Documentary1997–BBC FourBBC Two

The Best Episodes of Storyville

Every episode of Storyville ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Storyville!

Best episode
S19E10 India's Daughter
8.22,285 votes
Worst episode
S27E5 Sex on Screen
5.972 votes
Top season
Season 26
8.2avg
Binge time
34d 23h
773 episodes

Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
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    Storyville Season 19 Episode 10 - India's Daughter
    8.2/10(2285 votes)
    S19:E10

    The story of the brutal gang rape and murder of 23-year-old medical student Jyoti on a moving bus in Delhi in 2012, and the unprecedented protests and riots which this horrific event ignited throughout India, leading to the demand for changes in attitudes towards women. The film examines the values and mindsets of the rapists, and interviews the two lawyers who defended the men convicted of Jyoti's rape and murder.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  2. Storyville Season 22 Episode 13 - Hurt Locker Hero
    8.6/10(42 votes)
    S22:E13

    The heart-stopping story of 'Crazy Fakhir', a Kurdish colonel in the Iraqi army and legendary bomb disposal expert who single-handedly disarmed thousands of landmines across the country with just a pocket knife and a pair of wire clippers. Between the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003 and the chaos and destruction wreaked by IS ten years later, Fahkir's unwavering bravery saved thousands of lives throughout Iraq. 'Hurt Locker Hero' tells Fakhir's story through the raw and visceral amateur footage captured by his soldiers on a camcorder intended for filming family occasions. Instead, it records Fakhir endlessly snipping wires, searching family homes and digging out roadside IEDs, insisting it's too dangerous to wait hours for the highly trained American bomb disposal teams to arrive. Whilst their father and husband becomes a hero, Fahkir's wife and eight children struggle to make ends meet and worry endlessly about his safety.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. Storyville Season 30 Episode 1 - The Darkest Web
    8.0/10(361 votes)
    S30:E1

    A Storyville documentary that follows a global team of undercover officers as they penetrate the most hidden corners of the internet to stop those who exploit and harm children.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. Storyville Season 26 Episode 10 - Navalny
    8.6/10(13 votes)
    S26:E10

    In August 2020, a plane travelling from Siberia to Moscow made an emergency landing. One of its passengers, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, was deathly ill. Taken to a local Siberian hospital and eventually evacuated to Berlin, doctors there confirmed that he had been poisoned with Novichok, a nerve agent implicated in attacks on other opponents of the Russian government. President Vladimir Putin immediately cast doubt on the findings and denied any involvement. While recovering, Navalny and his team unravel the plot against him, finding evidence of the Kremlin’s involvement, and prepare to go public with their findings.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. Storyville Season 17 Episode 23 - Blackfish - The Whale that Killed
    8.2/10(15 votes)
    S17:E23

    Documentary which unravels the story of notorious performing whale Tilikum, who - unlike any orca in the wild - has taken the lives of several people while in captivity. So what exactly went wrong? Shocking, never-before-seen footage and interviews with trainers and experts manifest the orca's extraordinary nature, the species' cruel treatment in captivity over the last four decades and the growing disillusionment of workers who were misled and endangered by the highly profitable sea-park industry. This emotionally wrenching, tautly structured story challenges us to consider our relationship to nature and reveals how little we humans have learned from these highly intelligent and enormously sentient fellow mammals.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. Storyville Season 27 Episode 9 - In the Name of the Father
    8.5/10(10 votes)
    S27:E9

    A Storyville documentary that, with extraordinary access to one of Israel's most Orthodox Hasidic communities, explores the scandal that erupted when the rabbi who established and led the community died. Inheritance battles, violent reprisals, sexual abuse and underage marriages are revealed by those that experienced it.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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    The 20 WORST Episodes of Storyville

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  8. Storyville Season 2 Episode 2 - When We Were Kings
    8.6/10(8 votes)
    S2:E2

    On 30 October 1974, perhaps the most famous heavyweight championship boxing match of all time took place in Kinshasa, Zaire - the "Rumble in the Jungle" between champion George Foreman and challenger Muhammad Ali. In historical footage and new interviews, this documentary explores the relationship between African-Americans and the African continent during the Black Power era in terms of both popular culture and international politics, including the brutality of then-dictator Mobutu Sese Seko.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. Storyville Season 18 Episode 25 - Exposed: Magicians, Psychics and Frauds
    7.9/10(24 votes)
    S18:E25

