Channel 4 in the U.K.?

[NancyL]

A couple days ago I was contacted by a TV producer developing a "documentary series" for Channel 4 in the U.K. about "how retired British expats get a second shot at life at life and whether they have any trouble adjusting to Thai culture". He said they want to interview retired British expats in Chiang Mai and Pattaya to discuss the "physical and economic benefits of Living in the Land of Smiles".

He says they'd like to talk with me about what I do in helping expats and also talk with some British expats about their experience of living a new life in Thailand.

I'm not from the U.K. In looking at the website for Channel 4, I see they offer such thought provoking "documentary series" as "Locked Up", "Body Shockers: Nips, Tucks and Tattoos", "24 hrs in Police Custody", and "Muslim Drag Queens".

So whatta think?

[stoneyboy]

If it's a genuine request from Channel 4 it would be interesting to take part in.

They have over the years produced some top quality documentaries and still do.

You have nothing to lose do you ?

Unless of course you value your privacy to much to be broadcast on UK television.

I for one will/would be watching it for sure.

Edited May 21, 2016 by stoneyboy

[uptheos]

Anyone who has an avid interest in excellent documentaries and films, will see that many are made by Channel 4 Films.

Yes there is some garbage to to fill in the spaces, but don't that detract from the fact they have produced a lot of award winning stuff.

They certainly produce documentaries unrivaled by any other country.

[ukrules]

I suspect it will be a 'hatchet job' - I'd steer well clear of anybody making a documentary about Thailand.

[colinneil]

I suspect it will be a 'hatchet job' - I'd steer well clear of anybody making a documentary about Thailand.

Knowing what channel 4 have done in the past, i agree with you 100%

[NancyL]

I cooperated with a documentary that Sixty Minutes Australia did about 18 months ago. Actually invested a fair amount of time rounding up some Aussie expats for them to interview, took them around CM, sat around waiting while they did other stuff that was more important, I guess and in the end, then showed just a few minutes of life in CM and just a few seconds of "normal" well adjusted, retired Aussie/Aussie couples and retired Aussie women having fun in their retirement.

Instead they focused on guys hooked up with young Thai women and spent most of the segment in Pattaya walking around the infamous sections that always seem to get shown on western TV shows.

[TheSiemReaper]

Channel 4 will usually be upfront about the type of thing they're looking to do. However... Channel 4 don't produce much of their own stuff nowadays and sub-contract to production companies; they may not be so honest. Having said that - I'd be OK with talking to Channel 4- they're hardly famous for stitch up jobs.

[stoneyboy]

Channel 4 will usually be upfront about the type of thing they're looking to do. However... Channel 4 don't produce much of their own stuff nowadays and sub-contract to production companies; they may not be so honest. Having said that - I'd be OK with talking to Channel 4- they're hardly famous for stitch up jobs.

I agree although I see some of our resident Thai visa everything British detractors were soon to chip in. Edited May 21, 2016 by stoneyboy

[true blue]

they will propaly only concentrate on loh kroy road sex sells

[samsensam]

I suspect it will be a 'hatchet job' - I'd steer well clear of anybody making a documentary about Thailand.

are you familiar with channel 4 output? do you have any evidence to support your statement? they are an independent, professional, quality outfit, they have very high journalistic standards.

http://www.channel4.com/info/commissioning/4producers/documentaries

http://www.channel4.com/info/commissioning/4producers/news

[mesquite]

Please emphasize the deadly air pollution, dangerous Chinese drivers, terrorism, snakes, rats, scams etc. The fewer new people moving here, the better.

[Sparkles]

I cooperated with a documentary that Sixty Minutes Australia did about 18 months ago. Actually invested a fair amount of time rounding up some Aussie expats for them to interview, took them around CM, sat around waiting while they did other stuff that was more important, I guess and in the end, then showed just a few minutes of life in CM and just a few seconds of "normal" well adjusted, retired Aussie/Aussie couples and retired Aussie women having fun in their retirement.

