Geektown Awards – Best Documentary Or Structured Reality Series
Last year, due to the rise in popularity of docu-series, we added this category, and it returns once again after another strong year of informative and entertaining content. Tigers reappeared, although didn’t quite seem to grab the imagination of people as much as the first season. Peter Jackson allowed us to spend some time with the Fab Four as they went through one of the most turbulent times in their career. And the #FreeBritney movement hit the headlines, eventually helping to force the courts to release the pop star from her conservatorship. Here are the shows you voted for.
Best Documentary Or Structured Reality Series
Nominees: Clarkson’s Farm – Amazon, Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel – Netflix, Framing Britney Spears – Sky
Friends: The Reunion – Sky, Interior Design Masters – BBC, Roman Kemp: Our Silent Emergency – BBC, Sophie: Murder at the Cottage – Netflix, Spice Girls: How Girl Power Changed Britain – Channel 4, Taskmaster – Channel 4, The Beatles: Get Back – Disney+, The Oprah Conversation: Elliot Page – Apple TV+, This Is My House – BBC, Tiger King 2 – Netflix
Bronze: Friends: The Reunion – Sky
Silver: Taskmaster – Channel 4
And the Gold goes to …
Winner: Clarkson’s Farm – Amazon
Last year, the gold went to the global phenomenon which was ‘Tiger King’. This year, people opted for something a little more cerebral, as petrolhead Jeremy Clarkson turned his hand to agriculture… But approached it in his usual “bull in a china shop” way…
For those of you who have not caught the series, it follows an intense, arduous and frequently hilarious year in the life of Britain’s most unlikely farmer… Jeremy has owned the thousand-acre farm in Oxfordshire since 2008, but when his former farm manager decided to retire in 2019, he makes the decision to take on the job himself. We follow Jeremy and his rag-tag band of agricultural associates as they face up to a backdrop of unhelpful weather, disobedient animals, unresponsive crops and an unexpected pandemic. This is Jeremy Clarkson as you’ve never seen him before.
I honestly never thought I’d be interested in a farming show, but the series is hilariously entertaining, and also surprisingly informative. What makes it work so well is the rather more experienced team of agricultural people surrounding Clarkson. There is Kaleb, the young farmworker who has rarely left the village of Chadlington, but has way more knowledge when it comes to managing the farm; Professional agronomist and land agent Charlie, dubbed “Cheerful Charlie” by Clarkson, due to the fact he tends to turn up to give him bad news or tell him he’s doing something wrong; Gerald, the local specialist in the construction and maintenance of dry stone walls, who has a local accent so thick Jeremy can’t understand him; And Lisa, Clarkson’s (somewhat long-suffering) girlfriend who manages their farm shop.
The show has been renewed for a second season, which will hopefully land later in 2022.