    Renowned magician James 'The Amazing' Randi has been wowing audiences with his jaw-dropping illusions, escapes and sleight of hand for over 50 years. When he began seeing his cherished art form co-opted by all manner of con artists, he made it his mission to expose the simple tricks charlatans have borrowed from magicians to swindle the masses. This entertaining film chronicles Randi's best debunkings of faith healers, fortune tellers and psychics. It documents his rivalry with famed spoon-bender Uri Geller, whom Randi eventually foiled on a high-profile television appearance. Another target was evangelist Peter Popoff, whose tent-show miracles and audience mind-reading were exposed as chicanery when Randi revealed a recording of Popoff's wife feeding him information through a radio-transmitter earpiece. In telling Randi's strange, funny and fascinating life story, the film shows how we are all vulnerable to deception - even, in a surprising twist, 'The Amazing' Randi himself.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. Storyville Season 22 Episode 12 - Poisoning America: The Devil We Know
    7.8/10(25 votes)
    S22:E12

    A Storyville documentary following a group of citizens in West Virginia who take on a corporation after they discover it has been dumping a toxic chemical into the water supply.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. Storyville Season 21 Episode 28 - The Farthest: Voyager's Interstellar Journey
    7.7/10(36 votes)
    S21:E28

    Twelve billion miles away a tiny spaceship is leaving our solar system and entering the void of deep space. It is the first human-made object ever to do so. Slowly dying within its heart is a plutonium generator that will beat for perhaps another decade before the lights on Voyager finally go out. But this little craft will travel on for millions of years, carrying a Golden Record bearing recordings and images of life on Earth. The story of Voyager is an epic of human achievement, personal drama and almost miraculous success. Launched 16 days apart in 1977, the twin Voyager space probes have defied all the odds, survived countless near misses and almost 40 years later continue to beam revolutionary information across unimaginable distances. With less computing power than a modern hearing aid, they have unlocked the stunning secrets of our solar system. This film tells the story of these magnificent machines, the men and women who built them and the vision that propelled them farther than anyone could ever have hoped.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. Storyville Season 29 Episode 11 - The Contestant
    8.0/10(13 votes)
    S29:E11

    The incredible true story of a man who lived for 15 months trapped inside a small room, naked, starving and alone... completely unaware that his life was being broadcast on national TV to over 17 million viewers a week.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. Storyville Season 29 Episode 18 - Welded Together
    8.1/10(10 votes)
    S29:E18

    A Storyville documentary about a young welder, forced to confront a traumatic past when she has to care for her half-sister. A powerful story of love, survival and second chances.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. Storyville Season 28 Episode 6 - Praying for Armageddon
    8.6/10(5 votes)
    S28:E6

    Praying for Armageddon is a political thriller that explores the power and influence of American Evangelical Christians as they aim to fulfil the Armageddon prophecy. The film observes American believers as they prepare for what they call The Holy War and exposes the powerful megachurch pastors who call for the 'final battle' that they believe will trigger the Second Coming of Christ. Completed before the current crisis in Israel and Gaza, it also unveils how politicians driven by faith embrace the State of Israel as the key to their prophetic vision for the end of days.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. Storyville Season 24 Episode 21 - Red Penguins: Murder, Money and Ice Hockey
    7.7/10(19 votes)
    S24:E21

    A tale of capitalism and opportunism run amok - complete with gangsters, strippers and live bears serving beer on a hockey rink in Moscow. Shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Pittsburgh Penguins and the famed Red Army hockey team formed a joint venture that showed that anything was possible in the new Russia. Eccentric marketing whiz Steve Warshaw is sent to Russia and tasked with transforming the team into the greatest show in Moscow. He takes the viewer on a bizarre journey, highlighting a pivotal moment in US-Russia relations in a lawless era when oligarchs made their fortunes and multiple murders went unsolved.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. Storyville Season 27 Episode 8 - Blue Bag Life
    7.7/10(18 votes)
    S27:E8

    Storyville documentary in which UK artist and film-maker Lisa Selby turns the camera on herself as she tries to understand her relationships with her late mother and her partner, both heroin addicts. The film won the audience award at the 2022 London International Film Festival.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. Storyville Season 28 Episode 3 - Another Body: My AI Porn Nightmare
    7.6/10(20 votes)
    S28:E3

    When 22-year-old American engineering student Taylor discovers that her face has been digitally altered to appear in online hardcore porn videos, she is devastated and doesn't know who to trust or what to do. The police tell Taylor that what this person did is not even a crime, but when she learns that a fellow student, Julia, has also been targeted, she and Julia take the investigation into their own hands, diving into the underground world of deepfake technology and discovering a society of men who terrorise women.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. Storyville Season 24 Episode 3 - The Gene Revolution: Changing Human Nature
    8.0/10(7 votes)
    S24:E3

