New Louis Theroux Documentaries

ArmaniJeanss

Law And Disorder in Philadephia.

Louis Theroux joins the Philadelphia Police Department patrolling the most dangerous part of one of the most violent cities in America.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00fy4cz


Personally I think Theroux's best documentaries are when he is gently prodding ridiculous people into making a show of themselves (the Aryan Brotherhood, the Westboro Baptists and the Hamiltons spring to mind), so I'm not sure how good this episode will be. Still, he is always watchable.

kerash

Thanks for the reminder, I saw the ad for it during the week and it looked interesting - if a little bit 'cops'-esq:D. I'm not so keen on Louis the man, but his docu's are interesting.

ronnie3585

Can't wait. Love Louis Theroux's shows.

zAbbo

This is on now

zAbbo

I love the innocent questions

"Why did you have that gun?"
"Why does it say thug on your hands?"

amacachi

The innocent answers are even better

NewFrockTuesday

*crosses Philly off the US tour.

Holy crap. That city is nuts!:eek::eek::eek:

Love his sidelong glances to the camera when the cops say theyre off to a shooting scene!

Nunu

Deepsense wrote: »

*crosses Philly off the US tour.

Holy crap. That city is nuts!:eek::eek::eek:

Been there, done that.......although admittedly I steered well clear of those absolute kips Louis frequented:D

Mr.Nice Guy

Brilliant documentary I must say. It had me gripped. Fascinating and disturbing in equal measure.

ArmaniJeanss

For those of you who want more of the bespectacled nerd, his first trip to South Africa to meet Eugene Terrablanche and his Afrikaner resistance movement is on UKTVGold+2 (or 'Dave' as they seem to call themselves now) at 11PM tonight.

Setun

Brilliant documentary, very well judged by Louis. Looking forward to next week.

qwertplaywert

Damn, only just noticed this thread now. Any idea on repeat showings?

spadder

great show, reminded me alot of "the wire"

nyarlothothep

very good, I liked how he stood back a little bit and didn't get too involved as it was a change of style. Its a fcking joke how those places are allowed to exist in an apparently civilized society. I mean the US government should really do something to improve these areas. What came across is that the level of crime there is a result of massive institutional inequality which in turn has created a culture of nihilism and disillusionment.

amacachi

nyarlothothep wrote: »

I mean the US government should really do something to improve these areas.

Like what exactly?

ArmaniJeanss

qwertplaywert wrote: »

Damn, only just noticed this thread now. Any idea on repeat showings?

Thursday 11.50PM BBC2 (though BBC NornIron are liable to change this).

spadder

nyarlothothep wrote: »

very good, I liked how he stood back a little bit and didn't get too involved as it was a change of style. Its a fcking joke how those places are allowed to exist in an apparently civilized society. I mean the US government should really do something to improve these areas. What came across is that the level of crime there is a result of massive institutional inequality which in turn has created a culture of nihilism and disillusionment.

There are places in Dublin, cork and Limerick just like Philli,where drugs and guns are spiralling out of control.

Enii

Thought it was brilliant, Louis certainly doesn't shirk the probing questions

Holsten

Thought it was very good.

Looked like a few scenes straight off The Wire.

HalloweenJack

It was pretty interesting alright. Thought it was fascinating to see how easily the cops blew their lids.

The piece at the start was hilarious where the guy kept denying he had the gun til he was told they had it all on camera and he just grinned.

loyatemu

it was interesting, but really just an episode of the Wire, or COPS, with Louis floating around in the background (which in itself is pretty weird). Don't think we really learned anything new from it - being in the company of the the cops (and in a bullet-proof vest) prevented him from really making any connection with the people he was meeting. His doc in San Quentin Prison was a lot more revealing.

BaZmO*

ArmaniJeanss wrote: »

Personally I think Theroux's best documentaries are when he is gently prodding ridiculous people into making a show of themselves (the Aryan Brotherhood, the Westboro Baptists and the Hamiltons spring to mind)

Indeed. That's his skill. He plays the bumbling innocent fool and gives whom ever he's interviewing enough rope to hang themselves.

Last night's show was great viewing but totally different from his usual offerings, in the sense that he didn't really get involved and it was more a standard documentary rather than a gonzo style outing.

Havermeyer

Great documentary. His shows never let me down. Those places he visited were absolutely crazy.

p to the e

really enjoyed this. wasn't totally unlike stuff he's done before though. the one where he went to the prison (San Quentin I think) was brilliant aswell. when i first saw it i thought it was Baltimore from the wire

Jimbo

Big thumbs up here too, massive fan of Theroux.

I just knocked Philli off my Places to Go list

dulpit

I don't know... I love Louis Theroux, but last night's documentary wasn't up to his usual high standard... Could be because he didn't really connect with anybody in it, normally he does...

However, it was still quite interesting, will definitely be avoiding Phillie in the future, what a dive...


Any idea how many episodes will be in this series?

Heisenberg.

This post has been deleted.

kerash

I just watched the repeat of this, good but wow, Louis' presentation of Philly is scary. I see a lot of people are dissapointed with Louis not connecting with the characters on the streets, but how could he - these people put up a front, no snitching and all of that. It's not like in prison where the inmates can speak openly without the fear of retribution, that's what I thought anyway.

BaZmO*

kerash wrote: »

It's not like in prison where the inmates can speak openly without the fear of retribution, that's what I thought anyway.

Really?

kerash

BaZmO* wrote: »

Really?

really what?...

Dear sir I apologise for lack of clarity in my statement as I have never been in the particular situation to test this theory out, (although on considering your reply and having watched various prison drama tv show - I'm aware it is no safe haven from retribution) I hope you understand I meant - that I presume it would be easier for Louis to connect with some thug one-on-one in a prison type scenario rather than on a street corner surrounded by his buddys.
I do not however pronounce this statement of opinion as fact.

BaZmO*

I humbly accept your clarification on this matter and suggest that both parties learn from this experience and hence forth move on.