Instead they focused on guys hooked up with young Thai women and spent most of the segment in Pattaya walking around the infamous sections that always seem to get shown on western TV shows.

That's very "60 Minutes" style.You could liken their stories to an English tabloid, aka "rag".You were not to know.

"Four Corners," produced by the ABC, have been providing top class documentries for as long as I can remember.

Never miss a show on the ABC Australia TV Channel.

[laolover88]

Would not want to pre-judge the proposal.

Channel 4 certainly the "best" UK TV channel for many types of documentary.

As said, they don't make much themselves it is almost entirely commissioned.

Seems pretty clichéd: Pattaya and Chiang Mai "a second shot in life" (that begs a lot of questions!) and retirees. Sounds like another programme about old white men. Plenty more interesting things I would think? People who work here and/or have made businesses, people who have made lives in the countryside, how couples from different cultures have made a go of it (or not!) indeed many of the topics on TV! You would want to see a 'treatment'

[taotoo]

I'd just do it. The seedy portion will presumably be done in pattaya. Indeed they may contrast the two places.

[Greenside]

That sounds like the kind of pitch I can imagine being offered.

[Enoon]

"Cialis in Chiang Mai sounds great Rupert, y'know, turn that usual Pattaya thing around, show them it's happening all over".

Edited May 21, 2016 by Enoon

[ukrules]

I suspect it will be a 'hatchet job' - I'd steer well clear of anybody making a documentary about Thailand.

are you familiar with channel 4 output? do you have any evidence to support your statement? they are an independent, professional, quality outfit, they have very high journalistic standards.

http://www.channel4.com/info/commissioning/4producers/documentaries

http://www.channel4.com/info/commissioning/4producers/news

I've never seen a good documentary about Thailand, they always focus on the negative.

Being a very patient man I'm quite willing to revisit this subject whenever this documentary airs on 'Channel 4', maybe it will be this year, maybe next year.

I'm almost certain what it will be about though, and it's going to be about old western white men with younger Thai women. I have zero doubt about this.

[CharlieH]

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[JaseTheBass]

I suspect it will be a 'hatchet job' - I'd steer well clear of anybody making a documentary about Thailand.

are you familiar with channel 4 output? do you have any evidence to support your statement? they are an independent, professional, quality outfit, they have very high journalistic standards.

http://www.channel4.com/info/commissioning/4producers/documentaries

http://www.channel4.com/info/commissioning/4producers/news

I've never seen a good documentary about Thailand, they always focus on the negative.

Being a very patient man I'm quite willing to revisit this subject whenever this documentary airs on 'Channel 4', maybe it will be this year, maybe next year.

I'm almost certain what it will be about though, and it's going to be about old western white men with younger Thai women. I have zero doubt about this.

One would think that a proper, in depth doco about Thailand might start a diplomatic incident, so perhaps better to focus on retirees enjoying themselves with bar girls.

[bluweyze]

I was contacted by their researcher and he spent about an hour on the telephone asking me questions about my move here and how I have found things.. As they are likely to focus on 3 people's stories I doubt if I will ever make the filmed version but I have no reason to think it is merely a 'hatchet job'. At the end of the day something entertaining will win out over something factual but boring but that is usually the case.

[SoiBiker]

Channel 4 will usually be upfront about the type of thing they're looking to do. However... Channel 4 don't produce much of their own stuff nowadays and sub-contract to production companies; they may not be so honest. Having said that - I'd be OK with talking to Channel 4- they're hardly famous for stitch up jobs.

Channel 4 have never produced their own programming - and indeed are not allowed to. They were set up specifically as a commissioning broadcaster only.

It would be interesting to know which production company is making this programme.

[masuk]

The BBC have done 3 documentaries about the south of the country in the past 12 months. Two were regarding Brits and their marriages to lady boys. Both rather positive but sadly one who sponsored one of the 'boys' and paid for a bar was being rather neglected.

The third program followed a British guy and his two young sons, in an effort to overcome the bribery and corruption of various officials involved in the unauthorised sale by his ex, of his GBP 1 million house. It was not a happy ending.