    The biggest tech revolution of the 21st century isn't digital, it's biological. A breakthrough called CRISPR has given us unprecedented control over the basic building blocks of life. It opens the door to curing diseases, reshaping the biosphere and designing our own children. This Storyville documentary is a provocative exploration of CRISPR's far-reaching implications, through the eyes of the scientists who discovered it, the families it’s affecting and the bio-engineers who are testing its limits. How will this new power change our relationship with nature? What will it mean for human evolution? To begin to answer these questions, we must look back billions of years and peer into an uncertain future.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. Storyville Season 27 Episode 6 - Nelly and Nadine: Ravensbrück, 1944
    7.8/10(10 votes)
    S27:E6

    A Storyville documentary about two women who fall in love in the Ravensbrück concentration camp.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. Storyville Season 18 Episode 5 - K2: The Killer Summit
    7.6/10(18 votes)
    S18:E5

    In August 2008, 25 climbers from several international expeditions converged on high camp of K2, the final stop before the summit of the most dangerous mountain on earth. Just 48 hours later, 11 had been killed or simply vanished, making it the deadliest day in mountaineering history. In a century of assaults on K2, only about 300 people have ever seen the view from the planet's second highest peak. More than a quarter of those who made it didn't live long enough to share the glory. At the heart of this documentary lies a mystery about one extraordinary Irishman, Ger McDonnell. At the very limit of his physical resources, he faced a heartbreaking dilemma. Through recreations, archive and home movie footage, and interviews with survivors and families, the film creates a forensic, vivid version of events that is emotive, engrossing and, at times, deeply shocking.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. Storyville Season 19 Episode 17 - Circus Elephant Rampage
    7.6/10(18 votes)
    S19:E17

    The gripping and emotionally-charged story of Tyke, a circus elephant who went on a rampage in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1994, killed her trainer in front of thousands of spectators and died in a hail of gunfire. Her break for freedom - filmed from start to tragic end - traumatised a city and ignited a global battle over the use of animals in the entertainment industry. Looking at what made Tyke snap, the film goes back to meet the people who knew her and were affected by her death - former trainers and handlers, circus industry insiders, witnesses to her rampage, and animal rights activists for whom Tyke became a global rallying cry. Tyke is the central protagonist in this tragic but redemptive tale that combines trauma, outrage, insight and compassion. This moving documentary raises fundamental questions about our deep and mysterious connection to other species.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. Storyville Season 27 Episode 3 - The Spy in Your Mobile
    7.5/10(29 votes)
    S27:E3

    A Storyville documentary that investigates a powerful and terrifying spyware called Pegasus, sold to governments around the world by Israeli company NSO Group and used on journalists, activists and others, including both the wife and fiancée of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  23. Storyville Season 27 Episode 21 - Songs of Earth
    8.2/10(5 votes)
    S27:E21

    This epic nature documentary follows in the footsteps of the director’s 85-year-old father as he hikes during all four seasons through raw and magnificent meditative landscapes in the mighty Oldedalen valley in Nordfjord in western Norway.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  24. Storyville Season 23 Episode 14 - On the President's Orders
    7.5/10(26 votes)
    S23:E14

    Storyville film that tells the story of President Duterte's bloody campaign against drug dealers and addicts in the Philippines, told with unprecedented access to people on both sides of the war.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  25. Storyville Season 14 Episode 20 - Marriage Chinese Style: When My Child Is Born
    7.7/10(11 votes)
    S14:E20

    How much freedom can there be in a Chinese marriage? This is a remarkable, intimate film about two people who want to have freedom and happiness at the same time. You may think this sounds like a western story, but it isn't - it's all deeply Chinese.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  26. Storyville Season 22 Episode 5 - Olympic Dreams Of Russian Gold: Over The Limit
    7.9/10(7 votes)
    S22:E5

    'You're not a human being, you're an athlete,' 20-year-old Rita is told by one of her two merciless coaches as she prepares to represent Russia in rhythmic gymnastics at the Olympics. It is the most crucial year of her career and her last chance to achieve her ultimate dream, a gold medal. However gracefully Rita catches rings or rolls a ball across her shoulders, her coaches expect more from her, time and again. Described as the 'Black Swan' of sports documentaries, Over the Limit offers unprecedented access to the hidden world of elite gymnasts and the unrelentingly brutal training demanded by the Russian system.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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Best Episodes Summary

"India's Daughter" is the best rated episode of Storyville. It scored 8.2/10 from 2,285 votes. Written and directed by Unknown, it aired on March 4, 2015.

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