AlFlix

Secret Scotland (UK)

In this travel documentary 4'11" comedian Susan Calman travels around her native Scotland uncovering the secrets behind famous historical places. 

Scotland is gorgeous, and this documentary is both beautifully filmed and genuinely informative. But the draw here is Calman's folksy presence. Her everywoman style serves as the perfect counterpoint to 1,000 year old castles and sweeping, majestic landscapes. The show moves at a wonderfully relaxed pace, and it will keep you grinning every step of the way. 

Cunk on Shakespeare (UK)

Diane Morgan's everywoman/journalist persona, Philomena Cunk, first premiered on Charlie Brooker's (Black Mirror, Dead Set) Weekly Wipe along with fellow man-on-the street character, Barry Shitpeas, where she would give her highly uneducated opinions on the news of the day. So popular were Philomena Cunk's appearances that she quickly had her own BBC specials which culminated in a five-part history of the United Kingdom, Cunk on Britian, which is a bit too much Philomena Cunk, even for me.

Easily my favorite Philomena Cunk BBC Special is Cunk on Shakespeare. Here Cunk explores the life and work of William Shakespeare, a man she clearly thinks is a bit fancy and hoity-toity for her liking. Armed with a something-less-than-elementary-school-level understanding of Shakespeare, she interviews experts and historians about the life and works of William Shakespeare in honor of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death.

This is mostly just a silly good time, with the occasional poke in the eye to the expert who might take himself just a little too seriously. Highly recommended.

A Very British Murder

Royal Palace Curator and television presenter Lucy Worsley would be great company at any dinner party. She takes the normally dry BBC documentary genre to new levels with her learned, conspiratorial and sometimes downright daffy style of presenting what has up to now been traditionally stodgy television fare.

In this series of historical documentaries (she's done many, check them out) she takes a look at some of the most horrible and despicable murders in British history. While the descriptions can be gruesome at times, it's never sensational the way that modern news coverage often is. 

This three-part series is a good introduction to work of Lucy Worsley. If you like this, check out Empire of the Tsars, which is her history of Tsarist Russia.

Fishing with John

Jazz musician (The Lounge Lizards), painter, and actor (Last Temptation of Christ, Stranger than Paradise) John Lurie somehow convinced Japanese investors to fund a fishing show starring himself and featuring big names in show business like Dennis Hopper and Tom Waits fishing in exotic locations such as Costa Rica and Thailand. 

Lurie turns every convention of a fishing show and a television documentary on its head. Fishing with John is funny and brilliant, and it adds an element which I believe has been long-missing from traditional fishing television shows: surrealism. Also, curiously, there is really not that much fishing in it.

The Criterion Collection DVD release (the only fishing show to receive such an honor) contains Lurie's commentary for each episode. And those commentary tracks are every bit as entertaining as the original shows. Plus the commentaries illustrate just how hard John Lurie worked to create this televised fishing experience.

The still above is from the first episode where Lurie and director Jim Jarmusch fish for sharks using only a wedge of cheese and a handgun.