Wednesday 20 April 2016

10 Of The Best Channel 4 Documentaries

10 Of The Best Channel 4 Documentaries  TV UK blogger lifestyle

I recently saw a blogger do a really fab post about their top 10 favourite documentaries, but for the life of me I can't remember who did this post! Sorry! I love documentaries. Like a lot, a lot! Call me a nerd but I love nothing more than watching something where I know I am going to come out that little bit wiser! LOL! Ah, gone of the days of watching Made In Chelsea, what were you thinking young Nicole? Anyway, I thought I would share with you 10 of the best Channel 4 documentaries because Channel 4 is the place to go if you love a good documentary! Please don't underestimate documentaries, they are truly wonderful things! Embrace your inner nerd!


1. Obsessive compulsive cleaners

Although I absolutely love this show I also hate it at the same time. I can't stand dirt, grime and definitely not germs so why I watch this show I have no idea, but every series I come back for more, where the obsessive cleaning gets more extreme and the houses get dirtier. Basically, if you are unfamiliar with the concept of the show. Someone who is obsessed with cleaning and tidying (not always OCD diagnosed) goes and helps someone who lives in a really grotty house- get it clean.

Although this show has received lots of controversy for making light of OCD. I don't think it does at all. It highlights just how stressful and exhausting the condition can be but on the flip side, it shows us that just because someone lives in a pig sty it isn't always down to plain laziness.

I really don't know why I watch it. It makes me gag and drives me to want to clean my room from top to bottom again and again. But I do, so that must say something about it!

2. 24 hours in A&E

I love this show, not just for the music and watching the clock but for the truly inspiring and heart-warming stories you hear. No one ever just comes in with a broken finger and that's it! Everyone has a loving story that jerks a tear or two! You see real love, life, and loss within this show and I think it's amazing to see.

Not only do I love hearing about the stories and putting myself my edge every time I hear the red phone, I totally admire the nurses, doctors and consults who deal with these cases so quickly and efficiently but at the same time with such kindness and compassion. I could never do a job as stressful and overwhelming as what they do, so my heart really goes out to them!

3. Born to be different

I have watched this show a lot in college, during my childcare course and I absolutely love it! Being able to watch these children grow up, dealing with their daily battles and struggles of their disabilities is so inspiring. Not only do you see these children to through the worst times but also the significant progress within their life's, to early adolescence.

What I love about this show is you don't just see the child's personal battle, you see how the families and siblings deal with it as well, which I think is brilliant. These children are an inspiration. They go through so much and yet are still cheery, optimistic and daring to reach their future goals, aspirations, and dreams. Very inspiring and motivating!

4. Secret life of 4, 5 and 6-year-olds

This show has me in stitches! Although the kids are really funny and it's enjoyable to see what they get up to in their natural environments (which makes them seem like wild animals) my favourite part of this documentary was the scientists commentary. Basically, secret filming is set up inside a nursery and the scientists watched from another room. The stuff they came out with was hilarious!

I also loved finding out about all children's individual backgrounds, especially in the first series you get to meet some real characters. Even though I have had quite a bit of experience working with children of this age, watching it from this point of view was very eye opening. Although being in a childcare course you can imagine that the amount of times we have watched these now takes the mick.

5. Child genius

Another show about kids, I know, I know! If I was going to compare this show to anything then it would be like university challenge but for kids. Basically really smart, gifted children from all around the country get together and compete for the child genius title battling through a range of maths, literacy, and general knowledge rounds. The reason I compare this show to university challenge is because like on university challenge if you can get any of the questions right, you feel AMAZING!

These kids are so talented and can answer these questions with ease. Questions that most adults struggle with, including myself. Although it's great to celebrate cleverness, we also see sometimes what happens when it all gets a bit too much for kids. All the pressure, work, and revision can be very demanding on all young minds. I don't know if they are going to make a new series but I hope they do!

6. Kids who can't stay awake

Okay, I promise this is the last documentary about kids. This one though is a lot more factual and not fun at all but at the same time, I found it very interesting. The show follows children and their families up and down the country against the very rare sleep condition narcolepsy. All these children start developing the same strange set of symptoms in the same year, the documentary follows how this condition affects their everyday life.

I won't tell you what caused the condition, you will have to watch and find out. I watched this on a whim last year but I actually found it surprisingly interesting and I felt like I learnt a lot from it. So much so I referenced it in an essay I did for college.

7. Dispatches

I love dispatches. I haven't watched every single one, I admit but I have watched enough to say that I do really enjoy them. I love the way channel 4 discusses and produces such interesting and gripping documentaries about things we need to know more about. If you ever want to know about why the cost of train prices is so high or why your mail goes missing- you are in the right place!

They recently did one about Cadburys which was really interesting and I felt like I learnt a lot from it. And for the record no I can't tell the difference in the creme eggs. If you ever in need of some facts or want to get your documentary fix, dispatches is where you want to be heading.

8. Embarrassing bodies

I really love Christian Jessen can you imagine having him as your doctor?! You also did supersize vs superskinny which I think I prefer but I love embarrassing bodies nonetheless. I mean I can't understand why anyone would go on TV to show something that had gone wrong with their body in front of millions sat at home but you know everyone to their own.

I think it's great to watch so you realise maybe your own health problems aren't as bad as you thought they were. I mean if you have ever watched this show you know what I mean. It's gross, disgusting but strangely addictive at the same time! Everything I love about a good documentary.

9. It was alright in the...

This show makes me really thankful that I wasn't around in the 80's and was too young to remember the 90's. Because honestly the TV shown through those decades was absolutely shocking. Basically, the idea of this documentary is that it gets celebrities who were big in that decade, who watched the TV when it came out and those who weren't even around to react to the TV being aired in one particular decade.

Literally I am shocked by the some of the things that managed to get onto TV during these decades. However, despite this, I think it's really interesting to see how time has changed, how our views and attitudes towards homosexuality, race and gender have changed so much. At least, there is no game show on TV anymore where people get paid for doing poos... You are just going to have to watch it now!

10. Sex in class

I have actually mentioned this show before in my ' 5 topics that need to educated more about in school' blog post which you can read HERE if you missed it. Basically, sexologist Goedele LiekensTeaches a group of year 10/11 boys and girls all about things to do with sex and wants to make it an official GCSE exam out of it. The concept may sound really strange but I think it's a really informative and eye opening documentary.

What I found the most shocking was the boys reactions and attitudes towards pubic hair on girls etc. I won't go into it too much but I basically found very interesting to see how the boys attitudes were so different to the girls. I definitely believe that sex education needs to be improved within schools if you agree then you will love this documentary!

And that's it! I hope you have found something new to go and watch now! If you do watch any of them, let me know what you think!

Do you have any favourite documentaries, share them in the comments below!

Thanks for reading, as always x 
SHARE:
Blogger Template Created by pipdig