Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2016 February 8

= February 8 =

documentary series
what is the longest tv documentary serie?--79.55.17.82 (talk) 19:13, 8 February 2016 (UTC)


 * What country? Maybe this helps: List of longest-running United States television series. Or this: Long-running shows.   Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 19:26, 8 February 2016 (UTC)


 * Well there are things like Planet Earth (TV series) that have existed for years that can be considered the longest. The series The World at War is one of the longest ones that I can remember but I suspect other editors will know of ones that were longer. MarnetteD&#124;Talk 19:25, 8 February 2016 (UTC)


 * MarnetteD brings to mind a good point. Do you mean "longest running" where the same documentary series has been running for many years? Or the series with the longest running time? For example, something with a few number of episodes which have longer run times. These may be the same thing, I don't know, but it might help get you the answer that you are looking for.  Dismas |(talk) 20:13, 8 February 2016 (UTC)
 * In terms of time between first and latest episodes, the Up Series comfortably has the record, with a 49-year run which is presumably still ongoing, 63 Up being due in 2019. However, it only has eight episodes. Tevildo (talk) 20:36, 8 February 2016 (UTC)


 * For longevity, Hockey Night in Canada is going on 64 years. That might be considered more sports or news, but it documents the reality of the games. For running time, Alex Jones stuff is pretty consistently uncomfortably long. For every three hours, there might only be twenty minutes of reality, from what I've seen. The rest is mostly stock footage and "O Fortuna". InedibleHulk (talk) 05:21, 9 February 2016 (UTC)
 * Disambiguate: Alex Jones (radio host)? —Tamfang (talk) 08:23, 10 February 2016 (UTC)
 * That's the one. Nice to be corrected by a human instead of a bot on that, for a change. InedibleHulk (talk) 23:33, 10 February 2016 (UTC)


 * By episodes number?--79.18.193.117 (talk) 12:47, 9 February 2016 (UTC)
 * Panorama (TV series) will broadcast episode 2760 (which doesn't include 'specials') on 15 February 2016, is that the kind of thing you're looking for? Nanonic (talk) 17:12, 9 February 2016 (UTC)
 * If so (and depending where you draw the "documentary" line), that's about a fifth of The Tonight Show. It's not exactly scripted, but kind of steered. Historical figures in their semi-natural environment, like those famous lemmings. InedibleHulk (talk) 18:08, 9 February 2016 (UTC)
 * If we allow current-events programs, Meet the Press (69 years, approx 18,000 episodes) is the winner. Guinness World Records lists it as the longest-running TV documentary series, but I'm not 100% convinced that it really counts as a documentary. Tevildo (talk) 22:58, 9 February 2016 (UTC)
 * I'm 75% convinced, but this seems like a good time to link to documentary film. Might help make up some minds. InedibleHulk (talk) 23:31, 10 February 2016 (UTC)


 * I don't think live sports presentations would count. Broadcasting a live event might "document" it, but "documentaries" are typically after-the-fact coverage summarizing and interpreting an event. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 18:06, 9 February 2016 (UTC)
 * They do that, too. Just not long after-the-fact. InedibleHulk (talk) 18:10, 9 February 2016 (UTC)


 * Here is an interesting list: List of longest-running television shows by category. And, interestingly, they have a few dozen categories, but not "documentary" per se.   Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 18:59, 9 February 2016 (UTC)


 * [You were correct the first time. The word "series" is both singular and plural.
 * —Wavelength (talk) 23:20, 9 February 2016 (UTC)]


 * If we don't count News programs, two candidates might be Nova (TV series) in the U.S. and Horizon (BBC TV series). The former has been running for 43 seasons, the latter for 51.  -- Jayron 32 01:11, 10 February 2016 (UTC)
 * The Nature of Things (Canada) beats Horizon by four years in the science category. Tevildo (talk) 21:57, 10 February 2016 (UTC)

I think The Sky at Night is probably a good contender. 81.108.18.234 (talk) 03:03, 12 February 2016 (UTC)