This was a tricky category to call. Not only have I included your run-off the mill documentaries and docu-dramas, I've also let in that weird strand of non-elimination reality shows that aren't ruined by members of the public voting all the interesting people out. You know, programmes like Wife Swap and Holiday Showdown, which, while pretty entertaining, don't even make my top 10:
10) Brat Camp: Take the spawn of satan and trap them in the American wilderness with a bunch of hippies named after the local wildlife. Sit back and enjoy.
9) The Heist: I loved this show. A group of ex-criminals form a gang and then plan three high profile heists, a la Ocean's 11. You've got the usual suspects: the gentleman thief, the muscle, the hacker, and the whacky loner, all led by a "the Krays loved their Mum" cockney boss-man. The first episode was the best. After weeks of careful planning it all came down to jimmying a window and using a ladder to make off with a valuable painting. Genius! And the computer hacker did what, exactly?
8) Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares: a pre-cursor to Hell's Kitchen, famous for the moment when that chef who couldn't cook an omlette gave Gordon a bad scallop.
7) Hungerford: a chilling reconstruction of what happened on that fateful day in 1987.
6) Dirty Bomb: a great "what-if" style documentary in the tradition of Threads. Compelling, exciting, frightening. Oh, and utter bollocks too! Maybe this should be in the drama category...
5) The Secret Agent: the BBC infiltrate the BNP and reveal the shocking truth that they are all a bunch of racist thugs. OK, it's not exactly a revelation but the tension surrounding the moment when the undercover reporter was almost rumbled in the toilet was as exciting as anything I saw on 24 this year.
4) The Hamburg Cell: controversial drama-doc about the 911 hijackers. Bold, brave and bloody brilliant.
3) Dunkirk: a fantastic, gut-renching and very poignant dramatisation of Britain's finest hour (spent running away).
2) Little Lady Fauntleroy: Keith Allen's expose of the Harries family was a real highlight for me. The moment when Keith walked out in disgust at the families deceit and shallowness will stay with me forever.
And the winner is:
1) The Power of Nightmares. The BBC spent most of the year telling us that we're all going to die at the hands of terrorists, and then at the end of the year they told us it was all a big mistake. The only documentary this year that told us to *stop* worrying so much. Thank you, Adam Curtis.
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