"Britain's Closest Encounter" (2003 BBC) available? [NOT "Britain's Closest EncounterS" 2008]

Is the BBC's documentary on Rendlesham ("Britain's Closest Encounter", first broadcast on BBC3 on 15 March 2003) still available somewhere online? Or on DVD?

It used to be on Youtube at www.youtube.com... but is no longer available there for some reason:



The documentary has been recommended by various people in the past on various forums (including Ian Ridpath) in discussions of the Rendlesham Forest incident.

It is also discussed on several websites, including on the BBC's website as follows:

www.bbc.co.uk...

On the nights of 27 and 28 December 1980, Britain's most famous UFO incident took place.

A number of United States airforce personnel based at RAF Woodbridge in Suffolk claimed to have seen "strange lights" in the adjacent Rendlesham forest, and later to have come across an unidentifiable craft in the woods.

Britain's Closest Encounter examines the incident and talks to the main players involved, including key air force personnel Charles Halt and James Penniston, local witnesses and UFO believers and sceptics.

It includes newly analysed audio tapes recorded by the USAF during the sightings, and recreates what happened that night in an attempt to solve the mystery of what has become known as the "UK's Roswell".

I know that episodes of the later (2008) series are available online.

The 2003 documentary may well be around somewhere as well, possibly uploaded to Youtube under a different name. (It is rather common for the precise title of a documentary not be used when it is uploaded to Youtube, or even given in the accompanying description.

reply to post by IsaacKoi

I can remember watching it and to be honest at the time I thought it was only of worth if you had already bought into it being an ET visitation.

Isaac, if this is/was on youtube then it shouldn't be unless the BBC have specfically agreed to it being in the public domain. If not then it's copyright theft and youtube should have removed it - maybe they did.

Originally posted by something wicked
I can remember watching it and to be honest at the time I thought it was only of worth if you had already bought into it being an ET visitation.

Strange, since that documentary featured both skeptic Ian Ridpath (whose website links to an extract from it) and Vince Thurkettle.

Here is a short extract on Youtube of the documentary, featuring both of these individuals:

Originally posted by IsaacKoi

Originally posted by something wicked
I can remember watching it and to be honest at the time I thought it was only of worth if you had already bought into it being an ET visitation.

Strange, since that documentary featured both skeptic Ian Ridpath (whose website links to an extract from it) and Vince Thurkettle.

Here is a short extract on Youtube of the documentary, featuring both of these individuals:

In fairness, I did watch it nearly ten years ago so my opinion my be somewhat based on what I remembered. If I am thinking of the same one (and not having a bit of a false memory with the second one 5 years later), the reconstruction was certainly biased towards the ET theory in my personal opinion.

And, it's still BBC copyright - my, I thought you were in the legal profession!!!

Originally posted by something wicked
In fairness, I did watch it nearly ten years ago so my opinion my be somewhat based on what I remembered.

Understood. I think most members of ATS with more than a casual interest in Ufology will be well aware of the tricks that memory (and perception) can play. Besides, you well may be right about bias in the documentary overall (I haven't seen it - or at least don't remember it specifically) - but at least this particular documentary didn't only present one point of view (unlike one or two other documentaries I could mention...).

Originally posted by something wicked
And, it's still BBC copyright

Sure. And I'd be delighted to buy a DVD from the BBC if such DVDs are being sold - but I haven't found it being sold by the BBC or anyone else...

I couldn't find it anywhere either.

I can find a torrent but no one is seeding it.

I wonder why it's so hard to find.

Maybe there is some golden nugget of truth too good for us.

Originally posted by dplum517
I couldn't find it anywhere either.

Well, thanks for trying anyway.

I wonder why it's so hard to find.

Maybe there is some golden nugget of truth too good for us.

It is a bit frustrating...

Reading comments from 2003 (particularly in the archives of the UFO UpDates email discussion List), it seems that the show was reasonably well liked by several leading skeptics (and the documentary featured several of them) but generally disliked by ufologists that subscribe to exotic explanations for Rendlesham. The documentary may not therefore have had sufficient mass appeal to ensure that it would either be released as a DVD or even kept alive on torrents.

Most of the less skeptical documentaries about Rendlesham are plastered all over Youtube...

Originally posted by dplum517
I couldn't find it anywhere either.

I can find a torrent but no one is seeding it.

I wonder why it's so hard to find.

Maybe there is some golden nugget of truth too good for us.

Well it was shown on BBC (can't believe it was BBC3, doesn't seem right considering the date), so was hardly hidden.

