Cutting Edge (Channel 4 TV series)
Encyclopedia
Cutting Edge is a British TV documentary
series broadcast by Channel 4
, it has been its flagship documentary series since 1990 that focuses on political
and social
issues.
About England national football team
's unsuccessful attempt to qualify
for the 1994 World Cup
. Manager Graham Taylor was harshly criticised by the tabloid
press
during these two years (1992–93), and the fly-on-the-wall
documentary revealed a stressed team camp. It also gave birth to Taylor's catchphrase, "Do I not like that" (a statement rather than a question).
Run of episodes in 2005, about "Anti-Social Old Buggers" which included elderly recipients of Asbo
s), "The Black Widow", "Gridlock" and "The House Clearers".
A 2007 documentary following students at the Royal National College for the Blind in Hereford
. The film won a Royal Television Society
award for Channel Four and the Cutting Edge team in 2008.
Broadcast in January 2008, is a documentary that follows 16-year-old Alex Stobbs
who suffers from cystic fibrosis
as he attempts to conduct Bach
's Magnifcat
at Eton College
. This was followed by a second documentary in October 2009 called "Alex: A Passion for Life", which catches up with Alex at King's College
, Cambridge
, and member of its world-famous choir.
Cutting Edge covered Alain Robert
, one of the most daring climbers in the world, on some amazing free climbs around the globe.
Follows Kate and Gerry, the parents of missing child Madeleine McCann and investigators, two years after her disappearance as they try understand what happened.
About the kidnapping of Jaycee Lee Dugard
with interviews with people close to Jaycee when she was young, including family members, classmates and her headmistress.
Followed the recovery of former model Katie Piper
from a brutal acid attack, and which with 3.3 million viewers was the most-watched edition of the Cutting Edge strand in 2009; Piper's case has been subject to a large international response, and following the success of the original documentary Piper was invited to give Channel 4's Alternative Christmas Message
for 2009.
The documentary was nominated for "Best Single Documentary" at the BAFTA Television Awards in June 2010
, but did not win - the trophy was awarded to BBC One's Wounded. The previous month, director Jessie Versluys had won the Breakthrough Talent prize at the 2010 Craft BAFTA ceremony, for her credits including Katie: My Beautiful Face and The Hospital.
Follows single unemployed mother Nadya Suleman
from California
, who in January 2009 gave birth to eight children.
About Dan Witchalls and Ian Richardson who participate in the adrenaline sport, base jumping
. It follows them jump off some the most iconic buildings in the United Kingdom including Nelson's Column
, The Millenium Dome, Wembley Stadium
and Blackpool Tower
.
Follows four Gypsy and Traveller brides as they plan their wedding day. Screened in February 2010, drew 4.5 million viewers and was subsequently commissioned for a spinoff series called Big Fat Gypsy Weddings. This proved to be very successful with the second episode getting 7.4m viewers at its peak, Channel 4's highest ratings since Big Brother
in 2008.
Looks at the 2010 Northumbria Police manhunt
and the following investigation, with interviews with friends, relatives and neighbours who knew Raoul Moat.
Follows 20-year-old Simon Hales on a journey through rehab. Simon was on a night out in Newcastle
when he and a friend tried to get back into a nightclub they'd been thrown out of by mistake. Simon jumped over a fence not knowing there was a 20 feet drop the other side landing on his head, suffering a severe brain injury
. Lucky to survive, it took Simon five weeks to wake from his coma
.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
series broadcast by Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
, it has been its flagship documentary series since 1990 that focuses on political
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
and social
Social
The term social refers to a characteristic of living organisms...
issues.
Graham Taylor: The Impossible Job
Original airdate: 24 January 1994About England national football team
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
's unsuccessful attempt to qualify
1994 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)
Listed below are the dates and results for the 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for the European zone . For an overview of the qualification rounds, see the article 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification....
for the 1994 World Cup
1994 FIFA World Cup
The 1994 FIFA World Cup, the 15th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in nine cities across the United States from June 17 to July 17, 1994. The United States was chosen as the host by FIFA on July 4, 1988...
