The BEST episodes of Channel 4 (UK) Documentaries season 2011
Every episode of Channel 4 (UK) Documentaries season 2011, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Channel 4 (UK) Documentaries season 2011!
Channel 4, in common with the other main British stations, airs a highly comprehensive range of programming. It was established in 1982 with a specific intention of providing programming to groups of minority interests, not catered for by its competitors, which at the time amounted to only the BBC and ITV.
#1 - Sri Lanka's Killing Fields
Season 2011 - Episode 9 - Aired 6/14/2011
Jon Snow presents a forensic investigation into the final weeks of the quarter-century-long civil war between the government of Sri Lanka and the secessionist rebels, the Tamil Tigers. With disturbing and distressing descriptions and film of executions, atrocities and the shelling of civilians the programme features devastating new video evidence of war crimes - some of the most horrific footage Channel 4 has ever broadcast. Captured on mobile phones, both by Tamils under attack and government soldiers as war trophies, the disturbing footage shows: the extra-judicial executions of prisoners; the aftermath of targeted shelling of civilian camps; and dead female Tamil fighters who appear to have been raped or sexually assaulted, abused and murdered.
#2 - The Real King's Speech
Season 2011 - Episode 3 - Aired 2/23/2011
The BAFTA and Oscar-nominated film The King's Speech has brought to the fore the inspiring story of King George VI's struggle to overcome his crippling stammer. Featuring interviews with former patients of therapist Lionel Logue, the film provides insight into the working relationship between Logue and his royal patient as well as looking at the methods and techniques he employed to 'cure' his patients. There are also interviews with leading historians of the King, Edward VIII, Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. Additionally the programme underlines the vital role of Queen Elizabeth, later the Queen Mother, in helping her husband overcome his disability. The programme contrasts King George VI's speeches with those of his brother, the former King Edward VIII, a natural performer. Both men in speaking publicly - one renouncing his throne, the other accepting it - had to conquer their own demons and reveal themselves in a way a King had never done before. Through these speeches the programme explores the relationships between the brothers and in turn their relationship with their father George V: the first King to speak on radio and television to his subjects. The film also pulls into focus a moment in British history that fused the issue of the King's stammer and the destiny of the monarchy; an emerging age of mass communications; of economic depression and global instability: a period of British history when the monarchy needed to show leadership and confidence but with a King who had to overcome a key physical limitation: his stammer.
#3 - Dambusters: Building the Bouncing Bomb
Season 2011 - Episode 6 - Aired 5/2/2011
In 1939, a visionary aircraft designer called Barnes Wallis had an idea. He would design a very special bomb that would bounce across water and destroy German dams. The raid in 1943 was a success and a 1950s feature film carried the the Dambusters story into British legend. The science behind the bouncing bomb is highly complex, and many of Barnes Wallis's vital working calculations have been lost. Cambridge engineer Dr Hugh Hunt sets out in an to attempt to solve this scientific puzzle. Starting from scratch, he rediscovers the brilliance of Wallis's achievement when he tries to hit a dam with a bouncing bomb. It is the first time this has been attempted since the war. Hugh will be assisted by dam engineers, explosives experts, mechanics and pilots who specialise in low altitude flying. A vintage Second World War aircraft is modified to carry a bomb the size of an oil drum.
#4 - Stephen Fry's 100 Greatest Gadgets
Season 2011 - Episode 17 - Aired 8/29/2011
In this brand new, one-off programme, British comedian, actor and gadget aficionado Stephen Fry chooses and presents his 100 all-time favourite gadgets. In a three-hour countdown, Stephen demonstrates his personal favourite devices and contraptions, all of which have revolutionised our individual and collective lives in some way. From the hi-tech to the historical, and the practical to the downright dumb, this countdown lifts the lid on some of mankind's most brilliant and wacky gadgets that we can no longer live without. Making the cut on Stephen's list are gadgets as diverse as their individual uses, from the tin opener, the trouser press and the answering machine to the apple peeler, the iron and the iPod. Fellow gadget enthusiasts interviewed include Charlie Brooker, Jo Brand, Jon Snow and Heston Blumenthal, who reveals a novel use for his favourite 80s gadget, the Soda Stream.