I think it's more a copyright thing. The BBC don't release DVDs of every programme they have ever produced, it wouldn't be cost effective considering the work required. In theory, if sites are only allowing torrents where the copyright is either a: in the public domain or b: not confirmed then they wouldn't be allowing BBC material to be shared - nothing to do with the subject matter, it's just the way it is.

Originally posted by IsaacKoi

Originally posted by dplum517
I couldn't find it anywhere either.

Well, thanks for trying anyway.

I wonder why it's so hard to find.

Maybe there is some golden nugget of truth too good for us.

It is a bit frustrating...

Reading comments from 2003 (particularly in the archives of the UFO UpDates email discussion List), it seems that the show was reasonably well liked by several leading skeptics (and the documentary featured several of them) but generally disliked by ufologists that subscribe to exotic explanations for Rendlesham. The documentary may not therefore have had sufficient mass appeal to ensure that it would either be released as a DVD or even kept alive on torrents.

Most of the less skeptical documentaries about Rendlesham are plastered all over Youtube...

edit on 25-4-2012 by IsaacKoi because: (no reason given)

Just a thought, but have you written to the BBC and asked if the show is archived and if it is possible to purchase a copy? You never know.....

I remember seeing this programme and it was not really a documentary.

It may have actually been an 'Inside Out' BBC regional feature, mainly attentive to Rendlesham.

Brenda Butler, A local UFO researcher was featured ..so maybe she has a copy on VHS/ dvd?

Some skeptic Ian Ridpath also featured with the facile explanation of the Orford Ness lighthouse

along with another skeptic, a Mr Thirkettle, wearing the 'most silly coat' ever on seen on TV.

Originally posted by deprogrammer
I remember seeing this programme and it was not really a documentary.

It may have actually been an 'Inside Out' BBC regional feature, mainly attentive to Rendlesham.

Thanks, but I think the BBC's "Inside Out" feature on Rendlesham, while also broadcast in 2003, is a different item to the "Britain's Closest Encounter".

The "Inside Out" feature (which put forward the Conde hoax theory) was broadcast in June 2003:
www.bbc.co.uk...

"Britain's Closest Encounter", produced by Mentorn, was first broadcast on BBC3 in March 2003 and repeated a few times (including during a "UFO" theme night, along with an episode of "Taken"):
ufoupdateslist.com...

Originally posted by something wicked
Just a thought, but have you written to the BBC and asked if the show is archived and if it is possible to purchase a copy? You never know.....

Thanks. I may try that in the absence of any better ideas - but I fear that if the BBC does not sell a relevant DVD then it is unlikely to be interested in digging out a 2003 documentary to sell me a single copy (unless I offered to pay a large sum of money...).

reply to post by IsaacKoi




Having a little look now..

This has come up... not it but interesting

www.ianridpath.com...

You should email the BBC direct.

Ask if there is any way of viewing it?

You have the date, channel and time it was aired... I'm sure you'll get an answer one way or another.

Originally posted by blupblup
You should email the BBC direct.

I've checked the BBC website looking for relevant contact details, only to find the following rather disappointing information:

faq.external.bbc.co.uk...

Can I get a copy of a BBC TV programme?

Copies of BBC programmes and series can only be obtained if they have been made available commercially.
...

Unfortunately the BBC cannot respond to individual queries about products like DVDs or CDs. This is because we are not responsible for the commercial distribution of all the programmes we commission. For example, when programmes are made for us by independent production companies, they make their own distribution arrangements after broadcast.

reply to post by IsaacKoi




Yeah I hear ya, but just email.
You wont know if you don't ask.

And maybe they did commission it and they own all the rights?

Wouldn't hurt to try mate.

Don't bother emailing them mate. I tried for my 40th birthday to get a copy of a BBC show I was on.
Long story short, they wanted £250 just to look to see if it was still in the archives.

Originally posted by blupblup
Yeah I hear ya, but just email.
You wont know if you don't ask.

Will do. As you say, it can't hurt - but I'm not confident that I'll even get a response (let alone any positive news).

reply to post by IsaacKoi




Let us know how you get on?

Good luck mate

Originally posted by blupblup
Let us know how you get on?

Sure. I'm not optimistic that approaching the BBC will succeed but I also have the contact details of some of those that appeared on the documentary and have also found the website and email address of one of the producers of the show. So, one way or another, I'll sure I'll get hold of this blinking item and then have a fairly complete set of the Rendlesham documentaries.

Once I get hold of Andrew Pike's book "The Rendlesham File", I'll also have all the books devoted to Rendlesham and most of the UFO books that feature any significant discussion of that incident...