. Manager Graham Taylor was harshly criticised by the tabloid
Tabloid journalism
Tabloid journalism tends to emphasize topics such as sensational crime stories, astrology, gossip columns about the personal lives of celebrities and sports stars, and junk food news...
press
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
during these two years (1992–93), and the fly-on-the-wall
Fly on the wall
Fly on the wall is a style of documentary-making used in filmmaking and television production. The name derived from the idea that events are seen candidly, as a fly on a wall might see them...
documentary revealed a stressed team camp. It also gave birth to Taylor's catchphrase, "Do I not like that" (a statement rather than a question).
Anti-Social Old Buggers
Original airdate: 22 June 2005Run of episodes in 2005, about "Anti-Social Old Buggers" which included elderly recipients of Asbo
Åsbo
Åsbo can refer to:*Åsbo Northern Hundred, a hundred in Scania*Åsbo Southern Hundred, a hundred in Scania...
s), "The Black Widow", "Gridlock" and "The House Clearers".
Blind Young Things
Original airdate: 30 April 2007A 2007 documentary following students at the Royal National College for the Blind in Hereford
Hereford
Hereford is a cathedral city, civil parish and county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, southwest of Worcester, and northwest of Gloucester...
. The film won a Royal Television Society
Royal Television Society
The Royal Television Society is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present and future. It is the oldest television society in the world...
award for Channel Four and the Cutting Edge team in 2008.
A Boy Called Alex
Original airdate: 24 January 2008Broadcast in January 2008, is a documentary that follows 16-year-old Alex Stobbs
Alex Stobbs
Alexander 'Alex' Brett Stobbs , is a British musician with cystic fibrosis who was the subject of the Channel 4 Cutting Edge documentary A Boy Called Alex in 2008 and its sequel, Alex: A Passion for Life in 2009, also broadcast on Channel 4.-Early life:After an early education as an academic and...
who suffers from cystic fibrosis
Cystic fibrosis
Cystic fibrosis is a recessive genetic disease affecting most critically the lungs, and also the pancreas, liver, and intestine...
as he attempts to conduct Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
's Magnifcat
Magnificat (Bach)
The Magnificat in D major, BWV 243, is a major vocal work of Johann Sebastian Bach. It was composed for orchestra, a five-part choir and four or five soloists. The text is the canticle of Mary, mother of Jesus, as told by Luke the Evangelist .Bach composed an initial version in E flat major in 1723...
at Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
. This was followed by a second documentary in October 2009 called "Alex: A Passion for Life", which catches up with Alex at King's College
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
, Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, and member of its world-famous choir.
The Human Spider
Original airdate: 15 April 2008Cutting Edge covered Alain Robert
Alain Robert
Alain Robert , is a French rock and urban climber, from Digoin, Saône-et-Loire, Bourgogne, France...
, one of the most daring climbers in the world, on some amazing free climbs around the globe.
Madeleine Was Here
Original airdate: 7 May 2009Follows Kate and Gerry, the parents of missing child Madeleine McCann and investigators, two years after her disappearance as they try understand what happened.
Captive for 18 Years: The Jaycee Lee Story
Original airdate: 1 October 2009About the kidnapping of Jaycee Lee Dugard
Kidnapping of Jaycee Lee Dugard
The kidnapping of Jaycee Lee Dugard occurred on June 10, 1991 in South Lake Tahoe, California. Dugard was 11 years old at the time and was abducted from a street while she was walking from home to a school bus stop. Searches began immediately after the kidnapping, but no reliable leads were generated...
with interviews with people close to Jaycee when she was young, including family members, classmates and her headmistress.
Katie: My Beautiful Face
Original airdate: 29 October 2009Followed the recovery of former model Katie Piper
Katie Piper
Katie Piper is a former model and television presenter from Andover, Hampshire in England, UK. Piper had hoped to have a full-time career in the media, but in March 2008 she was the victim of an acid attack in which sulphuric acid was thrown at her face...
from a brutal acid attack, and which with 3.3 million viewers was the most-watched edition of the Cutting Edge strand in 2009; Piper's case has been subject to a large international response, and following the success of the original documentary Piper was invited to give Channel 4's Alternative Christmas Message
Alternative Christmas message
The Alternative Christmas message is a message broadcast by Channel 4 since 1993, lampooning the Royal Christmas Message of Queen Elizabeth II.-Background:...
for 2009.