#5 - Hippo: Nature's Wild Feast
Season 2011 - Episode 23 - Aired 11/7/2011
A new high-tech natural history event, Hippo: The Wild Feast presents the most comprehensive illustration to date of nature's food chain in action. The programme, anchored live from Zambia's Luangwa Valley, shows the events of a fortnight as an entire ecological system including predators, scavengers, birds and insects consume the enormous carcass of an adult hippo. Located by a section of the Luangwa river, a prime location for some of the biggest predators in Zambia, the hippo has been in the sights of the notoriously vicious honey badger, leopards, lions, Nile crocodiles, hyenas, wild dogs, baboons, monitor lizards and marabou storks: known as the 'undertaker birds' and which use their 10-foot wingspan to swoop down and see off other smaller vultures. Presenter Mark Evans speaks to animal and entomology experts and local guides about the animals' behaviour and biological decomposition. With the potential for fierce showdowns between rivals for these vital calories, Evans explains the different eating mechanisms of the animals: from crocodiles, who use each other as leverage for a 'death roll' to twist off the meat, to marabou storks, who gulp down pounds of flesh, which they store in their gullets. The programme also features footage from the dens of predators, staked out by specialist wildlife cameramen
#6 - Ground Zero Mosque
Season 2011 - Episode 46 - Aired 9/9/2011
Bafta award-winning director Dan Reed (Dispatches: Terror in Mumbai) untangles the hysteria, fury and politics surrounding the ‘Mosque at Ground Zero'. His film explores how this proposed mosque and Islamic community centre, two blocks away from the site of the 9/11 attacks in lower Manhattan, has thrown into sharp focus the tensions at the core of American democracy regarding the country's Muslim population. With unique access to the major players in the project and the unfolding events, Ground Zero Mosque recounts the press frenzy surrounding the plans, the vitriolic attacks on its high-profile spiritual leader, Imam Feisal, the heartrending stories of some of the 9/11 families who oppose the building and reveals the driving force behind the mosque.
#7 - Japan's Tsunami: Caught On Camera
Season 2011 - Episode 30 - Aired 12/11/2011
Eyewitness accounts of the tsunami that devastated Japan in March 2011, captured by the people who kept filming as the cataclysmic events unfolded around them.
#8 - The Untold Tommy Cooper
Season 2011 - Episode 32 - Aired 12/28/2011
This one-off special looks at the untold life of British national treasure, comedian and magician Tommy Cooper. Drawing on details from the meticulous diaries of his life-long manager, Miff Ferrie, The Untold Tommy Cooper features previously unheard audio and unseen archive footage from Cooper's personal and professional life, including material never performed before. Fans as diverse as Johnny Vegas, Damien Hirst, Ozzy Osbourne, Sir Roger Moore, Alfred Molina and Reece Shearsmith talk about their love of Cooper, and voices never heard before - including the man who tried to save Cooper's life - reveal their stories and passion for this comedy giant. Includes footage of his sudden collapse and death on stage.
#9 - The Queen's Hidden Cousins
Season 2011 - Episode 26 - Aired 11/18/2011
The story of the Queen Mother's nieces Nerissa and Katherine Bowes-Lyon, who were born with learning difficulties more than 80 years ago and spent most of their lives in an institution. In 1963 Burke's Peerage wrongly stated that the two had died, but Nerissa survived until 1986 and Katherine is still alive, although there is no known record of them ever having been visited by any member of the Bowes-Lyon or royal families - despite the Queen Mother being a patron of Mencap.
