Lost and forgotten documentaries

[Floogal]

As the title suggests, there are programmes I remember watching. But they can not be found on YouTube, or there's not much about them online. Especially as I want to know how the people featured progressed since broadcast. The ones I remember are:
1.I can't remember the name of the documentary, but it was about bipolar disorder. I saw it in the early 00s. A man with the condition was fired from his university job previously and was starting up his own kite business. I remember his wife was particularly verbally and emotionally abusive to him and, by the end of the program, left him for another man (who would bully him).
2.Another one was called 'Lost kids' (I think that was its name) shown on Channel 4 in October 1999. The one I saw was filmed in Leicester and Nottingham and followed a group of homeless (younger end of the teenage age spectrum) youths. It was harrowing seeing the bit where they were high on heroin or "downers'. Also the fact they were befriended by older men who in many ways protected them was also disturbing. I think there was another one filmed in Brighton. I really want to know if the youths featured managed to get proper help and lead better lives.
3.Another one I remember was called Amsterdamaged (1999). It was about British ex pats living in Amsterdam, who got caught up in the drug culture. It was harrowing but funny and warm at the same time.
4.Also, in the same year, 'Jailbirds' about a women's prison. There was one particular girl who was addicted to drugs and fell out with her parents prior to getting sent down. The thing I remember most about it was the prison governor. His message was along the lines of "any parents watching, watch out for your daughter's boyfriends. Because most of the women and girls are here because of a boyfriend!".
5.In summer 2003 there was a documentary about socioeconomic class. It featured a poor family and an upper middle class family who both lived on the same street. I particularly remember the oldest daughter of the poor family was so sad yet very intelligent. Regarding the richer family, the parents were well meaning but their kids seemed really bratty. The speech they gave their son when they found out he was smoking weed. And "I know I'll go to university and won't be a street cleaner! No offence." 😬😡. I can't remember the name of the program and what happened to the families featured.

Does anyone know where to find the documentaries, or what happened since they were broadcast. Also does anyone else remember any memorable but hard to find documentaries?

@Lalgarh I remember 3 Salons at the Seaside so vividly as I was unpacking from a holiday and had just put the TV on while I pottered around - I was transfixed; it was like watching my childhood. My lovely mum was a hairdresser who worked from home and her 'ladies' were so exactly like the clients in the film. It was really emotional for me. I was thrilled to find I could watch it again.

Followjng

Johnny go home, early 70s doc about runaways going to London.
Two guys who ran a hostel would trawl Euston looking for young kids and they had police help the doc uncovered that they were sexual abusers not helpers.

That's a very infamous documentary. I know it was before my time, but I heard about it as fine young cannibals had a song in the charts about it. I saw bits of it on YouTube, very nasty when the police find a body.

@bloodyeffinnora

I'm guessing it's er The Family. 1st of the genre, well apart from 7Up

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Family_(1974_TV_series)

I loved Child Of Our Time. It was very respectful of the children and their families. There are a couple of the children I still think of now and again and hope they are happy.

Placemarking.

Channel 4 had a documentary strand for ethnic minorities called Bandung File in the 80's. One episode they had was following a "bounty hunter" who was sent out by conservative Pakistani/ Muslim families to track down and return runaway wives. They had one woman who was being pursued by her husband and in laws. The documentary makers actually caught the father in-law bragging to his son that they would, on returning the wife, either kill her or slash/ disfigure her in either Urdu or possibly Pashto and this was all subtitled on the programme (it didn't occur to them that they would be understood) .

They found her. The husband when he found her in a safe house switched from threatening murder to floods of tears. The wife (not sure if it was a refuge. Doubt it) had this look of utter defeat .that was it. He was crying. She was portrayed as the one at fault. I think she went back to him. The term gaslighting wasn't really known then but to others watching who'd she'd been with it looked like she was the one at fault. The ending haunted me. It's not listed on the list of episodes of Bandung on IMDB

https://m.imdb.com/title/tt3646052/episodes/?year=1989

yes! that's the one The Family.

I also remember one from the 60/70s? called Cathy come home? I seem to remember her being homeless and having her children taken off her by social services in a bus station and her screaming........ well that's the bit that stuck with me, I was only a child when I watched it.

Cathy Come Home had an* *enormous emotional impact. Ken Loach directed it (among his earliest films in the Wednesday Play slot) and it led directly to the founding of the charity Crisis the next year.

Is 7 up still going

@Kittywittywoo yes though the original producer and now many of the participants are passing on 😣

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Up_(film_series)

I have nevermind got round to watching People do Nothing. But I remember the documentary called Tower Block dreams. Apparently that's what the comedy was based on.

Also Peckham finishing school for girls.

Does anyone know where you can watch full episodes of The Family online? I loved the series following the Hughes family.

The dying rooms 😭

The boy who's skin fell off 😭

Another light hearted one here. The Osbournes did a documentary in the 90's going on tour with black sabbath long before their TV show. The kids (Jack, Amy and Kelly were about 8-10 ish) made me laugh even back then. I've never seen it mentioned again or seen any clips.

I didn't see that, but I remember my dad and a few friends talking about it at the time. And how "normal ' Jack and Kelly were.

Speaking of heavy metal, there was a fun 'verses', 'meets' documentary back in 1998. This religious woman was concerned about her son being a fan of Cradle of Filth. So she got to hang out with them on their European tour as part of the program. Despite their differences they ended up being friends.

I haven’t combed through the thread so someone might have mentioned it, but Channel 4 had an superb documentary series in the 90s called ‘Beyond the Clouds’, chronicling daily life in a small Chinese village. I can still remember the music and it all came back when I found some of it on YouTube. It was absolutely enthralling.

@emeraldsapphire there’s an edited version of the family on channel 4 called ‘the family ‘teen stories’, you still see a lot of the episodes and then has a small bit at the end where teens who’ve watched give their views. Sadly it doesn’t have ‘the family at Christmas’ on them, which was my favourite.

Born to be different on channel 4. Very similar to chuld of our time but children with additional needs

This was a fantastic documentary! I watched it a month or so ago and it was wonderful

I remember a docu series from a few years ago about disputes within families as parents made out their Wills. It was about the unfair division of assets.
Thean doing the programmes was called.something Robinson but I can't remember the name of the programme at. There is one airing currently ( a repeat ) but it's not the one I saw which was more interesting

There was a documentary with Ester Rantzen back in the early 90s about families where they ended up at a huge family bonfire where 4 generations of this huge farming family got together every year for fireworks and barn party. I remember watching it thinking it was amazing that all these cousins and aunts and uncles all traveled from all over the country to attend every year. Assume it was a BBC production but I've never been able to find it - think it was a one off looking at family life in Britain?

Yes @CrossPurposes sign of the times js a lovely gentle watch. Sometimes it feels a bit like a 'human remains' type parody!

Thanks for the reminder about Beyond the Clouds, loved that series so much I sent off for the accompanying booklet (which I still have). Remember the days when tv companies had information you could send off for with a stamped addressed envelope? I also loved the documentary about Botton Village, stayed with me for ages as a good documentary should. There was a great one on the BBC many years ago along the lines of Modern Times about people and their cars - From A to B Tales of Modern Motoring, some episodes are on youtube, here's one :