BBC Documentaries
Season 2000
TV-PG
Documentaries produced by or for the BBC
Where to Watch Season 2000
48 Episodes
- The Beginning of the End of the AffairE1
The Beginning of the End of the AffairWrite about what you know, as creative writing students are always told. So Graham Greene did just that when he wove the story of his 13-year adulterous relationship with Catherine Walston into his 1951 novel The End Of The Affair. Son Oliver finds it all very fascinating, while daughter Anne is coldly disapproving of her mother's involvement with someone she regarded as selfish and demanding. Greene didn't help matters by naming his fictional cuckolded husband Henry; Walston Snr was called Harry. - Blair's Thousand Days Part 1E4
Blair's Thousand Days Part 1First of a two-part examination of Tony Blair 's premiership. What Makes Tony Tick. Michael Cockerell draws on extensive interviews with the PM and behind-the-scenes footage to analyse what drives Blair, and asks how he has achieved such huge popularity among the electorate. - Don't Panic! The Dad's Army Story
E5Don't Panic! The Dad's Army StoryVictoria Wood presents the true story behind Britain's timeless comedy. Includes footage of the cast on location and incredible personal tales about the making of the series. Was Arthur Lowe really just like Captain Mainwaring? Why did the warden always end up in the water? And how did Corporal Jones find a bomb down his trousers? Find out why Dad's Army was the Queen Mother's favourite show. - Wild Boys: The Story of Duran Duran
E6Wild Boys: The Story of Duran DuranDuran Duran came out of Birmingham and conquered the world during the 1980s. Originally a New Romantic band in full make-up and cossack pants, they rapidly became bedroom pin-ups for a generation of teenage girls. Led by Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes and John Taylor, Duran Duran dominated the British and American charts in the mid-1980s with classic singles such as Rio, Save a Prayer and Wild Boys. Pioneers of the MTV-style promo video - from the X-rated Girls on Film to Raiders of the Lost Ark spoof Hungry Like the Wolf - Duran Duran were the 80s equivalent of the Beatles in America and outsold Spandau Ballet and Wham! in their pomp. 60 million records later, Le Bon and Rhodes are seen touring America with their Pop Trash project from the early 2000s. The documentary reflects on the heady heights of Duran Duran's career, the cracks in their make-up plus the effects of sex, drugs and fame on ordinary boys from working class backgrounds. Apart from the key Durannies - Le Bon, Rhodes and John Taylor - the programme also features celebrity interviews with Debbie Harry, Yasmin Le Bon, Duran Duran managers Paul and Michael Berrow, Claudia Schiffer, Nile Rodgers and Lou Reed. - OJ - The Untold StoryE9
OJ - The Untold StoryDespite his repeated protestations of innocence, in the eyes of many OJ Simpson was and remains a guilty man. OJ - The Untold Story reveals that clues that some believe pointed away from Simpson as the killer were dismissed or ignored and highlights two other leads which could shed new light on the case. - Blood and Flowers: In Search of the AztecsE10
Blood and Flowers: In Search of the AztecsThe Aztecs are regarded as the most bloodthirsty of the Central American peoples, but they were also one of the most sophisticated. DrTony Spawforth discovers how, on arriving in Mexico, they created a new and brutal mythology from the relics of an earlier civilisation. - Robbie Williams - It Ain't Half Hot MumE11
Robbie Williams - It Ain't Half Hot MumA documentary following pop singer Robbie Williams as he embarks on his debut American tour. The programme reveals the highs and lows of being young, rich and famous, and features exclusive footage of his American shows plus work in progress from his new album. - Newsnight at 20E12
Newsnight at 20Jeremy Paxman introduces a selection of highlights and horrors from two decades of BBC2's news flagship. Ex-Home Secretary Michael Howard relives his verbal pummelling by Paxman, and there's another chance to see what has been tagged the BBC's worst-ever outside broadcast. - We Gotta Get Out of This Business:Fatboy Slim's 99E13
We Gotta Get Out of This Business:Fatboy Slim's 99Documentary charting an extraordinary year for pop star Fatboy Slim , alias Norman Cook. The film follows him across five continents, performing at huge festivals including Glastonbury, clocking up 4 million sales of his album and taking time off to get married to DJ and TV host Zoe Ball. - The Mission: Viva Las VanicelE14
The Mission: Viva Las VanicelDocumentary following Las Vegas tycoon Sheldon Adelson as he embarks on an ambitious quest to build the world's biggest casino hotel. Situated in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip, the complex includes a$2.5 billion replica of Venice. But the project is fraught with difficulties. - The Body HunterE17
The Body HunterDocumentary following Chief Inspector Martin Hemingway 's harrowing assignment to Kosovo last summer to collect evidence for the War Crimes Tribunal in the Hague. The programme provides a powerful testimony of a country's loss as Hemingway's team uncover an extraordinary story combining human savagery and courage. - Secret Life of a CrocodileE18
