Documentaries you've seen you still think about to this day

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AnderbeauJohnson said:
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned them yet but I find the Seconds from Disaster and Air Traffic Investigation documentaries fascinating - lots of them have been smuggled onto youtube. They spend the first part of the episodes explaining what happened and then rewind time to explain why it happened and then what health and safety guidelines were put in place to stop it happening agan. Sometimes it is a fault that was always going to lead to a disaster, sometimes it is a single error and sometimes it is the most horrific line of dominoes that could have easily been prevented in so many ways with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight.


The one that has stuck in my mind the most, for years, is the 2002 Überlingen mid-air collision. You can watch it here but the breakdown is as follows (I don't know anyone IRL who finds this sort of thing even slightly interesting so I'm taking a full opportunity to talk about it now)...

- One cargo plane taking off from Italy and one passenger plane taking off from Russia had a total of 71 people between them. The passenger plane contains 45 children on a school trip that only took that plane because they had missed their real flight as well as a mother and her two children who are visiting their father who works abroad.
- Over a section of Switzerland air space there needs to be two air traffic controllers at one time. One person to guide the planes that are taking off and landing and one to guide the planes that are flying through. They are at two seperate consoles facing away from each other. As there are no planes scheduled to land (late at night) one of them goes off for an illegal break leaving Peter Nielsen as the only ATC in charge.
- A company comes in to do maintenance on the radar and communication equipment, putting everything into back-up mode.
- A delayed plane needs to land in their airspace so Nielsen attempts to phone another control centre to take over. While attempting to phone he doesn't notice that both the previous planes have now entered his airspace at the same altitude.
- The back-up mode for the phones is faulty and he is unable to phone to pass the plane off to another centre.
- The back-up mode for the radar is also faulty and does not give him an audio or visual warning about the impending crash.
- An ATC in another airspace notices that the planes are on a collision course but protocol says he can't contact the planes in another ATC's airspace so he phones Nielsen 11 times but, as the phone is faulty, he can't get through.
- The TCAS warning system on both planes sets off. It tells the cargo plane to descend and the passenger plane to climb.
- 43 seconds before a collision Nielsen notices and tells the passenger plane to descend and the cargo plane to climb.
- In every country in Europe except Russia the pilot must obey TCAS. In Russia the pilot must obey the ATC.
- The cargo plane obeys TCAS and descends. The passenger plane obeys Nielsen and descends. They are now flying at the same altitude again.
- Nielsen tells the passenger plane that the cargo plane is approaching from their 2 o'clock position.
- It is actually approaching from their 10 o'clock position. They are looking out of the wrong window and by the time they see it they try to pull up but it is too late. The planes collide over Germany, killing everyone.
- 18 months later tha father who was waiting for his wife and two young children stabs Nielsen to death. He serves two years in prison and returns home where he is given a medal and a ceremony from his local government for doing so.
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Yes ME ME ME!!!
 
Did anyone else get shown (harrowing) cautionary safety videos for kids by their parents in the late 80s / early 90s? My brother and I refused to watch eventually - sensitive souls clearly! - so they didn’t force us to watch them all but I distinctly remember one about running baths and making sure the water wasn’t too hot. There was a still shot of a little boy with like his entire front burnt off (at least that’s how I remember it) - horrid burns from running his own bath and not putting cold water in. There were others about stranger danger etc. and while not exactly documentaries, they have really stayed with me! My parents are incredibly sweet and kind and not really the tough love types so I can only assume it was the done thing at the time and they meant well 😂

Jammyjobsworth said:
Yes!! I’m 38 and still terrified of pylons! And sparklers because of the fireworks adverts from the 80’s 😂
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Wow that is SO spooky. We literally posted these about what I think is the same thing at the exact same time! 😮
 
LucilleBluth said:
Did anyone else get shown (harrowing) cautionary safety videos for kids by their parents in the late 80s / early 90s? My brother and I refused to watch eventually - sensitive souls clearly! - so they didn’t force us to watch them all but I distinctly remember one about running baths and making sure the water wasn’t too hot. There was a still shot of a little boy with like his entire front burnt off (at least that’s how I remember it) - horrid burns from running his own bath and not putting cold water in. There were others about stranger danger etc. and while not exactly documentaries, they have really stayed with me! My parents are incredibly sweet and kind and not really the tough love types so I can only assume it was the done thing at the time and they meant well 😂


Wow that is SO spooky. We literally posted these about what I think is the same thing at the exact same time! 😮
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Omg the bath one!!!! I’d forgotten about that. It would be never be shown to kids now 😂😂
I remember stranger danger videos, I’m surprised us kids didn’t turn out petrified to talk to any one 😂😂😂
 
MaxieMoo said:
Yes ME ME ME!!!
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Do you have any in particular you'd recommend as interesting? I think I've seen most of the older SFD ones but only some of the air crash ones.

Jammyjobsworth said:
Yes!! I’m 38 and still terrified of pylons! And sparklers because of the fireworks adverts from the 80’s 😂
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I was terrified of sparklers because of the 999 Bonfire Night special. Refused to stand anywhere near anybody holding one.
 
AnderbeauJohnson said:
Do you have any in particular you'd recommend as interesting? I think I've seen most of the older SFD ones but only some of the air crash ones.



