I felt that this weeks Doc to Watch was a thoroughly entertaining and exploratory example of the BBC's factual programming output. It must first be said that as of late the BBC seems to have been on somewhat of a roll when it comes to producing factual programmes, I have been somewhat impressed and that's with the lack of Professor Brian Cox!
THIS WEEKS DOC TO WATCH:
BBC2's Space Shuttle: The Final Mission
Aired on: BBC2 and BBC HD at 9pm Sunday 24th July 2011
Written and Presented by: Kevin Fong
Produced by: Christopher Riley
Directed by: Laurence Turnbull
This final look into the end of NASA's Space Shuttle programme is presented by Kevin Fong, a former memeber of the NASA Space Shuttle Medical Research Team who gives the audience unprecedented access to the build up to the last ever space shuttle launch. From interviews with the crew of Atlantis, the man in charge of the shuttle's thermal insulation, former astronauts and the head of NASA to access to the famous white room and meeting members of the Close Out Crew, the final place and the final people the astronauts see on Earth.
I appear to have found a strange addiction to the BBC's scientific documentaries, but they are just made so well, with brilliant budgets and simple enough for everybody to understand... I even think Fong could be the next Brian Cox, strong words I know... who thought there could be somebody who could emulate his geekish charm?
This programme provoked an emotional response from this viewer, a sense of nostalgia (having seen a shuttle launch myself) and a sense that something brilliant may have been lost for ever. I look forward to the day we see the first commercial flights into space... Virgin Galactic have announced that flights are going to be a bargain at only £200,000 a time!!! I would recommend this programme to everybody... it is a must see for anybody who has ever had a fleeting thought about what it is like to go into space. A thoroughly interesting watch.
Check it out now on BBC iPlayer.
BEST OF THE REST:
BBC Four's Britain Through a Lens: The Documentary Film Mob
Aired on: BBC Four at 9pm Tuesday 19th July 2011
Narrated by: Steven Mackintosh
Produced and Directed by: Chris Durlacher
This documentary takes a look into what it describes as "the most influential movement in the history of British film", the 1929-1944 British Documentary Movement. This a visually brilliant exploration of the movement outlining it's entire construction from beginning to end and highlighting the key films of the era.
This doc is well worth watching if you're interested in the history of film especially British film.
My only criticism would be the sometimes overbearing use of voice actors when delivering quotations, it just sounds cheap and crass and I can't really understand why anybody does it anymore... just let your narrator say it normally, don't pay someone else to diminish your product for you!
All in all I enjoyed this documentary... as I hope you will.
Catch it now on BBC iPlayer.
