The WORST episodes of Storyville
Every episode of Storyville ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of Storyville!
Storyville has developed an enviable reputation since it was launched by the BBC in 1997 as a showcase for the best in international documentaries. Screening over 340 films, from some 70 different countries, the strand has garnered a staggering array of awards: five Oscars, 15 Griersons, three Peabodys and two International Emmys.
#1 - Genocide, the Judgement
Season 2000 - Episode 3 - Aired 7/2/2000
Jean Paul Akayesu , once the respected mayor of his village in Rwanda, is brought in front of the UN International Criminal Tribunal. He faces a charge of genocide, perpetrated against his neighbours, and is convicted. This film tells the painful story that leads to his conviction, the first in an international court for genocide and crimes against humanity. Contains video footage that viewers may find upsetting.
#2 - An American Love Story (Part 3): It's Another New Year and I Ain't Gone
Season 1999 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/1/1999
The family celebrate Christmas, but Cicily contracts malaria.
#3 - An American Love Story (Part 4): Chaney and the Boy
Season 1999 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/2/1999
Chaney introduces her first boyfriend to Bill and Karen. Is she too young for romantic matters?
#4 - An American Love Story (Part 5): True Love
Season 1999 - Episode 10 - Aired 11/3/1999
The family faces a crisis when Karen is admitted into hospital for a hysterectomy.
#5 - An American Love Story (Part 6): It's My Job
Season 1999 - Episode 11 - Aired 11/4/1999
Bill struggles to overcome his drink problem, while daughter Cicily - now a graduate - begins her search for a job.
#6 - An American Love Story (Part 7): We Were Never Ozzie and Harriet
Season 1999 - Episode 12 - Aired 11/5/1999
In the conclusion to the series, Bill and Karen reflect on their courtship period during the 1960s.
#7 - Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows
Season 1999 - Episode 13 - Aired 11/6/1999
Canadian grappler Bret "the Hitman" Hart became a huge attraction on US cable TV, his "tough but nice" persona securing him a $9m deal. But, when he refused to compromise his image for the sake of commercial interests, he faced the end of his career. Paul Jay's acclaimed film follows Hart for a year and explores the reality behind the theatre of wrestling.
#8 - A Cry from the Grave
Season 1999 - Episode 14 - Aired 11/27/1999
Under the eyes of the United Nations, troops of the Bosnian Serb army massacred over 7,000 men from the town of Srebrenica in the summer of 1995. Leslie Woodhead 's film is the result of a year-long investigation into the killing and the aftermath of Europe's worst massacre since the Second World War.
#9 - Grey Gardens
Season 1999 - Episode 15 - Aired 12/11/1999
Despite their aristocratic background - and the fact that they were aunt and cousin to Jackie Onassis - Edith Bouvier Beale and daughter Edie lived in anonymity in a decaying mansion on New York's Long Island. But, in 1976, when Albert and David Maysies's film appeared in US cinemas, it gave the pair the fame they longed for - and the public a glimpse into the interdependency and private language of their eccentric lives.
#10 - Out of Phoenix Bridge
Season 1999 - Episode 16 - Aired 12/21/1999
For Ah Feng, Jialing, Xiazi and Ziao, their years working as maids while sharing a room in a Beijing slum may be the freest of their lives. In their rural home of Phoenix Bridge, the young Chinese women were under their parents' control; on their return, they will belong to new husbands. Struggling against harassment, they remain intent on achieving their dream: a metropolitan life.
#11 - The Last Cigarette
Season 2000 - Episode 1 - Aired 2/26/2000
A look at America's love-hate relationship with cigarettes over the course of the century.
#12 - My Best Fiend
Season 2000 - Episode 2 - Aired 3/18/2000
Biographical documentary directed by Werner Herzog, about his turbulent relationship with long-time collaborator Klaus Kinski. Herzog recalls the actor's brilliant yet troubled personality, and revisits Peru, where the pair first worked together on "Aguirre, Wrath of God".
