in Guantanamo Bay. They were accused, along with a friend, of having had weapons training with the Taliban, meeting senior Al-Qaeda figures and taking part in the Islamist terror war against the United States. They protested their innocence and, after they were released without charge in 2004, claimed that they had been tortured during their incarceration. But the pair are plagued by suspicious looks and whisperings of 'no smoke without fire'. They have volunteered to have Professor Sean Spence test them to prove their innocence. What were they doing in Afghanistan? Why did they visit a Taliban stronghold? And why were they with Taliban fighters when they were captured? When they answer these questions in the scanner, the technology doesn't quite give them the response they had hoped for. The Tipton Taliban were the subject of 'The Road to Guantanamo'; a Michael Winterbottom docudrama which was broadcast by Channel 4 in 2006.

#5 - Lie Lab: Poisoner or Protector?

Season 2007 - Episode 31 - Aired 6/9/2007

A woman convicted of poisoning a child undergoes the latest lie tests in an attempt to clear her name. Susan Hamilton was sentenced to four years in prison for poisoning the little girl, who cannot be identified for legal reasons. She has always protested her innocence and hopes to appeal against her conviction. The child had been diagnosed with a terminal metabolic condition. To help her grow and develop she had been fitted with a feeding tube and Susan managed her feeding regime. However, the child was admitted to hospital with massive blood sodium levels, and suspicion fell upon Susan. Had she added salt to the little girl's feeding tube? The police testified that a syringe full of salt was found in Susan's kitchen. Susan denies any knowledge of it. Will the lie detector help Susan to clear her name, or finally prove her guilt?

#6 - Lie Lab: Kathy's Story: Fact or Fiction?

Season 2007 - Episode 32 - Aired 6/16/2007

In the last film of the Lie Lab series, Kathy O'Beirne alleges that she was physically abused by her father; raped at the age of 6 by an older boy; raped again at age 8, this time by a Catholic priest; and raped for a third time when she was 13, by a volunteer worker. Kathy's memoir tells the tale of a horrifically abused child and has become a best-selling book. Her brothers and sisters refute her claims completely, going as far as to suggest that Kathy's book be sold as fiction, instead of autobiography. Who is telling the truth? Professor Sean Spence, who has pioneered the use of functional magnetic resonance imaging to detect when someone is lying, scans Kathy and her brother while they respond to each other's allegations. Can Kathy back up the claims she made in her autobiography? Will her brother's testimony reveal that she is lying?

#7 - The Great global warming swindle (extras)

Season 2007 - Episode 53 - Aired 3/8/2007

#8 - Making the Monkees

Season 2007 - Episode 33 - Aired 6/3/2007

In 1967, four unknown actors in a kids TV show become the biggest pop band in the world. In America they outsold Elvis and The Beatles combined. They were...The Monkees. But The Monkees were not a real band, they were a man-made money-making machine, driven by ego and ambition, a machine that would ultimately crash and burn. This is the inside story of pop music's first manufactured band. Labelled the pre-fab four, The Monkees were the first manufactured pop group. And with the radical TV show and contagious pop songs, they attracted a cult following that survives to this day. But behind the sugary smiles and bubblegum pop of The Monkees lay a cut-throat business enterprise, one fuelled by money, ego and the ambition of some of the biggest names in Hollywood. And one that, ultimately, was to end in tears. With access to Davy Jones, Peter Tork and Micky Dolenz as well as The Monkees archive, Making The Monkees is the inside story of the rise and fall of this unlikely group. It is the story of four young men who were hand picked to become overnight superstars melting the hearts of teeny-boppers worldwide and lining the pockets of their creators. But it's also the story of how The Monkees - and the men who pulled their strings - created the blueprint for the boy-band phenomenon that is so prevalent today - from the prototype casting and marketing, to the inevitable tantrums over artistic control and the ensuing commercial failure.

#9 - The World's Most Offensive Joke

Season 2007 - Episode 34 - Aired 5/9/2007

A look at the tasteless jokes comedians tell and the controversy they cause.

#10 - The Smallest People in the World

Season 2007 - Episode 35 - Aired 1/29/2007

This film from acclaimed documentary maker Jane Treays chronicles the moving story of five remarkable American children who are primordial dwarfs, the smallest type of dwarf in the world

#11 - Tourette de France

Season 2007 - Episode 36 - Aired 1/12/2007

Keith Allen teams up with a group of teenage tourette sufferers and takes them on a trip to France to find out more about the condition.

#12 - The Seven Sins of England

Season 2007 - Episode 37 - Aired 5/8/2007

#13 - Hitler: The Comedy Years

Season 2007 - Episode 38 - Aired 5/10/2007

Jacques Peretti's documentary about the portrayal of Adolf Hitler in popular culture.

#14 - Michael Jackson: What Really Happened

Season 2007 - Episode 39 - Aired 10/24/2007

On a mission to extract reality from rumour, investigative journalist Jacques Peretti picks apart the most sensational high-profile scandals of recent years

#15 - The Secret Life of Brian

Season 2007 - Episode 27 - Aired 1/1/2007

#16 - Desperate Virgins

Season 2007 - Episode 41 - Aired 4/21/2007

Documentary following three people over the age of 25 who are determined to lose their virginity.

