I was very interested to read in The Guardian yesterday that Graham Linehan originally intended Father Ted to be a mock documentary, and it was Geoffrey Perkins who urged him and Matthews to turn it into a more traditional sitcom.
Anyway, we may have had this discussion before, but if not, it would be interesting to have a comprehensive list of all the mockumentaries there have ever been, both British and Foreign, film as well as television. I'll kick off with a few:
Boyz Unlimited - A six part series on Channel 4 about a boy band. Created by David Walliams and Matt Lucas. Very funny.
This Is David Lander/This Is David Harper - These were about a journalist, first played by Stephen Fry, then Tony Slattery. I think it was based on a Radio 4 show.
People Like Us - A brilliant mock documentary starring Chris Langham. And because of that it's been sadly brushed under the carpet of late.
That Peter Kay Thing - Easily Peter Kays finest work. Especially the episode about an ice cream man that managed to reference both Taxi Driver and Apocalypse Now.
The Office - Nothing much to say on this. Probably the finest mock documentary TV series, which spawned an equally brilliant American spin off. Not to mention a whole host of versions across the world.