Possibly a program about the north could be a positive one. There are many folk here who like the region, the social programs for ex-pats, the friendliness of the Lanna people.

I've been watching BBC 4 for the past few years, and enjoy their documentaries, and the current run of Attenborough 'looking back series' is most interesting.

Here's a grab of one evening in the past week:

00:00 ▶

Double Agent: The Eddie Chapman Story

19:30 ▶

Handmade on the Silk Road 3/3, series 1 ...

01:00 ▶

The Dark Ages: An Age of Light 3/4, seri...

20:00 ▶

Addicted to Sheep

02:00 ▶

David Attenborough's Zoo Quest in Colour

21:00 ▶

Billy Elliot

03:30 ▶

Close

22:45 ▶

Everyday Eden: A Potted History of the Suburban...

19:00 ▶

World News Today 18/05/2016

23:45 ▶

Dancing Cheek to Cheek: An Intimate History of ...

[SoiBiker]

BBC 4 is not Channel 4 - they're completely different broadcasters.

[Aussie69]

Nancy

Can you simply be up front with them, voice your concerns, and ask them to disclose specifically what the subject matter (or Angle) they are seeking. Isnt it as simply as saying I do not want to be associated with any material that sheds a negative light on Thailand? Or am i just nieve about the tactics used by producers?

Edited May 22, 2016 by Aussie69

[NancyL]

Nancy

Can you simply be up front with them, voice your concerns, and ask them to disclose specifically what the subject matter (or Angle) they are seeking. Isnt it as simply as saying I do not want to be associated with any material that sheds a negative light on Thailand? Or am i just nieve about the tactics used by producers?

Sure, I can ask what angle they're pursuing, but I think you're being naive to think that I can control the message. It's like asking someone who is interviewing you for a magazine article if you can have a chance to read (and approve) the article before it's published. It doesn't work that way in "journalism". If you want to control the message then you should pay for the space (or air). That's called "advertising".

For example, the piece that the Aussie Sixty Minutes created, didn't exactly put Chiang Mai in a bad light, it just made life here look rather boring and then it played up all the stereotypes about overripe sexpat retirees in Pattaya. Not really quality work, nor putting Chiang Mai in a good light.

Incidentally, it is a production company working under contract for Channel 4 that has emailed me -- Thumbs Up Productions. Their website looks a little "underdeveloped".

[Rancid]

Be part of a tv documentary at your own risk. What ends up on the cutting room floor can put you in a very different light to what you may expect. Like statistics, tv comes out showing the perspective they want, regardless whether it is actually tethered in reality.

[SoiBiker]

They're more at the trashy and sensational end of the market than the quality journalism end.

[Oscar2]

The BBC have done 3 documentaries about the south of the country in the past 12 months. Two were regarding Brits and their marriages to lady boys. Both rather positive but sadly one who sponsored one of the 'boys' and paid for a bar was being rather neglected.

The third program followed a British guy and his two young sons, in an effort to overcome the bribery and corruption of various officials involved in the unauthorised sale by his ex, of his GBP 1 million house. It was not a happy ending.

'marriages' to ladyboys? that's enough to make anyone puke. it's also illegal...

the story of the British guy trying to prevail in the Thai legal system is indeed a sad one. seems like a decent guy who loves his kids and has gotten the raw end of a lousy deal. sorry to hear the outcome was not favorable. last i read he found another avenue to pursue and a new lawyer and was hanging on to a thread of hope....

[amexpat]

'marriages' to ladyboys? that's enough to make anyone puke. it's also illegal...

It doesn't make me puke. It's none of my business and has no impact on my life.

[SooKee]

Channel 4 has produced some superb stuff. Way above the standard of some of the pulp produced even in the Western World

My concern would be that some of their stuff has a slant to it that some might consider confrontational, even objectionable. For obvious reasons therefore I would avoid it like the plague seeing as you live here and presumably wish to continue to do so, unharrassed. It's not even what you might say, it's how it's edited together to create the impact they want.

Danger Will Robinson, danger!

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