The documentary was nominated for "Best Single Documentary" at the BAFTA Television Awards in June 2010
British Academy Television Awards 2010
The 2010 British Academy Television Awards were held on 6 June 2010. The nominations were announced on 10 May.This year new awards were added including the award for Best Actor/Actress in a Supporting Role. Graham Norton hosted the ceremony...
, but did not win - the trophy was awarded to BBC One's Wounded. The previous month, director Jessie Versluys had won the Breakthrough Talent prize at the 2010 Craft BAFTA ceremony, for her credits including Katie: My Beautiful Face and The Hospital.
Octomom: Me and My 14 Kids
Original airdate: 12 November 2009Follows single unemployed mother Nadya Suleman
Nadya Suleman
Nadya Denise Doud-Suleman , known as Octomom in the media, is an American woman who came to international attention when she gave birth to octuplets in January 2009. The Suleman octuplets are only the second full set of octuplets to be born alive in the United States...
from California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, who in January 2009 gave birth to eight children.
The Men Who Jump Off Buildings
Original airdate: 28 July 2010About Dan Witchalls and Ian Richardson who participate in the adrenaline sport, base jumping
BASE jumping
BASE jumping, also sometimes written as B.A.S.E jumping, is an activity that employs an initially packed parachute to jump from fixed objects...
. It follows them jump off some the most iconic buildings in the United Kingdom including Nelson's Column
Nelson's Column
Nelson's Column is a monument in Trafalgar Square in central London built to commemorate Admiral Horatio Nelson, who died at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The monument was constructed between 1840 and 1843 to a design by William Railton at a cost of £47,000. It is a column of the Corinthian...
, The Millenium Dome, Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
and Blackpool Tower
Blackpool Tower
Blackpool Tower Eye is a tourist attraction in Blackpool, Lancashire in England which was opened to the public on 14 May 1894. . Inspired by the Eiffel Tower in Paris, it rises to 518 feet & 9 inches . The tower is a member of the World Federation of Great Towers...
.
My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding
Original airdate: 18 February 2010Follows four Gypsy and Traveller brides as they plan their wedding day. Screened in February 2010, drew 4.5 million viewers and was subsequently commissioned for a spinoff series called Big Fat Gypsy Weddings. This proved to be very successful with the second episode getting 7.4m viewers at its peak, Channel 4's highest ratings since Big Brother
Big Brother (UK)
Big Brother UK is the British version of the Dutch Big Brother television format, which takes its name from the character in George Orwell's 1948 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four...
in 2008.
Raoul Moat: Inside the Mind of a Killer
Original airdate: 18 August 2010Looks at the 2010 Northumbria Police manhunt
2010 Northumbria Police manhunt
-Birtley shootings:Moat was released from Durham prison on 1 July, and allegedly arrived in the early hours of 3 July 2010 at a house in Birtley where Stobbart and her new partner – 29-year-old karate instructor, Chris Brown – were visiting. Brown had moved to the area from Windsor,...
and the following investigation, with interviews with friends, relatives and neighbours who knew Raoul Moat.
My New Brain
Original airdate: 25 August 2010Follows 20-year-old Simon Hales on a journey through rehab. Simon was on a night out in Newcastle
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
when he and a friend tried to get back into a nightclub they'd been thrown out of by mistake. Simon jumped over a fence not knowing there was a 20 feet drop the other side landing on his head, suffering a severe brain injury
Traumatic brain injury
Traumatic brain injury , also known as intracranial injury, occurs when an external force traumatically injures the brain. TBI can be classified based on severity, mechanism , or other features...
. Lucky to survive, it took Simon five weeks to wake from his coma
Coma
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...
.
External links
- Cutting Edge at Channel4.com