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[Gary Whitta]

Did anyone watch this when it was on Channel 4 last week? I enjoy these hypothetical documentaries they do, the one last year about the trial and execution of Gary Glitter was really interesting. Is this one worth checking out too?

Informed and shaped by the testimony of a panel of top experts from the military, police and Secret Service and former hostages, this documentary explores what the likely responses would be if such a high profile individual as Prince Harry were to be captured on military duty in Afghanistan.

Lashkar Gah, Afghanistan: an Apache helicopter being flown by Prince Harry has crashed. Prince Harry survives but is quickly captured by locals who are only too aware of the enormous value in a western soldier.

The film examines what would happen in this hypothetical situation both politically and militarily: how it would be managed in Britain, who would be in charge, how negotiations would be carried out and what would be implemented on the ground in Afghanistan.

With a look at British royals who have historically fought on the frontline, The Taking of Prince Harry examines these new tactics of warfare, with kidnapping increasingly used for political ends in modern conflicts. Up to 15 people are kidnapped every week in Afghanistan alone.

The Taking of Prince Harry raises questions about the far-reaching ramifications for Britain should Prince Harry be granted his wish to return to Afghanistan, and be captured, and asks if Britain is prepared for this potential ransom note.

 

[Sir Hamish]

Never saw it, only reason I knew about it was because I saw a piece in the newspaper (metro i think) slamming it for being tasteless

 

[lightless_shado]

what other hypothetical documentaries have they done? I love stuff like this and alternate history

 

[Gary Whitta]

what other hypothetical documentaries have they done? I love stuff like this and alternate history

I think the Glitter was one was the first?

 

[norinrad]

I think the Glitter was one was the first?

In Glitter's case that sort of scenario would make loads of people happy :lol

 

[McBacon]

Their next hypothetical documentary asks "What would life be like if Mr Blobby was a real person?"

 

[Shanadeus]

I love this sort of alternative history stuff, will watch.

 

[panda21]

its kind of sad that he would get special attention if he was kidnapped. its a life threatening situation, and yet apparently some people are more worth saving than others :S having him out there is just putting other people at risk and wasting efforts on protecting him while he pretends to be a real soldier.

 

[noclevername620]

I'll have to check it out. I love this stuff. To Kill a President and Confederate States of America are also great.

EDIT: What's the "Glitter" thing?

 

[norinrad]

EDIT: What's the "Glitter" thing?

In November 1997 Glitter was arrested after pornographic images of children were discovered on the hard drive of a Toshiba laptop that he had taken to the Bristol Cribbs Causeway branch of PC World for repair.

He then decided to continue his shit in Southeast Asia, I'm surprise he hasn't been thrown in jail for life or beheaded yet.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Glitter

 

[AkuMifune]

It seems really tasteless to do these kinds of things on current events/people.

How about, what if the daughter of the owner of Channel 4 was raped and murdered live on Channel 4?

 

[Escape Goat]

It seems really tasteless to do these kinds of things on current events/people.

How about, what if the daughter of the owner of Channel 4 was raped and murdered live on Channel 4?

maybe. but it gets peoples attention.

 

[Gary Whitta]

I'll have to check it out. I love this stuff. To Kill a President and Confederate States of America are also great.

EDIT: What's the "Glitter" thing?

Yeah I just watched Death of a President this weekend (about a theoretical assassination of GW Bush), it's on Netflix Instant if anyone wants to check it out, pretty interesting and very well done. Interesting that all these fake-docs are done by the same guy, he's pretty much got the style nailed down. You'd swear it was a real documentary of real events if you didn't know otherwise.

 

[Walshicus]

It seems really tasteless to do these kinds of things on current events/people.

How about, what if the daughter of the owner of Channel 4 was raped and murdered live on Channel 4?

Yup. The Glitter one was just awful; I hate that that kind of ghoulishness makes it to prime-time.

 

[VeryGooster]

Sounds interesting. I've honestly never heard of this "alternate reality"/hypothetical documentary subgenre. The only one I'd ever seen that comes close to fitting that description was something on NatGeo earlier this year or last year about what would happen if humans vanished from the face of the Earth and animals were left to fend for themselves in the modern world.

Anything on Netflix WI like this?

 

[Gary Whitta]

Yup. The Glitter one was just awful; I hate that that kind of ghoulishness makes it to prime-time.

I didn't see it as ghoulish at all, I thought it was a really interesting way to explore a bunch of social issues, such as the public/media attitudes toward pedophilia and both sides of the death penalty question.

 

[JzeroT1437]

Never heard of it, but the title reminded me of The Disappearance of Alice Creed. That movie gave me a rock-hard boner.

 

[Gary Whitta]

Sounds interesting. I've honestly never heard of this "alternate reality"/hypothetical documentary subgenre. The only one I'd ever seen that comes close to fitting that description was something on NatGeo earlier this year or last year about what would happen if humans vanished from the face of the Earth and animals were left to fend for themselves in the modern world.

Anything on Netflix WI like this?

Check out "The Death of a President", it posits an assassination of George W Bush and the aftermath of a modern-day presidential assassination. Very interesting and quite chilling in how real the film-makers make it seem. It's available on Netflix Instant. I remember it being extremely controversial at the time it was released a couple of years ago.

 

[Walshicus]

I didn't see it as ghoulish at all, I thought it was a really interesting way to explore a bunch of social issues, such as the public/media attitudes toward pedophilia and both sides of the death penalty question.

They portrayed the hypothetical killing of a man who was very much alive at the time... Dunno, I just think it's bad taste.

 

[VeryGooster]

Found it. Sweet! Watching it now.