Secret Life of a CrocodileDocumentary following young British zoologist Dr Adam Britton on a quest through north-west Australia to uncover the mystery of the remarkable immune system of saltwater crocodiles. These wild beasts often lose limbs in attacks by other crocodiles, but their horrendous wounds rarely become infected, despite the filthy, bacteria-infested waters in which they live. - Sex and Stopping: a History of ContraceptionE19
Sex and Stopping: a History of ContraceptionNick Hancock reveals the lighter side of a usually serious subject as he charts 4,000 years of contraceptive history. His investigation uncovers unusual methods used by different societies to prevent unwanted pregnancy, while archive film gives an amusing insight into the reserved way in which the subject was often treated. - Glastonbury ManE21
Glastonbury ManTo accompany BBC2's weekend of music from the festival, a documentary tribute to its founder, Michael Eavis , that follows him from August 1999 up to the eve of this year's event. In addition to the usual preparations, however, Eavis also had to cope with the death of his wife and festival partner, Jean. Featuring interviews with musicians plus previously unseen footage and Eavis's personal archive of the event. - In Love with Elizabeth: the Early Life of the Queen MotherE23
In Love with Elizabeth: the Early Life of the Queen MotherDocumentary charting the Queen Mother's early life. Combining personal testimony with rare archive film, photographs and letters this film helps paint a portrait of an extraordinary woman. - Blair's Thousand Days Part 2E24
Blair's Thousand Days Part 2Concluding a two-part examination of Tony Blair 's premiership. The Lady and the Lords. New Labour came to power pledging to abolish the 800-year-old right of hereditary peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords. Michael Cockerell tells the story of the efforts made by Lady Jay, the first female Labour Leader of the Lords, to get the bill through Parliament. - Pilgrimage to BachE25
Pilgrimage to BachJohn Eliot Gardner 's personal quest to bring Johann Sebastian Bach 's music to the modern public entailed performing all of the composer's cantatas in a single year. This documentary follows the top conductor as he tries to pull off his most ambitious coup to date. - Gladiators: the Brutal TruthE27
Gladiators: the Brutal TruthTerry Jones investigates the truth of the Roman Games, uncovering what it took to be a gladiator and looking at why, to the noble ladies of Rome, these brave men were the rock stars of their day. The programme also examines how the legacy of the games lives on in the great sports arenas of the 20th century and reveals why the Romans would be as shocked by our violent entertainments as we are by theirs. - Meeting the Masai MobE28
Meeting the Masai MobDocumentary which follows a unique encounter between the Masai and a group of four Aboriginal Australians who travel to East Africa. Both communities share a common grievance in their struggle for land rights and the two groups exchange stories and experiences as they struggle to maintain their existence in the modern world. - Diane Warren - How Do I Live?E29
Diane Warren - How Do I Live?Ronan Keating narrates this documentary on one of the most successful songwriters in the world. With songs like How Do I Live and Don't Turn Around, Diane Warren has provided hits for numerous artists, including Celine Dion and LeAnn Rimes. - Beastly Business: Tactics of TerrorE30
Beastly Business: Tactics of TerrorA documentary in which extremists in the animal rights movement explain what formerly drove them to carry out arson and bombing campaigns, while those involved in research using animals describe what it is like to live in fear. - The Beautiful South - Paul's GangE33
The Beautiful South - Paul's GangDocumentary which follows the creative process involved in assembling a body of songs for the Beautiful South's new album Painting It Red, and profiles the band's leader, Paul Heaton , revealing his patriarchal relationship with his fellow group members. - Freddie Mercury: the Untold StoryE34
Freddie Mercury: the Untold StoryNine years after his death from an Aids-related illness, and a quarter of a century after Bohemian Rhapsody first topped the singles charts, friends and relatives of Queen's flamboyant front man Freddie Mercury recall their memories in a frank portrait of his life. Featuring contributions from the singer's mother and sister, his former lovers, members of Queen, Elton John and opera star Montserrat Caballe. - Eyes of a Child - One Year OnE35
Eyes of a Child - One Year OnFollow-up to the documentary Eyes of a Child, shown in September last year, which revealed the shocking extent of poverty in modern Britain. This film revisits children in Sheffield, Leicester and Portsmouth to see if government measures to tackle poverty have had an effect on their lives. - Reconstructing Evil - the Making of Touch of EvilE37
Reconstructing Evil - the Making of Touch of EvilJanet Leigh , Peter Bogdanovich and Charlton Heston contribute to this documentary which tells the dramatic behind-the-scenes story of Orson Welles 's film Touch of Evil, the subsequent controversial re-editing undertaken by the studio, and the recent restoration work that has enabled audiences to see as much of Welles's intended version as possible. - Mythical JourneysE38