#13 - An American Love Story (Part 2): I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up
Season 1999 - Episode 7 - Aired 10/31/1999
Daughter Cicily travels to Nigeria to spend a term with a group of students.
#14 - One Day in September
Season 2000 - Episode 4 - Aired 9/5/2000
Oscar-winning documentary recounting the events of the Munich Olympics hostage crisis. On 5 September 1972, 12 Israeli athletes are taken hostage by Palestinian terrorists in Munich's Olympic village. As attempts at negotiation flounder, the authorities prepare to launch a rescue bid. But their efforts will lead to tragedy. Narrated by Michael Douglas.
#15 - Norman Mailer - Oh My America (Part 1): Farewell to the Fifties
Season 2000 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/11/2000
The first of a two-part programme in which writer Norman Mailer profiles life in America since the Second World War. Mailer fought for his country in the Second World War - an experience that inspired his novel "The Naked and the Dead" - but, disappointed by post-war America, he grew to despise the 1950s.
#16 - Norman Mailer - Oh My America (Part 2): Beyond the Revolution
Season 2000 - Episode 6 - Aired 10/12/2000
In this second and final episode, writer and social critic Norman Mailer describes the revolution in attitudes during the 1960s, the impact of the Vietnam war, and the Reagan and Clinton years.
#17 - Donald and Luba
Season 2000 - Episode 7 - Aired 12/22/2000
Film-maker Don Boyd's parents were an unlikely couple. His mother, the youngest of 12 children, was born into a poverty-stricken Ukrainian family in China. His father Donald grew up in the death throes of the British Empire, with all the trappings of colonial wealth. Their meeting in Shanghai heralded a strange and tumultuous relationship. Don Boyd charts the truth about his parents as he travels around the world following the course of their lives.
#18 - I Loved You
Season 2001 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/2/2001
Award-winning film-maker Viktor Kossakovsky examines the nature of human love in three stories which together look at his mentors, a shot-gun wedding outside Moscow, and the relationship of two St Petersburg kindergarten children.
#19 - Black and White in Colour
Season 2001 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/4/2001
Documentary focusing on Vera Bila, the most successful Romany singer in Europe. Born in Slovakia, she travels around Europe in search of places to perform, all the while awaiting her son's release from prison. The film also sheds light on the plight of Europe's neglected Romany communities.
#20 - The Sweetest Sound
Season 2001 - Episode 3 - Aired 1/14/2001
Film-maker Alan Berliner is tired of being mistaken for one of the many people who share his name. In this film, he goes in search of others who share his problem. After visiting same-name societies all over America, he attempts to come to terms with his alter egos when he holds a dinner party where invites are confined to people called Alan Berliner. There they explore the links that have resulted in them having the same name.
#21 - R.U.E.U?
Season 2001 - Episode 4 - Aired 3/15/2001
Nick Fraser travels to Brussels in an effort to understand the European Union.
#22 - Joseph Desire Mobutu
Season 2001 - Episode 5 - Aired 3/22/2001
The story of the cook's son who became a feared, tyrannical leader in Zaire
#23 - Heidi Fleiss: Hollywood Madam
Season 2001 - Episode 6 - Aired 4/2/2001
A documentary crew from the BBC arrives in L.A. intent on interviewing Heidi Fleiss, a year after her arrest for running a brothel but before her trial. Several months elapse before the interview, so the crew searches for anyone who'll talk about the young woman.
#24 - Romancing the Throne
Season 2001 - Episode 7 - Aired 4/30/2001
Prince Mohato becomes King of Lesotho and must face the many burdens of office and the commitment of marriage.
#25 - Don't Look Back
Season 1998 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/31/1998
Donn Pennebaker's acclaimed documentary of Bob Dylan's month-long 1965 tour of Britain, during which the star was accompanied by Joan Baez. An intimate portrait of the artist, the film includes concert footage and features other celebrities of the era, such as folk star Donovan and singer/songwriter Alan Price. Songs include "The Times They Are A-changin'" and "Subterranean Homesick Blues".