I was terrified of sparklers because of the 999 Bonfire Night special. Refused to stand anywhere near anybody holding one.
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I actually haven't watched any for ages as I seem to watch mostly true crime docs nowadays. I'll be adding the one you mentioned on my watch list as it sounds really interesting. I'm going to have a good search through on YouTube and see what I find. I've always been fascinated by these topics. When you see how avoidable they are it makes it even sadder.

I'm normally quite hardened to stuff but watched a crime doc on YouTube a few days ago about two guys who abducted and killed young girls for fun. It has really got to me and I keep thinking about it 😣.
 
MaxieMoo said:
I actually haven't watched any for ages as I seem to watch mostly true crime docs nowadays. I'll be adding the one you mentioned on my watch list as it sounds really interesting. I'm going to have a good search through on YouTube and see what I find. I've always been fascinated by these topics. When you see how avoidable they are it makes it even sadder.

I'm normally quite hardened to stuff but watched a crime doc on YouTube a few days ago about two guys who abducted and killed young girls for fun. It has really got to me and I keep thinking about it 😣.
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Here are a few other ones I've found really interesting - Amagasaki Derailment ; Sampoong Department Store Collapse ; 1977 Tenerife Airport Disaster ; Kings Cross Fire . I couldn't find it but there's a good one somewhere about the Gimli Glider incident where everyone survived.

I find true crime podcasts/docs interesting but I understand the need to take breaks from it, there is a lot of sadness in the world.
 
Not sure if this one has been mentioned but as a young girl I watched ‘To Courtney With Love’ and it’s always stayed with me. A girl (can’t remember her name) had a Daughter (Courtney) very very young and then later found out she had terminal cancer. Broke my heart seeing her say goodbye to her daughter knowing she was never going to see her again. The part at the end showed her sister distraught as she’d passed away. I don’t think I could watch it now, it was just terribly terribly sad!
 
Mememe13 said:
Not sure if this one has been mentioned but as a young girl I watched ‘To Courtney With Love’ and it’s always stayed with me. A girl (can’t remember her name) had a Daughter (Courtney) very very young and then later found out she had terminal cancer. Broke my heart seeing her say goodbye to her daughter knowing she was never going to see her again. The part at the end showed her sister distraught as she’d passed away. I don’t think I could watch it now, it was just terribly terribly sad!
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I watched that recently. So so sad.
 
I have so many. I'll start with the sad ones.

I remember a BBC3 doc about these kids in a psychiatric ward. One girl was named Beth and she had anorexia. I was suffering at the time too so really stuck with me. She was a dancer and had to quit cause she was allowed to exercise. She had a YouTube video I think where she talks about it. She must be in her early twenties now so I hope she's doing ok.

The growing up poor/breadline Britain kids really get to me. I remember watching one of a family who were in sheltered accommodation so there was one bed for a family of 4 or something ridiculous like that. The girl was doing her gcse's. She ended up failing all of them bar 1 and I sobbed for her. I hope she's okay now bless her, the odds were stacked against her.

Athlete A is the one I think about a lot. I still cry when I think about the end when all of the women (125!!!) stand up in court and give their impact statements. (for those who don't know. It's about Dr Larry Nassar of USA Gymnastics sexually abusing the girls. It's so well done on Netflix's behalf because they focus on Maggie Nichols and her story over a year before any outsiders (lawyers, journalists etc) heard about it and before Rachel Denhollander came forward, and it focuses a lot on how Larry was able to abuse them so easily and all the other elements of abuse that took place within USA Gymnastics that facilitated him being able to take advantage. Was harrowing to watch how much it affected the investigators and lawyers who were involved!)

I remember the documentary about the women sleeping with bar men in Turkey. That's fine but I remember that her teenage son who was about 13 was on holiday with them and he was being looked after by the friend while his mum went off with her Turkish boyfriend. I really felt for him. Must be so weird knowing your mum has been out all night shagging.

The happier ones:

I love the Educating series'. I've seen all of them. I do wonder where the kids are today.

Some mentioned the family and I was totally thinking about that not so long ago! I remember Emily was a rebel and then her sister Charlotte was doing the IB instead of A-levels and she was really stressed about it. Tom was around 13 at the time so he must be like 25 now?!

I will probably be back with more in future no doubt!
 
The boy who's skin fell off on More 4. Filmed about 17 years ago but still on catch up. The story of the last few months of an incredible young man who lived with a terminal skin condition and cancer and lived with horrific pain for so long. It's not easy to watch (his last days and moments are on camera) made me really think twice about my daily moans. RIP.
 
I've never been that interested in Geography/Environment stuff, but I have watched this all the way through multiple times:



Crazy how much was going on out there and we didn't realise, even with all our technology.
 
Poldypoldy said:
yes! I remember the dad in the second one shouting to his wife ‘cup of tea!!’ Which became a catchphrase in our house
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I think there was an African family in one series and although I never saw it, I saw a clip on TV Burp on Harry's TV Highlight of the Week and it literally cut to the father getting up and walking out of the living room while announcing, "I need pee pee."

I don't know why, but it proper tickled me, and my boyfriend and I still say that phrase ourselves to this day, in the man's accent. 😅
 
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