Mythical JourneysA one-off documentary examining part of the Orphic myth. Metamorpheus. In ancient legend, the women of Thrace killed the poet Orpheus in a Dionysian frenzy and threw his head with his lyre into the river Hebrus. Still singing, the head made its way to the island of Lesbos where it was established as an oracle. Professor Oliver Taplin sets out to follow the journey of the poet's head through modern day Bulgaria to the Greek island accompanied by poet Tony Harrison. - Five Steps to TyrannyE39
Five Steps to TyrannyA disturbing documentary examining how tyrannies are created by ordinary people. Using as examples ground-breaking psychological experiments, Sheena McDonald shows how each and every one of us is capable of committing terrible acts against our fellow human beings. - Spanish Inquisition - The Brutal TruthE44
Spanish Inquisition - The Brutal TruthThe Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition (Spanish: Tribunal del Santo Oficio de la Inquisición), commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition (Inquisición española), was established in 1478 by Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile. It was intended to maintain Catholic orthodoxy in their kingdoms and to replace the Medieval Inquisition, which was under Papal control. It became the most substantive of the three different manifestations of the wider Christian Inquisition along with the Roman Inquisition and Portuguese Inquisition. The "Spanish Inquisition" may be defined broadly, operating "in Spain and in all Spanish colonies and territories, which included the Canary Islands, the Spanish Netherlands, the Kingdom of Naples, and all Spanish possessions in North, Central, and South America." The Inquisition was originally intended primarily to ensure the orthodoxy of those who converted from Judaism and Islam. The regulation of the faith of the newly converted was intensified after the royal decrees issued in 1492 and 1502 ordering Jews and Muslims to convert or leave Spain. The Inquisition was not definitively abolished until 1834, during the reign of Isabella II, after a period of declining influence in the preceding century. The Spanish Inquisition is often stated in popular literature and history as an example of Catholic intolerance and repression. Modern historians have tended to question earlier accounts concerning the severity of the Inquisition. Henry Kamen asserts that the 'myth' of the all-powerful, torture-mad inquisition is largely an invention of nineteenth century Protestant authors with an agenda to discredit the Papacy. Although records are incomplete, about 150,000 persons were charged with crimes by the Inquisition and about 3,000 were executed. - Rothko's RoomsE45
Rothko's RoomsIn the late 1940s and 50s, Mark Rothko (1903-70) was one of the leading American artists who created wall-scale abstract paintings that filled the viewer's field of vision and became a form of environment. Rothko spoke of wanting the spectator to feel inside the pictorial space, enveloped in his canvases luminous colour and apparitional surfaces. Together with painters such as Barnett Newman and Clyfford Still, he wanted to express a sense of the sublime, an idea associated with religious awe, vastness and natural magnificence. Filmed on both sides of the Atlantic, this documentary, chronicling Rothko's life and charting the development of his work, fills the screen with his softly defined, rectangular clouds of colour stacked symmetrically on top of one another: a visual language conceived to evoke elemental emotions with maximum poignancy. There are penetrating contributions from his daughter, Kate, and his son, Christopher, and comments from a wide range of friends, artists, art historians, collectors and curators. The focus is on Rothko's demands for the perfect setting for the showing of his work, an ideal he pursued throughout his creative life, typified by the story of his iconic Seagram murals, nine of which now hang in a dedicated room at London's Tate Modern. One of the murals commissioners, architect Philip Johnson, is among those who explain why Rothko refused to allow these works to hang in their intended venue, the exclusive Four Seasons restaurant in New York. - Great Speeches: Geoffrey HoweE46
Great Speeches: Geoffrey HoweThe day the loyal servant bit back. Sir Geoffrey Howe savaged Margaret Thatcher's leadership and her policies in his resignation speech to the Commons on 13 November 1990. The impact was sensational and immediate. Nine days later, Mrs Thatcher was forced to resign. Sir Geoffrey revisits his words and the emotions they engendered. - Michael Palin on the ColouristsE47
Michael Palin on the ColouristsMichael Palin explores the lives and paintings of four Scottish artists known as the Colourists: John Duncan Fergusson, George Leslie Hunter, Samuel John Peploe and Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell. Their works hang in 10 Downing Street, but in their own lifetimes their vibrant vision shocked the critics. - News from Number TenE48
News from Number TenAs New Labour enters its third year in office, Michael Cockerell examines the work of its news machine under Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair's controversial press secretary. Shot over the last three months, tonight's film includes a unique glimpse of the media strategies developed to deal with controversies surrounding the London Mayoral election, the birth of Leo Blair, the visit of Russia's President Putin, and the PM's ill-conceived speech to the Women's Institute.