#10 - The British Woman on Death Row
Season 2011 - Episode 28 - Aired 11/28/2011
Linda Carty was born on the Commonwealth island of St Kitts. She's awaiting execution in Texas: if she's killed, she'll be the first British woman to be executed since Ruth Ellis, over 50 years ago. In this moving documentary, film maker Steve Humphries goes in search of the real Linda Carty: who she is, where she came from, and how she ended up in arguably the worst place in the world, Death Row. Linda was convicted of capital murder in 2002 after it was alleged she was the mastermind behind a horrific crime. In May 2001, a criminal gang broke into the home of Linda's neighbours and abducted a young mother and her three-day-old baby boy. The next day the baby was found alive in one of Linda's cars, but his mother was found dead in another - she had been suffocated.
#11 - The Year The Earth Went Wild 2011
Season 2011 - Episode 31 - Aired 12/19/2011
With a record-breaking cold winter, the tsunami in Japan, the extraordinary killer American tornado season, the floods in Australia and a hurricane in New York, 2011 has seen an onslaught of epic-scale climate and geological events across the world, all caught on camera in the most spectacular fashion. Using eye-witness footage, interviews with survivors and rescuers and analysis from geological and weather specialists, this documentary charts the incredible natural events of a year where almost every month was affected by a natural disaster.
#12 - Japan's Tsunami: How It Happened
Season 2011 - Episode 4 - Aired 3/24/2011
On Friday 11 March 2011, an earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale triggered a tsunami that devastated parts of coastal Japan. Japan's Tsunami: How It Happened investigates the science behind the earthquake and tsunami. The programme follows Professor of Geological Sciences Roger Bilham as he sets off to view the devastation from the air.
#13 - London's Burning
Season 2011 - Episode 33 - Aired 11/29/2011
Set in Clapham Junction, London, London's Burning is a dramatic interpretation of a single night of rioting and looting that took place in August 2011. Starring David Morrissey (The Other Boleyn Girl, Red Riding, Nowhere Boy) and Samantha Bond (Goldeneye, Downton Abbey, Outnumbered) as senior police officers, London's Burning tells how residents, shopkeepers and businesses dealt with the violence.
#14 - Cannibals of the Stone Age
Season 2011 - Episode 34 - Aired 12/7/2011
In the German hamlet of Herxheim, archaeologists excavating a 7000-year-old mass grave of up to 1000 Stone Age people have concluded that the site was not a Neolithic graveyard, as previously assumed, but a killing field where hundreds of men, women and children met a grisly fate. Scholars now believe that Stone Age Europe was much more violent than previously thought, and some scientists believe the bodies in Herxheim were murdered, cooked and cannibalised in sacrificial rites that drew participants from hundreds of miles away. It's a possibility that calls into question much of what we thought we knew about civilisation, and forces us to face the fact that cannibalism and human sacrifice may be undeniable parts of our human history. This programme follows the investigations.
#15 - Graffiti Wars
Season 2011 - Episode 35 - Aired 8/14/2011
Graffiti - the work of mindless vandals or creative geniuses? To some it is art, to others it is a sign we've lost control of our cities. Since Roman times graffiti has been a form of anti-establishment rebellion. But today it is transcending social nuisance to gain cultural and artistic credibility, unprecedented prices at auction and even Presidential and Prime Ministerial approval. However, at street level a bitter war is being waged between graffiti writers, street artists and the authorities. While graffiti writers face trial and prison sentences for their art, some street artists' work is lauded and protected behind Perspex. This issue is at the heart of a graffiti war being fought on the streets of London between one of the founding fathers of the British graffiti scene and the most famous street artist in the world. In London over the past 18 months the tension between the camps has played out in a battle of spray cans between supporters of freehand graffiti writer King Robbo and those of his nemesis, the stencil-using street artist Banksy. The "graffiti war" between the two men began in the early 90's but was re-ignited by what was widely seen in some graffiti circles as an unforgiveable transgression of graffiti "rules" by Banksy. It was an act that pulled 80s legend King Robbo out of retirement to retaliate in the place where it all began, the streets. Directed and produced by Jane Preston, the film goes behind enemy lines as the war escalates - until tragic and unforeseen circumstances bring about an unexpected ceasefire.
