# What documentaries and docudramas have you seen recently? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** documentary-bio\ **Created:** [August 27, 2024, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-documentaries-and-docudramas-have-you-seen-recently/1006335 "2024-08-27T22:20:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2025, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-documentaries-and-docudramas-have-you-seen-recently/1006335/101 "2025-07-29T05:50:00Z")
Yeah, he’s a full-on gearhead. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2025, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-documentaries-and-docudramas-have-you-seen-recently/1006335/102 "2025-07-29T06:07:26Z")
Nearly ruined his hands in a bike wreck. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2025, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-documentaries-and-docudramas-have-you-seen-recently/1006335/103 "2025-08-21T01:24:47Z")
Everybody needs to watch the new Devo documentary on Netflix so I don’t have to keep explaining what my “Devo Was Right.” t-shirt means. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/FgV8X2x6xvE/maxresdefault.jpg "Devo 2024 2025 Trailer Netflix") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgV8X2x6xvE) ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2025, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-documentaries-and-docudramas-have-you-seen-recently/1006335/104 "2025-08-27T01:33:35Z")
Okay just watched all two hours of this on YouTube - two non-birders take an irreverent stab at doing a birding ‘Big Year’ and the world of the competitive “twitchers.” Quality is pretty amazing for a YouTube-only documentary: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/zl-wAqplQAo/maxresdefault.jpg "LISTERS: A Glimpse Into Extreme Birdwatching") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zl-wAqplQAo) ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2026, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-documentaries-and-docudramas-have-you-seen-recently/1006335/105 "2026-09-02T12:45:29Z")
I’ve been watching a bunch of Netflix true crime documentaries, but last night I watched the Netflix doc on **Raygun** , the Australian breakdancer who went viral for her goofy moves at the 2024 Paris Olympics. It was quirky, but it was also surprisingly emotional for me, seeing her hard work and self-doubt and the vicious on-line attacks that she suffered. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2026, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-documentaries-and-docudramas-have-you-seen-recently/1006335/106 "2026-09-02T14:59:16Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > Okay just watched all two hours of this on YouTube - two non-birders take an irreverent stab at doing a birding ‘Big Year’ and the world of the competitive “twitchers.” Quality is pretty amazing for a YouTube-only documentary: I’ll have to watch that. I really enjoyed Mark Obmascik’s book about three birders chasing the record. The movie had a great cast but was only so-so. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2026, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-documentaries-and-docudramas-have-you-seen-recently/1006335/107 "2026-09-02T15:48:57Z")
I recently watched **Endless Summer** ; it’s been 20 or so years since I last saw it. It’s a blast — Incredible photography and a wry sense of humor. The narration is really good and the movie is over much too soon. I give it 9.5/10. Dude. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2026, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-documentaries-and-docudramas-have-you-seen-recently/1006335/108 "2026-09-02T17:20:24Z")
I had the pleasure of a seeing a screening of _Endless Summer_ with live commentary by Robert August a few years back in Costa Rica. It was in a beach cantina with an audience of about 30. You could raise your hand and he would pause the film and answer your question. I asked him where the coldest water he ever surfed was (pre-wetsuit). He said South Africa. His helpful tip: “Knee paddle and don’t fall off your board”. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2026, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-documentaries-and-docudramas-have-you-seen-recently/1006335/109 "2026-09-02T18:17:22Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > I’ll have to watch that. It’s a lot of fun if you don’t mind a lot of light-hearted irreverence and some drugs. For me it also doesn’t hurt that they end up reinforcing my own biases about birding (it’s can be fun and rewarding, but compulsive list-chasing is a little crazy). ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2026, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-documentaries-and-docudramas-have-you-seen-recently/1006335/110 "2026-09-02T19:23:06Z")
That. Must’ve. Been. Fantastic! Lucky dog! ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2026, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-documentaries-and-docudramas-have-you-seen-recently/1006335/111 "2026-09-02T20:30:36Z")
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a sucker for a really good nature documentary, and I’ve recently watched two terrific 4- and 5-episode series: National Geographic’s new _Lion_ and _Into the Pride Lands._ Both follow African lions over long periods, but they approach the subject a little differently. _Into the Pride Lands_ follows several prides in Botswana and gives you a fascinating look at the whole soap opera of lion society—families, rival prides, hunting, cub raising, territorial disputes, and young males getting the feline equivalent of a notice to vacate the basement. _Lion_ follows Kio, a young male in Kenya’s Maasai Mara, over several years, so it’s more intimate and cinematic. You really become invested in Kio, his mother Summer, and his brothers as he goes from vulnerable cub to adult male. The photography is truly spectacular. I may be slightly biased toward Kio because he’s a dead ringer for one of my three cats, Ollie, a dwarf Highlander/wildcat mix. Same face, same bold, inquisitive disposition—although Ollie weighs about six pounds and her current territory consists mainly of my condo. He has yet to bring down a wildebeest, though I’m sure she would try. _Lion_ does occasionally anthropomorphize things a bit—apparently the narrator has access to Kio’s innermost thoughts—but the actual behavior and events are real, and the filmmakers spent years following these animals. I don’t mind the anthropomorphizing in this series as much as I do in some other documentaries. It tells a compelling story, and some of what we interpret as human-like emotion may not be that far off. The science on animal emotions is still evolving If you like nature documentaries, I highly recommend both. _Into the Pride Lands_ is probably the better look at how lion society actually works; _Lion_ is the one that will have you emotionally invested in individual lions and yelling advice at the television as though Kio can hear you. Of course he never listens. Neither does Ollie. 🦁 😺 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-documentaries-and-docudramas-have-you-seen-recently/1006335.md?page=5)