#17 - Channel 4 at 25

Season 2007 - Episode 42 - Aired 9/30/2007

Documentary celebrating 25 years of Channel 4.

#18 - Inside Waco

Season 2007 - Episode 43 - Aired 2/1/2007

Documentary revealing the truth behind the bloody 51-day siege in Waco, Texas in 1993, with dramatic reconstruction, first-person testimony, FBI recordings and home video footage.

#19 - The Hidden Story of Jesus

Season 2007 - Episode 44 - Aired 12/25/2007

The Hindu god, Krishna, was conceived by a virgin and his birth was attended by angels, wise men and shepherds. Buddha was also the result of a miraculous birth, and was visited by wise men bearing gifts. He too began his ministry at about 30 years old and performed such miracles as walking on water and feeding 500. Some people in India believe that Jesus did not die on the cross but escaped from Roman Palestine and ended up in Kashmir. There, they say, he continued to preach, had a wife and child, and later died and was buried. Jesus was, of course, born a Jew, and Christians believe he is the Messiah prophesied in the Torah – the Old Testament, which is the holy scripture of the Jews. Meanwhile Muslims revere Jesus as a prophet but do not believe he died on the cross; instead, according to Islam, God saved him and took him up to heaven, and he will return and be buried next to Muhammed. In this Channel 4 Christmas Day programme, Robert Beckford attempts to unravel the mystery of why there are so many versions of the Christ story across the world and asks which is the real one, and where this leaves the Christian story and his own belief in Jesus.

#20 - Once Upon a Time in Iran

Season 2007 - Episode 45 - Aired 2/22/2007

he 2007 documentary by Channel 4 about the ideology behind Iranian Shiism. The role of Imam Hussein and Islam among the Iranian people, the struggle between good and evil in contemporary politics and society viewed through the historical glasses of the tragic Karbala incident. Iranian pilgrims visit the tomb of Imam Hussein that tells their own hidden stories. Channel 4 attempts to reveal the mysterious martyrdom culture of Iranians to the British public. A steady drumbeat of leaks suggests that the US and/or Israel may attack Iran sometime over the coming months. Once Upon a Time in Iran is a road movie featuring pilgrims and presidents: a journey to the spiritual heartlands of the Iranian people and a tale of martyrdom that defines their view of aggressors and the outside world.

#21 - Hitler's Favourite Royal

Season 2007 - Episode 46 - Aired 12/6/2007

Hitler's Favourite Royal is the extraordinary but little known royal story of the British prince who became a convicted Nazi. Prince Charles Edward was Queen Victoria's youngest grandchild. Brought up at Claremont House and educated at Eton until he was 14, Charles Edward was forced by Queen Victoria to take up the Dukedom of Coburg in Germany after a series of unexpected deaths of uncles and cousins. Transformed overnight from a British Prince to a German Duke, the course of his life was altered in ways he could never have imagined as he found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. Narrated by Oscar-winner Tilda Swinton Hitler's Favourite Royal features interviews with one of the Duke's grand-daughters who had never spoken publicly about him before.

#22 - Roy `Chubby` Brown - Britain's Rudest Comedian

Season 2007 - Episode 47 - Aired 5/8/2007

The country's crudest comic opens the door to his shocking world. This one-hour observational documentary follows Roy as he tours the country. Royston Vasey, a.k.a. Roy 'Chubby' Brown, is Britain's rudest comedian, infamous for his outrageously racist, sexist and homophobic gags. It's an accolade that's meant he's never been allowed to perform on TV. But this has turned out to be more of a blessing than a curse as he's done very well for himself off the back of his army of fans buying his videos, DVDs, audio cassettes and show tickets. But how different is Roy Vasey from his stage persona 'Chubby' Brown? Film maker Will Yapp follows him around for a few months in 2005 and attempts to find out, following Roy as he goes on tour, re-visits his home town of Middlesborough, shares his family life and prepares for his first appearance on TV in 18 years on The Frank Skinner Show. Are the bigoted, offensive jokes he tells on stage just his act or personal views with a nastier edge to them?

#23 - Beginner's Guide To Voodoo

Season 2007 - Episode 48 - Aired 10/18/2007

aka A Washed Up Celebrity Celebrity’s Guide to Attaining Spiritual, and more importantly, Celebrity Redemption… With Preston From Celebrity Big Brother

#24 - My Big Fat Moonie Wedding

Season 2007 - Episode 49 - Aired 12/5/2007

Catching up with the lives some of the members of Religious cult, the Unification Church who participated in a mass wedding in which 4,000 people married total strangers.

#25 - Make Me a Virgin

Season 2007 - Episode 50 - Aired 5/16/2007

Filmmaker Jamie Campbell is hired to make a promotional for the British Silver Ring Thing organization. During this time he learns about why Christians are taking the vow abstinence (both in the UK and America) and the potential problems it can cause.