#16 - Britain's Supreme Court
Season 2011 - Episode 36 - Aired 2/8/2011
This gripping, feature-length documentary charts the first year in the life of Britain's new Supreme Court - the highest court in the land. With unprecedented access the film meets the judges, lawyers and ordinary people whose cases will have a far-reaching effect on the everyday lives of others across the UK. For those bringing these high-profile cases to court there is a lot at stake, and the programme reveals their hopes and fears as they and their legal teams come face-to-face with the most powerful judges in the UK. The judges have allowed proceedings to be filmed and, uniquely, justice is seen unfolding as judges and lawyers - the finest legal minds in the country - debate key contemporary issues. See David and Goliath battles of individuals challenging the state, the outcomes of which help to define the nature of society today.
#17 - Iceman Murder Mystery
Season 2011 - Episode 37 - Aired 11/17/2011
Frozen for more than 5000 years on a remote mountain pass, Ötzi the Iceman now lies in a refrigerated tomb. He's a survivor from the Stone Age, bearing secrets of how humans lived nearly 1000 years before the pyramids. His mummified corpse pulled from a glacier in the Alps two decades ago has been probed by scientists for the last 20 years. Yet he's still a mystery waiting to be solved. Who was Ötzi? How did he die? Was it in battle? Or was he murdered? After two years of preparation, a risky autopsy against the clock overturns past theories. The Iceman's DNA and last meal surprise the experts. At last they come closer to understanding our ancient past and to solving this case of death in the Neolithic Age.
#18 - Britain's Most Fragile Treasure
Season 2011 - Episode 38 - Aired 10/12/2011
Britain’s Most Fragile Treasure sees historian Dr Janina Ramirez unlock the secrets of a centuries-old masterpiece in glass. At 78 feet in height, the Great East Window at York Minster, often referred to as England’s Sistine Chapel, is the largest medieval stained-glass window in the country, and it was the creative vision of a single craftsman, John Thornton, the foremost stained-glass artist of his time. The scale of John Thornton’s achievement is revealed as Dr Ramirez follows the work of the conservation team at York Glaziers Trust, who are restoring the Great East Window to its original glory. The programme promises a unique opportunity to examine John Thornton’s greatest work at close quarters, and to reveal exactly how medieval artists made images of such complexity using the simplest of tools. The Great East Window of York Minster is more than a work of artistic genius, it tells a story of the medieval world, preserved in the most fragile medium of all: glass.
#19 - We Need to Talk About Dad
Season 2011 - Episode 39 - Aired 11/21/2011
The Johnson family appeared to have it all after two decades of happy marriage: professional success, a beautiful house in Kent, flaxen-haired children... Locals jokingly referred to them as a 'Sunday Supplement Family'. But one day Nick told his wife he had a surprise for her, led her blind-folded into the garden, and committed an act of violence far worse than anything they could have imagined. Henry, who was just 16 at the time, became a witness to the crime. We Need to Talk About Dad meets the Johnsons as they reunite for Christmas, fulfilling the dreams of the youngest son Felix who - until now - has been sheltered from the events of that day. Henry's need to confront what happened sees each of them come face to face with the mystery of the attack, and the impact it has had on their lives.
#20 - Acoustic at the BBC
Season 2011 - Episode 40 - Aired 9/2/2011
A journey through some of the finest moments of acoustic guitar performances from the BBC archives, from Jimmy Page's television debut in 1958 to Oasis and Biffy Clyro. Other highlights include Neil Young's Heart of Gold, David Bowie's Starman, Donovan's Mellow Yellow, Joan Armatrading's Woncha Come on Home, Bert Jansch, Johnny Marr and Bernard Butler, and Joni Mitchell's Chelsea Morning.
#21 - Go Greek for a Week
Season 2011 - Episode 41 - Aired 11/7/2011
Three British families try out the tax, pensions and work practices that caused Greece's economic crisis and brought on the austerity measures aimed at cutting the deficit and qualifying for EU bailouts. A 54-year-old British hairdresser discovers the generosity of the Greek pensions system, which still allows hairdressers, pastry chefs, radio continuity announcers and people in almost 600 other jobs to retire aged 53 at 90% of the final pension because their jobs are defined as hazardous. A bus driver reaps the rewards of the Greek approach to state-run services, where bus drivers could be paid up to almost double the national average salary and receive extra bonuses for arriving at work early and for checking bus tickets. And a British surgeon is delighted to discover how paying income tax the Greek way will transform his disposable income. The personal experiences of the three main characters are supported by expert interviews that establish the patterns of tax evasion, corruption and mismanagement that have helped to sink the Greek economy.
#22 - True Stories - After The Apocalypse
Season 2011 - Episode 42 - Aired 7/19/2011
The story of the people of Semipalatinsk in Kazakhstan, where nuclear weapons tests during the Soviet era are thought to have caused genetic defects in a new generation. Local medical records now indicate one in 20 of the area's children is born with genetic defects, and the programme highlights the work of a maternity doctor piloting a genetic passport scheme aiming to reduce the chances of women with damaged genes getting pregnant
#23 - Jon Snow's 2011
Season 2011 - Episode 43 - Aired 11/3/2011
Jon Snow turns his eye and mind back to an extraordinary 12 months of news in Britain and abroad, and reflects on how his own life has changed in the past year. This is not a classic compendium of major events but a very personal recollection of the stories which mattered to Jon Snow. Some he witnessed first hand; like the fall of Mubarak or the aftermath of the Japanese Tsunami. Others he covered from the studios of Channel 4 News - but all left their mark on him and millions of others. For Jon personally 2011 was the year of the social network and the year of the bicycle. Both have become vital to his work and both seemed to take off in a big way. It's also a year when his own profession came under intense public scrutiny. And oh yes... It's the year he appeared on Desert Island Discs and received an honorary degree from Liverpool University 45 years after the same University threw him out for student activism. In this programme Jon bypasses the usual suspects - the politicians, commentators and diplomats - focussing instead on those directly affected or involved and talking in his own inimitable style to the people whose voices are not always heard when history is written. Building on his reputation for warm, frank and honest commentary, Jon Snow's 2011 does what it says on the tin and gives Channel 4 viewers a uniquely personal take on an extraordinary 12 months of British and world news.
#24 - The Elephant: Life After Death
Season 2011 - Episode 44 - Aired 2/16/2011
Elephants can live for seventy years. But what happens when one of these magnificent beasts dies in the wild? This stunning film turns normal wildlife documentaries on their head to find out what happens after death, as a five ton adult elephant is transformed into six million calories worth of fat, meat and guts, feeding a whole new cycle of life. The documentary gives scientists the chance to watch close up, day and night, as animals from leopards, hyenas and vultures, to flies and beetles, take just days to reduce the largest land animal on earth to bare bones. Biologist Simon watt leads a team of experts watching the events unfold in Tsavo West National Park in Kenya. They will be following the action as never before, using remote cameras and night vision equipment under the supervision of animal behaviour expert, Warren Samuels. The elephant, a young adult male, had to be put down by a vet after being mortally wounded by ivory poachers. But his remains will provide a feast for the local ecosystem and a new source of research. Raptor expert, Simon Thomsett, is keen to study the behaviour of local vultures, whose increasing timidity could mark a shift in the food chain. Meanwhile big cat expert Alayne Cotterill is treated to the incredibly rare sight of leopards feeding on the elephant and insect expert Dino Martins marvels as flies and maggots swarm across the body and attract other predators in their turn. The eye-opening documentary is a unique insight into a natural spectacle that reveals how life has adapted to reap the bounty of death.
#25 - Wallis Simpson: The Secret Letters
Season 2011 - Episode 45 - Aired 8/24/2011
Wallis Simpson was at the center of a national scandal when she was seen to ensnare Edward VIII and lure him from the throne. Recently discovered letters reveal her secret love and her fear as she found herself becoming trapped into marrying Edward VIII.